*THIS IS NOT WHAT WE ARE* A KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY ELDER ASU BEKS, CEO, MARITIME MEDIA LTD, AT THE MAIDEN IJAW PUBLISHERS’ FORUM WORKSHOP IN YENAGOA
Protocol
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to stand before you today. I must thank the organizers for finding me worthy to address this gathering. This is certainly not the topic allocated to me. But in view of the exigencies of the moment and the mood of the nation, I decided to speak on the topic THIS IS NOT WHAT WE ARE. Yes, this is not what we are.
Izon means truth and I grew up to this grand norm that an Ijaw man or Izon keme abhors lies. If you like, put a gun on his head. He will stand by the truth. Growing up as a barrack child, I had the rare privilege of criss crossing the length and breadth of Nigeria depending on where duty took my father to.
My late father, Edward Erete Asu, was a police officer having worked briefly as a school teacher before joining...