The Gbaramatu Issue: Let Us Blow the Whistle (All Yoruba must unite)

The Gbaramatu Issue: Let Us Blow the Whistle (All Yoruba must unite)

A little while ago, the president of Nigeria announced that anyone who raises issues of corruption will receive a 5% reward of the profit. The Gbaramatu Ijos have committed crimes beyond what the human conscience can bear. For now, nobody knows the perpetrators of these acts, but the most likely suspects are the following – Chief James Onanefe Ibori; Ex Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, the outlaw Tompolo; the spent force EK Clark; the push me I push you assumed Ijaw president Goodluck Jonathan; the now sick Diezani; the late Alamayiesigha; Feghabor and the late Colonel Dungs.

                It is a tedious long story. The story goes back to May 28^th 1998, a day to the departure of Feghabor as the MILADof Delta State. The notorious man did some mysterious things. He swore in the Orosuen of Okere Urhobo kingdom; the Pere of Gbaramatu; the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh, the King of Agbassa and a host of other non kings. Feghabor is a Nembe man. There are two Nembes – Ogbolomabiri(pure-Ijaws) and Bassambri(Isekiri descendants). Feghabor has an Isekiri middle name and claims to be related to Isekiri, yet he dealt the cruel blow. People who had no kingdom historically were granted kingdoms (Talbot 1926; Roth 1903; Samuel Ogbemudia in Vangurd 3^rd 2016; Ikime 1969; Egharevba 1948 etc)            Dungs appeared as a military administrator in the dark days of military dictatorship – a Berom man from Riyom  about thirty kilometers from Jos City. He is said to have some blood links to Ijaw and even Urhobo (Umukoro Gideon 1998/1999). He unilaterally created an un-gazetted local government – Warri Central and Warri South with Headquarters at Ogbe-Ijoh. Isekiri authorities – Sagay, Atake, Rita Lori , etc wrote relentlessly about this gross injustice of the now late Col. Dungs. Abacha saw the facts and told him to go and announce Ogidigben, He reluctantly did that. The Warri crises began in March 1997, a little after that. People like the outlaw, Tompolo climbed to power as killers, murderers and rebels. The war continued. All Isekiri villages except Orugbo and Gbolokposo were raised down. The power of Isekiri juju which always surpassed that of the Ijaws helped these two communities. It was the village of Orugbo – the home of the Almighty Ibrikimo – that later tamed the Ijaw madness.

                Comes in Ibori. He was a governor who turned the present Delta State into his property. He ruled totally outside the ambit of law and order.  In order to settle the crises, he went totally against the law. Ibori is an Isekiri man with an Urhobo father. Yes, you heard me well; he is an Isekiri man with an Urhobo father. He attended Uniben as Esijolomi Ibori. But in 1991, when he wanted to contest for House of Reps, he changed his name to Onanefe. This notorious man changed the Headquarters of WSW Legal Govt. from Ogidigben to Ogbe-Ijoh. Till today Ogbe-Ijoh is not gazetted as Warri South West LGA Headquarters. This injustice is making the Ijaws to see themselves as landlord in Warri. Whereas they are Isekiri tenants (Suit No. W/148/56). The same grant of Ibori on Ogbe-Ijoh is what is causing the perpetual war of Ijaw and the Aladja(also tenants of the Isekiri).

                Uduaghan comes in. He was a stooge planted by Ibori. He was and is still is a complete yes man. He is a man without any sense of direction. He is an Isekiri man with an Isekiri father, unlike Ibori who is an Isekiri man with an Urhobo father. Towards the end of his administration, for fear of his boss – Ibori – he went to give a staff of office to the illegal king of Gbaramatu. Thus they have a parole king without a history and worse still without a kingdom (Suit Nos. MCC/4/71 and MCC/37/71: )

 Many Isekiri close to Uduaghan say that Uduaghan was not really happy with what he was doing that he was afraid of being impeached by the Ibori boys who were masterminding him to carry out his atrocities against the Isekiri – his own people. That is not an excuse however. He should have honourable resigned from the whole deal.

                Tompolo, EK Clark, Diezani, Alamayiesigh and Jonathan Goodluck should be treated as one in complicity. These people are responsible for the wrong land deals, the trouble in EPZ, the Maritime University fraud and the falsification of court papers to get all these evils done. Who are these people?

1.       Tompolo – he is an outlaw. A thickly accented, illiterate and ignorant Ijaw boy, deceived by demonic elders like EK Clark, empowered by devils like Ibori and Alamayiesigha to commit atrocities. Tompolo cannot see beyond his nose and was a handy tool in the hands of these wicked outlaws to commit untold atrocities against the Isekiri, who were gracious enough to grant his great grandfather a place to stay in Ofuraja(Oporoza in Ijaw corrupt form) .

