By Chancel Bomadi Sunday

BURUTU—The Bishop, Catholic Diocese of Bomadi, Delta State, Most Rev. Hyacinth Oroko Egbebo, MSP, has hailed the Ebenanaowei of Tuomo Kingdom in Burutu local government area of Delta State, HRM (Justice) Francis F. Tabai, JSC (rtd), CON, Esuku I, on the occasion of his 5th Coronation Anniversary as paramount ruler of the kingdom.

Egbebo, who was represented by the Chancellor of the Diocese of Bomadi, Very Rev. Fr Preye Paul, described King Tabai as an epitome of true leadership and a gift to the Ijaw nation, yesterday, expressed heartfelt joy and confidence in the monarch to lead the kingdom to greater heights.

The bishop, in his exhortation, said: “This is the day the Lord has made and indeed, we are glad!

“Let me use this opportunity to firstly express my profound thanks to Almighty God, for the gift of HRM Justice Tabai to Tuomo Kingdom and the entire Ijaw nation and for the conducive atmosphere we are experiencing now.

“May I equally thank the Prime Minister, High Chief Mike Loyibo, my very wonderful friend for deciding to add to this programme this religious aspect where people will keep connected to their God. It is delightful to note that as Christians, our lives and eventful moments are not complete without God who is the foundation and source of our being. Therefore, Justice Tabai and his chiefs are encouraged to always include God in their scheme of things on a daily basis.

TO THE KING TABAI

“Permit me to quickly address a few words to the chief celebrant of the day HRM Hon. Justice Tabai (CON), I wish to, on behalf of my Bishop, Most Rev. Hyacinth Egbebo, MSP, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi, congratulate you and equally express my sincere gratitude to you for the innate leadership qualities, strength in character that have helped you in no small measure in stably carrying out your traditional obligations all through these five years in this great kingdom.

“HRM Tabai is a man enjoying the grace of God, endowed with unprecedented courage and discipline. Despite his age, he is never relenting in working for the growth and development of Tuomo kingdom. He is a man of great influence within and outside the Niger Delta region. The calibre of people here present is a clear testimony of his lofty personality. Indeed, I can call him awoubodau (The father of children).

“As a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, he has added so much quality to the traditional institution in Tuomo Kingdom. Having been installed and recognized as the Pere of Tuomo Kingdom, he automatically belongs to the category of First Class Kings in Delta State.

“History has it that, as at Saturday 11th of August 2018, in the presence of the then Chairman of the Burutu Local Gov’t Area, Hon. Godknows Angele, Justice Tabai polled 17 votes out of 21 from the Tuomo Kingmakers in a ceremony that was held at the Esuku Primary School field in Tuomo town to emerge as the paramount ruler. Hon. Justice Tabai emerged in a peaceful election as the new ruler in the kingdom that has been without a traditional ruler for 72 years. Indeed, this is a new dawn in Tuomo kingdom. And we are particularly happy to see a very educated, experienced and intelligent man assuming this leadership role.

“We congratulate you your majesty, not only on the great height of rendering quality service to your people but for also making the traditional stool more respectful and attractive.

“Dear Majesty, at this point I wish to draw your attention to some areas you need to pay specific attention to in the honest discharge of your duties, such as the wellbeing of your chiefs who are your immediate collaborators. They should occupy a pride of place in your heart, as well as care for the older men and women, many of whom are dying in silence due to depression and rejection from family members and friends; No food to eat, no potable water.

“The youth/children is another critical area you need to pay keen attention to, as many do not have access to quality education. The situation has impeded greatly their ability to communicate in simple and correct English, making them inferior before their peers who live outside this vicinity. Due to this challenge, they are not exposed to the opportunities that could bring them good life. Consequently, a vast majority of them are addicted to hard drugs and other substances dangerous to their health, thereby constituting security risks in our society. Such a phenomenon can be contained to a great extent if you were to make deliberate effort to constitute Disciplinary Committee to checkmate and sanction drug dealers in the kingdom. If care is not taken in the next 10 to 15 years, we may likely have several mad people on our streets because of hard drugs. May God never allow it to happen to our children through Christ our Lord, Amen!

