A frontline Ijaw leader and an uncle to the Executive Secretary, National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, Comrade JD Ayakoroma, has died.
Comrade JD, as he was fondly called, a first member, Area Customary Court, Patani, Delta State, died in a fatal accident. He was aged 69.
Reports have it that he was killed by a trailer in an ugly accident, which occurred at Adagbabiri, near Sagbama, along the East-West Road. He died on the spot.
The deceased, who was the President of Lay Judges Association, Delta State, was among those who joined Late Isaac Adaka Boro in his struggle to liberate the Ijaw nation in the 60s.
He wrote a book, Rivers State: The Roof of all Ijaws, which led to his detention by the then Gen. Yakubu Gowon administration, because the contents of the book were seen by the authorities as inciting and treasonable.
He was later released after concerted efforts by Ijaw leaders; and he was later appointed by then Military Governor of Rivers State, Commander Alfred Diete-Spiff, as a pioneer staff of the Nigerian Tide, the state newspaper, since he (JD) had trained as a printer.
JD, a committed Trade Unionist, was for many years President of the Printers and Publishers Workers Union of Nigeria (PAPWUN), Rivers State, where he contributed immensely to staff welfare.
He ventured into the murky waters of politics and was a founding member of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Rivers State.
His death has left a vacuum as he would be missed by the people of Angiama, in Sagbama and Patani LGAs in Delta and Bayelsa States, the entire Ijaw nation, the Niger Delta in addition to members of New Jerusalem Church of Christ, where he was a leader.
He is survived by his wife, Akpoebi, and three children (two boys and one girl), Oyinkuro, Ayibaemi, and Tokoni.
Nwagbo Nnenyelike
Corporate Affairs