RECONSTITUTE DELTA STATE TRADITIONAL COUNCIL – SCIENCE OF ODUDUWAN SUPERIORITY

RECONSTITUTE DELTA STATE TRADITIONAL COUNCIL – SCIENCE OF ODUDUWAN SUPERIORITY

With the present problem in Gbaramatu enclave and the rise of many fake traditional rulers in Delta State, it is high time the Traditional Council of the state should be reconstituted. It is important to say that there are a lot of people posing as traditional rulers. Some of these are mere impostors. There are at least four types of ‘traditional rulers’: ancient kingdoms; city states; ancient republican thrones; modern kings; modern social kings; modern political kings to spite others.

1.     Ancient kingdoms

There are only two ancient kingdoms in Delta State – even – in the Delta of the River Niger: Warri (Isekiri/Jekri) and Aboh.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ANCIENT KINGDOM

a.     They are based in places with a buoyant economy. Isekiri and Aboh boasted of the Akori bead (Kenny 2003; Roth 1903; Ryder 1969). Warri had iron smithing , iron smelting(Lloyd 1957); cloth weaving abound(Eve De Negri 1976; Kingsley Mary 1898; Kenny 2003); Bronze making abound(Honsbira and St.Ifa 2008) etc.

b.      They are stationed along long distance trade route. Only Isekiri and Aboh were stationed along long distance trade route (Ikime 1969; Sagay undated).

c.      They conquered others. Isekiri conquered the whole of Urhobo, Isoko, all Ijaw in Delta and most of Bayelsa; Aboh conquered areas such as Agbor; later Abraka; Orogun, and parts of Rivers State (Alagoa 1977; Moore 1936; Roth 1903; Leonard 1926; Talbot 1927; Kenny 2003).

d.     They existed before 1914. Why 1914? Because at this stage the Europeans have not amalgamated Nigeria.

e.     They mostly flow from an already established kingdom. Warri and Aboh flowed from Benin (Egharevba 1948).

Only Isekiri and Aboh met the criteria of ancient kingdoms

f.       Authority is centered in the hands of a man/woman who is a monarch

g.     They have radical titles over their land.

h.     They flow from a mafia. In the case of Isekiri and Aboh they are from the Oduduwa mafia.

2.     There is no single city state in present Delta. City states are trading states where authority is not centered in one hand. In the Delta of the Niger, we had the following City States – Nembe, Bonny, Kalabari; Calabar(Ikime 1969;Alagoa 1977)

3.     Republican Regimes – these are below the city states. Authority was not in the hands of anybody and they have no good economy, they are not located along long distant trade routes, they conquered no one.  Urhobo-Isoko(Ughelli, Agbarhator(founded by Ebelle an Isekiri prince[Onigu2003], Iyede and Ogor Ikime 1969;Moore 1936; Talbot 1927) and almost all  Delta Igbo states , excepting only Aboh, fall in this category.

4.     Modern social kingdoms, these are mostly to be found in all Urhobo-Isoko states, except the ones mentioned in three above. Okpe is a good example of a modern kingdom. See the parameters of Okpe being a modern kingdom.

Orodje Has no Radical Title Any where

1.     He has no radical title at all.

a.     Orodje not represented in Obotie case.

b.     Orodje not represented in w/37/1943(the popular Sapele land case)

c.      Olu was represented in the cases with Urhobos and Ijaws in the 1920s and 1930s even when there was an interregnum in Isekiri. During the Ogbe Ijoh and Agbassa cases with Isekiri, the Olu was represented even when the Warri Kingdom was in her 88-year interregnum .

d.     Orodje/Okpe Kingdom not in existence until 1945 (Onigu 2003; Osume 2007; Honsbira and St.Ifa 2011). The ‘kingdom’ was given credence by the Fregene family of Isekiri who fabricated the Esezi lie for them (document reserved).

Okpe not listed as a kingdom in the Niger Delta sub-region by Historical demagogues and other authorities who are not Urhobo-Okpe-Isoko – who are not Delta-Edoid peoples.

-         Obayemi in Ajayi(JFA 1977).

