BEVERLY HILLS, November 14, (THEWILL) – Itsekiri leaders on Friday demanded the resignation of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State following what the leaders described as the inability of the duo to curtail “rampaging ex-militants” who seized the Delta waterways and prevented the much-awaited groundbreaking of the $16billion Export Processing Zone Project, THEWILL has learnt.
The leaders of the tribe said if President Jonathan couldn’t curtail the ex-militants whom they claimed the President had spent billions of tax payers’ money in rehabilitating, then he is not fit to rule Nigeria because, according to the sources, he is easily frightened by a “threat from Tompolo.”
“It is the responsibility of every sitting President and Governor to ensure that they are not cowed by threats; otherwise all manner of groups will rise up every now and then and keep on threatening them. Therefore, if a President keeps on succumbing to threats by his own people and he cannot curtail them, then he has goofed up and should resign as it is done elsewhere in the world,” Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, a formidable group of national and Diaspora groups of Itsekiri leaders said in a statement.
Governor Uduaghan is from the Itsekiri tribe, while President Jonathan is an Ijaw from Bayelsa State, the only 100% Ijaw State in Nigeria.
Specifically, the leaders said that Ijaw ex-militants have demystified Governor Uduaghan who, according to them, had boasted in the media that no one can stop the President’s scheduled flag-off of the multibillion dollar project.
The leaders said that they are surprised over the failure of President Jonathan to commission the groundbreaking due to the threat from Ijaw militants mostly of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
Rising from its emergency meeting, the group headed by Pa. JOS Ayomike, a historian, said it is unfortunate that Jonathan didn’t heed their warning to ignore “baseless” threats of war, rather, he “pitched his tent with his Ijaw warlords and did the wrong thing.”
In a statement the Itsekiri leaders said the Itsekiri people, Nigerians and indeed the world now know that President Jonathan is pursuing an Ijaw agenda.
“This agenda is to exterminate the Itsekiris in their God-given land but we will resist it and we will never be intimidated by threats of war and genocide against our people .
“We have repeatedly called on our Ijaw brothers, including President Goodluck Jonathan, to build bridges across ethnic divides not only in the Niger Delta but in Nigeria. But alas! President Jonathan has by this action joined the Ijaw militants in building fences among the ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta and Nigeria. And time will tell the outcome,” the statement said.
The Itsekiri leaders therefore said that the Itsekiri nation, with the various treaties they entered into with the British, would push for secession if Jonathan and his Ijaw people continue their “agenda to exterminate us.” According to Pa Ayomike, “Itsekiri as a nation is protected by the British crown , and so we will go to the international court and push for secession.”
According to the Itsekiri leader, “Jonathan has been intimidated by the “militants” and he is dancing to their tones; that’s why the flag-off was stalled otherwise the Ijaws have no basis for this agitation .
“The EPZ project which is completely situated in Ogidigben is in 2.560 hectares entirely within Ogidigben; so let the Ijaws tell us the name of their community within this landmass,” Ayomike said.
“He maintained that “it is a shame that the militants have demystified Uduaghan, he is irrelevant and useless to us. Let him resign like others do around the world when they goofed. Uduaghan is now a nobody in Delta because Jonathan no longer listens to him as the chief security officer of the state, the militants now have Jonathan’s ear more than Uduaghan.”
Giving a graphic details of where Ogidigben is situated in the EPZ map, Itsekiri leaders said that the closest Ijaw enclave which lies to the south is Yokiri and it is about 14km from Ogidigben, adding that the only town which lies to the North of Ogidigben is Kpokpo.
“Between Kpokpo and Ogidigben are other Itsekiri villages like Madangho, Ajudaigbo and others. It is this Kpokpo that even has no geographical contiguity with Ogidigben that the Ijaw of Gbaramatu are using as bridge-head to lay claim of ownership to certain parcel of land earmarked for the EPZ just as the Ijaw of Ogulagha are using Yokiri too,” they said.
Citing a court judgement on the ownership of Kpokpo, the Itsekiri leader said that Kpokpo is an Itsekiri settlement owned by the Ugborodo community and its ownership has been settled judicially in suit Nos MCC/4/71: Godspower Okoturoh (of Ugborodo) Vs Ogbaburo (of Ijaw) and MCC/37/71: Godspower Okoturoh (of Ugborodo) Vs Burutu (Ijaw) as belonging to the Ugborodo people.
The Itsekiri leader stated that the Ijaws of Gbaramatu Kingdom, wholly, live on lands owned by the Itsekiri people of Omadino and Ugborodo communities as customary tenants as pronounced over the years by court of competent jurisdiction.
They affirmed that “Okerenghigho” (now called “Okerenkoko” by the Ijaw) on which the Marine Dockyard and the Maritime University is built is on Omadino (Itsekiri) land.
To buttress their point, they cited the case of 1962 where the Itsekiri people of Omadino in suit No. W/30/1962: Chief E.E Sillo & 2 Ors Vs James Uluba & 2 Ors sued for possession of title to Okerenghigho, rents and injunction and judgement delivered on 3rd October, 1969 which was in favour of Itsekiri people of Omadino.
They also held that Oporoza, the headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom and Tompolo’s abode, is in Ugborodo (Itsekiri land). According to them, the Ijaws settled there with the permission of the Itsekiri people of Ugborodo citing the case in suit No. W/124/76: Babine Ereku & 3 Ors (members of Ugborodo) Vs Osuke Akonu & Ors, adding however that they are surprised how a customary tenant overnight turned around and began to lay claim to the land of his landlord.
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