The improvement of social facilities and creation of good social order in Ibusa clan

The improvement of social facilities and creation of good social order in Ibusa clan
In recent times, the Ibusa people under the auspices of the Ibusa Community Development Union (ICDU) activated moves to improve the state of facilities in the community. The ICDU present administration led by Dr. Austin Izagbo, in ensuring unencumbered delivery of its mandate to the community set up several committees with terms and references touching on the social state of the community. Since it was observed that Ibusa assets were wasting away, the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee chaired by Hon Pat Mozea, a one-time House of Assembly member was set up with the aim of identifying ICDU common assets, their present state of use or disrepair, occupation, on whose authority, payments or considerations incidental to their occupation, receiving authority or otherwise and the need for reactivation of these assets. In the end, the committee agreed that for attainment of utmost utilization, there was the need for formalization of ownership of these assets (i.e. Deeds and Certificate of Occupancy- C of O). This was a major recommendation contained in the committee’s report to ICDU, the parent body.
Faced by inappropriate hall for the hosting of the Gala Night and Award Giving Ceremony of ICDU, the Federal Government Girls’ College Hall was favoured which threw up the renovation of this hall with the overhaul costing ICDU a total of N2.5m (Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira). It turned out to be the development’s contribution of social service to the community. A committee in the name of Health and Ibusa General Hospital Management was also constituted under the chairmanship of Dr. Austin Obidi with the mandate to assess, facilitate the resuscitation and/or the upgrading of Health Infrastructure in Ibusa. The committee embarked on physical visitation to the Ibusa General Hospital and primary health centres in Ibusa to ascertain their current state of affairs.
The committee established among other things that Ibusa has 4 (four) Primary Health Centres (PHCs) variously located at Umuisagba, Ogboli, Achalla and Okponta though Okponta is not yet functional and that Primary Health Centres are run by the Local Government Councils and ought to be the first point of contact by patients in the appropriate referral system. It was also established that the Delta State Government owned General Hospital commissioned in 1970 was in a very deplorable and dilapidated state. Parts of the observations made as submitted to the Ibusa Community Development Union were that the staff complement and attitude to work was very poor and mercenary, there was no Ibusa indigene in any position of authority and oversight functions were near non-existent e.g. donated materials are left to expire and rot away.
Details of the committee’s report also revealed that Ibusa Community Development Union (ICDU) intervened through the committee and consequently, the state of the affairs of the hospital was brought to the attention of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and as a follow-up, an expression of Interest of Advertisement for the complete reconstruction and equipment of the General Hospital, was published in some national newspapers through the efforts of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi. The Oshimili North Local Government Council Chairman, Hon Louis Ndukwe has also pledged to give attention to the Primary Health Centre, Okponta promising to fence it, create thoroughfare linking it to Umueze and repair the vandalized ceiling, doors and windows as also contained in the committee’s report.
In a bid to improve state of tourism in the community, the Culture and Tourism Committee was set up with Dr. Felicia Adun, the current head Delta State Board of Tourism and Culture as the Chairman and Emeka Esogbue (this author) as its General Secretary. Issues of fact submitted to the committee included:

(i)            Revival of the community’s cultural heritage such as Iwu, Ine and Mgba

(ii)          How to attract sponsors to such events and entice participation of Ibusa sons and daughters both within and outside the community.

(iii)         Identify tourist sites in the community and ways they could be developed as tourist attractions 

(iv)         Other issues of interest that could develop the community’s culture and tourism.

The committee offered the following recommendations to ICDU among others:

(i)            Proposal of “Igbuzo Day”, the grand finale to be observed in Ibusa on annual basis

(ii)          ICDU should partner with youth organizations like Ibusa Youth Council, Igbuzo Singles Meet (ISM), National association of Ibusa Students (NAIBS) for the promotion of cultural events

(iii)         Proposed depository for collecting and displaying historic objects of value (museums and monuments) with structures erected in the community to commemorate persons and events  

(iv)         Historical development at Anioshe and Ani-Udo sacred sites.

(v)          Development of Okpuzu Fall into one shop stop for tourism with the provisions of three star hotel, swimming activities, shopping plaza and a curator or guard to conduct visitors round the tourist site. The development of the site could be through private/community partnership.

