The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • 50 years after, Ijaw reflects on gains, challenges of Boro’s vision

    50 years after, Ijaw reflects on gains, challenges of Boro’s vision

    Every year, Ijaw, the fourth most populous ethnic group in Nigeria, celebrates the late Isaac Adaka Boro. Boro is no doubt the foundation of the Niger Delta struggle. He fought and laid his life for a better and more prosperous Niger Delta and for a pride of place for the Ijaw in the Nigerian project. He is fondly referred to as the icon, hero and martyr of resource control, true federalism and self-determinism.

    This year, the Golden Jubilee of the celebration was held. Though it was held in low key, it was a period for the Ijaw and the Niger Delta to count their blessings and losses. Among all the programmes scheduled for the celebration, the symposium was significant as it gave Ijaw leaders and youths an opportunity to reflect on the real essence of Boro’s movement.

    A Yenagoa-based lawyer, politician and pioneer Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Mr. Jackson Ebi Suokiri, stole the show in his keynote address at the symposium.

    Suokiri told the people of the Niger Delta that the 50th anniversary was a period to remember the ideals of Boro and explore the possibility of expanding the frontiers of Boro’s aspiration to make the contemporary Niger Delta region and by extension, the entire Nigeria a better place for all.

    He said Boro represented a strong evidence to support the argument that it takes only men of extra-ordinary courage, boldness, and exceptional determination to embark on a revolution to liberate a people from oppression, enslavement and exploitation without recourse to consequences that could befall them and their families.

    He said Boro, though a community leader, saw ahead of his contemporaries and quickly identified that the region was geographically complex and needed development. He said Boro was disturbed by lack of indigenous participation in the exploitation of resources; wanton political and social discrimination against the people of the region and the total absence of economic justice.

    Suokiri said the late freedom fighter shed tears over absence of schools, non-availability of road networks,lack of hospitals and health facilities and abysmal neglect of the region despite massive exploitation of its resources.

    But the keynote speaker, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said the Twelve Day Revolution of Boro has yielded some positive political results. He said the Niger Delta struggle had enabled the Ijaw to make history as the first ethnic minority to produce the President of Nigeria in the person of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said it was the foundation of Boroism that led to the creation of Rivers State in 1967 and Bayelsa State in 1996 adding that the Ijaws now occupy 21 local government areas in Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta, Ondo and Edo states.

    He said such improved political institutions had increased the political participation of Ijaw in the country adding that government had been brought closer to the people of the Niger Delta region.

    He said: “Many educational institution now exist in Ijaw land and many sons and daughters of the Ijaw nation are now well-enlightened to fight for their rights. We can see this from the increased agitation for resource control by our youthful leaders.

    “Besides, health facilities have improved with the lifespan of our people elongated. Social amenities and other infrastructures are now at our doorsteps enabling our people to enjoy better lifestyles. So, many of our people are gainfully employed, thus drastically improving the living standard of our people”.

    Suokiri, whose speech was punctuated by applauses, noted that through the ideals of Boro, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Niger Delta Ministry had been created with a mandate to develop the region. He said youths are being trained under the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    He said: “Socially, we now have the East-West road that traverses the Niger Delta. Schools including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, school of basic studies and hospitals are now built in our communities. Most of our communities are now connected to electricity with pipe-borne water.”

    The King of Opokuma, HRM, Okpoitari Diangoli, commended the Kaiama community for hosting the Boro festival describing it as a philosophy encapsulating the struggle for self-determination in Ijaw land.

    Also, the traditional ruler of Kaiama community, HRH J.O. Burutolu, who was the Royal Father of the day asked youths to embrace peace saying that Boro was never a violent man.

  • Edo community ‘celebrates’ one year without electricity

    It was an unusual ‘celebration’ for residents of Eme-Ora in Owan West local government area of Edo state recently when they recently ‘celebrated’ one year without electricity supply from the Benin Electricity Distribution Company.

    The celebration was not the normal gathering of persons but at the heart of residents of the community who had endured one year of darkness and paralyzed business activities since electricity supply to the town was cut off in 2015.

    Problem of the community started in April 2015 when the transformer serving the community packed up, just after the community had come out of an eight-month old darkness.

    National President of Eme-Ora Progressive Union (EPU) Prophet Emmanuel Ojo Akhigbe-Agge said the problem of lack of power supply has continued despite the purchase of a transformer to replace the obsolete one.

    According to him, “We have 10 quarters and as we speak, Eme-ora has not had electricity for the past one year. The place has been in darkness. The electricity in Eme-ora, the transformer was packed up on April 20th, 2015. In 2014, there was no light for about eight months. In 2013, Eme-ora had no light for about five months. As you could see, I donated a transformer for our community to help alleviate the situation but those in charge have not deemed it fit to give us electricity.”

    Besides the problem of electricity, Prophet Emmanuel said Eme-Ora has no potable water and that the only secondary school in the community is like an abandon house.

    He said: “Our secondary school is like abandoned.It’s not functioning well.It’s not running like a school. The primary school is what I don’t want to talk about it. Is it the bad roads? The only road linking Uhunmora and Eme-Ora was inaugurated during the time of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia pioneered by one of our aged father, Pius Uduehi. He led that good work as the only road we have.

    “The major issue confronting us is that the Eme person is not empowered because we are a minority. In fact, the entire Owan west is not empowered. Owan west has not gained anything from the government. So Eme did not gain anything.

