Journalist and human rights activist Agba Jalingo has shed light on the tragic circumstances surrounding the father of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, who recently faced backlash for calling President Bola Tinubu a “terrible leader” in a viral video.
In a detailed post on his Facebook page, Jalingo recounted how Rita’s father, an immigration officer, died after participating in a protest against the demolition of his palm plantation to make way for the Obudu International Airport in Cross River State. He noted that Rita was only 19 years old at the time of her father’s passing.
Jalingo revealed that Mr. Raphael A. Ushie, a Chief Inspector of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), actively took part in a community demonstration against the forced takeover of farmland in Ukambi, his hometown. According to Jalingo, the protest erupted when bulldozers moved into the area to clear land for the airport project. Mr. Ushie, who had invested his life savings into his palm plantation, reportedly stood in front of the bulldozers in his official uniform, attempting to halt the demolition.
“He arrived and went straight to the farm in his uniform and met the bulldozer nearing his plantation. He faced the operator and tried to prevent him from encroaching into his land before other community members joined him in the farm. He participated fully in the day’s protest and the demolition and collapsed after then. He was rushed to a hospital in Obudu. The matter couldn’t be handled there and he was moved to UCTH in Calabar where he passed on,” Jalingo narrated.
Despite their father’s sacrifice, Jalingo emphasized that neither Ushie’s family nor other affected farmers received any form of compensation for their losses. “Not a single dime was paid to the family as compensation for the palm plantation or for any other expenses.,” he lamented.
Following Mr. Ushie’s death, his wife was left to raise their children alone, struggling to provide for their education and livelihood. “Ushie Rita Aguamaye, who is now 24, was 19 years old when the inefficiency of Nigeria took her dad away. Their poor mum was left alone to see them through school and till now, there is no hope that the investment their father hoped to keep for them will be compensated,” Jalingo noted.
Jalingo acknowledged that Rita had violated NYSC bylaws, which prohibit corps members from making public political statements, but he argued that her frustration stemmed from personal tragedy and broader national hardship.
“If you were in her shoes, you live in a country where the system kills your dad for no reason, when you are only 19, your mother suffers to see you through school and when you try to express your frustrations publicly, the same nation that killed your father threatens to kill you too? So where is the freedom of expression?” he asked.
Jalingo questioned the state of free speech in Nigeria, pointing out the hypocrisy of a system that took away her father and now threatens her for expressing frustration.
The journalist concluded by urging well-meaning Nigerians to support Rita and her family instead of worsening their plight. “Instead of compounding her situation, we should sympathize with her and help her family recover from this tragedy,” he asserted.