In terms of the securing the community, details of a paper presentation on the event of the annual ICDU Conference held on April 15, 2017 at ICDU by ICDU, Home Branch showed that the past one year had been a challenging one as the home branch was saddled with the responsibilities of ensuring the security of their Ibusa domain. This led the branch of ICDU to create good working relationship with the police and the Ibusa Community Police (ICP) on issues bothering on the security of the community.   
Factors that inhibit social development in Ibusa
Most communities including Ibusa are known for their determination to bring developments to their societies and in the process of achieving it, they undertake community projects and invest finances in ensuring that the society does not lack social facilities necessary for habitation. Much as the people of Ibusa community are determined to achieve this, the community despite its richness in human area and nearness to Asaba, the state capital has remained grossly under-developed. The factors necessary for this under-development shall be explained below:

1.    Neglect by the government: Despite the political offices held by the Ibusa people and the role many Ibusa people have often played to contribute to the nation’s quota, the government has done very little to demonstrate their responsibility towards the development of the Ibusa community. For instance, from 1999 to 2007, which is a two-tenure period of a democratic dispensation, no meaningful development was put in place in Ibusa by the state government. Worse still, no factory, industry or a single state ministry was put in the community.  

2.    Failure of the political class to deliver: We have initially concluded that the political representatives of any society are best positioned to attract developments to that society because it is for that reason that they are elected into offices and paid salaries and allowances. In the case of Ibusa, the failure of the political class to deliver on their mandates is the failure of attraction of social infrastructures to the community. Since certain projects are best attracted by them, such projects will wait until they are able to attract them. It is sad that while there has not been electricity in the community for about eight years now, the community does not have access to portable water and there is no dual-carriage road within the community.

3.    The Obuzor-Diokpa crisis: the Obuzor-Diokpa crisis, the very tussle over who controls the traditional leadership of the community is by far the biggest social challenge confronting the community. This tussle which started since 1995 and has divided the community along two parallel lines that never meets is a hindrance on the development of the community.

4.    Lack of unity: Lack of unity among the Ibusa people remains the biggest bane to the development in the community. Rarely do the people speak with one voice or agree on any issue, which often leads to factionalism and in most cases, duplication of chieftaincy titles.

Roadmap to Ibusa development

Flora et. Al., (1992)^{18 19}  as quoted by Nmoka submitted that for community development to occur, people in that community must believe in working together which can make a difference and also organize to address their shared needs collectively. This should rightly applies to Ibusa, the following steps will ensure that social infrastructures are attracted to Ibusa:

1.    The federal and state and governments should start to include Ibusa in their agenda of development as the community appears to have been missing in their plan.

2.    The Ibusa political representatives should start to deliver on the mandates handed them instead of completing their tenures without any meaningful effects

3.    The Obuzor of Ibusa should liaise with the community’s political representatives and well-positioned sons and daughters of the community (youths inclusive) to initiate projects in the town; make frequent visits to the government and always attend Ibusa, Anioma and Delta State stakeholders’ meetings for the purpose of bringing developments to the community. Once invited, the Obuzor should ensure that he is in attendance otherwise, he must not fail to delegate a representative.

4.    The people must be willing to make their lands available for the establishment of projects for the overall good of the community as a whole.

5.    For development to occur in the community, the people of Ibusa must be united. A situation where potential investors and government agencies fail to distinctly distinguish who to relate with between the Obuzor Palace and Diokpa on one hand, and Obuzor and ICDU on the other hand is a huge set-back as those confounded will at best choose to abandon the community for other prepared ones. Take for instance, part of the community’s present challenge which is the custodianship of the people’s public assets between the palace and ICDU. Ibusa people must be united for government authorities to improve its social and economic conditions.

6.    Finally, the Obuzor, Diokpa and ICDU should work concertedly towards the rebirth of Omuship in the community. The present arrangement in the name of Omu committee should be dismantled while the community shops for a sole willing female candidate to occupy the throne. Indeed, the role of women in the society has been recognized by different societies and it is time for reformed Omu institution to play the role of women representation. The wheel of women should begin to turn to commiserate with the youth.   

One of the ways to also advance Ibusa is to promote justice, equity and fairness within, which will in turn guarantee peace and harmony for the effective running of that society. To achieve this, traditional conflict resolution mechanism that enthrones impartiality needs to be sustained. Where they have turned superannuated, they should be reformed. Two major ingredients necessary for its operative action are dialogue and truths. Where matters of concern to indigenes are often unfairly handled by those traditionally charged or positioned to do so perhaps because they have decided to favour any particular party to the dispute, the implication would be lack of faith in the entire judicial process. That should mean turning in both minor and major disputes to the police and eventually, the courts; where matters troubling indigenes rather than lastingly settled within the community are taken to the police in abundance, the result is utmost disharmony, distrust and acrimony within the people. Before now, the Ibusa judicial system did not distinguish between the rich and poor, both statuses stood before the adductor and it took only a few number of kola nut and perhaps a bottle of drink to summon even the wealthiest man before his Diokpa to answer to allegations against him. This was when the Ibusa law forbade fencing of structures and also frowned at indigenes arresting indigenes with the police. Elders were respected for the truth they stood for. The efficacy of traditional methods of conflict resolution today cannot be ruled out because it solidifies kinship.    

Excerpted from the book, “An Ethno-cultural History of Ibusa”, written by Emeka Esogbue, pp. 71-74 (currently under publication)