    “I want to invite the people of Eme-ora to be attracted to EPU so that we can work on our focus for a possible achievement for the community. Because if I want to look at our challenge of what we are confronted with I will be talking about government and I don’t want to talk about the government. You know, it is my believed that Eme-ora have children that God Almighty by Himself have blessed. If we put our heads together, we can build our community.”

    When contacted for comments, the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) said the community was owing the firm N3 million.

    Managing Director of BEDC Mrs Funke Osibodu said the transformer was being repaired but that the community should pay  or it would continue to celebrate darkness.

     

  • Armed Forces set for war against Avengers

    Armed Forces set for war against Avengers

    The military and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) are partnering to tackle militancy in the crude oil and gas-rich region, especially bombing of pipelines and other oil installations by fighters of a militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA).

    NDA members started the bombings in Delta State and moved to neighbouring Bayelsa State, with a threat that they would soon move to Rivers State and other parts of the Niger Delta, which the military is not taking lightly.

    A former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Chief Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, was accused of being behind the NDA and fresh bombings, in spite of the Federal Government’s 2009 amnesty offer to repentant Niger Delta militants, which he denied.

    It was also insinuated that some supporters of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, an indigene of Otuoke in Ogba Local Government Area of Bayelsa State were behind the NDA to destabilise the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, which was equally denied.

    The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, however, declared that the military would go after the members of the militant group, vowing to deal with the situation appropriately.

    Olonisakin made the declaration on May 23 at Ogoloma Jetty, Okrika, the headquarters of Okrika LGA of Rivers state, while speaking with reporters, after inaugurating twelve gunboats, refurbished by NDDC, for use by the Brigade Gunboats’ Company  and forty-bed accommodation, to serve the Forward Operation Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Army, also at Ogoloma Jetty in Okrika.

    The chief of defence staff was accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai; the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru; and the Commander of 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Brig.-Gen. Steve Olabanji; among others.

    Olonisakin also expressed gratitude to NDDC, which has Mrs. Ibim Semenitari as the Managing Director, for providing resources to refurbish the gunboats, which he noted would assist the military troops in discharging their duties effectively on the waterways.

    Semenitari, a former Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, was represented on the occasion by NDDC’s Director of Administration, Nosa Agbongiasede.

    The chief of defence staff, while commenting on the bombing of pipelines by Niger Delta Avengers, said: “Issue of this nature is multi-facet. Not just the military approach. The government is exploring all other approaches to ensure that these issues are resolved.   Military is looking at ways to resolve the issue of these bombings.

    “We, the military, have told them (Niger Delta Avengers) this is not in the interest of the nation. When you bomb those facilities, those critical infrastructure, you are destroying our assets, our resources, as a nation. This is not the way to address your grievances. If you have any grievances, you put them appropriately to the government.

    “Of course, we cannot allow people to sabotage and destroy critical infrastructure. We will go after them (Niger Delta Avengers) and ensure that we deal with the situation appropriately.”

    Olonisakin, in his speech at the inauguration of the gunboats, stated that Nigeria was challenged by multi-faceted threats.

    The chief of defence staff noted that no nation’s military could have all the platforms it desired, stressing that with the current economic downturn and limited financial resources that had been affecting many nations, including Nigeria, the need for prudent management of available resources became more apparent.

    Olonisakin stated that the repair of the gunboats would no doubt improve the capacity of the brigade to meet its responsibility in curtailing criminal acts in the nation’s inland waterways, while lauding the NDDC for making refurbishing of the gunboats realisable.

    The GOC, 82 Division, Enugu, in his welcome address, stated that the “historic” event marked a turning point in the activities of the army formation, which he said would impact positively in the overall conduct of military operations in the division’s areas of responsibility.

    The GOC, 82 Division, Enugu, said: “We can only achieve professionalism, if the necessary equipment are operational. The gunboats have no doubt gulped enormous resources. The refurbishing of the gunboats would not have been possible, without the visionary guidance and direction of the Chief of Army Staff and the support of the NDDC.”

    Olonisakin, in company with other service chiefs, later on May 23, visited the Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

    The Rivers governor said Niger Delta governors were opposed to the use of violence to settle grievances, revealing that the governors were billed to meet with the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on June 7, to discuss and proffer solutions to the security situation in the Niger Delta.

    The chief of army staff, in the evening of May 23, in an interview with reporters at the 2 Brigade, Port Harcourt, after the inauguration of soldiers’ accommodation and 500 KVA generator, donated by the NDDC, described members of the Niger Delta Avengers, as criminals.

    Buratai said: “Whatever these criminals (Niger Delta Avengers) are doing is a criminal act. We will deal with them accordingly.

    “Nobody has offended them (Niger Delta Avengers).They have been attacking our troops’ locations and killing our soldiers. We will not tolerate that.”

    End must quickly be brought to the sabotage by Niger Delta militants, while their sponsors must stop forthwith or be made to face the law. A word is enough for the wise.

  • Rivers Chief Judge releases 62 prison inmates

    The Rivers State Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Iyaye A. Laminkanra, has granted pardon and discharged 62 inmates of the Port Harcourt Maximum Prisons ahead of the Democracy Day celebration.

    It was her maiden exercise since she was appointed CJ last July. She took over from Justice Daisy Wotube Okocha who was substantive CJ for just two weeks, before her retirement from service in July.

    Justice Laminkanra said it is the constitutional right of CJs to embark on routine jail delivery to decongest the prisons.

    Over 450 names were presented to the visiting Judge for consideration, including those charged with capital offences, but only 62 were lucky.

    Most of the persons she released are those charged with light offences, such as conspiracy, stealing, burglary, assault among others who have been awaiting trial for between three and seven years.

