UVWIAMUGE-AGBARHO/Nigeria: Senator Ede Dafinone, representing Delta Central Senatorial District, has cautioned that the Urhobo Nation risks being sidelined in both Delta State and Nigeria’s political calculations unless it urgently unites and pursues a common vision.
Speaking at the 2nd Edition of the UPU Ighelle World Conference held at the Urhobo Cultural Centre, Uvwiamuge-Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area, with the theme “Igniting the Urhobo Spirit: Urhobo Youth as Custodians and Catalysts of Change,” the senator declared: “The change that Urhobo requires is so necessary, so deep, that unless we get our acts together now, today, I strongly believe we will be lost in the Nigerian equation, and even in the Delta equation, for good.”
Decrying what he described as a culture where “only one leader wants to be heard and seen,” Dafinone called for a shift from rivalry to mentorship, unity, and collective progress. “The unhealthy competition we often engage in, thinking I must be the richest, I must be the best, I must be the only leader, is defeating us. We must move as one. We must move as Urhobo. We must move as a team,” he said.
Highlighting the current political landscape, the senator reminded participants that it is the turn of the Urhobo to hold the governorship of the state. “Today, we have an Urhobo governor. It has come round again to our turn. There is no shame, and there is no sense of selfishness, in an Urhobo governor developing Urhobo land more than other sections of the state. This is the essence of rotation: everybody gets a turn,” he noted, citing the previous administrations of former Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Ifeanyi Okowa.
On his role at the federal level, Dafinone pledged to use his influence to deliver benefits to his people, provided they present viable proposals. “My office gives me access to nearly every office at the federal level. If I am not deploying those instruments of power for the benefit of my people, then I am wasting them,” he asserted.
Beyond politics, the senator urged for social, cultural, and economic transformation across Urhobo land, stressing the need for prosperity that empowers youths, traders, and business owners. “The change Urhobo needs is not just social and cultural, but also a change in prosperity—for our youths, our traders, our business people. This kind of prosperity will bring about an Urhobo nation that stands the test of time and outlives all of us,” he said.
He further appealed for a change in mindset among Urhobo leaders, urging them to abandon rivalry and embrace collective growth. He shared a personal anecdote about praying for a young mentee to surpass him financially, stressing that another person’s success does not diminish one’s own.
“The unhealthy competition we often engage in, thinking I must be the richest, I must be the best, I must be the only leader, is defeating us,” Dafinone reiterated. “We must move as one. We must move as Urhobo. We must move as a team.”
Closing his address, the senator recalled how he once prayed that a young man he mentored would become wealthier than him. “His being richer than me does not make me poorer. It takes nothing away from me,” he said, calling on Urhobo leaders and youths to embrace unity, selflessness, and a spirit of shared progress.
