The Uvwie General Improvement Union has declared that the Itsekiri ethnic group has no indigenous community in Uvwie Kingdom, dismissing claims linking them to the founding of some communities in the area.
The President-General of the Union, Chief Hope Erute, asserted on Friday during a world press conference held at Effurun in Uvwie, Delta State.
Erute said claims by some Itsekiri individuals that they founded communities such as Ugbenuowhoru (erroneously known as Ugbolokposo), Ugbomro, Okwatata and Iteregbi were “false and provocative.”
According to him, available historical records and local accounts show that the communities are integral parts of Uvwieland, with no aboriginal Itsekiri presence.
“Our attention has been drawn to the fallacious and provocative claims being peddled by a few Itsekiri persons, alleging that the Itsekiris founded the historic communities of Ugbenuohwuru (Ukpolokposo, as corrupted by the Itsekiris) , Okwatata, Iteregbi and Ugbomro communities in Uvwie Local Government Area.
“It is reported that at a recent public cultural festival of the Itsekiri nation, a spokesperson presented a narrative regarding the founding by the Itsekiris of the communities in Ugbenuowhoru, Ugbomro, Okwatata and Iteregbi, all being indigenous communities in Uvwie Kingdom.
“It is not in the character of the Uvwie people to respond to delusional folktales from neighbours. Ordinarily, we would have ignored these claims as the mere delusions of a few misinformed individuals or those who persist in the folklore of yore, lacking in substance.
“However, silence in the face of persistent falsehoods can sometimes be mistaken for consent. Therefore, we state the facts for the records to properly educate discerning minds, sifting the wheat from chaff”, Erute noted.
He explained that some Itsekiri people who currently reside in parts of Uvwie were received as migrants and maternal relations, not founders of any community.
Flanked by chiefs, leaders and women, Erute noted that narratives suggesting otherwise, including those allegedly presented at a recent Itsekiri cultural festival, were attempts to distort history.
He maintained that even genealogical accounts referenced by the Itsekiri indicated prior Uvwie ownership of the communities before any migration occurred.
Giving breakdown of legal history of the cases and how they were mostly inconclusive, the apex Uvwie socio-cultural body alleged attempts by some misinformed Itsekiris to shop for judgements to support their false narratives
According to him, “History is replete with the sojourn of the Itsekiris as they migrated across the creeks and river streams seeking shelter in riverine communities. They were never hinterland aboriginal people. Prince Ginuwa did return to Benin to reclaim the throne.
“His co-travellers, the Itsekiris or Jekris as they are known in historical documents, have continued to be a bane on the various aboriginal communities that accommodated them during their sojourn. The Itsekiri have recently used the occasion of their ‘Ghigho Aghofen festival’ to propagate a version of history that claims they founded Ugbenuowhoru and Ugbomro towns in Uvwie Kingdom.
“We observe that the Aghofen account that Prince Udefi left Odi shekiri and settled in Ugbolokposo at his mother’s hometown is itself an admission. His mother was of Omoro (Ugbomro), daughter of Odogu, son of Ofo, described as one of the founding fathers of Ugbenuowhoru. Even in their own genealogy account, Udefi came to a place that already had Uvwie roots and presence. He was received, not a founder. The narrative implicitly admitted that Prince Udefi’s mother was of Uvwie extraction at Ugbenuowhoru.
“The Uvwie people do not seek conflict with any neighbour. We believe in what we have always called intellectual prowess — the use of truth, evidence, and historical record to defend our land and identity. The truth, as the foregoing demonstrates, is sacrosanct and no grandstanding can alter it. The narrative presented at the festival of the Itsekiris is pure grandstanding, fictional and trouble-seeking, very characteristic of the Itsekiri’s.
“Ugbenuowhoru, Iteregbi and Ugbomro are integral parts of Uvwieland. Ugbenuowhoru was a family settlement which the Erovie people of Uvwie granted to their maternal relations who were paternally Itsekiris; who moved to Uvwie as a result of a crisis they had in Itsekiri land. Ugbomro, on the other hand, was founded by Uwherume of the Abadi family of Erovie Quarters in Uvwie. The three Ruling Houses in Ugbomro reflect this history to date. There is no single indigenous or aboriginal Itsekiri family or compound in Ugbomro.
