Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has admonished the Ijaw nation, particularly the youths, to reflect on and imbibe the ideals of discipline, selflessness, and justice that the late Major Isaac Boro stood for. Diri gave the admonition on Friday at this year’s Boro Day celebration/wreath laying ceremony at the Heroes Park in Yenagoa.

Chief Press Secretary Daniel Alabrah reports that Governor Diri urged Ijaw youths to show respect to constituted authority, leaders, and their elders. “Let us celebrate our hero with sobriety, honour and integrity,” Diri said. “Was Isaac Adaka Boro a criminal? Was he a selfish man? Did he sacrifice and fight for his people? These are questions we must ask ourselves when we embark on the journey of celebrating a man like Boro.” Diri emphasized that Boro sacrificed his life fighting the injustice to the Ijaw nation and advised the youths to celebrate the ethnic nationality’s hero with honour and integrity.

The governor particularly charged youths to abhor crime and cultism, and called on the leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and Ijaw National Congress (INC) to work closely with government to put an end to the menace. “The recent resurgence of cultism has to stop,” Diri stressed. “The IYC and INC must work with government to put an end to cultism.”

In his remarks, President of the INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, advised that in celebrating the 57th Boro anniversary, the Ijaws must not forget that their late hero stood for justice, peace, and truth. Okaba commended the Diri administration for improving the welfare of the Ijaw people through its strategic intervention projects and support to the ethnic group’s socio-cultural bodies.

President of the IYC, Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri, said the issues that Boro fought for were still prevalent in the Niger Delta even though the region had made some progress. Lokpobiri noted that Boro’s legacies will remain evergreen in the minds of the Ijaw people.

The event featured the laying of wreaths at the Boro tomb by Diri, Okaba, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Lokpobiri, Boro’s children – Felix and Esther – and the state council of Nigerian Legions led by Elder Okubokekeme Ogele.