Delta Central: These Little Things Matter..... Amori and Power: Why Urhobo must reject him At the peak of the administration of former Governor James Ibori, former Commissioner for Education, and later Water Resources, Chief Ighoyota Amori, was a demigod of sorts. He was as boisterous as he was powerful. His political influence pervaded the entire Urhobo land and overflowed into Delta North and South Senatorial districts of the South- South state. Apparently overwhelmed by the inexplicable influence he wielded over Ibori, Amori assumed the sobriquet ‘Odidimadi’ (meaning a fearsome or awesome object as elephant in our Urhobo language) of Africa. At other times, he referred to himself as the Greatest Wizard in the world and his words, at that time, were laws. On dozens of occasions, he had ignored protocols and heaved his massive weight into the official car of the governor, sometimes cramping the legal occupant to a tiny corner. No wonder he swore he would dance naked in the market square if Ibori was consumed by the avalanche of problems, including the famous ex-convict saga that threatened his second term as governor. While some persons pondered the cause of the domineering posture of the Mosogar-born Amori in Ibori’s administration, a few traced it to the role he played in the emergence of the Oghara-born Ibori as governor. Hush up tales, told by hangers-on who kill time at venues of political events, have it was Amori who advised the relatively- unknown Ibori to take a shot at the highest office in Delta State. To consolidate his hold on the politics and the booties thereof of the Urhobo nation, Amori set up the Urhobo Political Forum (UPF), an organ through which he assured his kinsmen that the leadership of the state was their birthright. Not known for much tact especially in public speeches, Amori once boasted that Ibori is aware of the dire consequences of handing over power to a non-Urhobo candidate. Although Amori later ate the unpalatable statement, uttered at the palatial Sapele home of multimillionaire, Chief Charles Ufuoma Obule, former Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant, it was seen as a faux pas that betrayed the disdain some Urhobo political elite had for their neighbours from the other districts of the state. An astute manipulator, the godfather of many political officeholders in the state, sold the novel idea of having each of the five Urhobo aspirants for the PDP ticket to take turn in hosting their counterparts. The purpose of this, he told them, was to ensure that there would be no rancour when one of them picked up the party’s ticket. Overnight, the hosting became the issue among prominent aspirants, including the former Deputy Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, late Senator (Chief) Pius Ewherido, former Secretary to Delta State Government, Obarisi (Barr.) Ovie Omo-Agege, former federal legislator, Napoleon Gbinije, scion of the Ibru family, Oskar Ibru, Obule, among others. How Amori totally manipulated these men, who are some of the best minds, both in politics and business, is enviable. In fact, so successful was the concept that other aspirants of the ethnic stock who had hitherto shunned the UPF fell over one another to get the ’honour’. As his stock soar, Amori’s ego, like a proverbial Icarus took aim for the sun: he stepped on and crushed the toes of the biggest and strongest names in Urhobo nation. He went toe-to-toe with arguably the biggest name in the land, Chief Benjamin Okumagba, then President-General of Urhobo Progress Union, the umbrella body of all socio-political groups of the Urhobo nationwide. He went one up against octogenarian late Okumagba (HRM) when he convinced political office seekers that he was the godfather of Urhobo politics. For effect, he added the title ‘Political Jesus of Delta State’ and told all who cared to listen that nobody sees Ibori, except through him. Unlike in the past, 1999 and 2003 especially, when those seeking for endorsement went to the ‘Palace’ of the then Otota of Okere-Urhobo Kingdom, the route was Mosogar’ or Benin City, the Edo State capital where Amori has his homes. He fought more seasoned politicians like former deputy governor of defunct Bendel State, late Chief Ray Inije, to a standstill. Even when it became crystal clear to every politician who knew his onions that Ibori, the man on whose back Amori crept out from the pit of political insignificance, was routing for Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, his maternal cousin and childhood friend as his successor, the loquacious politician went to Okpe to organise a ‘Mock Primary’ for the UPF house, which at that time was grossly divided against itself. The macabre dance and sell out roles played by the leaderships of the defunct Urhobo political forum led by Chief Ighoyota Amori & Chief Tom Amioku cannot be easily erased from the minds of the average Urhobo man who is following the political trend of Delta State. It was on record that during the 2007 governorship election, several Urhobo sons and daughters who doled out several millions of naira such as Chief Obule and others were deceived and betrayed by UPF and UCF, the result is the marginalisation the Urhobos are facing today. We must watch out for the ethnic sell-outs because today, the Urhobo nation as the fifth largest ethnic group in the nation has no serving minister and some top Urhobo political brass who are supposed to raise alarm and kick against the marginalisation of the Urhobo nation are chasing shadows because they are like toothless bulldog. Upon these inexplicable facts, I dare submit that Chief Amori and his likes belongs to the very painful past the Urhobo Nation is battling to forget. The cesspit of backwardness they have meted on us can never be forgotten in a hurry, and I urge all lovers of the Urhobo race to deny these crooks the opportunity to mount any saddle of authority.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 22:54:40 +0000
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