Chief Edwin Kaigbodo Clark Passes on at 97.

The big Iroko of Izon. I mourn with the Ijaw nation for the death of a man who lived long, fought hard and stood firmly for the Ijaw Nation.

Sir Clark must have had over 70 years of active nation-building and vocal contributions to issues that somewhat shaped our country.

They surely don’t make them like that anymore.
Ironically, he left so close to the departure of his comrade from southwest Ayo Adebanjo, for over 20 years now it seemed that once the both of them took a common position notwithstanding the rightness or otherwise of their position they had the grit, courage and gravitas to push it into national discuss and the consciousness of the issue.

They sometimes seem like a handful for their national view is crafted from material of yore that social evolution and the mismanagement of succession planning has all but left them in the twilight of their now-ended sojourn with unachieved goals major of which is a concept they call true federalism which to mind is best describe as a desire for an equitable, just and fair basis by which the tribes and ethnic nationalities that make up our beloved Nigeria must live and govern itself.

Today we celebrate their sense of duty, industry and patriotism however cantankerous.

Oh, Pa Clark fair thee well. May perpetual light shine upon you.

We must soberly reflect on the future of our country, and the opportunistic chaos we are practising in the name of democracy.

It can never be the ideal that one individual however highly placed will seek to have his way all the time no matter how absurd it appears. We need a hard reset to nudge the country back to the path of sustainable democratic principles and a better set of values.

You will be missed but you deserve your rest now great Ijaw Leader.

Otunba Segun Showunmi
Convener
The Alternative (Let the best of us lead the rest of us)