Senator Ede Dafinone, representing Delta Central, has warned that the Urhobo Nation risks being sidelined in both Delta and Nigeria’s political equations unless it urgently unites and moves forward with a common purpose.
Speaking at the 2nd Edition of the UPU Ighelle World Conference held at the Urhobo Cultural Centre, Uvwiamuge-Agbarho, Ughelli North LGA, with the theme “Igniting the Urhobo Spirit: Urhobo Youth as Custodians and Catalysts of Change,” Dafinone 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.”
The Delta Central lawmaker decried a situation where “only one leader wants to be heard and seen,” insisting that unity, mentorship, and collective progress must replace unhealthy competition. “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 stressed.
Pointing to the current political landscape, Dafinone reminded his audience that Urhobo has its turn at the state’s top seat. “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 said, referencing the administrations of former Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan and Ifeanyi Okowa.
On his role as senator, Dafinone pledged to deploy his influence at the federal level to the benefit of Urhobo people, provided constituents come forward with serious 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 noted.
Beyond politics, the senator called for social, cultural, and economic transformation across Urhobo land. “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 added.
Dafinone also called for a change in mindset, particularly regarding unhealthy competition among leaders. He shared a personal anecdote about praying for a young mentee to become “richer than me,” explaining that a colleague’s success does not diminish his 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,” he said. “We must move as one. We must move as Urhobo. We must move as a team.”
Dafinone closed with a personal story, recalling how he once prayed that a young man he mentored would surpass him financially. “His being richer than me does not make me poorer. It takes nothing away from me,” he said, urging Urhobo leaders and youths to embrace a spirit of collective growth rather than rivalry.
