LAGOS JULY 8TH (URHOBOTODAY)Public Relation Officer (PRO) of Urhobo Traditional Council of Chiefs In Lagos, Chief (Hon)  Edafe Theocracy has denied the rumour making the rounds that he is fighting to create  disunity within the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) in Lagos so that he can become the President of UPU.

In an encounter with Urhobotoday correspondent in Lagos, Theocracy disclosed that people has misconstrued in his attempt to create unity among the Urhobos in the state to ensure that things are done in the right perspective to mean fermentation of disunity.

Excerpts

You are in the event of the installation of an Urhoboman, High Chief Philip Edemete  as  ‘Okobaro’ of Urhobos in Ikorodu Community by the Monarch of Ikorodu, HRM  Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi.   How do you feel about the event?

I am very excited. I am here  because I have really wanted  to experience the promotion  given to High Chief (Sir)  Philip Edemete hence it is an upfront which means Okobaro in Urhoboland.  I am happy to be here and I am happy to see and meet one or two persons.

There is has been this controversy of  Edafe Theocracy  working against  the unity of  UPU  in Lagos State for  his  personal interest  of  becoming   the President of the Socio-cultural organization in Lagos. What is your take on  the allegation?

What happening  is that I am fighting for the unity of the Urhobos and not otherwise. The Urhobos refused to be united in Lagos.  My observation is that both the UPU Apapa  branch,  Ikeja branch and the Traditional Councils of Chiefs in Lagos  were not  united .  The disunity has affected Urhobo moving forward in Lagos state.   They are not communicating oneness.  Whereas  oneness is what we are looking for.  Consequently, I decided on my own to try something new to make Urhobo  unite in the state.

It all started immediately I saw the advert of  end of year party  or will I call it  Isoko Day, I was mad.  I felt if  Isoko  can do Isoko Day, what stops Urhobos  from organizing  Urhobo Day?  That was why I came out to question Osu R’ Urhobo, Council of Chiefs, UPU where are you people? I said okay let me try something else because there is this notion that says Urhobo cannot unite.

Personally on my own, I funded it with my money to tell the world that Urhobo can unite.  That was what lead to Urhobo ‘Uvuovu’ Day. Initially when I came out with Urhobo Day, UPU insisted that I cannot use Urhobo Day because it is them that had have the sole authority to use that slogan. I then said if it is only you that  have the authority to use ‘Urhobo Day’ slogan why are you not using it for all these years. I then said okay to avoid conflict, let me change to another slogan which is “Urhobo ‘Ovuovu’ Day”.  When you look at it critically “Urhobo Day” and “Urhobo ‘Ovuovo” Day”  are the name thing. That was why I used that slogan. And after showcasing it to the world that I can do it,   it was successfull. Urhobos trooped out enmass  to attend the event in Lagos. People were happy and the unity was there.

It was after the event that the message got to the President General Of UPU, Chief (Barr) Ese Gam  He then called my attention to saying,  “my son for you to stand by organising an event to unite all the Urhobos in Lagos then I have an assignment for you.”  He said I want you to unite Urhobo  in Lagos. I said do you think I can do it? He said yes.  He said constitute a caretaker committee. I am coming to Lagos.  I then constituted a caretaker committee.  That alone provoked UPU in Lagos to say how will  their father be coming to Lagos without consulting them.  I told them that  I am a messenger. In Urhobo they said message “no dey kill messenger”.  In this case I said I need to obey the message of my father to the core.  Whoever that is aggrieved should call the father. He is the one that sent me.

So during the process of delivering the message of our  father which is the President-General of UPU, so many allegations were leveled against me  instead of going to our father to verify. Everybody is saying that I want to hijack Lagos UPU. How can I hijack Lagos UPU when it was our father who sent me a message? They just want to see how they will kill that message. But I insisted that I must deliver our father’s message. I told them to contact our father. Whatever you do I will make sure I obey the order of the father to the maximum.  That was what brought Theocracy this, Theocracy that and all sort of allegations against me. But I have in my mind that as far as  I am a messenger,  I will deliver my message. I am not interested in being the president.

Are you now saying that you are not the one who invited the President General to Lagos and that he came because of  the impact  of your organization of “Urhobo ‘Ovuovu’ Day”?

The President-General is alive. You can reach out to him any day or anytime and ask him if  Theocracy Edafe reached  out to him or he was the one who reached out to Edafe? Ask him if he was the one that gave me the assignment or Edafe lobbied for the assignment and he gave it to him? What you should know is that the President-General is not a boy that is not aware that his children are in Lagos. How come he sent me a message when the UPU  President of Ikeja and Apapa branches available? For him to send me a message he knew why he did it. I cannot lobby for him to send a message and I cannot lobby for it. So when he came to Lagos, whether what he came for went well or not is not my concern. I did not write his speech for him. So whatever he said he is only liable to defend that. He only gave me an assignment and I fulfilled it at the end of that town hall meeting. After that we moved.

Insults, talks started flying here and there. But I insisted that my project is to unite Urhobo in Lagos. As I am talking to you now, there are many unity that are  flying everywhere. I learnt but I have not confirmed that Apapa and Ikeja branches are now planning to organize Urhobo Day in Lagos which is my greatest joy.  Apapa and Ikeja Presidents are now friends doing things together. I know very well now that all Urhobo’s  sons and daughters eyes are now open in Lagos. Right now,  no President can stay in office more than three years. The last, last you will go is  for second  term. You cannot stay above six years because everybody eyes are opened.  Now, the Council of Chiefs in Lagos are well united because I have stepped into the Council of Chiefs.

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