…Lists peace, unity, political education as panacea for devt of modern society
The provision of basic infrastructures and other necessities of life for the people of Delta Central Senatorial District and the entire Delta State by the Deputy President of Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has attracted commendation.
Giving this commendation in Orogun, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State today, a strategy and development expert, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, in a paper he presented at the 2021 Conference of Orogun kingdom, titled: ‘Peace, Unity and Political Education: Imperative for Development of Modern Orogun Kingdom’, noted that there are some basic conditions required for the development of modern society which he identified as Peace, Unity and Political Education.
According to Igbuzor who was the guest lecturer at the ceremony, he stated that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s effort towards attracting several projects to Delta Central Senatorial District, was gradually changing the quality of lives of Urhobo people, adding that the projects will lead to improvement in infrastructure, agriculture, education and health of the people.
“The emergence of HE Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege as the Senator representing Delta Central and Deputy President of the ninth Senate is gradually changing the fortunes of Urhobo people including the people of Orogun kingdom. He has attracted several projects to the Delta Central Senatorial District and implemented several constituency projects.
“There is a theoretical basis of the projects attracted by or implemented by Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege. They are projects in the four areas that development theorists and practitioners have identified that will lead to improvement in quality of lives namely infrastructure, agriculture, education and health.
“The infrastructure projects are mainly power including street lights, provision of water and roads. The agriculture projects include training and access to loans. The education projects include establishment of new institutions, building and renovation of existing institutions, and provision of modern ICT to schools. The health projects include building of health facilities and renovation of old ones”, he said.
The Strategy and Development Expert also highlighted four projects which have the potential of contributing to the development of society such as Orogun, adding that the Senator’s effort at attracting Electricity Sub-station step down, Nigerian Defence Space School, Federal Polytechnic, Orogun and Oil and Gas Industrial Park will positively impact on the economic and social lives of the people.
“There are four projects that have the potential to contribute to the development of modern Orogun Kingdom namely the power project to step down electricity, Nigerian Defence Space School, Federal Polytechnic, Orogun and Oil and Gas Industrial Park. These projects will impact on the economic and social lives of Orogun people. There is the need for Orogun people to prepare to receive these projects and position themselves to benefit from them”, he said.
The guest lecturer whose paper was titled: ‘Peace, Unity and Political Education: Imperative for Development of Modern Orogun Kingdom’ also noted that there are some basic requirements for any modern society to grow, outlining them to include food, water, clothing, shelter.
He also stressed the need for the provision of infrastructure such as roads, water, energy as well as employment, education and health care as basic requirements for a growing society.
The leadership, Strategy and Development expert however stated that for these basic requirements to be realized, there must be unity, peace, political education and a strong partnership between government at all levels, the private sector and civil society.
“There are certain requirements for any modern society. A modern society is expected to meet the basic needs of not just food, water, clothing and shelter but also basic infrastructure (energy, water, roads, etc), employment, education and health care.
“Indeed, development theorists and practitioners are agreed that to improve the quality of life of citizens requires focus on four areas: infrastructure, agriculture, education and health. For this to happen, it requires the partnership between government (at all levels-Federal, State and Local Government), private sector and civil society. Peace, unity and political education are necessary conditions for this to happen”, he noted.
Emphasizing the importance of peace, Igbuzor noted that although it is the primary responsibility of government to provide for the security of lives and property of individuals, there is the need for peaceful co-existence among the members of the society.
He commended the Orogun community for the promotion of relative peace, encouraging them to maintain the level through effective organization of traditional system.
“The security of lives and property is the primary responsibility of government and a necessary pre-condition for development. Orogun Kingdom is relatively peaceful compared to other kingdoms in Urhoboland and other parts of Delta State. This must be maintained through effective organization of the traditional system, development unions and other socio-cultural groups.
“Vigilantes have become part of the security architecture and every village must pay particular attention to how vigilantes are organized, and the kind of people recruited into the vigilante.
“One source of conflict in recent time is the role and relationship between Okparas and the President Generals of Development Union. There is the need for education and clarification of the roles of Okparas and PGs as traditional/cultural and developmental respectively. Part of the problem is that in some cases, the PGs are not democratically elected as required in a modern society”, he advised.
Speaking on the importance of unity as a necessity for the development of modern society, Igbuzor who is the Chief of Staff to the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, commended the bond of unity among the people of the kingdom, noting that it is necessary for Orogun to leapfrog into the status of a modern society.
He said: “Historically, Orogun people are a united people and this can be seen very clearly. An Orogun person will not abandon his brother or sister in a fight. However, the unity of Orogun has been tested in the past with the rights and privileges of the five sons and how to adapt the positions to modern society.
“We must note that culture and tradition is dynamic and amenable to change. For instance, we all grew up to the tradition of female circumcision. The myth was that if the woman is not circumcised, during delivery, the baby will die. But we now know better that it is just a myth and female circumcision has now been made illegal”, he said.
Igbuzor also dwelt extensively on the importance of political education as a panacea for the development of modern society, pointing out that man by nature is a political animal just as he noted that politics is the Master of Science which forms the bedrock of the structure, purpose and ideals of the lives of the people
According to him, considering the complexity and competition for infrastructures and services necessity for quality lives for the people, it is important to engage the people in political education, not only to create awareness, but to aspire to climb high to positions where these necessities of lives could be attracted to the society.
“Politics is crucial in the development of any modern society. As Aristotle put it, man is by nature a political animal. Politics is the master science through which individuals collectively set structure, purpose and ideals in their lives. Politics determines who gets what, when and how. Any society or community can only benefit from politics through active participation. As Plato counselled, if you refuse to participate in politics, you will be ruled by your inferiors. In the words of Edmund Burke, for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
“Given the nature of bourgeois politics in Nigeria, infrastructural development and provision of services that improves the quality of life can only be attracted by prominent politicians or traditional rulers. This is why we must engage in political education for Orogun people including the elite to be active in politics”, he said.
He concluded that the way forward for the rapid development of Orogun community including other communities, is to “focus on the right issues under the conditions of peace, unity and the right political education and participation.”
