High Chief Johnson Opone, Ndokwa Neku Union President-General
PORT HARCOURT/Nigeria: A Professor of Semiotic and Performance Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria has called on the people of Ndokwa to embrace development ideas that will move the area from its backward development to an enviable nation, among community of nations in the country.
Making the call as a message to the people of the area on Tuesday, 12 december, 2017, a day she celebrated her birthday, Prof Julie N.E Umukoro in reaction to recent debates in some Ndokwa Social media platforms, on the identity of the people that are today known as the Ndokwa area of Delta state, in terms of language, she said the arguments are on called for as the basic things needed in the area area now is development ideas.
The Professor, who started her memo with greetings to the people, also went memory lane to establish her identity as a real daughter of the area.
“Dear Fathers and mothers of this forum, I greet you. Ndenyiniooo! Ajieh…Otofe…etc Today happens to be my birthday and I do start by wishing myself well and hoping you will also”.
“I have belonged to this forum since its days as Ndokwa Town Hall up till the present and have enjoyed my passive status, hearing all the voices, savouring all silently and indeed learning so much about the workings of the human mind”.
“Today with my golden years ticking by, I choose to give myself a golden voice and sound a golden toll first here by announcing myself. I am Professor Julie Nwabogo Efemena Umukoro, Professor of Semiotics and Performance Studies of the University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria since 2015”.
“Indeed, I have been celebrated as the first female Professor of the Ndokwa East extraction. I hail from Ase and I belong to the royal family of Ozuem and Ebeneze the founders of Ase and Aviara kingdoms. I am the great great grand daughter of Ararie and Ibedeni the children of these founders noted above”.
“To be precise, the late Okwa-ukwu, Prince LGC Asibelua was and remains my great Uncle”.
She reminded the people who are members of the townhall that whatever name it is called, Ndokwa or Ukwuani, it is just an issue of identity.
“Let me lend my voice to the nagging issue of identity. Transformed or transposed, whether Ndokwa Town hall or Ukwani Town hall, it is still the same people and same voices I continue to hear”.
“It is still US, SAME PEOPLE speaking or writing. I think we should as a people think more of the advancement of the region rather than move in circles talking about the choice nomenclature of our identity”.
“No doubt we are all one strictly speaking by our cultures and traditions and even language, in spite of tonal linguistic interferences of inflection or rhythm in our speech patterns”. She said.
To prove her point clearer, she used an analogy from the saga of Mr Livingstone to prove her points.
“A story told me by my father who equally was told the same story by his father who worked with Mr Livingstone jnr. in the colonial days and from whom he heard the story of his own father – the renowned Mr. Livingstone Esq.of Newcastle in the first place”.
“There lived a man, a black negro who, tired of his people talking in circles about what should or should not constitute their identity decided to name himself Mr Stone to the astonishment of others. Why? Stone means nothing…indeed a stone is nothing but dead, they said. Yes, it may mean nothing, said he, but I will make something of it to make it something of note. So Mr Stone embarked on his discovery mission and from stone he found granite, marble, glass stone and his quarry became renowned….famous and there was no builder or manufacturer that did not seek him”.
“Thus the people renamed him Mr Livingstone! What a metamorphosis! Identity comes with one’s achievement. Whether as Ndokwa nation or Ukwani nation, let us join hands together to uplift our region toward worldwide recognition”.
“We should rather seek government and corporate partnership to grow the region than waltz romantically in limbo. We cannot continue to dissipate energy flexing muscles fighting self. We are who we already are and need not embark on such fruitless quest”.
“From collective perspective let us take our pride of place in the world by showcasing our worth, and leave a great legacy for our children and children’s children. We must not make the same mistake our forefathers made. She asserted.