    Three of the inmates were released on the grounds of age. They are 70 years and above and have been on awaiting trial list for about eight years. Underage inmates were also considered.

    However, nobody was released from the female list. The 34 names On the list are all charged with capital offences, mostly murder. The CJ said their charges are critical and that they should stay back and allow the law take its course.

    No fewer than 55 of the inmates are suffering from either Tuberculosis (TB) or immune supressed ailment.

    The medical doctor in charge of the prison, simply identified as Wakama confirmed this. He presented the lists to the CJ.

    The conditions have deformed some of them. They no longer walk on their own and had to be carried by their colleagues. But their pitiful conditions did not still fetch them release.

    Most of them are charged with murder, defilement of underage girls and armed robbery. Two of them, Olali Ogana and Inusa Usman, who were charged for assault and stealing, were discharged. But the state of Ogana’s health, a TB patient, looked critical. The condition has paralysed him, his legs twisted.  He was in custody for two years, eight months.

    Justice Laminkanra encouraged the prison officials to ensure those that were not considered are always taken to court and promised to discuss with the magistrates on the need to include the cases in the list to be heard.

    But to those discharged, she urged them to steer clear from crime and be engaged with meaningful means of living.

    “Go and sin no more. There should be no excuse that there is no job, many of you can farm, get menial jobs to keep life moving.

    “Go and be good citizens of the country and the state, stay out of crime. Some of you have been here for seven years. If you come back here again, you may not be that lucky again,” she advised.

    The Deputy Controller of Port Harcourt Prison, Mr. A. Ndupu, said the prison as at May 18, 2016 has a population of 3, 824 inmates, with 3, 422 in the ATM.

    Ndupu said the Prison, which was built almost 100 years ago, was planned for just 804 inmates but the facility has been overstretched without any expansion of any kind.

    He thanked the CJ for the exercise, saying that it would go a long way in decongesting the facility.

    The coordinator of a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Orashi Mandate Group, Napoleon Adah, urged the Minister of Interior, Abdullrahman Dambaza, and the Controller-General Nigeria Prison Services, Dr. Peter Ekpendu, to facilitate the completion of Omoku prison to ease congestion of Port Harcourt prison and to check further spread of diseases in the place.

    Adah  was reacting to the reports of over congestion of the prison.

    The activist also called for the rehabilitation of the three existing prisons in the state-, Port Harcourt, Degema and Elele prisons to help the inmates lead good lives  while being incarcerated.

    He noted that the steps would give room for proper security to avoid jail breaks.

  • Holy Aruosa Cathedral’s new GO

    As a lad, a picture of the kingdom had a space in my head. It was that of a kingdom so great that mystery could pass as its other name. We heard all kinds of dos and don’ts about this vast land where Oba Ovomramwen Nogbaisi made history. We heard of facts that wore attires of myths. Or were they myths that wore the robes of facts?

    Now, as an adult, this great kingdom of sculptors and painters, of intellectuals and administrators is one that we all will never fully comprehend. Its mystery seems to be its power. When it is Benin, there are things you dare not say or write. You just content yourself with hush-hush gist about this kingdom and its people, whose history has given birth to cinematic thrillers, such as Invasion 1897 and Iyore.

    The late Ola Rotimi could not resist the delight that Benin history was and still is that he penned the irresistible drama known as Ovomramwen Nogbaisi.

    If you are in doubt about the greatness of Benin kingdom, take a trip to the British Museum. There you will discover that its most-prized artworks were stolen from Benin and displayed with braggadocio. I like the scene in Lancelot Oduwa-Imasuen’s Invasion 1897 where the lead character who had invaded the museum and took an artwork defended himself in court by saying he could not have stolen the item because it belonged to his forefathers and by extension him.

    Soon, this kingdom will open another chapter in its inestimable history. His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa will become the Oba of Benin. He has been in and out of the sacred groves tooling for the task ahead. Soon, he will be out and ready to start from where his great father left.

    It was clear to even the blind long ago that His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa was destined to be king. Now, his time is here.

    The mystery and complexity of the Benin mores could be gleaned from the statement of the Crown Prince when Governor Adams Oshiomhole paid him a visit following the announcement of his father’s death. He said he was probably the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that was so close to his father.

    Before he said that the story out there was that he was not supposed to see eye to eye with his father being the heir apparent. Judging from his statement, that used to be the situation. Modernity seems to have softened things a bit. So close was he to his father, who many of us thought was not supposed to see him face-to-face, that both knew each other’s ways.

    “It’s really an emotional moment for me and everybody virtually knows how close I was to my father. The elders here know how close I was to my father, and I am probably known as the first crown prince in the history of Benin Kingdom that has been so close to his father,” the incoming Oba of Benin said.

    He continued: “It’s been said far and wide that the Oba’s eldest son doesn’t see his father, they don’t meet each other, that they are far apart. So, he knew my ways and I knew his ways. So, I can beat my chest and say I understand certain inner workings of the mind of my dear father.”

    Oshiomhole’s speech on the visit bore glimpses of the greatness of the kingdom and the late Oba Erediauwa, whose death he described as shattering.

    He said: “We are all shattered by this very sad news. In my formal tribute, I have already made a statement that represents my evaluation of the life and times of our Royal Majesty. But in all of that, we know that kings will come, kings will transit, but our joy even in the midst of this grief is that we are fortunate; indeed very fortunate that in spite of the vacuum left by the departure of His Royal Majesty, we have in your Royal Highness a true royal Crown Prince that has already gone through all the rigours of life, and sufficiently travelled and held sensitive diplomatic positions in most strategic countries.

