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IJAW NATION AND THE GRACE OF GOD THAT IS NOT FOR SALE: THE CASE OF RIVERS STATE UNDER IJAW GOVERNOR AFTER 24YEARS OF WAITING

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

There are several accounts about the ancestry of Ijaws (Ijos) who speak IZON language with dialectical differences. But despite the above, the one that is more clearer with multiple pieces of evidence and facts is the tracing of Ijaws to one of the tribes of Israel who are descendants of Jacob.

The tribes were named after Jacob’s sons and grandsons. They were Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Judah and Benjamin. Of these 12, only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin survived.

Empirical evidences show that Ijaws are among the aborigines that occupied the Niger Delta region for centuries before the arrival and subsequent settlement by other tribes.

But before proceeding, it is pertinent to highlight some striking resemblances between contemporary Ijaws and present-day Jews.

1. Ijaws are supernatural and extraordinary like the Jews.

2. Ijaws are scattered all over the Niger Delta and beyond like the Jews who are scattered all over the face of the earth.

3. Ijaws speak Izon language with dialectical differences like the Russian Jews, American Jews, Ethiopian Jews, etc.

4. Ijaws believe in the existence of smaller gods (Oru) who serve as Mediators between them and Almighty God (Ayiba, Nanaowei, Tamara, Aziba, Oniso, Tamuno, Oyin etc).

We can relate the above to the encounter between the Israelites and Moses and the Golden Scalf.

5. Ijaws are surrounded by enemies like the Jews.

6. Ijaws are strong and very powerful and they can never be conquered even though Almighty God strikes them with terrible calamities from time to time especially when they go astray like the Israelites.

7. Ijaws live in very difficult terrains like the Jews who live in rocky and mountainous environments, yet they grow agricultural produce and commodities that feed the whole of Europe.

Crude Oil and Gas which is the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy are largely domiciled in Ijaw land and since the discovery of crude oil and gas in commercial quantity and quality at Oloibiri-Otabagi in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in 1956, Ijaws have been feeding the whole country.

8. The endless confusions, crises, and Conflicts of interest are evidences of the fact that Ijaws were active participants at Babel and they are yet to overcome the incident of the Tower of Babel as recorded in the book of Genesis 11:1-9.

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

What we have as Nigeria today began at Akassa in present day Brass Local Government Area after the genocide of 1895 that non-Ijaw authors often trivialize as ‘AKASSA RAID’ when we all know that the killing of over two thousand people mostly women and children cannot be described as a Raid but a GENOCIDE.

After the revocation of the trading licenses of agents of the British Crown due to global condemnation of the genocide that took place at Akassa, Britain imposed a formal government over what is now described as Nigeria in compliance of the Resolutions of the 1884-1885 Berlin Conference where Europe Scrambled and Partitioned Africa.

The British government relocated the administrative capital of their newly established territory from Akassa to Lokoja where Lord Fredrick Lugard amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates and later to Calabar and consequently to Lagos before the independence of Nigeria because they felt that Ijaws were too intelligent and wise.

The British never imported democracy to Ijaws, rather when they arrived they discovered that Ijaws were already practicing TRADITIONAL DEMOCRACY in a City-State arrangements.

Out of envy and jealousy about the enormous wealth of Ijaws they decided to weaken Ijaws by balkanizing them into different Provinces and later Regions where they will play second fiddle.

The resilience of Ijaws help to solve the teething problem of POLITICAL SPACE with the creation of Rivers State by General Yakubu Jack Gowon in 1967 and Bayelsa State the only homogeneous Ijaw State by General Sani Abacha in 1996.

IJAWS AS PROBLEM TO THEMSELVES

Since independence of Nigeria in 1960, Ijaws cried, wailed and lamented against their oppression, repression, suppression, subjugation, marginalization, deprivation and the devastation, degradation and destruction of their environment by the federal government and multinationals.

Ijaws prayed for a day they will be on the saddle of the leadership of Nigeria. That dream took decades but it finally came with the Elevation of an illustrious son of the Ijaw Nation Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to the Office of the Vice President under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and he later ascended the Office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria following the death of President Yar’Adua in 2010.

