Esan Okpa BOT Chairman,Prof Oteze calls on Esan People to embrace Unity

Prof Oteze who described

 Esan people  as  intelligent, purposeful and goal oriented however need to be united to achieve more in their quest to develop their communities.

.In his goodwill message to the  maiden Assembly of the Esan Okpa Initiative  held at Uromi, Edo State,Prof Gabriel Oteze,who is the Chairman of the organisation's Board of Trustees, acknowledged the contributions of past Esan leaders to the development of Esan land and called for all hands to be on deck to achieve more

He further said that the  attributes of handwork and dedication to duty of the  Esan man  were praise worthy and effective on a level playing ground where excellence is a yardstick for recognition and progress in an Enterprise.

Prof Oteze said the success achieved by   many Esan sons and daughters who   rose to enviable heights in various professions both in  Nigeria and in the  international arena and in   such diverse fields as politics, civil service, armed forces, including the police, industry, commerce and academia was as a result of their pursuit of  hard work and excellence.

He decried the marginalization of Esan people  in the state and recalled that the Ikolo Esan Organisation which he led had  to bring this unacceptable state of affairs to the attention of the state  government and Edo people  through a publication in the Vanguard newspaper.

He further said that in 2017, the organization  realized that the numerous social- cultural organizations, each clamouring to represent the aspirations of Esan people would not lead the people anywhere.

it therefore became necessary to reach out to other similar organisations to forge a united front and create  a viable umbrella organization to speak for,with a strong voice, for Esan people on things that affect them hence the birth of Esan Okpa Initiative with the coming together of the three legacy associations namely, Ikolo Esan based in Benin City,the Lagos based  Esan Professionals Association and Club 30 of Port Harcourt.

He passionately appealed to other Esan social - cultural groups and organizations in Esan land to join Esan Okpa  to make it a more formidable organ adding that with this the people will build an edifice that can liberate the Esan people from the present state of political and  economic marginalisation.