An Ijaw leader and development advocate, Comrade Mulade Sheriff, has accused the Delta State Government of deliberate marginalisation of Ijaw communities, particularly in the siting of state-owned educational institutions across the state.
Mulade, who described the situation as unjust and provocative, said the continued absence of major government-owned schools in Ijaw areas amounted to structural discrimination, despite the region’s significant contribution to Delta State’s economic survival through oil production.
According to him, it was unacceptable that communities hosting the state’s oil wealth were treated as second-class citizens when it came to educational development and access to higher institutions.
He noted that most state-owned universities and colleges were concentrated outside Ijaw territories, listing institutions such as Delta State University, Abraka; Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba; University of Delta, Agbor; and the Southern Delta University of Science and Technology campuses in Ozoro and Orerokpe.
Mulade also pointed to colleges of education, nursing and health sciences in Asaba, Warri, Sapele and Mosogar, as well as polytechnics in Ogwashi-Uku and Otefe-Oghara, saying their locations further reflected what he described as a long-standing pattern of exclusion.
He stressed that the only state-owned tertiary institution situated in Ijaw land is the Delta State School of Marine Technology in Burutu, which he said suffers from poor infrastructure and limited capacity, a situation he described as appalling and indefensible.
The rights activist lamented that while Ijaw communities bear the environmental consequences of oil exploration, including polluted waterways and destroyed farmlands, they continued to be denied critical social infrastructure, particularly in education.
He warned that the imbalance was denying youths opportunities and breeding frustration, adding that the situation posed a threat to unity and sustainable development in the state.
Mulade, who is also the Ibe-Sorimowei of the ancient Gbaramatu Kingdom, appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to take deliberate steps to address the disparity by prioritising the establishment of new educational institutions in Ijaw areas, upgrading existing facilities and ensuring fair representation of qualified Ijaw indigenes in leadership positions within the state’s education sector.
He cautioned that continued neglect could deepen feelings of alienation among the people and undermine their sense of belonging in Delta State.
Mulade concluded by calling on civil society organisations, traditional rulers and youth groups to speak out against what he described as structural injustice, insisting that sustainable development could not be achieved when a significant section of the population remained excluded.
0 Comments