By Peter Jonah
In his remarks at the just concluded Ijaw Media Conference held at the Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Renowned media mogul Elder Asu Beks has stated that politics has reduced the true Ijaw spirit as Ijaw people belongings to different political parties see themselves as enemies.
He lamented the high level of blackmail, backstabbing, killing and maiming of fellow Ijaw brothers just to get power. While forgetting that power is transient.
In his words, “Izon means truth and I grew up to this grand norm that an Ijaw man or Izon keme abhors lies. If you like, put a gun on his head. He will stand by the truth. Growing up as a barrack child. I had the rare privilege of criss crossing the length and breadth of Nigeria depending on where duty took my father to.
“My late father, Edward Erete Asu, was a police officer having worked briefly as a school teacher before joining the Nigeria Police Force.
In those days, the average Ijaw man in the city lived a communal life. Every Ijaw man in the city was his brothers keeper and freely visited one another”.
“But politics came and destroyed the true Ijaw spirit. Brothers no longer see eye to eye. Blackmail, backstabbing became the order of the day. If you are in PDP, you are the enemy of your brother in APC, for instance. We started killing and maiming one another to climb to power, forgetting that power is transient.
“Despite our many years of association with the North, right from the days of late Melford Obiene Okilo, our present political gladiators seems to have learned nothing. The politics of bitterness and acrimony runs deep in our veins. We hardly forgive and forget. Everybody wants his pounds of flesh.
He added that what we see entrenched in public and national offices is a cult-like regime.
