Chief (Comrade) Sheriff Mulade has not only become an household name in Delta State, particularly in the Warri South-West council area, but his identity has somewhat become synonymous with peace and a safe environment, thanks to his annual Ijaw and Itsekiri Peace and Unity Football Tournament, and the Sheriff Mulade Quiz and Essay Competition, among other initiatives of the Gbaramatu-born peace advocate, environmental activist and leader.

Having witnessed the Warri crisis (a conflict that occurred in the late 90's between the Ijaw and the Itsekiri, and partly the Urhobo ethnic nationality) that led to the destruction of properties and the loss of lives, and having grown up in a degraded environment arising from the unsafe practices of the International Oil Companies (IOCs), the illegal activities of private oil merchants that pose a grave threat to the health of inhabitants, and the neglect of the government, Chief Mulade adopted the title of COMRADE and set before himself the task to unite the people and to seek for environmental justice by speaking up for the voiceless victims, by enlightening the ignorant, by fighting for the neglected people in the creeks and in extension, the Niger Delta region and the world at large.

For Chief Mulade, pursuing peace and promoting a safe environment is not only his business, but a hobby. And he pursues this business of a hobby with a committed passion that is driven not by profit for self-gain, but by a desire to see the positive transformation of the Niger Delta region, specifically the Warri South-West, knowing that peace is a panacea for sustainable growth and development. This ambition of his led to the birthing of what is now known as the Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), the flagship of his advocacy movement over which he plays the significant role of a National Coordinator.

As the National Coordinator of CEPEJ, Chief Mulade did not only preach peace and the need for a clean environment, he practiced it by matching his words with actions.

Knowing the role that education plays in birthing and sustaining peace through the eradication of ignorance and the equipping of inhabitants with knowledge to preserve their environment, which is their heritage, led to Chief Mulade establishing the Sheriff Mulade Quiz and Essay competition in the three LGAs of Warri North, Warri South, and Warri South-West, aimed at catching the upcoming younger generation despite the learning challenges faced especially by those in the creeks as a result of low quality learning infrastructures.

Winners of the annual essay and quiz competition are rewarded with enticing and other consolatory prizes as a way of motivating pupils and students to place more importance on education. The programme is also a strategy by CEPEJ to draw the attention of the Delta State Government and other stakeholders to help bridge the learning gap between education in the urban areas and education in the creeks, as well as subsidize the costs of learning in the latter since majority of parents in coastal areas are poor.

As a way to also engender peaceful coexistence among the youths in the area, with emphasis placed on preventing a repeat of the Warri crisis between the neighbouring Ijaw and the Itsekiri, led to Chief Mulade organising the Ijaw and Itsekiri Peace and Unity Football Tournament, whose third edition held from Saturday, 26 November 2022 to Saturday, 3 December 2022 was strategically reorganized to bring the best of the Ijaw and the best of the Itsekiri football teams together to compete for 1st Prize, 2nd Prize, and 3rd Prize, among other consolatory prizes.

Beyond winning, the football tournament is aimed at discovering talents in the creeks as a way of empowering the youths, and to bring together the ethnic groups so they can forge a common bond towards the purpose of seeking collectively their desirable development as both are victims of exploitation and pollution. And like the essay and quiz competition, it is expected that the government and other stakeholders would key into the benefits of the programme by doing what is needful of them, particularly in citing the needed infrastructures, and tapping as well as developing the raw talents of the youths so they can in return contribute to the development of not only their local communities but to the state, national and global societies at large.

In the area of environmental justice, Chief Mulade through CEPEJ has organized several conferences and workshops with communiques issued that proffered lasting solutions to unhealthy environmental practices, especially in the oil and gas sector. The organization has also embarked on sensitization drive to educate the public on environmental and health issues. Among several of its campaigns include the voluntarily donation of nose masks during the coronavirus outbreak and the free evacuation of wastes during the World Environment Day (WED) 2022.

But how has the government and other stakeholders been reacting to the positive and laudable initiatives of Chief Mulade? Sadly, the answer is: 'Very poorly!' For instance, in the third edition of the organized Ijaw and Itsekiri football tournament, the absence of major stakeholders was loud. The impression of such is that the state government as well as stakeholders who are majorly the oil companies doing business in the Niger Delta region, are not interested in the welfare of the people, but rather in raking in oil revenues. While much revenues have been earned from oil sales over half a century in the area, most oil producing communities in the creeks are a far cry from development as many cannot boast of portable water, constant power, learning and health infrastructures, roads and bridges, and other basic amenities.

Through CEPEJ, Chief Mulade has over the years laid the foundation for peace and a cleaner environment. His message of peace and a clean environment at inception did not resonate well with certain interests, but today it is evident that Chief Mulade is a personality with a future mindset. The current war being waged against oil theft and the stoppage of illegal oil bunkering, whose activities contribute more to the despoliation of the environment, is a proof that the National Coordinator had been on the right path all along. The Ijaw and the Itsekiri ethnic nationalities are beginning to see that they have more to gain when united than when divided. Moreover, both ethnic groups are beginning to come to terms with the proverbs of the literary icon Chinua Achebe (of blessed memory) who said: "When two brothers fight, a stranger reaps the harvest."

Sadly, if not that government revenues were being hampered by oil theft, it is likely that the current war against oil theft in the oil and gas sector might not have arisen. Likewise, government and other stakeholders need to understand that they have more to gain when the Niger Delta region is peaceful, its host communities to oil and gas companies are developed, and its environment is free from oil spills, gas flares and other sources of pollution.

This is therefore a prudent call on the Federal and the State government through their agencies and commissions on the one hand, and to the various stakeholders in the region on the other hand, to partner with Chief Mulade through CEPEJ, whose productive engagements over the years in the pursuit of peace and a clean environment can be tapped into to further deepen the existing peace, improve on the welfare of the people through the establishment of the needed infrastructures, and the protection of their environment which is their heritage.

We also commend Chief Mulade and his CEPEJ team for their untiring efforts to deepen the existing peace between the Ijaw and the Itsekiri, and in extension other ethnic nationalities in Delta State and in the Niger Delta region, as well as promoting a clean environment. We also call on leaders of the various ethnic nationalities in Warri South-West, in Delta State and the Niger Delta region at large to borrow leaf from the National Coordinator of CEPEJ by embracing and promoting peace within their domains and to contribute their own quota towards its development through their empowerment of the youths. This is because pursuing peace and development should be everyone's business and not a responsibility for the government and nongovernmental organisations alone, as its dividends are a benefit to all.

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