President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu have been asked to take urgent steps to prevent looming crises in the Niger Delta.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, the Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements, (AYDM) a coalition of 130 Pan Yoruba groups said the present repression of Itsekiri people has the potential of leading to fresh outbreak of hostilities that may affect oil production and flare armed conflict in the region.
The press conference was addressed by the AYDM General Secretary, Mr Popoola Ajayi flanked by leader of Yoruba Assembly and Chairman of Afenifere Renewal Group, Hon Wale Osun, President General of Agbekoya, Chief Kunle Oshodi, official of Oodua Peoples Congress, Mr Thompson.
Others at the conference were leader of Itsekiri Community in Lagos and those from Warri Federal Constituency 1, Comrade Monoyo Edon, Hon. Kingsley Tenumah and Oritsetimeyin Osariemen
The AYDM said the primary causes of the crisis are the INEC’s proposed Ward Delineation Exercise in Warri Federal Constituency and a string of political and economic exclusion imposed on Itsekiri people, the award of oil pipeline protection of oil facilities in Itsekiriland to sworn enemies of Itsekiri and the proliferation of small arms suspected being acquired to settle scores with Itsekiri people.
The group warned that if the Presidency fails to intervene and ensure Justice, Nigeria may witness a return to the 1990s when Delta State was a theatre of war between Itsekiri and other ethnic groups in the oil producing area.
“We are compelled to call this conference due to the emerging crisis in the Niger Delta and the far reaching implication for democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria. We recall that for about 6 years, the Niger Delta was thrown into armed ethnic conflict which threatened the stability of Nigeria. We do not want to see this happen again. That conflict brought tears and blood in the Niger Delta,” the AYDM said.
The group said the crisis could be avoided if the Presidency and the security institutions respond to the current early signal warnings.
Ajayi said “It’s never too late to prevent a major crisis in the Niger Delta that may drag the entire Yoruba Nation into the crisis. We believe this can be avoided and should be avoided by all means, hence our decision to speak out.”
The AYDM said unfortunately, if the historic injustice is not addressed, history of violence may repeat itself.
It said it hoped this will not happen given the various forms of crisis Nigeria is facing at the moment.
The AYDM said the time to act is now.
It recalled that the Yorubas, Igbo, Hausa, Tiv like every other ethnic nationality in Nigeria have their traditional homeland with their various administrative structure with which they entered into the marriage of the 1914 amalgamation.
How would any of these ethnic groups feel if Wards are being created in their ancestral land in the name of people who came to settle on their land?
How responsible would it be to have Oyo Ward in Sokoto or Ibadan Ward in Enugu or Zamfara ward in Enugu just because there are a few indigenes of Zamfara in Enugu city?
The group said for administrative convenience, the various Yoruba sub groups such as the Itsekiri, Ilaje, Ikale, Owu, Egba, Ijumu, Ondo, Oworro, Ibilo, Igbomina Okun, Ijebu, Ekiti etc though scattered in different part of Nigeria, they still maintain their historical, linguistic, cultural affinity and solidarity.
The AYDM said there is no gainsaying the fact that the Warri homeland is entire Itsekiri’s.
“Prior to the 1914 amalgamation, the Itsekiri people of Warri kingdom like their Yoruba brothers already have a well established administrative structure, headed by the Olu of Warri with which they conveniently conduct their judicial, legislative and executive functions. The defunct Warri Local Government, nay Itsekiri homeland was what gave birth to the three Warris of today, viz; Warri South, Warri North and Warri South-West. Another way of saying this is that in the evolutionary account of time, what was not there in the Warri kingdom (Itsekiri homeland) before and post the 1914 amalgamation cannot now be reckoned with.”
The AYDM said INEC, before this grand conspiracy to alienate, nay completely obliterate the Itsekiri from their homeland are aware of the electoral facts in their archive that of the 13 wards in the defunct Warri LGA/Itsekiri homeland, Itsekiri were having 10 wards, Ijaws two wards and the Urhobos one ward.
It noted that INEC through a grand conspiracy was able to successfully isolate the Itsekiri homeland of the Warri Federal Constituency without tempering or replicating same conspiracy in the other 359 federal constituencies of the federal republic of Nigeria to merge previously existing larger wards and polling units of the 10 Itsekiri wards in the defunct Warri Local Government and increase the one of Urhobo and two of Ijaws’ through various failed litigation attempts and abuse of relevant administrative power. ”
The AYDM said what INEC has successfully shown to the whole world is their conspiracy theory that while the polling units, voting strength and population in the other 359 federal constituencies of Nigeria continue to grow, the one Urhobo ward and the two Ijaw ward in the defunct Warri Local Government continue to grow, the 10 Itsekiri wards of the same defunct Warri Local Government continue to diminish.
The group said INEC justified the fear that when Delta state was to be created, the Itsekiri vehemently opposed the idea of forcing them into Delta State
“Then it was said that once the Itsekiri homeland is taken or carved out of the proposed Delta State, the economic viability needed for the sustainability of the new Delta state would have been defeated. Hence Delta State cannot be created.”
The AYDM said the Yoruba and Itsekiri are blood bound and would jointly resist the current injustice being inflicted in Itsekiri people.
It noted that prior to the advent of democracy in 1999 when the Ijaws mobilized massively to destroy lives, properties and social amenities in most of Itsekiri communities to enable them gain undue political advantage over the Itsekiris homeland, little did they know then that they were working in connivance with INEC as reflected in the current delineation of wards being orchestrated by INEC.
The AYDM said the arbitrary creation of 12 illegal wards in Warri South where INEC collapsed the 9 wards to become 6 and multiply the Urhobo one ward in Warri South Local Government Area to become six is another sour taste in the grand conspiracy.
