As the Ijaw Nation marked the 57th remembrance of Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, the Western Zone of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) has called on young people across the Niger Delta to go beyond symbolic celebrations and actively resist political and developmental marginalisation in the region.
Speaking during a commemorative event in Warri, Delta State, Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Chairman of IYC Western Zone, which spans Delta, Edo, and Ondo States challenged Ijaw youths to draw strength from Boro’s bold legacy in confronting present-day injustice.
“We gather here not just to celebrate, but to reflect deeply on the vision, boldness, and sacrifices of our pathfinder, Isaac Adaka Boro,” Igarama said. “He confronted environmental degradation, economic exploitation, and political marginalisation head-on, at a time when doing so meant risking everything.”
He lamented that the challenges Boro fought against still persist decades after his death, particularly in the form of underdevelopment and political exclusion.
“We are still behind the expectations of our hero,” he declared. “Boro started his agitation in his early twenties and declared the Niger Delta Republic at 27. He died at 29. That should challenge every Ijaw youth today to rise beyond rhetoric and start taking bold steps.”
Taking a firm stance on what he described as political manipulation in the Warri Federal Constituency, Igarama insisted that the Ijaw people are the majority and must not be sidelined in ongoing political arrangements.
“We will not accept falsehoods from those who claim otherwise,” he said. “The recent INEC ward delineation exercise has laid bare the truth. We shall resist all attempts to suppress our rightful place in Warri.”
He also accused some groups of resorting to intimidation and arming themselves out of desperation, warning that the Ijaw people will not cower in the face of threats.
“Boro feared no one, not even the government. We, too, will stand our ground as a peaceful but courageous people,” he declared.
On the issue of development, Igarama criticised federal and state interventionist agencies such as the NDDC, DESOPADEC, EDSOPADEC, and ONSOPADEC, accusing them of politicising projects meant for Ijaw communities. He listed key abandoned projects, including the Abari Bridge, Patani, Kumbo, Udofori Road, Ayakoromo Bridge, and Ogulagha, Odimodi Road in Delta State, as well as others in Ijaw communities in Edo and Ondo States.
“These projects are not privileges; they are rights long denied. If development continues to elude our communities, we will resist with every legitimate means available to us,” he said.
Concluding his address, Igarama reminded Ijaw youths that the true essence of Boro’s legacy lies in the pursuit of justice, equity, and a better future for the Ijaw people.
“Long live Adaka Boro, long live the Ijaw Nation,” he declared to resounding applause.