    “For people like me who have had the very rare privilege of interacting very closely with your Royal Highness over the years, I believe that His Royal Majesty has prepared a Crown Prince that, as tradition prescribes, has what it takes to fill the big royal shoes that His Majesty left behind. That for us gives us the confidence that the robust tradition, the national respect and international recognition and the way in which His Royal Majesty carried the office, that it will be sustained and built upon by your Royal Highness.”

    His Royal Highness Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa is inheriting a great history. With his new status, the Oba, who is also known as Omo N’Oba, is the traditional ruler of the Edo people. He is also the head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Great Benin Empire.

    Until Oba Eweka I, the headship of Benin Empire was not known as Oba. All that changed with the great Oba Eweka, who is believed to have reigned between 1180 and 1300. This great kingdom was raped by the British in 1897 when it launched an imperialist expedition. It deposed and exiled Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar, now the capital of Cross River State. It took control of the area to establish the British colony of Nigeria. He died in 1914. He never returned to his throne.

    What got the British angry and led to the expedition was the defeat of a British invasion force which violated Benin territory in 1896. It consisted of both indigenous soldiers and British officers, and is still remembered by the Edo people with trepidation today. Under the pretext of covering for the cost of the expedition, the Benin royal art was stolen and auctioned off by the British. Many of them are still in the British Museum.

    The mystery of the Benin makes it unclear what its relationship with Ile Ife and the Yoruba was. There is no agreement about the place or otherwise of Oduduwa, Oranmiyan and Igodomigodo in the history of this amazing empire in whose domain sits a chapel where the Oba is the General Overseer (GO).

    As the incoming GO of this over 500-year-old cathedral, which is located on Akpakpava Road, Benin City, prepares to take his seat on the pulpit and dish out the gospel— not according to the Bible—  I wish him well.

    My final take: Benin under the late monarch was respected. Its light will not dim now that his son has taken over. He will lead this great people well and years from now, we will look back and say ‘His Royal Highness Eheneden Erediauwa is a monarch with a difference’.

     

    Timi of Niger Delta @ 51

    It is not only in Ede, Osun State that there is a Timi. There is another Timi in Niger Delta, Rivers State specifically.  God saved him from being fed to the lion with the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari as President and Commander of the Armed Forces.

    In my view, he is stubborn, passionate and compassionate. He likes trouble and trouble likes him. He is never afraid of a fight. I am not sure the idiom he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day has a place in his heart.

    If he is silent, it generates reactions. If he talks, it generates uproar. In Yorubaland, people like him are called olori ariwo (someone who must always be talked about no matter what).

    Still wondering who this Timi is? He is no other than Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. I simply removed the first two letters in his first name to arrive at Timi. He is 51 today, two days short of his first anniversary out of the Government House, Port Harcourt where he was a two-term governor.

    Happy birthday,  Minister of Transportation.

     

     

  • Ogiame Ikenwoli Battles ‘Kpenje’ cabal in Warri

    Ogiame Ikenwoli Battles ‘Kpenje’ cabal in Warri

    S’South Regional Editor SHOLA O’NEIL examines the hurdles before the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli, as he moves to sweep the Augean stable in his kingdom, against the backdrop of entrenched interests of his chiefs, those who participated in his coronation and interests of the Itsekiri nation.

    No doubt, the Olu of Warri Ogiame Ikenwoli inherited a fractured kingdom at is ascension unto the throne on December 12, 2015. The massive crowd of singing and dancing Itsekiri people, didn’t hide the fact that Iwere (Warri), their homeland was badly in need of redemption; it was a display of their belief and hope that they have a king who would defy the cabal in the kingdom to do the needful.

    But the heavy sound of gunfire that erupted around his palace on Tuesday was not only a rude shock to the monarch, but it was a reality check of sort.  For the first time in years, guns boomed around Ajamimogha, Ekurede-Itsekiri and Ugbori enclaves of Warri. It was reminiscent of the Ijaw/Itsekiri war.

    The grating sound from sophisticated weapons that rang out like cathedral bells in quick succession was not from Ijaw warlords/militants or Urhobo combatants. The shooters were disgruntled Itsekiri youths dissatisfied (or happy) with the monarch’s annulment of the board of the Itsekiri Regional Development Council (IRDC) hurriedly (some say illegally) constituted by Mr Michael Diden (Ejele).

    The pronouncement of the monarch annulling the election (selection) of one Austen Gbokwa, a perennial member of the board as Chairman is a subject of litigation. But, not satisfied with the pace of the legal firework, the protagonist took up arms and invaded the streets. The shootout started from the Sapele court premises before the recalcitrant shooters export the fracas to Warri.

    “Kpenje people are those who would rather share the commonwealth of the Itsekiri among themselves and hand out pittance to their hangers-on, who they use to terrorise those bold enough to question them,” one source said.

    Ikenwoli (former Prince Godfrey Ikenwoli Emiko) ascended the throne amidst high hopes and expectations. He came as the much needed reformer to right the plethora of wrongs and wipe away the stench of impunity, corruption and brigandage in the kingdom.

    Some of the ethnic leaders in various positions have being accused of using it to reap benefits at the detriment of the larger kingdom. Some of these persons gravitated towards the monarch in the hope that their closeness would help cement their privileged positions. They include traditional, political and communal titleholders who strove to be seen during the coronation process.

