Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team Blasts Online Critic, Insists Tompolo's Generosity Is Personal and His Impact on the Niger Delta Undeniable

Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team Blasts Online Critic, Insists Tompolo's Generosity Is Personal and His Impact on the Niger Delta Undeniable By the Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team The attention of the Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team has been drawn to a video circulating online by Ms. Priscy Dash. In it, she faults High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, for distributing vehicles to youths in Northern Nigeria, arguing that the gesture should have been directed to Delta State youths instead. Responding on behalf of the Team, its Coordinator, Chief Inko Brighstar, popularly known as General Whoknows Tomorrow noted that every citizen is entitled to free expression, a right guaranteed by section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). He observed, however, that this right carries a corresponding responsibility to ground commentary in fact, reason and fairness, and that the video in question falls short of that standard. According to Chief Inko, Ms. Dash's argument rests on an unstated premise: that the manner in which a private individual deploys personal resources is open to public direction. It is not. High Chief Ekpemupolo holds no elective office, chairs no local government council, and is not an appointee of the Delta State Government. He is not a custodian of any public treasury, so no duty of appropriation attaches to him. The Constitution protects the right to own property and to dispose of it freely (section 44 and the general scheme of Chapter IV). Beneficence is a matter of conscience, not compulsion. Public funds attract public accountability, while private generosity attracts, at most, public gratitude. To conflate the two is a category error. The Team further notes that the suggestion that help extended to Northern youths is necessarily help withheld from Delta youths is a false dichotomy. Charity is not zero-sum, and Nigeria is one nation. Empowering one young Nigerian does not diminish the worth of another. Section 15(3) of the Constitution commits the nation to national integration, and section 15(4) to fostering a feeling of belonging and involvement among all peoples of the Federation. A gesture that builds bridges across regions advances that constitutional vision. If the concern is the welfare of Delta youths, advocacy is best matched by action. The Team respectfully invites Ms. Dash, and indeed all who feel strongly on the subject, to channel that energy into empowering young people within their own circles and means. Constructive citizenship is measured by contribution, not only by commentary. A critic who demands that another person's resources be spent differently should be ready to say how she is spending her own. The record, meanwhile, speaks for itself. The contributions of High Chief Ekpemupolo and High Chief Dennis Brutu Otuaro, PhD, Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, to peace, human capital development and stability in the Niger Delta are matters of public record. Under the Presidential Amnesty Programme, thousands of young people from the region have been reintegrated into society through education, vocational training and empowerment. The restoration of relative peace in the creeks has enabled economic activity, investment and security in communities that once knew only conflict. Both leaders have consistently put the Niger Delta's youths, and the wider region, at the front of their efforts. That body of work is unmatched, and no single video, however widely shared, can diminish it. The Team has also noticed a growing tendency to seek online visibility by targeting respected leaders. It urges the public to engage with facts and to separate honest critique from attention-seeking. Public figures can be criticised, but criticism should be informed, fair and free of insinuation. The Team equally urges all supporters to respond to this and any other commentary with decorum, in keeping with the dignity of the leaders they honour. In conclusion, the Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team stands firmly with High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo and High Chief Dennis Brutu Otuaro, PhD. Their service to the Niger Delta will continue to speak louder than any controversy, and their commitment to the region's peace, progress and prosperity remains undeterred. Nothing will stop it. ~Dr. Dennis Otuaro Volunteer Media Team