| THE Bini Interest Group (BIG), an umbrella organisation of all Bini indigenes, has raised the alarm over the sustained and steady invasion of Benin territories...
By Agozino Agozino
THE Bini Interest Group (BIG), an umbrella organisation of all Bini indigenes, has raised the alarm over the sustained and steady invasion of Benin territories and unprovoked attacks by the
Ijaw settlers in the kingdom.
In a letter sent to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, signed by his royal majesty, the Oba of Benin, Prince Edun Akenzua, the Enogie of Obazuwa and 53 other Benin High Chiefs,
the monarch claimed that the Ijaw settlers have forcefully annexed Abiala, Ekehuan, Ibo, Ewudu, Gelegele and Ikonoke, all Bini territories, and now want to extend their frontiers to Obazuwa.
According to the monarch, the genesis of the Ijaw invasion of Biniland and search for more territories is based on their belief that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration would
likely create a second Ijaw state out of the present Bayelsa State called Toru-Ebe State.
Added to this is the recent approval of a sea port in Gelegele town by the Jonathan administration, which the Diaspora Ijaws automatically view as a major economic advantage for the new state if eventually created.
According to the chiefs, since the tactical approval of the said port by the Federal Government, the Ijaw settlers who are mostly fishermen, have taken the law into their hands, killing, destroying and attacking innocent Bini people with impunity in their attempt to grab more territory.
The Bini monarch also claimed that many of the attacks were carried out in connivance with some Ijaw leaders whom they alleged tactically gave direction for the sustained attacks and invasion.
Similarly, in an earlier joint petition to the Senate President, David Mark, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambwal, as well as the Conference of Ethnic Nationalities of Niger
Delta (CENND), signed by Benin, Ibibio, Itsekiri and Ilaje elders over the alleged Toru-Ebe State, the ethnic nationalities claimed that the Ijaws had since submitted a petition for the creation of the said state, which outrightly includes non Ijaw homelands.
One aspect of the petition reads in part: ‘We the indigenes of communities on the Benin-Ekehuan Road axis of Benin from the Ekahuan/Silako Road junction to Itakpo, Ekehuan, Ughoton and Gelegele in Ovia North-East Local Government Area write this letter on behalf of ourselves and other Benin interest groups in the seven local government areas of Edo South, to draw his excellency’s attention to the incessant invasion of Benin communities by Ijaw settlers in Benin.
They have annexed Abiala, Ekehuan, Ibo, Ewudu, Gelegele and Ikonoke and now want to extend their frontiers to Obazuwa. They prevented Okao of Gelegele, a chieftain appointed by His Majesty, the Oba of Benin, from erecting his house in Gelegele.
They behave as if the village where they live in Benin is on Ijawland. ‘Your Excellency, Ijaws are not indigenous of Benin. They are Ijaws in the Diaspora, like the Afro-Americans who left different countries in Africa many years ago as slaves and can no longer tell from which country they left, nor can they claim that where they live in America is African territory.
‘Ijaws in the diaspora are different from the aboriginal or homeland Ijaws. The difference is recognised even by the Ijaws themselves.
The late Isaac Adaka Boro, an Ijaw, hinted this in his book, The 12-Day Revolution, edited by Tony Tebekaemi, another Ijaw.
‘He said inter alia: “The Niger Delta we shall consider is strictly the area occupied by the Ijaws, the aboriginal tribe of the Delta. It spans the coast of the Bight of Biafra, from the Forcados River to the Opobo River upstream to the Niger tributaries of the Nun and Forcados Rivers.
The area under discussion is about 6,000 square miles and controls an aboriginal population of about two million.”
‘None of the areas Boro wrote about is in Edo State. ‘Prof. J. Alagoa, an historian and another Ijaw, also hinted on the difference.
In his book, A History of the Niger Delta, An Historical Interpretation of Ijaw Oral Tradition, he wrote: The original home of the Arogbos that can be identified with confidence is the town of Gbangan (Gbaraun) in Apo Ibe of the central traditions among the Gbaramatu Oporoza, the ancestral home of that group and of the sub-groups that broke away from it.
‘In July 1994, the aboriginal Ijaws wrote a letter to the Queen of England and forwarded a copy to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in Abuja. In the letter, they wrote: “It was only by the Treaties of Friendship, Trade and Protection signed between Ijaws and the British Government on 25th of January, 1836, at Bonny with Lieutenant Robert Tryon on behalf of Her Majesty, the Queen of Great Britain, that our aboriginal territory of the Niger Delta became a British Protectorate and was proclaimed the Oil River Protectorate in 1885 and the Niger Coast Proctorate in 1893 respectively.”
Signatories to the letter were representatives of Augalabiri, Angiama, Sagbama, Odiani, Ogbere, Akassa, Middleton, Bonny, Ogolomoa, Obika, Opobo. It is note-worthy that none of the communities named is in Benin.