    The antecedents of the new monarch positioned him as an antithesis of his late brother and 19th Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II. The late Olu’s action and deeds were blamed for the odium that pervaded the land and the common folks looked up to Ikenwoli as their redeemer.

    Outside the kingdom, there were also expectations of improved relations between the Itsekiri and their  neighbours: notable the Urhobos in Warri mainland and the Ijaws of the riverside communities. Having fought a fratricidal war that consumed a large portion of the Itsekiri small population and pulverized their inhabitations, deep-seated anger, hatred and suspicion persists between them and their Ijaw neighbours.

    Shortly after his coronation, Ikenwoli embarked on a shuttle that took him through the length and breadth of kingdoms in the state. He visited Ijaw monarchs – the first Olu to do so in years. He visited Urhobo kingdoms both within and outside his locality, as far as to Okpe and nearby Uvwie.

    The visits brought promises of better understanding, cooperation and promises of peace.

    The success of Ogiame Ikenwoli’s ‘foreign’ trips contrasted starkly with division within his kingdom. His subjects and chiefs  are embroiled in battle for the control of the kingdom’s resources. No strife highlights this better than the IRDC debacle.

    The IRDC is a product of the Global Memorandum of Understand (GMoU) that American oil giant, Chevron Nigeria Limited signed with Itsekiri oil producing communities. The instrument puts the development of the oil bearing communities in the hands of locals, who through representatives in the IRDC determine projects in their land.

    With a budget of over one billion naira annually, the IRDC is a strategic ‘office’ in the land. Its annual budgets dwarf of many local government councils. They have only a handful of staff and oodles of money for project execution. Projects are executed by contractors and whoever holds the position of Chairman of the council mostly determines how the broth is shared.

    For nearly a decade, the leadership of the council was held by Mr Mofe Pirah, until he was appointed a commissioner by the last administration. His tenure was completed by Chief Ayiri Emami, effervescent businessman and oil contractor. Still, those who had served from inception reorganized and shuffled their position in what was seen as move to perpetuate control of the council.

    Beyond the leadership of the IRDC, leadership disputes pervade Itsekiri communities from Koko to Omadino, Ugbegungun, Deghele and the Ugborodo. With youth groups holding sway in these communities, elections into youth bodies became fiercer and more intense than some political offices.  Men of over 50 – 60 year olds remained ‘youths’ and scrambled for leadership positions such as the Itsekiri National Youth Council.

    “Community chairmen became ‘Robert Mugabes’ – when the end of their constitutionally allowed tenure draws near, they instigate review of the constitution. For instance, a man who has served the allowed two terms would review the constitution and make it one term of six-years. He then wipes his slate clean and make himself eligible for the new deal,” outspoken youth leader and activist, Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi, told our reporter.

    “You also find same leaders roaming around being Jack of all trades. When there is opportunity for dredging, labour, piling sand-filling contracts, they would show up and use their position to muscle out others. Others cannot grow. They stifle themselves too because by so doing they don’t specialize in any area; they do all and master none. Those in political offices, including House of Assembly, still angle for community leadership. They run to Chevron and other oil companies to lobby for contracts because they don’t want those around them to grow.

    “This is why the larger portion of Itsekiri leaders and the common men who mean well strongly backed the Olu’s declaration on community leadership across the land. We all know that we cannot grow as a people with all these untowardly action of a few at the detriment of the larger society.”

    But it was not only the Kpenje lords that attracted the attention of the monarch.  In a far reaching declaration after consultations with chiefs and stakeholders in the kingdom, Ogiame Ikenwoli pegged the maximum age of youth group membership at 40 years.

    He also directed that all Olare-Ajas (traditional heads) of the various communities must the resident in their communities in order to avoid the ‘offshore leadership style’ that has become the norm over the years.

    Speaking on the development, Mr Sunny Mene, an opinion leader and member of the influential Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, said the monarch’s directive was the way to go, insisting, “There has to be far reaching reforms in the kingdom. People cannot continue to do as they wish.”

    On the IRDC impasse, Mene averred: “We are solidly behind the Ogiame and all responsible and respectful Itsekiri people are behind him. We know those who are mobilizing and trying to counter the Olu. All those who have served one term and are angling to return for selfish reasons cannot subvert the will of the Itsekiri people.”

    “They went to court to obtain a preliminary injunction restraining the Olu from swearing in exco constituted by the Olu. We respect and appreciate those who stepped down like Chief Ayiri Emami and Dan Odongharon but those who refused most be showed that there is law in the land.

    “It is wrong for some persons, because of their closeness to government and corridors of power, to assume that they can represent host communities without conferring with the Ogiame and leaders. It was very wrong what they did to constitute themselves into cabal.”

    However, the strength of the Olu’s resolve and by extension those of the larger Itsekiri people will be measured by time. There is said to be an underground scheme to pitch the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa against the monarch.

    “We know they are going about blackmailing the king to the governor. They are telling him that the Olu wants to fill the board with non-PDP persons. They want to scare the governor and make him dabble into a purely ethnic matter but we are watching. Nobody can intimidate the Olu as long as he is on the path of righteousness and defence of his people,”Mene said.

    Meanwhile, Niger Delta Report gathered that the recalcitrant youths behind the shooting have apologised to the monarch and the council of chiefs. But the extent of their repentance can only be proven by time.

    Meanwhile, Omolubi has advised that the Olu Advisory Council, headed by Chief Yaya Pessu and comprising prominent Itsekiri persons, including Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, Prof Itse Sagay, JOS Ayomike and  Edward Ekpoko, among others to handle some issues in order to insulate the monarch from the controversy.

