Commercial activities were on Tuesday paralysed in Amassomma, the town of the late former Governor of Bayelsa, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.
Alamieyeseigha, one of Ijaw’s foremost leaders, died of high blood pressure related ailment at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State, last Saturday.
Since his death, indigenes and residents of the state have been mourning him.
The Bayelsa State Government on Monday declared seven days of mourning for the fallen first civilian governor of the state.
In Amassomma community on Tuesday, residents poured out in black dresses to mourn him.
As a mark of honour to a man they regarded as the pillar and builder of modern Amassomma, residents of the university town in which the Niger Delta University is situated closed markets, on Tuesday.
The community’s vigilant groups went around the nooks and crannies of the town to enforce compliance with the directive to mourn the Ijaw leader.
Expectedly, shop owners and traders shut their stalls in markets even as hospitals and schools were shut.
Residents started opening their shops around 3pm after the procession round the community had ended.
A visit to the state-owned Niger Delta University revealed that some exams scheduled for morning period were shifted by the authorities as a mark of respect for Alamieyeseigha.
A year-two student of the institution, who gave her name simply as Ebiowei, said their morning papers were shifted.
She said, “We came in the morning to sit for our exams but were told that they had been shifted to evening because of Alamieyesiegha. As you can see, students who are indigenes of the community were told to wear black dresses.”
An official of NDU, who craved anonymity, said some lecturers and students participated in the procession organised by the community for the deceased.
He stated, “Without Alamieyeseigha, this community would have been desolate. When he was governor, the community was not accessible by road. It was he who ensured that roads were constructed to link to the city.
“Most areas were waterlogged and he ensured that everywhere was filled with sand. As of 2001, Amassomma could not be accessed by road but he built major roads and internal roads in the community. For many people, Alamiyeseigha’s vacuum cannot be filled.”
The acting Amananowei of Amassomma, Chief Sharp Sogo, said the procession by youths and the closure of markets were part of the activities to honour Alamieyeseigha.
On when the mourning would stop, Sogo said the people of Amassomma would continue to mourn him until he is buried.
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