Sadly, Ijaws forgot their sorrows and stories of gross underdevelopment, they were rather carried away by momentary jamborees forgetting that the Jonathan Presidency was not the End Itself but was only a Means to An End.

Ijaw Youths occupied all the clubs in Abuja every weekend. Some who hitherto had not drank good wines, bought and drank bottles of drinks that cost two million Naira per bottle.

The political class, elites and youths including the traditional and religious leaders were carried away by the euphoria of the Jonathan Presidency.

Many began to trivialize and commonize the Presidency and then inherent opportunities because many got them on platter of gold.

Short memories made them to forget their past experiences.

Many even felt that the Nigerian Presidency has been ceded perpetually to Ijaws.

However, the realities later dawned on them after the 2015 Presidential Election and the rest is history.

After the creation of Rivers State in 1967, a young Ijaw Naval Officer Navy Commander Alfred Papapreye Diette-Spiff was appointed as Military Governor and he actually helped in laying a solid foundation for successive administrations.

Thereafter, another Ijaw man, a great sage Chief (Sen) Dr. Melford Obiene Okilo CON was elected as the First Civilian Governor of Rivers State.

Okilo helped to revolutionized Education. He gave Electricity to all town, villages and fishing ports and hamlets in the state.

He also did a lot of Canalization and Reclamation Works. He built new towns like Borokiri, Eagle Island, Ogbia Town etc.

The Third indigenous Governor of Rivers State Chief Rufus Ada George was also an Ijaw Man.

Unfortunately, Ijaws never valued what they had. They trivialized and commonized the opportunities and grace of Almighty God. They thought it was always easy to come by.

Then at the inception of our contemporary democracy in 1999, some Ijaw leaders like Chief Marshal Harry decided to hand over political power to Dr. Peter Otunanya Odili from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.

They had very good intentions because they wanted an all inclusive system where other tribes in the new Rivers State after the creation of Bayelsa State could also have senses of belonging. They never knew that the other tribes were only waiting for payback time.

Dr. Peter Otunanya Odili handed over power to Sir Barr. Celestine Omehia from Ikwerre who was later removed by the Supreme Court and he was replaced by his first cousin Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi who was succeeded by another Ikwerre man Chief Barr. Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike.

Ijaws in Rivers State were shut out of power for twenty four (24) inglorious and infamous years. They deliberately impoverished and pauperized Ijaws.

They relegating Ijaws to playing second fiddle. Within the period under review, they deliberately grounded the businesses and economies of Ijaws and rendered them powerless.

Ijaws all over the world were pained by the ugly situation and ill-treatment of their kith and kin in Rivers State to the extent that they starting weeping and crying like the Israelites in Babylon.

Fortunately Almighty God heard their cries and prayers and then restored political powers to them in Rivers State.

Today, an Ijaw Man in the person of Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara is the Governor of Rivers State. Sadly, the issue of Russian Jew, American Jew, Canadian Jew, Ethiopian Jew is playing out.

Some Ijaws are saying they must pull down Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara because he is a minority Ijaw.

The same people who are sermonizing, sloganizing and fighting against Northern Fulani dominance and are trying to perpetuate exactly what they speak and fight against at the federal level.

So, who is deceiving who?

Who is more Ijaw than the other?

Why are Ijaws their own problem?

Why are Ijaws silent over the present attempt to humiliate and stabilize the government of Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara?

Ijaws have to wake up. No individual or group of persons are stronger or greater than the entire Ijaw Nation.

Ijaws are supposed to set agenda for the economic and political Development of the Ijaw Nation and not attempting to destroy the government of an Ijaw Man.

The vast wealth of every Nation are in the marine. Ijaws are blessed with vast Oceans and Sea Bodies, we need to harness and maximize the wealth in the above.

Ijaws are supposed to work together with the Government of Sir Siminalayi Joseph Fubara to ensure the Construction of Roads to Connect Bille, Kula and other Ijaw territories that are yet to be connected by road to the rest of the world.

Is it not shameful that it is Ijaws that are threatening to make Rivers State ungovernable for their own Ijaw brother?

