By Oluwabukunmi
Warri – September 25, 2025 – A Niger Delta activist, Mr. Ebikeme Amafini, has called for the establishment of a comprehensive Ijaw development agenda, describing it as crucial for the socioeconomic empowerment of the Ijaw people both in Nigeria and the diaspora.
Amafini, who serves as the Secretary of the Ijaw National Congress of the Americas (INC-A), made the call in a statement released to journalists in Warri on Monday.
He specifically urged Ijaw groups and leaders to discontinue the use of the phrase “Ijaw struggle”, which he argued projects a self-defeating image, and instead embrace a more progressive language centred on development.
“The phrase ‘Ijaw struggle’ carries a heavy connotation that traps our people in a cycle of resistance rather than progress. It conjures the image of Sisyphus from Greek mythology, eternally rolling a boulder uphill only for it to tumble down again. That’s not the narrative we want for our collective aspirations,” Amafini said.
According to him, adopting “Ijaw development agenda” as the guiding principle would inspire integrity, transparency, and accountability among leaders, while shifting focus to unity, economic empowerment, and tangible growth.
Amafini pledged that the newly inaugurated INC-A executive council, chaired by Dr. Ebizimo Nagberi and sworn in last month in Houston, Texas, will pursue initiatives aimed at promoting Ijaw unity and advancing the community’s economic and developmental interests.
While congratulating the parent body, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), for successfully conducting its Western, Central, and Eastern Zone elections, Amafini urged the incoming national leadership to “reshape the language and mindset that guides the Ijaw people’s agitations.”
He stressed that a paradigm shift from resistance-based rhetoric to a development-driven agenda would reposition the Ijaw nation to secure lasting benefits rather than personal gains from struggles.
