SOUTH-SOUTH: Odigie-Oyegun tapped as Clark’s  successor 

as Ambakederimo lays claim to region’s leadership

•Despite the odds, someone will emerge  — Robinson, ex-PANDEF spokesperson

•No single leader has Clark’s characteristic traits — Omare, ex-president of IYC

By Emma Amaize, Regional Editor, South-South, Sam Oyadongha, and Ozioruva Aliu

SINCE Senator Edwin Clark, a former Federal Commissioner for information and Leader of the South-South region, departed on February 17, there have been subtle calculations to enthrone his successor, even before burial on May 13.

Clark was not just the leader of the South-South region, but of southern Nigeria and the Middle Belt, comprising the South-East, South-South, South-West regions, and the Middle Belt in the North-Central region.  

Exactly five months and 27 days after his death, the people of the South-South region have not appointed a successor for the man, who provided self-sacrificing, focused, and audacious leadership for the people of the Niger Delta.

Clark was a fearless and articulate leader who spoke truth to power and did not emerge as a South-South leader by coincidence.

He announced himself the leader of the South-South after providing unquestionable leadership to the region, and all and sundry accepted him.   As of today, it appears nobody can make such a claim as Clark did without a fierce challenge from other stakeholders.  

However, there is an exception as Joseph Ambakederimo, an elder statesman and convener of the South-South Reawakening Group (SSRG), has declared himself the new leader of the South-South region. 

He told Sunday Vanguard that he was already acting in the capacity.

Some persons have mentioned former President Goodluck Jonathan as Clark’s successor, but speaking some days after the passage of the elder statesman in February, Jonathan, on a condolence visit to Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, he said, ”A friend from Benue State called me and asked me to take over the leadership role Clark held, but I told him clearly that the shoes he wore are too big for my feet to fit into”.

 ”He had the courage, boldness, and could confront anybody, even though he was from a minority group,” the former president, who acknowledged Clark’s national relevance beyond the Ijaw ethnic nationality, added.

At the burial of Clark in his Kiagbodo country home in Delta State in May, he reiterated that the Ijaw nation and the people of the Niger Delta region have lost an irreplaceable voice.

His words, ”We in the Ijaw nation have lost someone that we cannot think of replacing.”

Not easy to replace – Robinson, ex-PANDEF spokesperson

 Dr. Ken Robinson, the immediate past national publicity secretary of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the mouthpiece of the traditional rulers, leaders, people, and stakeholders of the coastal states of the Niger Delta, said it is not easy to find a replacement for Clark.

His words, “As rightly stated, the role that the late Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark played as the leader of the South-South and Niger Delta region, like others before him, is self-elected; it is a calling. Nobody formally voted him as the Leader of the South-South; he practically evolved and emerged as that leader.

“The people accepted him due to his significant contributions and pedigree, as he consistently spoke out and stood for the interests of the South-South and the Niger Delta.

“Historically, we have had key leaders in the Niger Delta, such as King Frederick William Koko (Mingì VIII), King Jaja of Opobo, Professor Eyo Ita, Joseph Wayas (former Senate President), Nana Olomu (a prominent Itsekiri chief and merchant), and Festus Okotie-Eboh, Nigeria’s first Minister of Finance.

“Additionally, figures like Harold Dappa-Biriye remained influential from the pre-independence era into the post-independence period until his passing in 2005.

“Others include Ernest Ikoli, Chief Melford Okilo, Adaka Boro, Obi Wali and Ken Saro-Wiwa.

“However, our late national leader and father figure, Chief Clark, was one of a kind, a former regional Commissioner of Education and Finance in the old Mid-West region, and later in Bendel State, who also served as the Federal Commissioner for Information and a Senator.

“He charted a path often avoided by others, living a life devoted to activism and advocacy.

“His journey ranged from being a student union leader in the United Kingdom to a pro bono lawyer for oppressed people in Warri, and then transitioning into a public servant and politician, all while maintaining his core commitment to activism.

“In light of the vacuum created by his passing, the question remains: Who can step into his shoes? It won’t be easy to find another individual comparable to Chief Clark. And say that with all sense of responsibility and respect.

“It should be noted that Chief Clark closely collaborated with Chief Dappa Biriye and was, in effect, an informal deputy; when Biriye passed, the leadership naturally transitioned to Clark.