Who has done this to the Ijaw Nation?

Ijaws have to wake up before it is too late.

Ijaws must realize that the GRACE OF GOD is never for sale. It has attendant consequences when you take it for granted.

A word is enough for the wise.

~ Most Senior Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli aka Mirror and Conscience of Society

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TIMELESS CLASSIC

WE HATE ONE ANOTHER IN NIGER DELTA – TONY OYATEDOR

TONY OYATEDOR, THE MAN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

First published in The Punch Newspaper, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

President of the United States-based Newstime International, Mr. Tony Oyatedor, is involved in the training of ex-militants in the Niger Delta. He speaks on leadership in the region, especially the post-amnesty program of the federal government. He also suggested ways of tackling militancy and achieving electoral reform, among other issues, in this interview with Mudiaga Effe. Excerpts;

What is your take on the insinuation that the country’s leadership has not displayed the much-needed commitment to change the face of the Niger Delta region?

It is not always that we must criticize. You will agree with me that President Umaru Yar’Adua and his vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan recorded huge success as a result of the amnesty granted to militants in the Niger Delta region. However, people from the region are the laughingstock of the nation due to bad leadership. God in His infinite mercies, has shown love to the people of the region by blessing them with abundant natural resources, but hostilities and bad leadership have always been the problem in the region. It is for that reason that my organization, Newstime International Company, will be organizing a seminar on rehabilitation, and reintegration for the Niger Delta militants that we refer to as freedom fighters. This seminar is aimed at re-enacting the negative effects of violence as a means of solving problems. The seminar has the theme; “Peace Attracts Development’. It will take place in Warri, Yenagoa, Uyo, Port Harcourt, and all other state capitals in the region. Most times we partner with corporate organizations in the region, and we insist on human capital development first and then simultaneously, infrastructure, mainly in the oil and gas sector, agriculture, banking, and business. This time we will monitor all implementation programs, and also insist that grants be given to the people of the region for agriculture, not loans. But grants. We will teach leadership and the art of loving one another. Leaders from the North, for instance in Katsina state, refer to themselves as the good people from that state, but unfortunately, leadership in Niger Delta refers to their people as criminals. We will show people how to love one another. The problem of militancy that resurrected again in the region will be curbed. It is imperative for the leaders of that region to invest in their people, not just properties. The property that you have today may not save you in the year after, it is the good things that you do today that will save you in the future.

There were renewed hostilities in the region recently, do you think the federal government’s inability to keep its part of the deal responsible?

I will neither condemn nor cast aspersions. By just going to the church or the mosque without reading the Holy Book, brings far more danger than advantages. After you have read the Holy Book, you will be deeply shaken by the fact that you have fallen from the darkness. The agreement we are talking about now is that evil can only thrive when people of good conscience keep quiet. President Umaru Yar’Adua and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, on behalf of the Federal Government, have done a good deal for my people, but it is the people in the region that is the problem. We hate one another, but I am propagating that we have to love one another. We are insisting that the leaders in the region should love their neighbors as they love themselves, that is the only way we can come out of this quagmire we are facing now. This will make us not to be the laughing stock of the nation, but the envy of all.

What is your post-amnesty assessment of the region?

Whatever the leadership of the Niger Delta does or fails to do, to sustain peace, will have a tremendous effect on the entire people of the country. So I urge the people of the region to embrace peace without which there cannot be development. For any pipeline vandalized at your backyard, you are destroying your home. The Federal Government should call on all the companies in the region to invest in the people of Niger Delta. Fifty percent of workforce companies in the region should go to the people of the area. We have a situation whereby all the banks, oil companies, telecommunications, and others are being managed by people who are not from the region. They say the people do not want to work, yet they have not given them the opportunity to work. How many Ijaw, Urhobo, Itshekiri people are in management positions in banks and oil companies in the region? But, I do not blame the Federal Government; the people should be blamed because they do not love one another. I challenge ministers from the region to declare whom they have brought from poverty to prosperity. However, we cannot continue to pass the buck because our people suffer for lack of knowledge.

How do you hope to attract the people’s attention with this campaign of yours?