2.       Diezani. It cannot be said if she is Ijaw or not. But she is definitely from Bayelsa. She was the one who told Isekiri to apologize to Goodluck for speaking harsh words when Isekiri were talking harsh to Jonathan about the theft of their land.

3.       Alamayiesigha, he was said to have severally supported a lot of Ijaw boys with logistics when coming from Bayelsa to burn Isekiri villages in Delta. He is instrumental in instructing the Ijaws to burn the Isekiri villages at Amatu in Bayelsa and Oruselemo in the fringes of Bayelsa. A speech he made on the completion of the “fall of Jericho” (August 17^th 2003) shows most of the Ijaw boys who attempted to burn Olu’s palce were sponsored by him. A document of this revealing speech is reserved for now.

4.       EK Clark. He claims to be the father of the Ijaw race. But he is a patch, patch Ijaw man (Tam David West 2013). His blood is highly polluted with Isekiri and Urhobo. He is a brother to JP Clark. His evil ranting against Isekiri goes back to decades.

5.       Goodluck Jonathan. Mystery of all mysteries! This man is not an Ijaw man. He is an Ogbia man. His ethnic group is far smaller than Isekiri. His ethnic is not even related to the Ijaw(Alagoa 1977; Honsbira and St.Ifa 2011). Ogbia is a Bantuid tongue, with heavy dosage of Isekiri culture. But in order to survive the Ijaw pushy agendum, this innocent non-Ijaw, who is more related to Isekiri joined the Gbaramatu fraud!

WHAT IS THE GBARAMATU FRAUD?

It is the greatest injustice a group of people can commit against the law. Tompolo supported by these people – Clark, Goodluck, Diezani, etc, went and changed the survey plan of the Isekiri judgment in Gbaramatu enclave. They fixed in a totally different survey plan. Since the Supreme Court can revise its judgment when one of the planks of that judgment is in error, Tompolo now sued Isekiri for a review of that case. They went to court. Isekiri were confident until they noticed that their survey plan is not the same with that of the court, or with that of Tompolo. The Isekiri of Omadino sweated and panicked in court. They could not tell what has happened. In their confusion, they remembered that Shell was sued side by side with them. They begged court to summon shell, thanks to the wisdom of Pa Edukugho. The Omadino Isekiri got their judgment . the Shell document is the same with that of Isekiri, but different from that of Tompolo and the Courts.

MATTERS ARISING

a.       Who assisted Tompolo to do this great fraud

b.      Did Goodluck and his ‘Ijaw’ friends not know about this fraud? If he doesn’t know, why was he pushing the Maritime University?

c.       Which judges took money to perpetrate this evil?

d.      Why they are not summoned?

e.      Why are they still even talking of Maritime University

f.        Has any crime been worse than this?

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

1.       Isekiri should move to know those behind the fraud.

2.       Isekiri should use all their arsenals – their affinity to Yoruba; their affinity to Igala; their affinity to the Portuguese; the whole arsenal of their history; their affinity to Olukumi’ to Lucumi, to Candomble Nago. The demons behind this evil must be brought to light.

3.       Isekiri should start investigating other cases against Ijaw-Urhobo and see if the Tompolo fraud is perpetrated there, too.

4.       Isekiri should look at some cases – the Sapele Land Case; The Daniel Okumagba Case – where their plank of History is totally wrong. If Tompolo can use falsehood to almost upturn a Supreme Court Judgment , Isekiri can use the truth to upturn the judgment of Sapele, and Idimi Sobo.

5.       Lastly, let us hold unto the Yoruba strongly. Let us follow the vision of the Ooni – the Alaiyeluwa – who goes about trying to unify the Yoruba Race. If Tompolo can commit this fraud and is scot free , Delta is not our home; Niger Delta is an enemy territory. We belong to Oduduwa. The Olu, Itse Sagay, Remi Tinubu, Amuka, Daisy Danjuma, Omolubi and all other well meaning Isekiri and friends of Isekiri should look at this great and grievous crime against the law committed by the Ijaw and the assumed Ijaw like Goodluck Jonathan.

6.       To your tent , oh Isekiri, to your Oduduwa tent

Augustine Oritseweyinmi Oghanrandukun Olomu (St.Ifa)

St .Ifa is a member of Warri Scientific History and Literary Society, his suggestions go a long way in unveiling the Gbaramatu fraud and helping in resolving several issues in the Sapele axis.