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- Urges gov to invite Okoloba people for dialogue
- Says resetting without addressing remote cause of crisis will spill doom
From Joseph Obukata, Warri
A group under the umbrella of ‘Concerned Ijaw Citizens’ has vehemently objected against the proposed plan by Delta State Government to rebuild and resettle Okuama people in their ancestral home which they fled following the March 14, 2024, soldiers’ killing incident.
The group, in an open letter to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, warned that any move to resettle the people in the disputed land would spill doom for the area if the remote cause of the crisis between Okuama-Okoloba, was ignored.
In the latter released to Daily Sun, on Tuesday, the group claimed that the crisis between the two warring communities is escalating, with tensions mounting by the day in the riverine communities.
The development is coming barely two months after the killing of 17 Nigerian Army officers on ‘peace-keeping mission’ in Okuama community, Ughelli South local government area of the state.
The letter signed by coordinator of the group, Seigha Manager, maintained that the situation remains volatile, with Okoloba community people expressing deep concerns about the alleged renewed hostility by Okuama people who recently took laws into their hands.
According to them, “It is also barely a month and three weeks since the soldiers left Okuama. ln our interface with Okoloba people to unearth their concerns, their community stated profusely that there has been an inexplicable array of unpalatable events rocking the trio of Okuama, Okoloba and Akugbene communities,” the group hinted.
They alleged that investigation revealed that Okoloba people are living in fear of possible attacks by Okuama, who have regrouped in larger numbers, and reportedly “threatening mayhem”.
They accused the Delta State Governor of being bias in the handling of the crisis, saying that the state government’s decision to visit and invite only Okuama leadership for talks has raised questions about fairness and equity.
Okoloba people, according to the group, are demanding equal attention and protection from the government, and urging the state government to address the root cause of the crisis, which they claim is “the trespassing of Okuama people on their land.”
The group, however, called on the state government to take urgent steps to address the situation, including inviting Okoloba people for talks, addressing their challenges and pains, and getting specific terms of commitment from them to maintain peace.
The letter reads: “As concerned Ijaw citizens who are critical stakeholders in the overall well-being and peaceful co-existence of Ijaws wherever they may be dwelling and in tandem with our unflinching desire to work with government in resolving the lingering crisis, we engaged the Okoloba people and their leadership with an intent to bringing their complaints to the knowledge of government (state and federal) and of course other non-state actors so as to address them properly–the essence being to dig into the root-cause of the crisis and permanently nip same in the bud.
“That though the soldiers were killed in Okuama community and that put Okuama on the radar of the soldiers, it is two communities that are involved in the crisis and as such for a lasting solution to be provided, the state government ought to visit the two communities and/or at least invite the two communities and their leadership to sit down and address the burning issues that led to the impasse. But that was not done. Rather, His Excellency the Executive Governor of Delta State visited Okuama only, and invited Its leadership to Government House and promised rebuilding Okuama and resettling them. The burning questions being asked by Okoloba people and they said are contributing to the brewing tension are:
“As a father to all persons and ethnic nationalities in Delta state, is it fair, right, just and equitable for the governor to visit and/or talk with only one party (Okuama) to the exclusion of the other (Okoloba), which is a major party to the dispute in question?
“Is it because Okoloba is an ijaw village, and not Urhobo, hence the governor feels comfortable to ignore Okoloba people?
They contended that even if the government succeeds in suppressing Okoloba now to achieve the plan of resetting Okuama people in the contentious land using the instrumentality of government power, has the state government really solved the problem on ground that has traversed several decades and several governments?
