THIS ARTICLE ABOUT DELTA WILL BLOW UR MIND "DELTA
NOR DEY CARRY LAST"
There is a state in Nigeria whose people I find mystifying.
That is Delta State in South-South Nigeria. There is
something special about the state. One wonders if it is the
land that makes the people special or the people that make
the land special. For example, even though there are Ijaw in
other states of Nigeria, the Ijaw in Delta are unique. And
even though it is only the River Niger that separates the
Igbo in Anambra and the Igbo in Delta, the Igbo in Delta are
unique. There is a daring spirit that a Deltan possesses that
may shock or amaze other people.
The Pidgin English expression “Warri no dey carry
last” (Warri never comes last) best describes Delta State.
Even though Warri is not the capital of Delta State, it is the
major city of Delta. Delta is Warri and Warri is Delta. Indeed
Delta never lags behind on any issue – whether positive or
negative. Put succinctly, Deltans never do things by halves.
It is either they do it fully or they don’t do it at all. When you
think of Deltans, you think of Texans.
There is hardly any field of endeavour that one can mention
in Nigeria and Delta is not among the top three in it or at
least the top five. Delta is among the top three oil-producing
states of Nigeria. If one dismisses that as the work of
nature, then let us move to education. Annually, Delta is
usually among the top three states in terms of the highest
number of applicants that apply to institutions of higher
learning in Nigeria. In the exams conducted by NECO and
WAEC, Delta usually performs well to be among the best.
Delta State has given the world writers like John Pepper
Clark, Buchi Emecheta, Ben Okri, Isidore Okpewho;
historians like Elizabeth Isichei, artists like Bruce
Onobrakpeya, to mention but a few.
In sports and entertainment, Delta rules. The first Nigerian
that touched a World Cup in football is a Deltan: Nduka
Ugbade. In 1985 he captained Nigerian youths to victory in
what was then called FIFA Under-16 World Championship,
which was later named the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The
second time Nigeria won the cup in 1993, another Deltan
(Wilson Oruma) was the captain of the team. The next year
when Nigeria’s Super Eagles won the African Cup of
Nations, another Deltan (Stephen Keshi) was the captain.
Are these feats mere coincidence? Which state can produce
the magical skills of Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, or the sprint
skills of Blessing Okagbare? A Deltan (Stephen Keshi) just
handed over to another Deltan (Sunday Oliseh) as the coach
of Nigeria’s Super Eagles. What about Nduka Odizor of the
tennis fame?
In acting, can anyone ever forget the Thespian skills of
Richard Mofe-Damijo, Justus Esiri, Enebeli Elebuwa, Stella
Damasus, etc? In production and directing, Deltans hold
sway too. What can one say about Zeb Ejiro, Chico Ejiro,
Jeta Amata, Fred Amata, Zack Amata, Ruke Amata, Opa
Williams, etc?
In music, one remembers Omawumi, Dr. Sid, Kefee,
Oritsefemi, and the rest.
But the part of entertainment that seems to be tailor-made
for the Deltans is comedy. And they have made a killing in it,
since Ali Baba turned a field that nobody took seriously into
a lucrative profession. Delta people in real life do not look
comic or funny. They look every inch serious. They play
hard, love hard, work hard, sleep hard. But they can be
cheeky. Because of their demonstrative way of speaking,
others easily laugh when they speak. Their Pidgin English
rolls like music: you want to always hear them speak it. It
seems to have been created by them or for them. But why
not?
Delta is perhaps the only state where no local language is
dominant. Right inside Warri – which is the heartbeat of
Delta – Urhobo, Itsekiri and Ijaw all mingle freely, in addition
to other Nigerians and foreigners. If the Urhobo man wants
to have fruitful communication with the Itsekiri man, then
both of them must speak a neutral language, since none of
them would accept that the language of the other is
superior. Even though English is Nigeria’s official language,
it has many rules that even those with university degrees
find to adhere to, which leads to grammatical errors. So
Pidgin English became the lingua franca in Delta. Having
spoken it for such a long time, the Deltans have
personalised it, continuously adding new words and styles
to the language.
So when a Deltan handles the microphone and talks without
any jokes, the audience find the flow of his words
interesting and funny. Because Delta people are very
demonstrative, expressive, passionate and daring, their
mere use of words, facial expressions and gesticulations
makes other Nigerians burst into laughter. The Deltans
themselves sometimes don’t even understand what is funny
to have made the people laugh. So comedy comes to them
naturally. That is why most jokes in Nigeria today seem to
be about Akpos the Warri guy.
If you go into banking and finance, they hold the aces. From
Mr. Tony Elemelu of the UBA, to Mr. Jim Ovia of Zenith
Bank, to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of the World Bank, to Mr.
Godwin Emefiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria, to Mrs.
Cecilia Ibru and to Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor, they stand
out.
In business, they are too numerous to name: the Ibru
business dynasty (Olorogun Michael Ibru, Sir Alex Ibru, Mr
Goodie Ibru), Chief Sonny Odogwu, Deacon Gamaliel
Onosode, Senator David Dafinone, Chief Peter Okocha,
Chief Newton Jibunoh, etc. In the media business, they are
strong: The Guardian by Ibru, Vanguard by Mr Sam Amuka-
Pemu, etc.
In pastoring, the Deltans are not missing: from the Most Rev
Nicholas Okoh, Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican
Communion); to Pastor Ayo Joseph Oritsejafor, founder/
Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible Church; to Archbishop
Emmanuel Chukwuma of the Enugu Diocese; etc
In politics and national prominence, they are visible: Chief
Dennis Osadebay, Chief Edwin Clark, Obi (Prof.) Chike
Edozien, Prof Sam Oyovbaire, Mrs. Mariam Babangida, Mr.
Felix Ibru, Dr Abel Ubeku, Prof. Pat Utomi, Chief Philip
Asiodu, etc. In the military, they hold sway: Maj.-Gen. David
Ejoor, former Chief of Army Staff; Lt. Gen. Alexander
Ogomudia, former Chief of Army Staff; Air Marshal Paul
Dike, former Chief of Defence Staff; Vice Admiral Dele
Ezeoba, former Chief of Naval Staff, etc.
In law, medicine and engineering, like any other field, they
shine. The Deltans never lag behind, among Nigerians.
Even though I have no kinship with Delta State, some two
decades ago, I noticed the spirit of excellence of the Deltans
and took an interest in them. Following them closely
revealed that there is something striking about the Deltans.
Deltans never get anything on a silver platter, yet they excel
wherever they are. No matter how few they are in a group,
their impact is easily felt. They are neither timid nor shy.
You cannot intimidate them. You cannot easily take them
for a ride.
Nigerians need to pay more attention to the Deltans to find
out what makes them tick. Is it in their genes? Is it in their
land? Is it in the air they breathe or in the water they drink or
in the food they eat? Do they grow up in a difficult
environment that gives them no other option except to excel
or suffer? Nigerians need to copy the Delta spirit, so that like
Warri (Delta), people would start to say positively about
Nigeria: “Naija no dey carry last!”

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