By Julius Agadaga, Yenagoa
The Paramount Ruler of Yenagoa-Ovom community in Yenagoa Local Government of Bayelsa State, HRH Deme Izibevie, has decried the state of underdevelopment, insecurity, and lack of basic social amenities in the community, calling on the Bayelsa State Government to urgently intervene.
Speaking in an interview in Yensgoa, the traditional ruler identified underdevelopment, insecurity, and absence of social infrastructure as the most pressing challenges confronting Ovom, a host community in the state capital.
HRH Izibevie attributed the security challenges to the influx of people into the community following the creation of Bayelsa State. He said the presence of criminal elements had, at one point, turned the area into “a war zone” between rival cult groups, forcing residents to flee.
“Because of the influx of persons that came to live in the community as a result of state creation, we have hosted the good and bad that came from other parts of the country to corrupt the whole system. These characters have terrorized the whole community. Before the coming into office of Senator Douye Diri, the people were always on the run; our community was like a war zone between various warring cult groups,” he said.
He credited Governor Douye Diri with restoring relative peace, noting that the administration brokered peace between the warring groups. “Somehow God has helped and Douye Diri came and made peace between the various warring groups,” he added.
On social amenities, the monarch said the community has “nothing to write home about,” citing acute water scarcity and pollution of the river.
“We have no water, nothing whatsoever. We are the worst hit community in the state. The river has been overtaken by several debris; human corpses are floating in the river on a daily basis. We cannot make use of the water, even to bathe. The only means of getting water is through water vendors, and it’s as bad as that,” he said.
He recalled that the public utility in Ovom previously supplied water, but that facility is no longer functional. “Now people don’t even take their bath for up to three days,” he lamented.
HRH Izibevie also raised concerns over land acquisition by the government, saying most of the community’s farmlands have been taken over for public infrastructure, leaving residents “trapped” with no room for expansion.
“Our old settlement has been deserted because of the criminal activities of cultists. All those in the old settlement have been driven away, so there is no access to the community. We are not developing in any form. Most of our lands have been taken over by government,” he said.
He listed several government facilities sited on community land, including the State Fire Service, UPE Primary School, Golden Tulip Hotel, the Sports Complex, and the Bayelsa Medical University. He added that areas near the Government House, once used for farming and fishing, are now restricted.
“Now the rivers where we have been fishing for years, we have been trapped and told we should not go beyond the bridge inside the Government House to fish. So you can see that we are restricted in all forms. Everything about us has been overtaken by government. You can only find us in any one of the communities we have been dispersed to,” he said.
On what government should do to address the challenges, the paramount ruler called for deliberate youth employment, scholarships, water supply, road construction, and adequate compensation for acquired lands.
“Government has to provide a means to create employment for our teeming youths. When they are employed on a yearly basis, it is going to reduce criminal activities and idleness. Ninety percent of government’s institutions in Bayelsa State are in Ovom community — from the Sports Complex to Golden Tulip and the Medical University. So we must be employed,” he said.
He also requested funding for community vigilantes, noting that their efforts have reduced night-time crimes.
“They are not funded. They become a social problem as well when those who do the vigilante work have no support. When they stay throughout the night, in the day they need rest, and who takes care of their families? Even now, some vigilantes have been helping us, and to a large extent, stealing of phones and other crimes usually committed in the night have reduced drastically. If there is a little stipend for these vigilantes, they can do more to reduce insecurity,” he explained.
Other requests include the reconstruction of roads, renovation of the dilapidated town hall, establishment of a health centre, and provision of potable water.
“It might interest you to know that nobody has compensated us for any of the lands. Government cannot tell us that they have acquired our lands with any viable documents. They should come up with adequate compensation programmes, train our youths who are not all that educated with the necessary skills to be self-reliant and useful to society,” he stated.
Speaking on his priorities as paramount ruler, HRH Izibevie said peace remains his foremost agenda. He disclosed that he has set up a vigilante group to tackle insecurity and is personally funding the rehabilitation of some youths.
“The most important achievement I want to bring on board is peace. Peace is paramount; that’s why I am setting up the vigilante to take care of the insecurity aspect. The second is to engage with government to ensure that those things we lack are provided. As it is, we don’t have a town hall because the one we have is totally dilapidated. We need an auditorium where we can be meeting and host cultural events,” he said.
He added that he has already rehabilitated one youth who is now “back to his senses and contributing to society.”
Despite the challenges, the monarch maintained that Ovom-Yenagoa remains one of the most peaceful communities in the state. “If these issues are implemented, the Ovom-Yenagoa community will be more peaceful,” he said.
The Youth President of Yenagoa-Ovom community, Mr. Moses Izibenifianwo, has linked the rising insecurity in the area to increased cult activities among youths, which he attributed to unemployment and idleness.
Izibenifianwo called on the Bayelsa State Government to intervene by creating employment opportunities and providing skills acquisition programmes for young people to restore lasting peace in the community.
Also speaking, the Woman Chief of Yenagoa-Ovom, Chief (Mrs) Onoze Sky Solomon, decried the level of underdevelopment in the community.
She said the area lacks basic amenities, including pipe-borne water and a functional health centre and appealed to the government to come to the aid of the community to improve living conditions for residents.
