Ibusa as we know it: Addressing the current situation of the community

Protocols

As a guest speaker of this event for the second time in two years, it is indeed my honour and privilege to stand before you, the youths of our dear Ibusa community. It is my love and patriotism for our community that compelled me to be here despite my very tight schedule. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, to convey enhanced understanding, this lecture is divided into two major parts- ‘pre-1990 Ibusa’ and ‘post-1990 Ibusa’. This will readily apprise us of where we are coming from, where we are today and where we will might be tomorrow. Finally, we shall narrow the lecture to expected roles of Ibusa youths. 

The Ibusa community

Geographically, Ibusa is located west of the River Niger Basin; strategically surrounded by a number of notable towns and communities. It is bounded to the North by Okpanam; to the west by Ogwashi-Uku and Ewulu; to the East by Asaba, Okwe and Oko and Abala-Unor to the South. It also lies close to other important Anioma towns such as Issele-Azagba, Ubulu-Uku, Ubulu-Okiti, Aboh-Ogwashi and Akwukwu-Igbo. All the communities that circumscribe Ibusa are important. For instance, Ibusa lies 6 miles to Asaba, the state capital and further lies close to Akwukwu-Igbo, which is the headquarters of Oshimili North, the local government area under which it is administratively situated. Ibusa people speak Enuani, which is a dialect of Igbo.

PRE-1990 IBUSA

Having acquired geographical knowledge of Ibusa, it is now apropos that we take a deeper consideration of Ibusa in relation to its past history of development. Colonial Ibusa was one that the community ranked socially high among communities with early foundation of educational and religious institutions in present day Nigeria. By 1898, Rev Fr. Carlos Zappa, a missionary had established in the town, St. Augustine’s Catholic Church. With this arrangement, Ibusa and Asaba became centers from which Christianity was spread to other parts of Anioma. By 1908, Sacred Heart Elementary School had been established in the community. There was also the establishment of CMS Primary School. This was followed with the establishment of very good number of secondary schools. In 1928, St. Thomas’ College was established; first as St. Joseph’s Teachers’ Training College and it became the first higher institution in today’s Delta State and one of the earliest in Southern Nigeria as a whole. It was perhaps in the 1970s that Ibusa reached its peak of development.

After the civil war, agricultural life of the community not only picked up but improved tremendously. Umejei Road was tarred and it became the major road in the community, bisecting the community along two lines; the Post Office located at Umuekea was reopened for postal services. General Hospital was commissioned in 1970. There were healthy competitions among indigenes that enabled the community to rank high among Nigerian communities with the highest number of educated persons. By 1983, Ibusa had completed political representation at the three arms of the legislature i.e. the Senate, House of Representatives and the then Bendel State House of Assembly.  

POST-1990 IBUSA

Post-1990 was a period of decline for Ibusa, so that it would appear that Ibusa had already attained its period of greatest prosperity in the preceding decades. With the declaration of the community as part of the Capital Territory Development Area in 1991, following the creation of Delta State, hopes of development were stifled and repressed by complete neglect of the community by the government and the effect was foreseen or unescapable reliance on self-help. As a matter of fact, only little can be discussed of this period in terms of development. Former Governor Kefas built what he called ‘Kefas Park’ with seesaws. In 2014, former Governor Uduaghan sited a recycling plant in the community, a project that the government had planned to inconspicuously undertake. However, in the months ahead, luck would smile on Ibusa as former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Vice-Admiral Joseph Dele Ezeoba (rtd), an Ibusa indigene as the nation’s Chief of Naval Staff. The Naval Chief, in his brief stay in office added to the community, a naval school. In 2016, the school was officially renamed University of Science, Arts and Maritime and on July 1, 2016, the present Chief of Staff announced plans for the school to be jointly administered by the Federal Government of Nigeria and foreigners. This university became one of the biggest projects ever attracted to the Anioma region in recent times and by far, the biggest project in Ibusa since 1970 when the General Hospital was commissioned.

Post-1990 period also recorded some execrable events; the community became overwhelmed with darkness for nearly a decade and the situation remains so. Worse still, unlike in the 1970s, the community can no longer boast of portable water. Social analysts and commentators have also noted the community to have suffered its worst in terms of moral direction and value-system because the period was characteristic of advanced fee fraud popularly called 419.

From the above analysis you will have discovered that Ibusa is steadily returning to a former less advanced state.

How the Ibusa youths have fared

Having broadly analyzed the social development of Ibusa under pre-1990 and post-1990 eras, the question now is how have the Ibusa youths fared? It has been submitted that about 51% of the sociopolitical vices among the youths of Ibusa are perpetuated by non-indigenes residing in the community. But sadly, these non-indigenes are often guided or aided by Ibusa natives.

Our Ibusa society is so loose that our youths in some cases aid non-indigenes to commit crimes in the community. Recently, I discovered a youth group on Facebook in the name of Ibusa, created by a non-Ibusa native and administered by four other non-Ibusa youths, yet patronized by the membership of teeming Ibusa youths. I think it provokes emotion, pity and an unfortunate development that we often fail to guard jealously the things that concern us collectively. However, in the end, it haunts us as a people.

Nature of youth inclined vices in Ibusa:

1.    Advanced fee fraud popularly called 419 (a person makes deceitful pretences and defrauds another of his valuables usually money)

2.    Cultism (well, they call it ‘cultism’ but in proper English language, it is called ‘gangsterism)

3.    Illegal sale of lands otherwise known as ‘egodinaoshia’ (a common intentional deception in which a particular land is deceitfully sold to different people. Sometimes too, the land may not belong to the seller)

4.    ‘Chopulum’ (a common parlance for forcefully or unduly obtaining money from a person)  

5.    Electoral violence (some youths allow themselves to be used by politicians to perpetuate unprovoked aggression)

What you should do as an Ibusa youth

1.    Love Ibusa with all your heart because you have no place to call your home other than Ibusa. Some of you seated here especially the men may eventually become our Obuzor, Senior Diokpa, Diokpa ogbe.

2.    Contribute your quota to the development of Ibusa. You have no other community to call your own.

3.    Allow politicians to do their things. Don’t risk your life or die for anyone

4.    ‘Chopulum’ is contemptibly paltry for the glorious career you must build for yourself     

5.    Stop engaging in incessant or illegal sale of Ibusa lands or your children will have nowhere to live in future

6.    Build your tomorrow by furthering yourself in education, attend seminars, workshops etc.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, once again, we have no place to call our home therefore, we must come together to build a stronger Ibusa for ourselves. On this note, I thank you all

Being a Keynote Address Delivered by Elder Emeka Esogbue at the Ibusa Youth Forum which held in Lagos in 2016