    “It is only when the council is unable to adequately resolve it that Ogiame should be involved because we value our king too much to allow some miscreant and others who don’t mean well for our people to disrespect him,” he added.

    In the interim, an uneasy calm has pervaded the land over the IRDC controversy. There are still more battles to be fought in the months and years ahead for the Olu of Warri. One of those issues is the alleged corruption in management of Itsekiri share of DESOPADEC oil fund.

  • Tompolo versus Emami

    Tompolo versus Emami

    High Chief Government Ekpemupolo must have realised that success brings friends and enemies. In the last few days, Tompolo, as Ekpemupolo is better known, has been having running battle with some people from the Niger Delta, especially multi-millionaire Ayiri Emami.

    Emami’s issue with Tompolo centres around the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA). Tompolo says he has nothing to do with the group. Emami says he is lying. The Itsekiri-born politician insists Tompolo is hiding behind the avengers to blow oil facilities.

    The NDA says without some conditions being met by President Muhammadu Buhari, peace will elude the Niger Delta, their home. And, by extension, Nigeria.

    For the president to take them serious, they have carried out some bombings. They bombed the Chevron valve facility in the night of Wednesday last week and the 48-inch trunk line supplying crude oil to Warri refinery. They say they will crumble the economy unless their demands are met.

    One of the demands is the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference organised in the run-up to the last general elections by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. They say if this is not done, the country will break up.

    Another demand borders on ownership of oil blocks. They say 60 per cent of the oil blocks must be owned by indigenes of oil-producing areas and 40 per cent for others.

    They also have an axe to grind with their fellow Niger Deltan and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who earlier in the life of the Buhari administration faulted the Maritime University started by the Jonathan administration. They say Amaechi, an Ikwerre man from Rivers, must apologise to the Ijaw on whose soil the university is sited for his “careless and reckless statement about the siting of the university”. They say maritime university is located in “the most appropriate and befitting place Okerenkoko” and must start the 2015/2016 academic session immediately.

    They also show some love to the Ogoni people of Rivers. They say their land and all oil-polluted areas in the Niger Delta must be cleaned up and compensation paid to the communities. Their love is not limited to Southsouth alone. They also extend their love to the ‘Biafra’ nation. They say the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, must be released unconditionally.

    They also have issues with the Niger Delta Amnesty programme, which they say must be well funded and allowed to continue to function effectively.

    Another condition is about the anti-corruption campaign. They say it is skewed in favour of his political associates. The militants say that all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who are indicted in any corruption-related cases should be made to face trial like members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Those they want apologies from also include Buhari, the Department of State Services and Timipre Sylva. Their offence: They killed former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, “with intimidation and harassment because of his party affiliation”.

    They also have a word for oil multi-nationals and foreign investors if the government dares them. They say the failure of the government to meet their conditions will lead to attacks on their business interests. They say they will soon visit evil on Lagos and Abuja if their conditions are not met.

    Their hide-and-seek tactics have incurred the wrath of the Niger Delta Liberation Force (NDLF) led by John Togo, which through their spokesman, Mark Anthony, says: “Those bombing pipelines in Delta State should not behave like cowards if they are truly fighting the interest of Niger Delta.

    “They should be bold enough to come out. When we were bombing, our leader General John Togo did not hide his face. We dealt with the Nigerian army, and we were not hiding.

    “They should not hide their identity. Buhari is not God and they should not be scared of him. JTF should not attack and arrest innocent people in Ijaw communities, they should go for the real saboteurs.”

    The almighty Tompolo’s running battle with Emami is coming when his battle with the law is still on. He has been named in a N34b scam at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). For this, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited him for a chat. He spurned the opportunity. The agency decided to go ahead with his arraignment alongside NIMASA ex-Director-General Patrick Akpobolokemi. The court ordered him to appear. He has not. Instead, he issued a statement justifying his refusal to honour EFCC’s invite and failure to keep a date in court. His lawyers are in court trying to shield him.

    His defence sound like these: He is no signatory to any of the accounts of the companies involved in the scam. EFCC’s lawyer Festus Keyamo and Sylva are setting him up.

    Keyamo, he said, was after him because he refused to buy some property he introduced him to in Lagos and Abuja. Sylva, he claimed, was bitter because he refused to support his bid to become the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    His hands, he vowed, were clean and as such Buhari should just get the EFCC to apply the break in his trial for alleged money laundering and corruption.

    A day or so after the court ordered Tompolo to appear before it to defend himself in the case against him, oil pipelines went up in flames in Delta State. Oil giant Chevron was in a deep pit as a result of the attacks. The country’s economy was affected too. Tompolo dissociated himself from the attacks. It would have amounted to a treasonable felony if he had said something else. He would have clearly declared a war against the Federal Government and we all can imagine what the new sheriff in town would have done.

    The ex-militant leader insists “Ayiri Emami and others accusing me of the destruction of oil facilities in part of the Delta are simply looking for relevance, recognition and pipeline surveillance contracts”. He alleged further:   “If anyone doubts what I am saying, such should find out from the GMD and Minister for State for Petroleum, because Ayiri and his likes have been troubling the Minister for pipeline surveillance contracts for some time now.

    “The Minister has even succumbed to the Ayiri Emami gimmick by appointing some of his cronies as special advisers. The funny thing about Ayiri Emami is that he does not even have the capacity and goodwill to protect oil facilities.”

    Emami, in a chat with The Nation, advised Tompolo to stop “hiding under militancy and face his crimes in a competent court of law. I insist that he is the one behind the bombing. If he is not, he should come out and prove his innocence. He denied seeking surveillance contract.

