By Michael Odiah
The Senior Special Assistant (Special Duties) to the Delta State Governor, Hon. Dr. Liege Lord Keston Muhammed Okoro Al-Amin has said that the cry of his people has motivated him to come out from his shell to contest for the Senatorial seat for Delta Central in the 2019 general elections, stressing that if you don’t fight your fight; Nobody will fight it for you.
Hon. Keston who also doubles as the Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) Nollywood Artists Association of Nigeria (NAN) and Comedians Organization of Nigeria (CAN), and the National Executive President, Performers and Entertainers Organization of Nigeria (PAEON) made these revelations during an exclusive interview in Asaba, adding that this quest to represent the Delta central senatorial district is, “to have the opportunity to fight and protect the interest of the Urhobo nation, so as to restore the lost hope and integrity, as-well-as establishing remarkable history and legacies”.
Keston postulated that as a typical Urhobo man that has served the Urhobo nation as a Youth President of the Urhobo National Youth Council for 8 years, Youth leader of Warri South under PDP 1999-2001, National President, Niger-Delta Stakeholders Youth leadership (2001-2008), National President Niger-Delta Peace and Security Stakeholders Alliance (2002-2008), SSA to former Governor, Chief James Ibori on Youths and Development and presently as SSA to Governor Okowa, that he is ready for the job, saying “now you can see that from all indications, that the youths are the most difficult people to lead in the world. If you can lead the youths, you have the capacity to lead the elders.”
The erstwhile lawmaker who represented Udu constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly (2011-2015), further said “for the fact that all my days, I have been in various leadership positions, I know the mindset of the people, and at the time when I was President of Urhobo youths, was the most turbulent time in Urhobo Nation; Warri crisis, Evwreni crisis, Ukwagbe-Ijaw crisis and so many others but with the wisdom given by God, and as a capable and articulate leader, I was able to curtail all these crisis and brought peace to Urhobo land”.
Continuing, Keston noted that, “as a youth activist, when I left the youth era and contested for Delta state House of Assembly and won, haven served in private and civil sector, it has come to my understanding that the Urhobo nation is highly backward in terms of political achievements, economic growth, socio-cultural growth, traditional and cultural values, advanced well being of the people, prosperity, infrastructural development, industrialization, agricultural advancement and in other areas. Emphasizing that, “it is on this note that I have decided to say that I cannot fold my hands to sit on the fence and see my nation collapse. The Urhobo youths have been tagged, with due respect to say in terms of parasitism, begging in the likes of ONE BELLE, which you cannot find an Ijaw, Itsekiri or Ndokwa youth associated with it.”
He decried that “consequent upon this ill gotten saga, our representatives at the top, who come down here to share Keke, Okada or N20,000 to these people, is like adding salt to injury”.
The entertainment icon further expressed displeasure at the present rating of Urhobo nation in country, lamenting that the Urhobo Nation which is the 4th largest ethnic nationality in the country, has been successfully displaced by the Ijaws who now claim to be the 4th, saying, “when lie is too incessant; it becomes truth, that you can have a bad case and when handled it becomes a good case”, stressing that, “the young elites of Urhobo nation have been crying to me for days and nights, that we must do something to salvage the Urhobo nation, to restore our lost hope and integrity”
According to Senatorial aspirant, leadership is all about establishing remarkable legacies and history, taking cognizance of the likes of Chief Mowoe Mukoro, who in the bid of establishing a legacy, founded the Urhobo College, Effurun in 1948, the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) in 1931, which happens to be one of the largest political movement in Nigeria, and the only one in the Pre-Independent National Associations in Nigeria that has survived intact with its potential till date, and has also gone ahead to foster fearless and foremost leaders in the likes of, Mr Omorohwovo Okoro, Chief Mukoro Mowoe, Chief Jabin Obahor, Chief Thompson Edogbeji Atkins Salubi and many others.