“Although Itsekiri protested against the arbitrary creation of these illegal wards in Warri South and went to court from where justice was served and judgement delivered directing INEC to return to the original 10 wards structure for 23 years, INEC in flagrant disobedience to this court judgement has been conducting elections with the illegal 12 wards.
The AYDM said it was not surprised that the same INEC and the Ijaws colluded again to present a final report (which they have now reduced to a mere proposal) of delineation of wards in Warri federal constituency, all in the guise of taking over Itsekiri homeland and hand them over to hostile neighbours who came from their own homeland of Patani, Bomadi and Burutu and the Urhobos in Delta Central Senatorial District.
The AYDM said in the first schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the headquarters of the Warri South-West Local Government is Ogidigben, an Itsekiri community but has been arbitrarily relocated to Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw community.
The group said to the amazement of everybody, the National Assembly which deposed to an affidavit in a Federal High Court in Abuja that they were not going to disobey the Supreme Court judgement on the naming of the Maritime University as Okerenghigho as advised by the immediate past Attorney-General of the Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami passed the bill into law using the illegal name, Okerenkoko.
AYDM said NEC recently murdered sleep in Delta state when it disregarded all the records in their archive and pronouncements from competent courts of jurisdiction in Nigeria by going ahead to make public a proposal for new delineation of wards in Warri Federal constituency even against pending court cases and procedures where they completely sold out the Itsekiri homeland to the ijaws.
The AYDM said another agency of government, the Nigerian National Petreoleum Corporation, (NNPC) has also not helped matters when it awarded the surveillance and security contract of protection of oil pipelines in Itsekiriland, against the spirit and letters of the Petroleum Industrial Act to Tantita Security Services Ltd -a company owned by a sworn enemies of the Itsekiri, thereby confirming our fears that neighbors want to completely exterminate Itsekiri from their homeland and share all the resources amongst themselves. The company has used this cover to unleash mayhem on Itskiriand entering sacred spiritual groves, sacred temples, arresting and detaining Itsekiri people at gun point.
The AYDM called on President Bola Ahmd Tinubu and the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to immediately intervene to ensure Justice and fairplay for Itsekiri people.
“This is as simple as obeying all the Supreme Court decisions for the past 50 years won by Itsekiri. We call on the DSS, NSA, EFCC, ICPC to be alive to their responsibilities to probe Prof. Rhoda Gumus and all the INEC officials associated with this monumental electoral fraud.”
The AYDM called on Present Tinubu to invite Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu the INEC chairman who may not be aware of the fraud against the Itsekiri people.
“Let him explain to Nigerians why the Itsekiri areas have been shrinking while the Ijaw and Urhobo areas are increasing astronomically.”
The coalition called for the setting up of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate INEC’s delineation activities in Warri Federal Constituency to ascertain why INEC merged several wards in Itsekiri Area to become one while multiplying areas with low registration in the Urhobo and Ijaws enclave, Whether INEC has the constitutional powers to create new communities or super impose illegal names on existing Itsekiri communities, Whether INEC has the discretion to obey one court judgement while disobeying another.
“We are calling on Mr. President to direct INEC to return to the Original 13 ward defunct Warri Local Government Area and use the same as the basis upon which delineation can be carried out in Warri Federal Constituency.”
The AYDM called on the Legal Aid Council to investigate the Head of the Legal Department and all the staff of INEC involved in this charade.
“We also call on President Bola Tinubu to withdraw all pipeline security and surveillance contracts in Itsekiri land awarded to Tantita Security Services Ltd, a company owned by our sworn enemy Mr. Government Ekpemupolo and award same to competent Itsekiris.
The movement called on the Nigerian Police to investigate the Surv. Adamu Abaji, DG of the National Boundary Commission and Kingsley Otuaro, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Delta state over the falsified adjustment of gazetted boundaries and the renaming of our communities in our homeland. This should lead to their arrest and prosecution.
The AYDM has directed the 37-member committee set up from all Yoruba speaking block in Nigeria to immediately reach out to all critical stakeholders groups, opinion and political leaders to see how all of these can be actualized.
The AYDM is the mass-based Pan Yoruba organisation that provides consistent and well-articulated support for peace and conflict prevention in the South West including Kwara, Kogi, Edo and Delta States. AYDM networks with similar groups in the Middle-Belt, the South East, South-South and the North.
The AYDM is the largest coalition of Pan Yoruba groups made up of 130 coalition members drawn from community based, artisan and professional groups. AYDM coalition members includes but not limited to South West Professional, (SOWPROF); O’odua Peoples Congress, (OPC-New Era); Yoruba Communities in West Africa, (YOCWA), Oodua peoples Congress (Reformed);Agbekoya; South West Farmers Forum,(SWFAF); United Itsekiri Peoples Congress, (UIPC); ANAMMACO, representing Okada all Riders in the South West; South West Students Coalition, (SWSC); O’odua Nationalist Coalition, (ONAC); Yoruba Community Association in Northern Nigeria, (YOCANN); Ilaje Peoples Assembly; Igbimo Omo Oodua in Diaspora, Afenifere Progressive Youth Movement, (APYM), Yoruba Artisan and Traders Association, (YATA), Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association, (NATA), with some 5million registered members of mechanics established in 1953; Covenant Group, South West Professionals,(SOWPROF); Association of Y-oruba Communities in West Africa (AYOCWA); Yoruba Artisan and Traders Association, (NATA); O’odua International Democratic Movement, (OIDEM); O’odua Muslim-Christian Dialogue Group,(OIDEM) among many others.
