Ibusa: a Call for the Social Development of the Town
Today is my birthday (6 June) and as a freeborn of Ibusa in Oshimili North, Delta state, Nigeria without any other town to call my home not even the Lagos I have lived all my life, I have decided to do a write a write-up to commemorate the day of my birth to the land of my birth. And because I am not the only one with concern for the development of my town, Ibusa, and seeing that other smaller towns in Anioma are overwhelmingly developing much faster, I want to dedicate this article to one good sister, Florence and to every Ibusa sons and daughters who are willingly longing to work towards the social development of the town.
To state that I am anxiously particular about how growth and development can sweep through the whole of Anioma is an understatement because Anioma for long has been waiting for the changes to come and the youth from this part of the world cannot wait to see this development come true. Development to Anioma towns and villages is now like the kingdom of God that suffers violence and only the violent takes it by force. However, this article will focus on Ibusa but will someday visit Anioma issues.
It surprising that Ibusa is still struggling to attain social development in spite of her geographical nearness to Asaba, the state capital, obviously because neither the federal nor the state government is looking her way. The reason behind this may only lastingly remain comprehensible to the government but one thing; we can tell is that the town is close enough to Asaba to draw the attention of the state government. A situation like this prompts one to ask if social development in Ibusa is impossible. we shall here take a closer look at what social development is, whether it can aptly apply to Ibusa and subsequently seek various ways by which this can be effectively achieved.
Social development is summarily described as the process of organizing human energies and activities at higher levels to achieve greater results. Society develops in response to the contact and interaction between human beings and their material, social and intellectual environment (Garry Jacobs and Harry Cleveland, 1991)
The Ibusa society has the capacity for grow and development but this can only become possible if the state government recognizes this incontrovertible fact that the town is like a satellite town or to put it more mildly an extension of Asaba, the state capital in terms of development which she has since proven. Not that Ibusa has become Asaba or that historically Ibusa belongs to Asaba what this means is that the geographical location of Ibusa advantageously puts her in such a position that the development of Asaba could extend to her. Why should the state government deliberately stop the street-lighting of Asaba at the Asaba-Ibusa boundary, couldn't the project have continued up to Ibusa seeing that both towns are now like one?
What injustice will have been done if the state government had established different state ministries In Ibusa, Okpanam, Ogwashi-Uku etc? A good reason why Lagos remains the most developed state today in the country is that the architects of the adoption of the region as the federal capita, the British understood that it was better to evenly spread rather than concentrate government organizations.
As seen today, quite a lot of people live in the town and work in Asaba, Ogwashi-uku and other urban areas. This group of workers in Asaba can be made to work in Ibusa if the government decides to locate government offices and other establishments in the town (Ibusa) thanks to the wonderful geographical location of the town which very much puts her at advantage. We hope the government will not wake up one day and annex Ibusa and Okpanam, and make them parts of Asaba because it requires more lands for further development rather than evenly distribute such development and spread it to other areas such as Ibusa, Okpanam, Ogwashi-Uku, Oko, etc.
If development is all about the result of society's capacity to organize human energies and productive resources in order to meet the challenges and opportunities that life presents society with all the times, a question that needs to be asked here is just how our own indigenes can achieve this result on their own in the in the face of inability or blatant refusal of the government to render support. Our people are all ready doing it but more efforts needs to be exerted. Most of the roads in of the town, for instance were constructed by these indigenes.
Individuals in our own Ibusa society can provide and should introduce new ideas and practices that may at first be resisted but later accepted, these innovations can be lead to the development of the society (Ibusa) Since Development is a human process and not materials factors that seeks to advocate for changes in any society, the indigenes of the town can do this effectively for the town.
What happens when the dependable indigenes of Ibusa all run to Asaba to set up investments, investments in terms of housing estates, companies, factories and industries? The state government will throw the whole of the town in darkness without electricity for months; waste so much a land for the construction of an amusement park. In Ibusa no single dual road exists, this may be attributed to refusal by the government to look the way of the town but what if there was no single fast food joint in the town, we attribute it to the indigenes of Ibusa. Ibusa can thread the path of development if only concerted efforts are made this essential role can be pioneered by individuals with visionary intellectuals, political leaders, entrepreneurs, economists, artists and spiritual seekers who are inspired to express and achieve the collective development of the town are prepared to do this.