“The late King Nana of Itsekiri was maternally Uvwie of Ugbenuowhoru extraction. He reportedly hid in Uvwie, his maternal homestead, when he was being persecuted by the British. A British expedition in search of King Nana invaded and burnt down Uvwie market and several homesteads in the town. The then spiritual leader, Ovie Erumagborie was held captive by the British until Chief Arigbe, who was allegedly hosting King Nana, was produced by the Uvwie people.
“The population at Ugbenuowhoru was swollen by the mass exodus of Itsekiris, some of whom also ran from Koko in Warri North. Migration from Koko naturally gravitated to Ugbenuowhoru, the material home of the Nana of Itsekiri, who was betrayed by an envious Itsekiri man, Dore Numa, which facilitated the downfall of the empire that King Nana built and presided over.
“History records that there was no king amongst the Itsekiris who contested the overlordship of King Nana. It was after his betrayal and fall that those who joined the British to pull down King Nana created a kingship which is today ruling the Itsekiri.
“It should also be noted that, whilst King Nana of Itsekiri was humiliated at the instance of the British, and his envious paternal Itsekiri kinsmen were celebrating, his chivalrous maternal people of Uvwie engaged the British officials in a fight of resistance for which Effurun, the city centre of the Uvwie people, was burnt in the 1890s.
“We also note for historical education that the contraption of kingship put together to replace the authority of King Nana was of two streams – one headed by Ogiebo, who ruled exclusively over his domain in Okere Warri and the other by Ogiame, who held sway over Itsekiri domains in the Benin and Escravous rivers.
“Eventually, the Ogiebo authority waned, and that was the time Ogiame started extending his influence to Okere part of Warri metropolis. Even the Itsekiri Land Trust arrangement put together by Ogiame and his cohorts did not extend their authority to Ugbuwangue, which was a territory under the exclusive authority of Arthur Prest and validated by the courts.
“Itsekiris should recall that in the aftermath of the change of name from Olu of Itsekiri to Olu of Warri in 1952 by the Awolowo Western Region Government, there was a pogrom to expel all Itsekiris (squatters) in all Urhobo watersides. The Uvwie people, rather than expelling the Itsekiris in Ugbenuowhoru, recognised them as their maternal relations and, in an episode of chivalry, built a wall of protection around the Itsekiris squatting in Ugbenuowhoru. If that pogrom had swept through Ugbenuowhoru, the Itsekiris would no more be on the land. The viper stings by nature even he that feeds it!
“It is an irony that today, it pleases the Itsekiris to prefer the anglicized/corrupted version of Ugbenuowhoru (Ugbolokposo) around which they are mischievously weaving their false narrative, yet they are running away from the anglicized/corrupted version of Itsekiri by the British – Jekri, which is the name they are referred to in all British historical books. That is mischievous cherry picking.
“Uvwie kingdom and the Itsekiri nation have a long, documented history of peaceful coexistence, inter-marriage, and mutually beneficial social and economic relationships. Even though the Uvwie people are at peace with their maternal relations in Ugbenuowhoru, the vaunting narrative by the larger Itsekiri leadership falsely laying claim to Ugbenuowhoru and Ugbomro will not be tolerated by Uvwie who are known for hospitality, and we demand a cease and desist to such provocative narratives from the Itsekiri leadership.
“We advise the few Itsekiri individuals trying to foment trouble and drive a wedge between our two great ethnic nationalities to face another direction. The path of peace and mutual respect is large enough for all of us to walk on; do not create an artificial crisis where none exists. Focus your energy on the development of your communities rather than coveting the ancestral lands of your neighbors. The purpose of this resurgent claim is hard to decipher, other than mischief and chaos.
“Ugbomro, Okwatata, Iteregbi and Ugbenuowhoru (Ugbolokposo) are, and will always remain, integral and indivisible parts of Uvwie kingdom. Whilst their paternal ancestry may be Itsekiri, we consider them our maternal relations under the overlordship of the Ovie of Uvwie and in Uvwie Kingdom. The Edo, Ibo and Hausa communities in Uvwie have peacefully co-existed in Uvwie Kingdom, notwithstanding their ancestral origins. Our Itsekiri brothers and all peace-loving people should adopt this posture”, he further added.
The UGIU president-general said the Uvwie people remained peaceful but would not allow what he described as “false claims” to go unchallenged.
Erute called on the Delta State Government and security agencies to intervene and caution those promoting the claims to avoid a breakdown of peace in the area.
“We urge the Delta State Government and relevant security agencies to take note of these inciting claims and call the perpetrators to order before they breach the existing peace in the region”, he warned.
