By Enekorogha Godbless
Oh! Hon. Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba, though I was very tender but I still remember when you left our home, promising to take a short siesta. However, you took all your belongings along for a short siesta you promised your family in 2007, which perplexed me. The most astonishing thing was that we all recognize three and uses three conventional means of transportation - water, air, and land - where you can use either a boat, ship, or canoe for water transportation, an airplane, jet, or helicopter for air transportation, and a car for land transportation. My uncle, neither used air, land, nor water means of transportation; he passed beneath the earth's surface using a casket as a means of transportation.
I wanted to ask, but was too tender and afraid to ask, why my uncle Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba chose not to adopt the three conventional means of transportation. Because my teachers taught me that we have only three means of transportation, why didn't he adopt any? After three months of his journey for siesta in 2007, his elder brother, my uncle Simon Asaba, made several attempts to call him (Bailbond Asaba) to know his whereabouts and the country he went to for siesta, but his number was not connecting.
Due to the bond and camaraderie they shared together from childhood, my uncle decided to pass through the same route that uncle Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba passed through in search of his brother after three months of his brother's unknown journey. We all had faith; I was hoping that his elder brother, my uncle Simon Asaba, would definitely see his brother and bring him (Bailbond) back home, but no, we didn't see him, nor the person he went searching for.
Does it mean that my uncle Simon Asaba missed his way while looking for his brother? Or is he trying to convince Bailbond to come back home? Or does it mean he had an accident on his way? But which hospital could he be admitted to? And if he had happened to be admitted to a hospital, why can't the hospital contact us, his family? Or were my uncles kidnapped? Has the uncertainty of life kidnapped my two uncles in just three months interval of a year? So pathetic and excruciating, as water and agony became a balm to my soul, seeing my mother, Botela Asaba, and her sister my aunt, Esther Asaba, crying helplessly and hopelessly every day, praying, imploring and beseeching God Almighty (Tamarau) to have compassion, sympathy, and empathy and bring back their siblings, but it seems all their tears and hope were in futility.
I thought and had the strong perception that they might have been kidnapped on their way because I know my uncles; they can't just abandon their family for years, almost two decades, without even reaching out to them, knowing well that the family depends and relies on them for their survival.
With the agony in my heart, I cried out to the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) because my uncle Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba was a lover of the Ijaw Nation; he loved to fight and was in the vanguard against the marginalization, subjugation, intimidation, oppression, environmental degradation, disempowerment of the aborigines of the Niger Delta. Thus, I called Felix Tuedolo, Asari Dokubo, Tom Ateke, Ebikabowei Victor Ben (Boyloaf) et al to know, if IYC or the Ijaw Nation gave my uncle an assignment that required him to travel beneath the earth's surface, which has made him not come back, and the response we, his family, got was that Hon. Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba was a lover of the Ijaw Nation; he has always been in the vanguard for the liberation and emancipation of the Niger Delta; his absence has left a vacuum in the struggle.
Then I remembered my uncle always saying that he had a brother from Oporoza Community, his name is Tompolo; that's when I decided to reach out to the GOC of the Ijaw Nation, Government Oweizide Ekpemukpolo, to know if he had seen my uncle Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba, but GOC told me it had been long since he saw my uncle.
Each time I made these calls, the end point was always in futility; my mother, Botela Asaba, couldn't hold it anymore; Esther Asaba, my lovely aunt, couldn't stop crying; I had empathy and sympathy for them despite the agony and pain in my heart too.
I was with my friend one day, and I told him about the mysterious travel of my uncles; my friend advised me not to worry, that I should contact MIENBUTUS, that Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba was the founder of MIENBUTUS; probably, they may know his whereabouts, but I called his core founder of MIENBUTUS, Mike Loyibo, Freedom Igere, Tony Clerk, Andabofa, Joseph Seiya, Boro Kutu, Ebiyikere, et al., but they didn't know my uncle's whereabouts. They mentioned that there were certain tasks my uncle needed to complete at the organizations secretariat, which he had not done for a long time. But I thought to myself, "My uncle loves MIENBUTUS; I saw the effort and agility he put into the union, even when I was young. Why would he abandon the union without telling his colleagues about his whereabouts?"
Ditto, to my search for my Uncles, my cousin brother, Doutimi Simon Asaba continued. One fateful midnight, while I was sleeping, my cousin brother, Emomotimi Asaba, woke me up and told me that Doutimi had also traveled along the same route his uncle and father had taken, searching for them. However, he was shot by hoodlums. That's when my agony doubled, and tears rolled down my cheeks like heavy downpour. I knew that route was evil; nobody passes through it and comes back. But there was nothing I could do.
I have reported the sudden disappearance of my uncles to the nearby police station and relevant agencies, but it seems they are not doing anything about it, or is the federal government holding my uncle hostage, claiming that anything beneath the earth's surface belongs to them? Does this mean they are also holding my uncle captive, given his history of opposing them over issues of marginalization?
Sir Chief E.K. Clark, you are an elder statesman in the Ijaw Nation. The eldest says what an old man see while sitting down, a child can't see it even though he climbs the longest tree or mountain. Sir pls, I am seeking your advice on the sudden disappearance of my uncles. Why haven't they returned? Why didn't they use the conventional means of transportation - air, water, or land? Or is there a mode of transportation beyond air, water, or land that our educators didn't cover in school, one that could explain the prolonged absence?.
I believe that with your help, Chief Sir (E.K. Clark), along with IYC, MIENBUTUS, and my uncle's brother from Oporoza, Government Oweizide Ekpemukpolo, and his colleagues who are at the forefront of the emancipation and liberation of the Ijaw Nation, my search will be fruitful. MIENBUTUS, IYC, Chief E.K. Clark, Government Oweizide Ekpemukpolo, I am tired of crying; please, I need your help. Please help me find my uncle, Bailbond Pereklegha Asaba, founder of Mienbutu and Assistant Secretary of IYC.
Asiayei Enaibo David, you are the talking drum of the Niger Delta, disseminating information swiftly to the catchment milieu. I believe my uncles are still within the jurisdiction of the Niger Delta. They traveled in a casket and haven't returned, despite covering a far distance. You can still globalize this message through Gbaramatuvoice, a voice that echoes beyond the Niger Delta. I believe that wherever they are, they can hear this message.
Enekorogha Godbless,
Writes from Ayakoromo community
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