By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
The name Comrade Chief Sheriff Mulade, Ph.D, stands out as a rare blend of activists, community leader, sport developer, peace ambassador, conflict resolution expert and grassroots builder whose life’s work appears tailor‑made to address the real needs of humanity.
He has made a great mark in the anals of history especially in the Niger Delta and Nigeria in general.
Born and bred in Gbaramatu Kingdom, Sheriff Mulade, carries the rhythm of the Niger Delta in his voice and in his vocation. He is widely known as a peace and environmental activists, human‑rights advocate, politician and the founder and CEO of the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), an organisation he floated and has led since 2004.
With a daring commitment and desire for peace and harmony, through CEPEJ, Mulade, has consistently positioned himself at the intersection of conflict resolution, environmental protection, and social justice. His activism is not abstract; it is rooted in the lived realities of oil‑producing communities that battle oil spills, gas flares, youth unemployment, workers discrimination and suppression, oppression and the legacy of ethnic tensions. Without mincing words, Mulade’s work goes beyond just slogans; it is about documenting environmental damages, amplifying community grievances, and pushing for dialogue between government, oil companies, and local communities. No wonder he is known and called “The Comrade” who wears many hats.
Mulade, has no doubt served the people and represented their opinions positively at different fora of struggles without, personal benefits, greed, betrayal or selfishness. He is indeed a voice of reckon in the Niger Delta.
His work revolved around three major pillars viz peacebuilding, environmental protection, and social justice. He has been on ground long before peace in Warri became a headline in newspapers and television promoting reconciliation between the Urhobos, Ijaws and the Itsekiri using dialogue, youth engagement, and symbolic events method to foster trust and unity. These are visible when he goes beyond just resolutions and press statements, but turning his ideals into tangible projects that speak directly to the youths. So he sponsored the Sheriff Mulade Quiz and Essay Competition. An initiative that encourages critical thinking, academic excellence, and civic awareness among secondary school students in the Niger Delta.
Again and more visibly, he floated, sponsors and promotes the Ijaw and Itsekiri Peace and Unity Football Tournament, an annual event that brings together youths from communities that once fought each other onto the football pitch. The tournament is not just fun; it is a carefully constructed peace architecture that uses sports, coordination, and community participation to build bridges where acrimony, hatred, and bullets once flew. Such initiatives reveals a key truth about Mulade’s approach as a man who understands that lasting peace cannot be decreed from above but it must be nurtured from below, through culture, education, and sports.
For a constituency such as Warri South West with a high youth population and a history of restiveness, these projects are quiet investments in long term stability.
On the environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, Mulade has been a strong voice speaking out against oil spills, gas flaring, and weak enforcement of environmental standards. Thank God for his organisation, CEPEJ, that has served as a watchdog and community voice, documenting cases, engaging regulators, and advocating for compensations and remediation measures.
The facts remains that in Warri South West Constituency, many homes sit on contaminated land, fishing and farming are been pushed daily to the edge, and so, with such advocacy, it is no longer optional but it is a survival strategy.
Sheriff Mulade, a well and thorough bred Ijaw indigene holds several titles such Comrade, Chief, Ambassador, and an academic Doctor of Philosophy, PhD. Each of these title reflects a different facet of his journey.
In 2020, the Gbaramatu Royal Council conferred on him the traditional title of IBE‑SORIMOWEI of Gbaramatu Kingdom, a recognition of his role as a community leader and peace builder. That chieftaincy title is more than ceremonial. It signals that he is formally embedded in the traditional governance structure of his people, giving him both the moral authority and cultural closeness to mediate conflicts, articulate local concerns, and broker agreements between youths, elders, and state actors. In a place as culturally nuanced as Warri South‑West, this kind of indigenous legitimacy is often as important as any party card or campaign message.
Mulade’s contributions have not gone unnoticed. He has received several awards from the media and educational institutions for his work in peace, human rights, and community development. He is a patron to so many bodies and groups including the Indigenous Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Delta State Council, Asaba. He has also been honoured with the Delta Maritime Polytechnic Award of Excellence, in recognition of his advocacy for higher institutions and his role in promoting youth and community development in the Ijaw areas. These recognitions are not mere plaques on the wall; they are public validations that his efforts are producing measurable impacts. In a political climate where many leaders are known more for controversy than for contribution, such external validation strengthens his credibility as someone who can translate activism into legislation and oversight.
Mulade, in all these is also a grassroots politician as an extension of his activism. He was among the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and in 2019, he was an aspirant vying for the Warri South West seat in the state House of Assembly, where he campaigned on issues of representation, peace, education, sports, and environmental justice.
His political ideology is unusual in a context where many candidates rely on empty promises and ethnic sloganeering. Instead, Mulade, campaigned with concrete issues such as better schools, youth employment through sports and vocational training, environmental remediation, and community‑friendly development projects.
Warri South‑West constituency in Delta State is a unique patchwork of riverine communities, ethnic clusters, and oil‑bearing hinterlands linked by a shared history of conflict, environmental neglect, and unmet development. And so, only those with sincere commitments, development ideals, good intention and accessibility can and should represent the people for a better life’s and development.
In the 2027 general elections, Mulade, as a strong voice has indicated interest to represent the Warri South-West Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representative. He has the pedigree, qualities, exposures and wealth of experience. He has make good of his voice and has attracted a lot to the different ethnic groups in the constituency, and if elected, he is the kind of representation who can speak authoritatively to both the Ministry of Environment, Agencies, Multi National Oil companies and the Government or people in authority for a better life, infrastructures, remediation work and employment for his constituents. His representation will be a recognition that speaks louder than noise.
Therefore, on the question of representation come 2027, the mathematics is simple, if Warri South‑West Federal Constituency is to move beyond poverty, unemployment, oil exploration, community degradation, crisis and rhetoric, then it must be represented by someone who has already spent decades building peace, defending the environment, and investing in its youth. In that regard, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, Ph.D, is not just a candidate but a cause.
Godwin-Maria Utuedoye, is a Journalist, Analyst and Social Critic. He writes from Ughelli.