King Joshua Igbagara was the longest serving Chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council. He became substantive Chairman of the Council under the government of Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, remained in office throughout the tenure of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and only gave way under the administration of Seriake Dickson.
Igbagara took over from King Ralph Iwowari, third Chairman in the line up, after King Joshua Igbugburu and King Anthony Ikonibo. Along with his Vice, King Jonathan Kubor of Lobia, Southern Ijaw local government area, Igbagara’s tenure lasted for a total of twelve years. From the day he attained the exalted office of Chairman, King Igbagara spoke out courageously on national and local issues alike, not minding whose sensibilities were offended.
When former President Olusegun Obasanjo came visiting Bayelsa State in May 2004, for instance, Igbagara declared that generations of people yet unborn would hold Obasanjo responsible for the criminal neglect of the Niger Delta, and Bayelsa State in particular, if the vexed issue of resource control was not settled before he left office. In an exclusive interview with an editor of the state newspaper, ThankGod Igwe, during the eighth anniversary of Bayelsa State, King Igbagara chronicled the story of the young state as he knew it, with candour and lucidity.
Assessing the strides made by the state in a space of eight years, King Igbagara said: ‘Bayelsa State is the handiwork of responsible agitators who were convinced that the riverine area should be given a special status because of its ecological deformity. Compared to growth in upland Nigeria, the pace of development in the area now known as Bayelsa State is terribly slow’.
Even so, Igbagara thought highly of the patriotic zeal of the Alamieyeseigha government, and identified with its pioneering efforts to start the state on a solid foundation. As far as he was concerned, Bayelsa was fortunate to have a dynamic governor like Alamieyeseigha who commanded overwhelming clout and popularity among his people.
King Igbagara said: ‘When the military ruled Bayelsa from 1996 to 1999, the difference was obvious. It was a government of strangers, and it was evident that a son of the soil would perform better. Today, the people of Bayelsa State have no regrets. At eight, we are competing favourably with other states in terms of sports, road network, housing, education, etc. I think we even stand taller than some of the older states, or even those created at the same time as Bayelsa’.
King Igbagara was certain that the state would develop faster, if successive Governors would summon the same spirit of love and patriotism for the young state in the days ahead. He was conversant with the vision of the founding fathers, among whom he counted as one, to have a state that the Ijaw people could truly call their own. When the state was born eventually, and was buffeted by a series of turbulent crises at infancy, Igbagara was confident that every anomaly in governance would be handled in the best interest of Bayelsa, in the fullness of time.
King Igbagara’s dissatisfaction with the leadership of the nation revolved around the fact that the political class had always been selfish, arrogating all power to themselves, and gathering all available resources into their own private barns without regard to the working population. The monarch said: ‘Those who have political might are almost always in control, and they wouldn’t allow the common man to enjoy what he should enjoy. That is what we are fighting against.
‘When it was cocoa, what was the formula for revenue allocation? When it was groundnut, what was the formula? It was 50-50 all the way. Now that it is oil and gas, why the difference? America has oil, but what is the status of the oil? Who is the owner of the oil, who receives the tax returns? Reason tells me, however, that we are bound to win this battle, in spite of the lopsided power structure in Nigeria’.
King Igbagara was convinced that it was a good omen for Bayelsa State to share the same birthday as Nigeria, the state having been created on 1 October 1996. At the time he was speaking, the state was marking its eighth anniversary, while Nigeria was 44. He was equally hopeful that Nigeria would remain a great nation, united on all fronts, in spite of its mammoth challenges.
He said: ‘A child born on the same date as his father is a fortunate child. Nigeria was born on 1 October, and Bayelsa was also born on 1 October. The blessings of Nigeria are the blessings of Bayelsa State. To me that is a very good omen. When other states are celebrating Nigeria’s independence, we are having double celebrations’.
As far as Igbagara was concerned, Nigeria could never break apart or disintegrate altogether. What the nation required to be stable, he said, was for the citizenry to imbibe truth as a daily code of conduct. ‘As human beings, we all tend to make statements in our favour, even when the truth is at risk. If we all see the truth in the same perspective, that utopian government we all desire will be established. So my message to Nigeria is to remain stable in body and soul. The leadership of the nation, especially the traditional institution, should stand fast for the truth at all times’, he said.
A noble son of Isoni in Sagbama local government area, His Royal Majesty Joshua Igbagbara passed onto eternity at a venerable age, and is sorely missed by his immediate family and associates alike. The final interment of his royal remains is still a pending event, many years after his demise.