“Today, the scenario is quite different. Many who had worked closely and consistently with Chief Clark and enjoyed general acceptance and could have seamlessly taken on the role have passed away before him.

“Two notable figures are the late Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, a former military governor of Akwa Ibom State, who was also the one-time chairman of the South-South People’s Assembly (SSPA) and the pioneer national chairman of PANDEF,, and the late Alabo Graham-Douglas, a former minister, who was well-regarded in the region.

“Currently, many names come to mind that are visible, but they tend to be either traditional rulers or overly politicized individuals.

“One name that prominently surfaces, and rightly, is that of former President Goodluck Jonathan. However, as a former president and now a global citizen, one wonders if he would want to engage in the Niger Delta affairs in the same way that the late Chief Clark did.

“Someone will eventually emerge from one of the ethnic groups in the region, because nature hates a vacuum.”

Time shall tell, says Wills

 Iniruo Wills, a two-time commissioner in Bayelsa State and co-convener of the Embasara Foundation, an Ijaw think tank for good governance, told Sunday Vanguard, “Time will organically answer this question.”

For now, no qualified leader to step into Clark’s shoes – Omare

 Eric Omare, a lawyer and ex-president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), asserted, “No single individual has demonstrated the required level of leadership to be described as the national leader of the Niger Delta region currently.

“There are several leaders who, in their rights, can be described as leaders, but they are not yet at the level of the late Chief E. K. Clark.

“He was in a world of his own. He was bold and audacious, followed up every matter in detail, and was not afraid to take risks.”

I have taken over leadership of S-South – Elder Ambakederimo

 However, Elder Joseph Ambakederimo, the convener of the South-South Reawakening Group (SSRG), introduced a twist to the discussion, describing himself as qualified to step into the shoes of the late sage.

“I, Joseph Akponanakemefa Ambakederimo, have since taken over leadership of the South-South”, he said.

“I am at the forefront of advocating the inclusion of our people into mainstream politics and engaged in national discourse on issues that affect our well-being.

“I have been outspoken when issues of the region are discussed, and also, being a cosmopolitan person makes me fit the bill.

“We do not have to be antagonistic to be seen as the leader of a people, and just as you have said, there is no criterion for anyone to be qualified to lead a people.

“I remained apolitical over the years, which has strengthened my hands to hold public officers accountable for purposeful service delivery to our people.”

Why Odigie-Oyegun should succeed Clark, says Edokpolo

Ambassador Aiyamenkhue Edokpolo, the national facilitator of the Edo State-based United Patriots Assembly, specifically suggested Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, the first civilian governor of Edo State and former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as a worthy successor of Clark.

Edokpolo insisted that he proposed Odigie-Oyegun after a careful study of his antecedents, from his civil service days as a super-permanent secretary, his business life after retirement, and his foray into politics.

“Edwin Clark made quite a remarkable impact in his prolific leadership of several interest groupings of the people of the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria”, he said.

“He was religiously courageous and characteristically forthright in his advocacy against the systemic marginalization of the Niger Delta people in particular. I recall my missive in 2009 on the alleged northernization of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), he joined it with his rebuttal in a Vanguard Newspaper interview.

“I spoke as the president of the Benin National Congress on the rumored plan to sack the group executive directors and managing directors of the NNPC and its subsidiaries, who were of the South-South extraction and Niger Deltans.

“As usual, Chief Edwin Clark unleashed his radical patriotism in condemning the plot. “He was a Niger Delta nationalist of no mean repute. May his soul rest in peace. 

“On the subject of who should step up in filling that vacuum, it is important to conceptualize a defining criterion for such a regional leadership thrust.

“In all honesty, such a person must have a pedigree of honesty, integrity, and a high level of independent-mindedness.

“He must be someone not known for speaking from both sides of his mouth. As of today, that person is His Excellency Chief J. E. K. Odigie-Oyegun, a round peg in a round hole, not a tribalist by any quantification, and a nationalist who believes that equity, justice, and fair play should be the irreducible objects of governance.

“In this debate for a South-South grand commander, we must resist the temptation of choosing a political contractor who would be a glorified government agent or a mole in our people’s collective aspirations. “The people will unanimously choose Chief Odigie-Oyegun if clear-headed stakeholders conduct an election today. “He is cerebral, submits to superior arguments, and is not swayed by chauvinist inclinations.

“That’s the texture of the leadership character that we need at this crucial time in the life of South-South geopolitical aspirations”.

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