Esaba Gets Secondary School

By Moses Darah

I last praised the Governor of Delta State, Sen Dr Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa in a 2018 article titled, ‘the wonders of Okowa in Abraka’ where I outlined over five road projects of his administration that broke the jinx of underdevelopment in the University Community. I advised the Abraka people to hire Udje Dance troupe from my Ughievwen kingdom to celebrate the Ekwueme of the Universe. I still wonder what would have become of NUT road this raining season.

Let the combined troupes of Udje, Igbe emete, Adjuya, Egbada and Igbe eghweya get ready. This time, the drums will be very loud from Esaba to Owa-Alero in Ika to thank the ‘School Master’. Truly, Okowa has done what Napoleon could not do.

Since Wednesday, September 23, 2020, when the Delta State Executive Council announced the approval of a Secondary School for Esaba, I have been overwhelmed with excitement. Evun vwẹn na riọ, kọ miẹmiẹn kirẹ ame ọnyọ. When I posted the news on a WhatsApp group, a member mocked me and asked why I am so excited just because of a Secondary school in my village. I just ignored him and said to myself in Pidgin, ‘who no go, no know’. He was even surprised, asking why Esaba will just be having its first Secondary School in 2020.

Esaba got its first school, Local Authority Primary School, now Emoghwe Primary School in 1956. Prof Godini Gabriel Darah was a pioneer pupil (1956-1961). It took a period of 64 years of optimism, prayers, patience, willingness, goodwill and the grace of God for this dream to materialise.

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I began my early education at Esakpa Primary, Otutuama at a time intelligence was not the criterion for admission but the ability of the pupil to touch his/her ear. I was deprived the excitements of sitting on a mat for ichiyẹghwẹre (kindergarten) and carrying the long black slate when my elder sister Regina was admitted. Urhobo was the only language of instruction in the school and I was a monolingual. Mi nyo Oyibo phiephiee. We relocated to Esaba where I completed my education at Emoghwe Primary School. After two years in the white and white Ovwian Grammar School, Ovwian, I was back at St. Vincent College, Okwagbe as a class prefect. A position I earned through my perfect handwriting comparable to Jacob Aghwabro Uhwẹn’s.

For two years, from Monday to Friday, I trekked the 8-kilometer Esaba-Otutuama-Okwagbe road to and fro to attend classes in Saint Vincent’s College, Okwagbe before I rented an apartment at Okwagbe-Inland. We endured the terrible situation during the raining seasons year in year out, especially when the flood outruns the road. E she jẹ a ra. In one of my previous Facebook posts, I displayed the pictures of students on school uniforms crossing the Esaba river with a wooden pontoon.

This approval of a Secondary school in Esaba at this moment is timely. It will serve as centre of academic excellence and relief not only to Esaba but also to students from Otutuama, Ukperheren and other neighbouring Communities, who hitherto, have to trek miles to get to the nearest school.

Many thanks to all the facilitators of this laudable dream-come-true most especially the Governor of Delta State, Sen Dr Okowa; the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Patrick Ukah; Prof GG Darah and others. The school will be opened for its first academic session in early October. I admonish everyone to support this project. E jẹ ọ gua otọ.