However, Benin was already famous for her war activities, the art and the founding of Eko (Lagos) and Dahomey (present-day Republic of Benin), many centuries before 1836, the time that the treaty was signed,’ the group stated.
Going down memory lane on how the Ijaw settlers came to be in Iko, one of Bini communities now under Ijaw control, the group said that Oba Orogbua had planned a voyage across the sea
between 1550 and 1579.
Because his Benin people were not seafarers, he needed people who could paddle canoes. The Oba had Ijaws brought for the purpose from the Benin River to Iko, where he and his troops embarked on the voyage.
Those were the first Ijaws in Iko, on Benin land.
According to the Bini chiefs, the present Ijaw attack on Benin territories can also be traced to December 11, 1998 when the homeland Ijaws held a convention in Kiama, Rivers State.
The statement they issued after the convention came to be known as The Kiama Declaration.
That convention spurred on the settler Ijaws and made them hyper-political.
They began to agitate, expressing a wish to join their kith and kin in Rivers State. The agitation itself shows that they were aware, ab initio, that Bendel State is not their home but they are settlers.
‘We tell this long story, Your Excellency, in order to establish that Ijaws are only settlers on Benin land and have no legal, moral or historical support for their claims to be owners of where
they find themselves.
Gelegele is a now well known village. Not long ago, it was a shanty, little hamlet near Ughoton. Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws lived there in harmony with Benin indigenes.
The first Ijaw man who moved to Gelegele was a fisherman named Efeti, who got there about 100 years ago.
He obtained permission from Ohen-Okun Okunseri of Ughoton and subscribed to an oath of allegiance to be allowed to settle there. In time, other fishermen, Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws moved there.
They paid tribute annually through Ohen Okun to the Oba of Benin. The arrival of Philips Oil Company in 1965 in this sleepy little village disturbed the conviviality among the ethnic
groups.
Many Benin youths in Gelegele had migrated to the city, giving the Ijaw fishermen left behind the opportunity to be the main suppliers of labour to the oil company. That job opportunity attracted other Ijaw fishermen and, as they increased in number, they became audacious,’ the group declared.
Shedding more light on Ijaw history of unprovokeattack and destruction, which they alleged have been going on in the disputed territories, the Bini chiefs said: ‘In 1969, they (Ijaw) attacked the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Benin youths, claiming ownership of the place.
The disturbance was widespread. It compelled the defunct Mid-West government to set up an administrative panel to look into the cause of the crisis.
The panel was headed by Mr. S. Jamgbadi, a senior District Officer. Part of the panel’s report reads: “It is, however, established that the Ijaws have been resident in Gelegele for many years and that during these years they have acquired landed property.
Efeti, who got there about 100 years ago. He obtained permission from Ohen-Okun Okunseri of Ughoton and subscribed to an oath of allegiance to be allowed to settle there. In time, other
fishermen, Itsekiris, Urhobos and Ijaws moved there.
They paid tribute annually through Ohen Okun to the Oba of Benin. The arrival of Philips Oil Company in 1965 in this sleepy little village disturbed the conviviality among the ethnic groups.
Many Benin youths in Gelegele had migrated to the city, giving the Ijaw fishermen left behind the opportunity to be the main suppliers of labour to the oil company.
That job opportunity attracted other Ijaw fishermen and, as they increased in number, they became audacious,’ the group declared.
Shedding more light on Ijaw history of unprovoked attack and destruction, which they alleged have been going on in the disputed territories, the Bini chiefs said: ‘In 1969, they (Ijaw) attacked the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Benin youths, claiming ownership of the place.
The disturbance was widespread. It compelled the defunct Mid-West government to set up an administrative panel to look into the cause of the crisis.
The panel was headed by Mr. S. Jamgbadi, a senior District Officer. Part of the panel’s report reads: “It is, however, established that the Ijaws have been resident in Gelegele for many years and that during these years they have acquired landed property and cultivate farms, but from facts in evidence, they qualify as tenants on the land, their long period of occupation notwithstanding.”
‘That same year (1969), they agitated violently against Philip Oil Company for giving employment to non-Ijaws.
The government again set up an inquiry to look into the cause of the crisis. The panel report reads inter alia: “The inquiry further revealed that claims by the Ijaws to the monopoly of employment provided by the oil company is not only unpatriotic but also preposterous.
The Ijaws have no right whatsoever to prevent the oil company from employing persons of their choice. They should stop threatening the oil company from employing other persons who are not Ijaws.”
According to the chiefs, on Thursday, November 20, 1986, a vexatious publication in the Nigerian Observer, credited to one Timothy Ofunama, who styled himself as the Ama-Okusuwei of Gelegele, claimed that Gelegele belongs to the Ijaw and that the Oba of Benin has no jurisdiction over it.
