By joshua 
Esan Mega Summit 2025: Leaders Outline Bold Security And Development Blueprint For Esanland
Ekpoma, Edo State — The Esan Descendants Assembly (EDA) convened the Esan Mega Summit and Merit Award 2025 on Saturday at the Oak Event Centre, assembling traditional rulers, senior academics, captains of industry, security experts, cultural troupes, and Esan diaspora representatives for what has become the region’s most important forum for strategic reflection and collective decision-making.
Presided over by Prof. G.R.A. Okogun, Chairman of the EDA Council and Dean of the Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science at Ambrose Alli University, the Summit marked the first major gathering since the pivotal 2022 Uromi assembly that produced the widely embraced Esan Agenda.
The ceremony featured Elder Omofuma, Chief Executive of GT Plaza, as Chairman of the Occasion, with Prof. Matthew Izibili serving as Master of Ceremony. The event blended intellectual discourse with cultural celebration, highlighted by performances from the Odide Dancers of Uromi and the Oneghesele Band led by Daniel Onivie of Ewu.
Traditional rulers from across Edo Central, business leaders, youth representatives, academics and Esan nationals from within and outside Nigeria underscored the Summit’s growing stature as a unifying Esan institution.
Speakers repeatedly referenced the 2022 Uromi Summit, where the Esan Agenda was crafted and later influenced the nomination of Esan candidates by both major political parties in the 2024/2025 governorship cycle. The 2025 Summit was framed as the next stage — shifting from political achievement to building tangible structures for security, development, and regional coordination.
Among the most notable interventions was that of Rear Admiral Oamen, a senior Joint Task Force commander in the Southwest, who called on the EDA to convene an Esan Security Summit within six months. He proposed a comprehensive security framework: the formation of an Amotekun-style Esan regional security outfit headquartered at Irrua, the recruitment of 500 personnel across the five LGAs, joint LGA funding, leadership under a retired senior officer, and strong reliance on intelligence, local vigilance, and modern surveillance tools. He cautioned that without coordinated indigenous security architecture, Esanland remains exposed to threats that transcend local boundaries.
Ford Foundation consultant and WHARC Executive Director Prof. Friday Okonofua urged Esan people everywhere to adopt a philosophy of homeward development. He emphasized that minority groups in Nigeria amplify their relevance through unity, purpose, collective strategy, and patriotism expressed in tangible investments at home. Prof. Eifedeyi, Chief Medical Director of ISTH, spoke on the rising urgency of functional, job-creating education, encouraging youths to pursue fields such as Nursing, Radiology, Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, and Medicine.
He highlighted ISTH’s growing status as one of Nigeria’s leading tertiary medical centres and argued that Esanland must leverage such institutions to expand opportunity and economic relevance.
Prof. Okonigene, professor of Communication Engineering, expanded on the security discourse by stressing the importance of technology and citizenship education. True security, he noted, rests on national belonging, not narrow indigeneship identities, and on economic systems that give citizens reasons to resist extremist influence.
Prof. Omon Owolabi, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Benin and Chairman of the Summit Planning Committee, was widely acknowledged for her relentless leadership in steering the event to success despite significant logistical and institutional challenges. A proud daughter of Ewohimi in Esan South East and married to a Yoruba, she embodied the spirit of interethnic harmony and used the occasion to urge Esan people to close ranks, strengthen internal cohesion, and pursue a unified development and security agenda. Prof. Owolabi emphasized that a safer, more prosperous, and welcoming Esanland would not only elevate the quality of life of its citizens but also attract investment, talent, and goodwill from within Nigeria and beyond.
Speaking to reporters after the event, Saintmoses Eromosele (SME) — General Secretary of the EDA Council and Secretary of the Planning Committee — thanked the attendees and urged Esan communities to deepen internal dialogue on development and security, strengthen unity among traditional institutions, and build inter-LGA cooperation capable of shaping shared policy direction.
He presented the vision of an Esan City, a coordinated metropolitan network cited at a real estate carved out of the geographic middle of Esanland, UGBEGUN, linking all Esan towns into a unified economic and residential hub capable of attracting investment, innovation, and accelerated sustainable growth.
Eromosele also commended the awardees particularly Rt. Hon. Jonathan Ibhamawu, Majority Leader of the Edo State House of Assembly, describing him as a humble, compassionate, accessible, and intellectually grounded legislator whose work continues to advance Esan unity and support the leadership of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
Six distinguished individuals received the EDA Prize, representing excellence across Esanland: Rt. Hon. Jonathan Aigbokhan Ibhamawu of Esan West for Legislative and Community Service; Rev. Matthew Okpebholo of Esan North East for Entrepreneurship and Community Service; Prof. Friday Okonofua of Esan Central for Academics and Community Service; Victor Osimhen of Esan South East for Sports and Global Achievement; and Late Engr. Osaro Odiase of Ekpon, Igueben LGA — honoured posthumously for his leadership as Chairman of the 2022 Uromi Summit Committee. Prof Friday Okonofua spoke on behalf of all the award recipients thanking EDA for the thoughtfulness in honoring them at home.
By the close of the Summit, a shared message had crystallized: Esanland must consolidate its unity, secure its communities, modernize its economy, and move decisively toward a coordinated regional development framework. The Esan Mega Summit 2025 reaffirmed the region’s rising confidence and its commitment to shaping a safer, more prosperous, and globally competitive future.
Saintmoses Eromosele reporting from his Cassava farm in Ewu, Esan Central local government area,Edo State.