    My final take: The military needs to unmask those behind the avengers’ assault on oil facilities in the Niger Delta. This will also nip in the bud the plot to take the attacks beyond the creeks. It will be foolish to allow the militants pop champagne if they succeed in carrying their evil intention to Lagos and Abuja as they have threatened.

     

  • Igbo businessmen kick against kidnappings in Cross River 

    Igbo businessmen kick against kidnappings in Cross River 

    It started like a joke in Calabar, the Cross River State capital. A random kidnapping here and there – a phenomenon, which reared its head about five years ago in the state, said to be the most peaceful in the country.

    It was hoped the issue would be nipped in the bud, if just to ensure that the state still retains its enviable status. This has not turned out to be so. It would be recalled that father of former deputy governor of the state was kidnapped while he was still in power. News of children being kidnapped once in a while always made the headlines. Also just recently, the kidnap of three people on campus of the University of Calabar, was the talk of the town.

    The situation has over the years, gathered momentum and snowballed into a monstrous situation, as many believe security has grown lax in the state. However, it has been learnt that a good number of such kidnapping have never gotten to the news. Most worried by this dimension, which has gotten to a head in the past one year, are Igbo businessmen, who strongly believe they are targets as many of them have been kidnapped and released quietly, because they fear for their safety or that of their loved ones abducted.

    Cross River State is generally believed to be a civil service state and majority of the businesses in the state belong to Igbo who have injected a lot of spirit into the economy. To a great extent, the economy of the state depends on their endeavours. From spare parts, electronics, building materials, clothing, to transport companies among a host of other businesses, their presence is well established.

    In the past month only, it is on good authority that at least three of such Igbo businessmen or their relatives have been abducted by unknown gunmen and heavy ransom paid for their release.

    An Igbo trader, who begged not to be named, said to Niger Delta Report: “Things are not well. The government is just pretending they are. They don’t want to hear these things but they are true. They don’t want people to know these things because of the tourism status of the state, but people have to know, so that something can be done urgently about it.

    “In the past few weeks, they have kidnapped the wife of a popular electronics dealer in this Calabar and millions of naira was used to secure her release. Who knows if the husband even had to borrow money to pay in these hard times?

    “Not long after that, they kidnapped the owner of a bakery and demanded several millions also. A businessman along Hewett Road was also kidnapped and I think about N20 million demanded for his release. These kidnappings have been for a long time, but have just been quiet. They have kidnapped a lot of people in Calabar collecting up to N10 million or N20 million. It is now the order of the day here.

    “They feel we have too much money to throw about. What many people don’t understand is that sometimes, we borrow money to do our businesses. That we are enterprising and carry on come rain or shine does not mean, we have money to throw about. A lot of people do not understand what we pass through doing our business. I only wish they knew.”

    Worried by the developed, Igbo traders and businessmen have planned to close their businesses for two days in protest, a move which to an extent would cripple the state’s economy.

    Briefing newsmen on the development, the coordinator of Igbo Unity Forum, Mazi Okechukwu Ebubedike, said the decision for Igbo to shut down business for at least two days in Calabar metropolis was reached at after an extensive emergency meeting with all major stakeholders and town unions of Igbo extraction to protest this ugly trend.

    Ebubedike, who is also the chairman of Igbo professionals in the state, disclosed that over 35 prominent sons and their wives have been abducted so far in the state in the last one year with hundreds of millions paid out as ransom.

    According to him, most of the victims pay between N5m and N30m as ransom to secure their release from the kidnappers even when injuries are inflicted on them.

    Ebubedike said: “We have been made victims of kidnap in the state in the last one year and made to pay dearly as ransom to these hoodlums in the last couple of months. Unfortunately, nobody cares about our plight at this excruciating circumstance.

    “I can tell you that the Igbo traders and businessmen who are victims of these hoodlums have been paying through the nose to secure their release. And to protest against this ugly trend we are embarking protest by closing our shops and other business outlets for two days.

    “We have, therefore, directed that all shops owned by Igbo should be closed on a day to be announced so as to attract attention and to see how this security lapse can be tackled. We will enforce the closure to press home our demand to stop the kidnapping.

    “We have been made targets of kidnappers. We are now preys in the hands of criminals and everybody seem not to bother because it is Igbo. But we will resist it because we are here to do business and assist in developing the state sincerely. So, we can no longer fold our hands and watch our people being used as money-minting machine by kidnappers,” he stated.

    The coordinator, who claimed that government has paid deaf ear to the plight of the Igbo in Calabar in respect to kidnapping, said most Igbo have been subjected to undue treatment and harassment by these criminals even when they pay their taxes and other levies to the state.

    He said Igbo contribute positively to the development of the state and therefore deserve protection to enable them carry out their businesses in a more conducive atmosphere.

    The coordinator, who enjoined the government to step up security surveillance within the metropolis, said the state is noted for hospitality and therefore should do everything possible to protect investors as well as lives and property.

    The President Igbo Community, Calabar, Cross River State, Chief Albert Enya, said they have been talking to the government over the matter. He however, did not support the plan of the traders to close shop.

    He said: “We have been talking with government. We are not fighting the government. What we are saying is that this kidnapping should stop. And also the issue of closing of market, was not discussed in our last meeting and today we had an executive meeting too over the issue and we have resolved that there should be no strike, but rather we should dialogue with government and security people to see what we can do about the kidnapping because it is getting out of hand. This kidnapping does not only affect the Igbo but the whole Cross River State, but 80 per cent of those kidnapped are Igbo. We are here to business and if every time they kidnap one of us it is not good for us and we don’t like it. That is why we are saying that government should do something. They have been trying because we are meeting with them, but they should put more efforts. We are not part of the strike arrangement but rather we dialogue with government to see how we can stop the problem.”