The government reacted to the publication through a press statement issued by the Commissioner for Local Government, Enoch Ejofodomi, an engineer.
To the Bini chiefs, the latest act of militancy and aggression by the Ijaws specifically began on June 3, 2001. On that day, Obazuwa men were measuring a parcel of land on the order of Enogie, Prince Edun Akenzua.
He and the community had donated the parcel of land to government for siting a proposed model secondary school.
‘As the men were measuring the land, Ijaw militants from Iko appeared and, without provocation, attacked them with machetes.
They abducted three men and took them to Iko and were parading them before Ijaw elders when the police arrived.
The arrival of the police irritated the militants. They rushed to their egbesu shrine and began to perform rituals.
It took the police nearly three hours to rescue the men who had been seriously beaten and were forced to sign some papers.
The militants had brought out a chain, jerry cans containing some petrol and a box of matches, ready to set the men on fire.
One of the captives, a 58-year-old man, collapsed. A UNICEF team of medical volunteers visiting Iko at that time, witnessed it all.
The team had to flee by speed boat when they saw that their lives were also in danger. ‘The militants destroyed one car and five motorcycles belonging to Obazuwa men.
Two persons who tried to escape in a car were caught and beaten severely, their car destroyed. They laid ambush for others who tried to escape to Benin on foot, captured them and also beat them severely.
In the pandemonium, the old and the young fled into the bush and to the neighbouring village.’ Giving reasons why the Bini indigenes in Obazuwa have refused to take the law into their hands or retaliate many of the unprovoked attacks by the Ijaws, the Bini monarch declared that the people of Obazuwa are known for their friendly disposition towards non-indegenes. Urhobos, Ukwuanis and people from other ethnic groups live in harmony there.
According to the chiefs, up till the present time and throughout the invasion, Ijaws lived in Obazuwa. There was no reprisal attack against them. Ijaws drive or ride motorcycles through
Obazuwa daily.
They have never been harassed. ‘We recognise them, accept them for what they are: migrant fishermen, who live around river banks and creeks, doing their fishing business.
The population of Ijaw in Ovia North is negligible, yet they occupy various important political positions. In February 1987, Ijaws in Iko attacked Ikonoke, the Binis, Itsekiri and Urhobos in Iko and destroyed the Ogua-edion.
As a result of unexpected attack, the Binis fled from both places, giving room for the Ijaws to entrench themselves in Iko.
At that time and up till early 90s, the Odionwere of Iko was a Benin man named Igbinosun. They spared him because he was old.
Ijaws have forayed into Agbonmoba, Zomu, Igbobi, Ekete, Ite, Orogo,Ewudu, Ekehuan,
Okomu and Gelegele, all Benin communities.
They maimed and destroyed Benin people and their property. They still train militants in two camps in Iko whereas such camps in the Niger Delta areas have been disbanded.
The question of who owns Gelegele had gone through litigation and had long been settled.
At the High Court of Justice Benin, in Suit B/44/1970, judgement was in favour of Benin by Justice Ekeruche(J) on December 22, 1978.
In the judgement, he held that: ‘Finally, I enter judgement in this case as follows: for the avoidance of all doubt, argument and controversy, I hear by say unequivocally that Gelegele village and its environs and bushes are Benin land.
They do not belong to the Ijaw of Gelegele as owners. The Ijaws are tenants of his Highness, Akenzua II, the Oba of Benin. Apart from the above, the plaintiff’s claim are dismissed in their entirety.’
According to the Bini chiefs, dissatisfied with the judgement, the Ijaw appealed the ruling.
The Appeal Court dismissed their appeal and, again, delivered judgement in favour of Benin. The lead judgement was read by Justice Abdul Ganiyu (J) on December 16, 1981.
Still not satisfied, the Ijaw went to the Supreme Court with Suit No.SC.131/1982. On August 19, 1983, Muhamadu Lawal Uwais, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, and four others, dismissed their appeal, upheld the judgement of the lower courts and awarded costs against the Ijaws.
Despite these judgements, the Bini chiefs declared that the Ijaws still claim ownership of
Gelegele.
‘Your excellency, for nearly 50 years, these settlers have perpetuated various forms of provocation against the Benins.
We are finding it increasingly difficult to restrain ourselves from retaliating these unwarranted attacks. If the Ijaws refuse to co-exist in harmony with us, they are at liberty to go and join their kith and kin in Bayelsa or Rivers State.
If their provocative acts of militancy continue, we will have to defend ourselves and our land. They must respect the bond of love that binds host and guests.
They must learn to respect the rule of law. They must put an end to politicking with the question of the ownership of Gelegele and other areas where they live in Benin. |
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