It grieves me really when issues that should lead to the development of the Ibusa society are relegated to the background and trivial issues which ordinarily are thought to be social inclined occupy prominent positions in the political, social and economic agenda of the town. Not long, the indigenes of the town especially those in Diaspora arrived home to learn of certain changes in burial ceremonies, what drinks to buy, whether to uniformly appear in similar clothes or not, whether to cook food not, renovate an apartment or not during funeral ceremony. These things issues are worth it. At least in the South East, a time frame was given during which a burial ceremony must take, and even Christian wake-keep banned in a place like Ihiala but this was mandated by the Catholic Church in that area.
Not long the Obuzor issue crept in and still threatening to tear the town apart. Sadly, perhaps the architects of the "Obuzorship" in the political annals of the town did not do their job perfectly because there were certain loopholes which became difficult to be filled in. One of the effects of this was the division of the whole town into two different camps, and near understanding backed with fines that forbids any one member of the two groups from physically becoming present in any funeral ceremony of the member of the opponent-group. Members of the opposing camps in effect become enemies in one town. If your mother was to be a member of "Otu Obuzor" and you are a member of "Otu Diokpa", you would by law not be expected to attend her funeral ceremony. Such is the grave result of the issue. Ibusa is not new to issues or events that have come to split the town, several years back the Ibusa Community Development Union (ICDU) had to split giving birth to Ibusa Progressive Association (IPAN) with the two groups unable to reconcile for years.
Because Human beings are the ultimate resource and ultimate determinant of the development process, it is a process of people becoming more aware of their own creative potentials and taking initiative to realize those potentials that matters to any society longing for development. Thus the earlier we Ibusans realize this better for us because we have the absolute potentialities. We can stimulate and allow the government to direct, or assist policies by formulating policies, enabling laws and special programs even as we realize that such cannot be compelled or carried out on behalf of the community by any external agencies or done on our behalf.
Let us all join hands together and socially develop Ibusa. This is what we need now.
To state that I am anxiously particular about how growth and development can sweep through the whole of Anioma is an understatement because Anioma for long has been waiting for the changes to come and the youth from this part of the world cannot wait to see this development come true. Development to Anioma towns and villages is now like the kingdom of God that suffers violence and only the violent takes it by force. However, this article will focus on Ibusa but will someday visit Anioma issues.
It surprising that Ibusa is still struggling to attain social development in spite of her geographical nearness to Asaba, the state capital, obviously because neither the federal nor the state government is looking her way. The reason behind this may only lastingly remain comprehensible to the government but one thing; we can tell is that the town is close enough to Asaba to draw the attention of the state government. A situation like this prompts one to ask if social development in Ibusa is impossible. we shall here take a closer look at what social development is, whether it can aptly apply to Ibusa and subsequently seek various ways by which this can be effectively achieved.
Social development is summarily described as the process of organizing human energies and activities at higher levels to achieve greater results. Society develops in response to the contact and interaction between human beings and their material, social and intellectual environment (Garry Jacobs and Harry Cleveland, 1991)
The Ibusa society has the capacity for grow and development but this can only become possible if the state government recognizes this incontrovertible fact that the town is like a satellite town or to put it more mildly an extension of Asaba, the state capital in terms of development which she has since proven. Not that Ibusa has become Asaba or that historically Ibusa belongs to Asaba what this means is that the geographical location of Ibusa advantageously puts her in such a position that the development of Asaba could extend to her. Why should the state government deliberately stop the street-lighting of Asaba at the Asaba-Ibusa boundary, couldn't the project have continued up to Ibusa seeing that both towns are now like one?
