Amanyanabo of Abonnema bags UN peace award (pictures)

… As St. Augustine’s Anglican church honours Monarch

History was made in Abonnema community on Saturday, April 7, 2018, as the Amanyanabo of Abonnema, HM Sir King
(Barr) Disrael Gbobo Bob-Manuel, Owukori ix, was in recognition of his peace building efforts within and outside his domain, conferred with the United Nations Mayor of Peace award (MP) by the United Nations Positive Livelihood Centre (UN-POLAC).

Conferring the Mayor of Peace award on the Amanyanabo, the Secretary of the body in Nigeria, Ambassador of Peace (Dr) H. Olue, said the Monarch met all the criteria used in conferring such award, which he said included the Amanyanabo’s unrelenting quest for justice and peace.

Meanwhile, the St. Augustine’s Anglican church, Abonnema, has held a special thanksgiving service to honour and celebrate the Amanyanabo of Abonnema on his recent investiture into the Knighthood of Saint Christopher (KSC) and the elevation of his stool to a first class status by the Rivers State Government.

Delivering the sermon during the thanksgiving, the Bishop of the Niger Delta Diocese, Rt. Rev. Ralph Ebirien, stated that the church decided to use the day to give thanks to God on behalf of the Monarch because God elevated him to a first class status where he is now placed on the highest ranking among other traditional rulers in the country and for his recent investiture into the holy Knighthood of saint Christopher, which he said had portrayed the Monarch as a Godly king.

Reading from 2kings 18:1, Rt. Rev. Ebirien likened the Amanyanabo of Abonnema to King Hezekiah, whom he said had ruled Abonnema in the ways and fear of the Lord, as he acknowledges Him in all he does, adding that it was the source of the peace and development witnessed in Abonnema since his reign.

The cleric urged the Monarch to continue to do that which was right in the sight of God and not try to please men, for it was God who enthroned him and to Him alone(God) he(Amanyanabo) would give account, declaring that “nobody would succeed in destroying Abonnema”.

He appealed to all who had disagreements with the Monarch to sheath their swords, embrace peace and work cooperatively with the king to bring more developments to the area.

Eberien also used the occasion to appeal to the youths to shun violence and encouraged them to get registered and obtain their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) with which they could vote in the right persons that would provide them jobs, noting that “only the living would enjoy life”.

In his reaction to the award given to him, the Amanyanabo declared that as a United Nations-POLAC Mayor of Peace, it was his responsibility to enthrone peace in his domain and the world at large, stating that “charity must begin at home”.

“I hereby declare a truce and invite all the persons and chiefs in Abonnema and Akuku-Toru LGA who are agitating for anything to come to the round table for discussion”.

He enjoined them to emulate the example showed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga Raila of Kenya; where they said that as leaders, they had a responsibility to come together and discuss issues and find solutions that would bind their people together and unite them as one.

“Our progenitors left Elem Kalabari (ancestral home of the Kalabari people) in 1882 and settled in Abonnema; they had since died and gone and so shall we all, but Abonnema will continue to remain.

“We are not the most important people in Abonnema, the most important people are the men and women, young boys and girls whose future and well-being appear to be in our hands and we must not toy with that.

“We must not allow personal aggrandizement cause chaos in our kingdom. As leaders, we should leave our communities better than we met it” he said.

The award of the United Nations Mayor of Peace (UN-MP) is one of the highest recognitions given to individuals by United Nations Positive Livelihood Award Centre (UN-POLAC).

The Governor of Rivers State, Chief (Barr) Nyesom Wike, was represented by a high powered delegation led by the honourable Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Barr. Sylvanus Nwankwo.

The epoch making event was well attended by top government functionaries, traditional rulers and chiefs from far and near, captains of industries, clergymen, community members among others.