    Also speaking, past chairman of the Igbo Community in the state, Chief Fidelis Onyebueke, said: “We condemn in its totality, the kidnapping exercise going on in Cross River State. Particularly, the victims have been Igbo. About 80 per cent of them have been Igbo. We are not fighting the government but we are saying is that government should put more efforts in the security, because it is the priority in any government. We know that Governor Ben Ayade is doing his best. But we urge him to more effort, particularly where our ethnic group is involved in this kidnapping exercise. We know that other ethnic groups are also victims, but majority are Igbo. It would seem as if Igbo are not wanted in the state. But also we know the government is favourable to us Igbo to do business here, but the problem is the few individuals having selfish commercial interests to use Igbo as baits to make money which is very bad. This is affecting the tourism status of this state. We appeal to all the security agencies to sit up, because it would seem as if there are lapses. They should put more effort to make sure that Igbo feel more secure in this state. A situation where 80 per cent of the victims of kidnapping are Igbo, it is not in the best interest of this state, because it would seem as if Igbo are targets, whereas they are not. It only seems so. We appreciate the efforts of the government and security agencies. But in the end, result is what we need.”

    The Secretary of the Igbo Community, Prof Rufus Okoro, also said: “The issue of kidnapping in Nigeria today is not new. We know that government, even at the Federal level, is doing a lot to see how they can curb it. But in Cross River State, it is becoming too rampant and the targeted groups seem to be the Igbo. If 80 per cent of the kidnapping is done and an Igbo man is involved, ordinarily one can say they are only kidnapping Igbo people. So the government of the state has to beef of security and have a good security network.”

    The President of Abia Communtity Cross River, Prince Raphael Atulomah, added:  “I am calling on the state assembly to make laws that would prescribe capital punishment for kidnappers so it would drastically reduced. The thing is not helping the Igbo here. If Igbo are affected here, everybody knows that they help the state economically to move forward. If they close their shops and businesses, it would affect the economy of the state and we don’t that to happen. So, we want the state government to do something about it.”

  • Man demands N30m compensation from Chinese firm for losing hand

    Man demands N30m compensation from Chinese firm for losing hand

    A 24-year-old man, Destiny Igbinoba, is demanding a compensation of N30million from a Chinese firm, Yougxing Steel Company, for the loss of his left hand during an accident that occurred while he was working inside the factory.

    Destiny, whose left hand was amputated, said the accident happened last December while operating a machine and he was rushed to Mount Gilead hospital.

    He said his hand was amputated because there was no surgeon at the hospital and it took 20 hours for a surgeon to arrive.

    According to him, “I have worked there for over one year. I earn over N50,000 a month. Unfortunately, the hospital does not have a surgeon. I was only given a sort of first aid treatment until about 20 hours later when a Surgeon came.

    “The Surgeon said it has taken too long and that he could no longer save my hand. He said there was no pulse in the hand. My hand was later amputated. The company paid the bill. After the incident, the company called for compensation and I told them I need an artificial hand. The amount they offered was too meagre. Just N1.5m All effort to get them to see reasons that the money is too small have been fruitless.”

    “I have stop receiving physiotherapy treatment at the UBTH because of money. I want them to pay me N30m for me to start my life.”

    Counsel to the Chinese firm, Onioma George, said the firm agreed to provide artificial hand for the victim.

    His words, “He should approach the court. This is an issue for the court and not the press. He needs to get a lawyer to advice. He has seen the company rules and regulation and rely on Workmen Compensation Act.”

    “The company took care for him and said they will give him artificial limb.”

     

  • Church seeks compensation for victims of Fulani herdsmen’s attacks

    The Prelate and  Moderator of the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Prof. Emele Mba Uka, has called for the payment of compensations to the families of the victims of the Fulani herdsmen’s attack.

    He made the call with particular to Ukpabi Nimbo community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State.

    Speaking with The Nation in Calabar, Uka also called for the re-building of all the structures damaged in the attack by the Federal Government.

    This, he said, was in keeping with the spirit which inspired the on-going re-building of the structures damaged by the Boko Haram mayhem in the North East and the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the area.

    “Anything short of this,” the Prelate stated, “would amount to lack of genuine sympathy and a lamentable demonstration of double standards by which the Federal Government tends to treat issues affecting people in South East geopolitical zone.”

    Prof. Uka described President Muhammadu Buhari’s orders for “Onslaught Against Rampaging Herdsmen” as mere rhetoric if it is not backed by a seizure of illegal arms being carried by the herdsmen.

    The Prelate charged the President to go beyond rhetorics and institute a probe into the sources and reasons behind the deadly ammunitions which the rampaging herdsmen carry with impunity and which they use to unleash vicious attacks and wanton killings of innocent citizens of the country.

    On reported moves by the Federal Government to establish cattle ranches with public funds for herdsmen in parts of the nation, the Prelate warned against this as it would only end up in increasing the tension and friction between the herdsmen and host communities, thereby worsening the security situation in the country.

    “Besides, the business of cattle-rearing is a private enterprise and Government has no right to invest public funds in private enterprise belonging to particular individual(s) from particular ethnic and religious group(s),” he said.

    He opined that the ranches be established only in States where cattle-rearing is the predominant occupation of the people concerned.