i'm ready to die - Edwin Clark

A former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has said at age 87, he has played his part in Nigeria and he is ready to depart the world.

The foremost Ijaw leader, who said this in a statement to commemorate his 87th birthday coming up on Sunday (today), also asked that his birthday should not be celebrated by anyone.


He said he would not take gifts from anyone just as he called on his friends and well wishers not to place any congratulatory adverts in the media.

Clark, who is seen as a godfather to President Goodluck Jonathan said, “I believe that I have played my part, ready to depart in joy and peace. Hence, I have repeatedly proclaimed it loudly at given occasions that as a mortal being, I am now like one at a departure lounge awaiting the call to meet my creator.

“I have always prayed that that call would come when my generation had contributed its utmost best to improving the world it met. I have come to this position, believing that I have played my part, ready to depart contentedly. On my birthday last year, my position was that there were too many issues tearing the country apart for any form of celebration.

“I had decided I would just pray in my closet against Nigeria’s divisive tendencies, but my family, friends and associates thought differently, and, on their own, foisted upon me a thundering gathering at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers, to mark the day.

“I, therefore, issue this statement to all and sundry: concerning my 87th Birthday anniversary on May 25, 2014, I strongly plead that no one contemplates any form of action and activity, not even a published greeting or gift.”

Rather, he said all should join him, to pray against all evil forces, spiritual, and their human agents in the form of principalities and powers, to desist or be consumed by the wrath of God.

He also appealed to people to arise with one voice, in calling on those who know anything about the abducted Chibok schoolgirls to have a change of heart and ensure they are returned safely or face the vengeance of God.

Clark also asked Nigerians to pray to God to give President Jonathan the wisdom to “sort through the maze of briefings, some of them certainly of perfidious deception, constantly brought before him.”

Speaking on his lifetime, Clark said he had counted his days with reverent gratitude to God and that he had very many reasons to thank Him for longevity, strength and mental alertness.

The former minister said that though he was a happy man because of the long life he was blessed with, he was not happy because of the killings and the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls by members of Boko Haram in Borno State.

While appealing to Nigerians to remain steadfast in their love for the country, Clark also used the opportunity of his birthday “to appeal to Boko-Haram and all their sponsors, if they still have conscience to drop their weapons and negotiate with the Federal Government to end this carnage and destruction across the land.”