Well, this campaign is from God, for God and by God. We are calling on the people of the nation to please join us in this onerous endeavor to bring peace to the region. Our President is but one man, he cannot do it alone. The ministers, lawmakers, special advisers, are all in this together to help the president who initiated the moves. God will not come from heaven to do it. The country can only change when everyone takes up the challenge to address the issues, not by complaining. Again, it is unfortunate that our leaders do not read books, newspapers, if you go to their offices, their television is tuned to foreign stations. How would they know the problems surrounding them if they do not read? So, the leaders should make it a point of duty to read all the local newspapers around them before going on to foreign ones, by that way they will feel the complaints of the citizenry. The public says what they say through the media, it is a powerful means of disseminating information. The leadership of the Niger Delta is not reaching out to get this information. We pray that the federal government, departments and agencies, oil companies, and corporate organizations should join us in this struggle.

Now, the buildup to 2011 general elections will commence as from 2010. Do you see the possibility of having a refurbished electoral system before that election?

Well, it depends on what you mean by change. Every four years in an election circle all over the world, you hold the leadership accountable. In doing this, it is incumbent on us to ask the people what they have done. In the last four years would you say the President, his Vice, The Peoples Democratic Party have done well? It is only when you give them a pass mark that they will remain in power, if not, they should be voted out. You must let people know, especially through the media, that these people are public servants, not public masters; so they are accountable to the people. We have a situation in Nigeria where the entire public servants see themselves as public masters. They forget that every four years or maximum of eight years, you would be thrown out. Some of them cannot stroll freely in the streets after leaving positions of authority because people will stone them with all sorts of things.

But one major problem with the system is that the people’s votes don’t count, how then can we effectively carry out the change?

Again, I am an optimist, I will not join the bandwagon of those who only blame the situation without preferring solutions. Now, I watched the campaigns during the 2007 general elections. The Peoples Democratic Party is the only party that has the infrastructure in place in all 774 local government areas in the country. Some people who contested for the presidency for instance, had their party structures only in Lagos and Abuja, yet they hoped to win the election. How can that be? Because PDP is all over the place, they won the clear majority. Other parties should endeavor to have their presence felt in all the 774 local council areas and field credible candidates during the election, and see if there will not be the difference. Unfortunately, now the margin is so wide that you are talking of electoral reform, but how do you achieve that when the people are not ready? It is only in Nigeria that people do not prepare for something and yet they expect to win elections, how? It is only in Nigeria that the super eagles will be unprepared when they know they have a major game coming up – three weeks to the game that is when we start training, whereas your opponent has been training for two years before the event. We blame everyone else but ourselves, for lack of preparation. If you want votes to count in this country, I urge the other parties to be well-prepared to fight the PDP from toe to toe. So, when the results is given, even if it is a unanimous decision when there are split votes, the PDP itself will say the other parties have tried. But to talk about electoral reform without preparing for it, then they are not a party to the change. Today in Anambra State, you have over 100 aspirants vying to be governor of that little state. How many people want to be governor? It is left for the other parties to put their house together and critically bring one person to fight against the majority party. Look at the case of United States President Barack Obama, despite all the odds in that country, one man with encouragement rose from poverty to prosperity today. If you see one man who is passionate about leadership, who wants to rule for the people and not for himself, then choose that man, encourage him, and vote for him to make him win.

Do you see the opposition party as capable of whittling down the powers of the PDP?

That is where i will say that the opposition parties must come together and find out a way in unison and stand firm, just like you have in the US where you have Republican and Democratic Parties. So when they go head to head, one person will win and another will lose at every given circle. This they can do by fashioning out programs that will differentiate them from what the ruling party has on the ground – they can say we have better ideas, these people have been ruling for four or eight years look at what they have given you, but we have better programs for you that will make us progress faster. That is where the opposition parties should come out with the questions for Nigerians – are we better off today under the PDP-led government? If the overwhelming answer is no, then it is incumbent on the people to vote them out, but if the reverse is the case, then PDP comes back to power. That is the name of the game. So, we can only rig elections when those questions are not answered favorably. Of course, that is why we have the courts to address cases of election malpractice.