“Your Majesty, besides the above it is important to equally call your attention to issues of health and power supply. We believe that these are critical areas that contribute meaningfully to human development and it is equally capital intensive. We are aware you may not have the resources to make it happen, but we believe you can use your influence to attract some of these incentives and infrastructure that serve the needs of the people to Tuomo Kingdom. It is indeed the lack of some of these basic amenities that have replicated poverty and deaths that could have been avoided.

TO THE CHIEFS

In his exhortation to the chiefs of the kingdom, the cleric said: “Let me take the opportunity to also congratulate the chiefs for their unwavering support to His Majesty and the undivided attention they have invested in delivering quality service to the people of Tuomo kingdom. We pray that the Lord will always be with you as you keep discharging your duties selflessly for the common good of Tuomo kingdom in particular and to humanity in general.

“The few things I have to say to you, the chiefs are:

“The joy of HRM Tabai is the strength of his chiefs, therefore, you should always appreciate and support him with wise counsel and generosity of your prayers. Do not form cliquism in order to pull down one another. You can’t do the work alone, you need each other for the growth and development of the kingdom.

“Again, you all are beautiful only when you are ready to make sacrifices in life for the good of the kingdom. Whenever you think of yourselves alone, your beauty will evaporate, it will disappear. Therefore, be ready to burn out yourselves for the good of the kingdom. Your beauty is not in the clothes or titles you are having but the quality of service you will render to the kingdom. Do not forget that you are the light of the world and salt of the earth. You must make a positive difference in the society by living exemplary life. You must be the servant to all people not the other way round. Do not oppress the poor people in the society. No one holds power forever. Life na turn by turn!”

TO THE PEOPLE OF TUOMO KINGDOM

Speaking to the king’s subjects, he said: “As for you, dear people of Tuomo kingdom, both the pastors and their lovely members, we are aware that you have always been loving, patient, kind, generous and faithful people. We admire your high sense of brotherhood, care and concern for your king. I humbly urge you not to lower the standards irrespective of some unpleasant events that may have occurred in the past, keep loving and tolerating one another”.

TO THE GOVERNMENT

To the governors of Bayelsa and Delta States, who also graced the occasion, the Chancellor of the diocese enthused: “Finally, the Bishop of the Diocese of Bomadi he has specifically asked me to express his sentiment of gratitude to the Governor of Delta State on the following grounds:

“The prompt intervention of the Ode Bridge which was destroyed by the floodwater of 2022, the repair works carried out on the bad spots of the Bomadi-Ohoror road at Agadama and Ode Bridge axis. Reawarding the Ayakoromo bridge project to Setraco Nig. Ltd which is ongoing.

“Commencement of work on the Tamigbe-Torugbene axis of the Tuomo-Torugbene-Ojobo road. Honestly, we have never had this good here since the last regime. Indeed, we are very grateful to His Excellency, Gov. Oborevwori, for his intervention within his first year in Office.

“Nevertheless, we are still appealing to our hardworking Governor that the roads from Ogbobagbene to Tamigbe and Bedeseigha to Kpakiama should be quickly put into consideration. These are roads that usually affect us during the rainy season. The bishop would have also loved to invite the Governor to have a tour round the villages down there so as to see the huge population residing in those areas whose number cannot be underestimated for election matters.

“Again, we need a tertiary institution, either a university campus or a Polytechnic which we were made to understand the former Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, had already designed to be located in Bomadi. We, however, also need drinking water and electricity and a functional health care system.
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“Now, to Gov. Douye Diri, the Bishop is infinitely grateful to you too. He appeals and prays for a better collaborative understanding between the two of you (Governors of Delta and Bayelsa States) so as to make a bridge or a pontoon available from Bomadi to Ayamasa to ease transportation since our Ohoror/Bomadi Road is not passable during heavy raining season.

“We are using this opportunity to remind Gov. Diri to reconsider the Agge Seaport which has the potential of becoming the economic spinal of the State.

“Once again, congratulations to His Majesty, Justice Tabai, for his 5th Coronation anniversary. I am happy to be a witness to this ceremony. My prayer for you is that as you celebrate your 5th Coronation Anniversary today, may you have the fellowship of genuine friends, the support of close associates and the comfort of wonderful people around you and above all, may God grant you more years of meaningfulness and fulfilment in life. Amen!”.