From Onoriode Etatsemi
The President, Urhobo Rebirth Congress Comrade OgheneOchuko Stephen, Alias Udu re’ Urhobo has appealed to the Governor of Delta, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori to do all he can by ensuring that the Urhobo Language which (he claimed) is going into extinction is Revived in his time as the leader of the state.
Comrade OgheneOchuko in a telephone chat, says the Governor should urge the education Ministry to inculcate the Urhobo language into the school curriculum at all levels to enable our children learn and speak the language adequately .
He bemoaned the present situation with most of the Urhobo children who could not speak nor understand the language.
” The Governor , our son, our father, UPU, Traditional Rulers and other prominent Urhobo people , let us come together and ensure our language is protected, our culture should be preserved for our future generation. We should do the needful so that Urhobo land could progress faster,” he appealed.
The President of Urhobo Rebirth Congress who explained that many things have gone wrong in the land noted that the status quo ante ( Urhobo ovouvo,) meaning all Urhobos are one, be maintained , stressing that they are no longer together as it were in the days of old when, if anything touches one Urhobo man, then it was a fight for all.
He added that it is practically wrong for any Urhobo person to be likened to a stranger in another part of Urhobo land even though he may not have been born in such a place.
” An Urhobo man from Sapele should not be tagged a stranger in Uvwie land since collectively they are one in nature,it is non Urhobo person who could be called a stranger in any part of Urhobo land. I am particularly greeting the Governor, UPU, Traditional Rulers and all Urhobo people” he stated .
While expressing his appreciation to the leadership of the Urhobo Progress Union Under the leadership of Chief Barr. Ese Gams , Alias, (The Ezezekeze of Eku land,) The Youth Wing of UPU and their excos, for doing well in their respective assignments, he emphasised that their roles in (Urhobo Rebirth Congress which he founded) was to complement the activities of the umbrella Urhobo body but never to usurp their authority.
He pointed out that many things which needed urgent solutions and corrections are happening in Urhobo land , while appealing to UPU that these should be corrected to save Urhobo land from mishaps by rewriting the constitution.
“Comrade OgheneOchuko added that, for instance, many Urhobos can not speak the language yet they take good positions in government with the name of Urhobo and by the time they go back to their home towns, to the surprise of all, they will be speaking English instead by addressing their people with Urhobo. This is so because they do not understand their own language. So said ” he said.
He frawned at the idea of people taking positions in UPU when such people can not speak Urhobo at all, remarking that he has seen many Urhobos vying for positions in the land where they are completely deficient in the language of their forebears
OgheneOchuko told his people that for anyone to be accepted as a leader in Urhobo land, he should be someone who has the interest of Urhobos at heart but not the man who is going there for his selfish interest , appealing that UPU should not be tied to the apron string of any political party nor government and must live above board for the overall interest of the entire Urhobos.