-         Talbot 1927

-         Horton in (JFA 1977)

-         Ikime 1969

-         Alagoa in (JFA) 1977

-         Egharevba 1948

-         Moore (1936)

-         Ifediora 1999

-         P.C. Llloyd, 1957

-         Ikime in Honsbira and St Ifa, 2008

-         Roth, 1903

. Multiplicity of Dates for Esezi’s Existence

i. Ororhorho says 641 AD

ii. Orodje of Okpe, 2016, says 1779

iii. Osume (2007) turn of the seventeenth century

iv. Osubele (1999) says 1440

v. Okumagba M.P(1979)  says1680

vi. Funeral Journal of Okpe Kingdom, Orere-Okpe, Delta State of Nigeria: 10^th -16^th May 2004, summarizing and stamping them all, says in the mid 19^th century – i.e. about 1850.

      Imagine the date given by the Orodje 2016 and the coronation journal differing by over 100 years. Yet the Orodje’s record and the coronation journal and all other documents concerning Eseziship, speaking in assonance, emanate from the same palace and traditional, historical and academic centre in Orere-Okpe where King Esezi was said

to have lived (Onigu 2003).

Further Facts against Esezi’s Existence

 Colonisation of neighbours

- Okpe did not colonize Jesse

- Okpe did not colonize Isekiri

- Okpe did not colonize Uvwie. Where is the kingdom that will never colonize? None (Prof Ekeh, 2008; Horton in Ajayi, 1977, Honsbira and St Ifa 2008).

- Okpe was not and had no trade route; and so, couldn’t have been a kingdom or nation (Horton, 1977; Alagoa; Ade Obayemi 1977; Honsbira and St Ifa 2008;

No foreign report on Esezi.

It is a matter of fact that the Catholic authorities, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, etc, were in this area from about 1472 to 1960. But apart from the intelligence reports on Okpe which the Okpes, together with Fregene,  went to beg the whites to be published, no other foreigner reported Okpe as a kingdom or even a mini state.

-         No Portuguese report on Esezi’s kingship

-         No French report

-         No Dutch report

-         No Catholic report

-         No slave trade report

-         No traveler report

-         No single foreign report on this wonderful king. All these new histories on Okpe, how new, really! How unfortunate!

 Brutal Kings and Lengthy Interregna in Urhobo-Okpe-Isoko

a. Nabofa (2003) mentioned Ogoni Erhowhuo as a brutal king in Uvwie, leading to a lengthy interregnum!

b. Ifediora (1999) mentioned Ovie Atua in Emevor. Atua, Ogoni and Esezi were asking people to be catching falling Iroko trees and killing thousands of people, thus leading to lengthy interregnum.

c. Darah (prof) in Ikime (prof) 2003 also reported a brutal king Evwerah in Udu, using wickedness to produce interregnum in Udu.

d. Onigu (2003) mentions a brutal king in Agbon, whose brutality birthed a lengthy interregnum: Osifo.

e. See Honsbira and St Ifa, 2011. “All these have interregna which ended around 1952, when the Isekiri-Urhobo crises made them needed their own kings in order for them to be like Isekiri.

5.   Modern political kings to spite others. In this category we have ‘monarchs’ like Pere of Gbaramatu; Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh; Okumagba ‘kingdom’, Uvwie(Effurun) ‘kingdom’, etc. if you observe , these new and mysterious kingdoms are all located in the realm of former Warri Kingdom. These ‘monarchs’ ‘kings’ and ‘kingdoms’, are all done to spite the Olu of Warri. Like the Orodje, they are not backed by any known history.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE

Many things can be done in this issue.

1.     Since the present Delta State Traditional Council is ill constituted, it should be dismantled.

2.     There should be cadres – historical monarch and kingdoms (Warri and Aboh ) should be at the top. The old Republics – most of the Urhobo-Isoko-Igbo ‘kings’ following; then the political kings coming at the bottom of the ladder.

3.     The Olu and the King of Aboh could have their own special council, not disturbed by unequals.

4.     If none of these are feasible, Olu and Aboh should stop attending meetings with newly created political kings.

Conclusion

This is written in order to correct some Urhobo and Ijaw who are jealous of the glowing visit that the Vice President paid on the Olu in January 2017, in order to resolve the Maritime University Crises. The Urhobo and Ijaw should know that there is no way they are equal with the Olu. They might try to re-write history and play so many pranks like the Gbaramatu pranks. But the Truth will always prevail. Isekiri and Aboh should have more linkages with their Oduduwa brothers.

N.B. ‘kings’; ‘kingdoms’ and ‘monarchs’ are used, because I never believe such contrivances are real kingdoms.

Augustine Oritseweyinmi Oghanrandukun Olomu (St.Ifa)

St.Ifa is a member of Warri Scientific History and Literary Society.

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.