What injustice will have been done if the state government had established different state ministries In Ibusa, Okpanam, Ogwashi-Uku etc? A good reason why Lagos remains the most developed state today in the country is that the architects of the adoption of the region as the federal capita, the British understood that it was better to evenly spread rather than concentrate government organizations.
As seen today, quite a lot of people live in the town and work in Asaba, Ogwashi-uku and other urban areas. This group of workers in Asaba can be made to work in Ibusa if the government decides to locate government offices and other establishments in the town (Ibusa) thanks to the wonderful geographical location of the town which very much puts her at advantage. We hope the government will not wake up one day and annex Ibusa and Okpanam, and make them parts of Asaba because it requires more lands for further development rather than evenly distribute such development and spread it to other areas such as Ibusa, Okpanam, Ogwashi-Uku, Oko, etc.
If development is all about the result of society's capacity to organize human energies and productive resources in order to meet the challenges and opportunities that life presents society with all the times, a question that needs to be asked here is just how our own indigenes can achieve this result on their own in the in the face of inability or blatant refusal of the government to render support. Our people are all ready doing it but more efforts needs to be exerted. Most of the roads in of the town, for instance were constructed by these indigenes.
Individuals in our own Ibusa society can provide and should introduce new ideas and practices that may at first be resisted but later accepted, these innovations can be lead to the development of the society (Ibusa) Since Development is a human process and not materials factors that seeks to advocate for changes in any society, the indigenes of the town can do this effectively for the town.
What happens when the dependable indigenes of Ibusa all run to Asaba to set up investments, investments in terms of housing estates, companies, factories and industries? The state government will throw the whole of the town in darkness without electricity for months; waste so much a land for the construction of an amusement park. In Ibusa no single dual road exists, this may be attributed to refusal by the government to look the way of the town but what if there was no single fast food joint in the town, we attribute it to the indigenes of Ibusa. Ibusa can thread the path of development if only concerted efforts are made this essential role can be pioneered by individuals with visionary intellectuals, political leaders, entrepreneurs, economists, artists and spiritual seekers who are inspired to express and achieve the collective development of the town are prepared to do this.
It grieves me really when issues that should lead to the development of the Ibusa society are relegated to the background and trivial issues which ordinarily are thought to be social inclined occupy prominent positions in the political, social and economic agenda of the town. Not long, the indigenes of the town especially those in Diaspora arrived home to learn of certain changes in burial ceremonies, what drinks to buy, whether to uniformly appear in similar clothes or not, whether to cook food not, renovate an apartment or not during funeral ceremony. These things issues are worth it. At least in the South East, a time frame was given during which a burial ceremony must take, and even Christian wake-keep banned in a place like Ihiala but this was mandated by the Catholic Church in that area.
Not long the Obuzor issue crept in and still threatening to tear the town apart. Sadly, perhaps the architects of the "Obuzorship" in the political annals of the town did not do their job perfectly because there were certain loopholes which became difficult to be filled in. One of the effects of this was the division of the whole town into two different camps, and near understanding backed with fines that forbids any one member of the two groups from physically becoming present in any funeral ceremony of the member of the opponent-group. Members of the opposing camps in effect become enemies in one town. If your mother was to be a member of "Otu Obuzor" and you are a member of "Otu Diokpa", you would by law not be expected to attend her funeral ceremony. Such is the grave result of the issue. Ibusa is not new to issues or events that have come to split the town, several years back the Ibusa Community Development Union (ICDU) had to split giving birth to Ibusa Progressive Association (IPAN) with the two groups unable to reconcile for years.
Because Human beings are the ultimate resource and ultimate determinant of the development process, it is a process of people becoming more aware of their own creative potentials and taking initiative to realize those potentials that matters to any society longing for development. Thus the earlier we Ibusans realize this better for us because we have the absolute potentialities. We can stimulate and allow the government to direct, or assist policies by formulating policies, enabling laws and special programs even as we realize that such cannot be compelled or carried out on behalf of the community by any external agencies or done on our behalf.
Let us all join hands together and socially develop Ibusa. This is what we need now.
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