By Francis Ewherido
Until the killing of 17 officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army, many people never knew about the tensions and skirmishes between Okuama, an Urhobo community in Ewu Kingdom, Ughelli South Local Government Area and Okoloba, an Ijaw community in Bomadi Local Government Area, all in Delta State.
Both communities have lived side by side for “over 300 hundred years,” according to the Pere of Akugbene-Mein Kingdom, HRM Pere Kalanama VIII, who is an Ijaw monarch but maternally related to Okuama-Ewu in Urhobo, according to some sources. You can imagine the discomfort this crisis causes him and his likes, who have Urhobo and Ijaw heritage. Information indicates that Akugbene monarch has been very instrumental to finding peace between Okuama and Okoloba. The royal father has kept to his maternal lineage by attracting developmental projects to Okuama. This is a very commendable efforts.
Okuama and Okoloba people have intermarried and speak each other’s language, so this crisis could have been avoided if the situation was well managed and there was restraint and level-headedness. This is a time for patience, understanding, level headedness and mutual respect. There is a need for justice and peace to embrace so that the recently signed peace accord between the two communities will endure.
I will not belabour you with the aftermath of the killing of those soldiers because they are already in the public domain. My interest today is on the way forward and achieving a lasting peaceful co-existence between Okuama and Okoloba communities. During the week, the leaders from the two communities, in the presence of traditional rulers and security agents, signed a peace accord. The report said the peace accord was initiated by the Bomadi Local Government Chairman and brokered in collaboration with his Ughelli South Local Government chairman.
The Chairman of Bomadi LGA, Hon. Dagidi Andaye, who anchored the peace meeting, said it was convened with the knowledge and backing of the Governor of Delta State, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, who mandated the peace meeting to raise, discuss and iron out all contentious issues between the two communities. That is very important. Similar agreements have been reached in the past and breached. So, there is a need to get to the bottom of what is causing the crisis. Whatever led to the failure of previous peace efforts should be unearthed and solved.
Andaye said “The ultimate goal of this meeting is to ensure lasting peace between Okuama and Okoloba communities, and we want both communities to go back to our age-long relationship of peaceful co-existence.” To achieve this, the meeting made some resolutions. I will summarise them and discuss in brief the importance and implications of some of the resolutions: one, an immediate ceasefire and an end to all hostilities, renouncing of violence and reconciliation of both communities. This does not require much explanation because without these, the peace accord is an exercise in futility. Two, granting free access to farmlands and farming activities within the communities’ respective boundaries, considering the fact that both communities rely on farming and fishing for their livelihood.
The economy of both communities was already being affected by the skirmishes before the army invaded and levelled Okuama, so this agreement is very important. Three, joint patrol along the Forcados River bank to ensure safety, security and free passage of boats and passengers along the Forcados River bordering both communities. This is another very important agreement. Before now, there had been attacks on passengers and boats. In all cases, it is blame and counter blame by both communities. Hopefully, there will be no further attacks. Also, people from other communities who want to use the past hostilities between Okuama and Okoloba to commit crimes around the stretch will be caught.
Four, the meeting agreed on the release of properties allegedly stolen during the invasion of Okuama. This kind of restitution will be wonderful. The soldiers had scarcely vacated Okuama when some bad elements descended on Okuama to steal what the soldiers did not destroy or partly destroyed.
Five, agreement to resolve disputes through dialogue and peaceful means. Also, agreement to engage in community outreach programmes to promote peace and understanding. This is another very important point. I was born into and spent my early years in a communal setting. As young as I was, I remember that when there was a dispute between two families, the landlord or oldest man in the compound settled the dispute. There were times when two children would fight. Sometimes, the parents of the aggressor would beat the child so hard that the other family would plead with the parents, “ehwenatere” (The beating is enough). But there were also parents who would never accept that their children were at fault. This led to family quarrels and fights. This kind of defiance can also lead to communal clashes.
Finally, a 10-man Monitoring Committee was also set up to monitor the Peace Accord. This is like a postmortem and very important. Everything must be done to ensure enduring peace. Two days ago (September 26), I read an advertorial by Oleh Development Union on page 27 of Vanguard on the boundary dispute with Ozoro. I met this dispute in 1973 when my family moved to Ozoro. Our official residence, a small bungalow, was the last house on the Ozoro-Oleh road. It was about five miles (eight kilometres) from the disputed boundary, but concerned indigenes deemed it fit to tell us so that we could be on the alert. This is an intra-ethnic (Isoko) dispute. Border disputes can be intractable. All hands must be on deck to resolve the Okuama-Okoloba border dispute.
I have written four articles on this crisis. I also made suggestions which are mostly taken care of above, but I also expressed the need for the border between the two communities to be demarcated. One of the major reasons for the dispute is land. Leaving out the border demarcation means the job is not yet completed. The Delta State government has an agency in charge of border demarcation. The government should not shy away from this all-important point if we truly desire a long-lasting peace between the two communities.
On return of Okuama people to their ancestral home, I heard the contractors have started bringing building materials to site to start the rebuilding of Okuama with starting with the primary and secondary schools, community hall and health centre. I have also been informed that Ughelli South LGA is going to play a major role in the rebuilding and resettlement of Okuama people. The chairman of the local government, Dr. Lucky Avweromre, is an indigene of Ewu Kingdom, but that is beside the point. The entire Ughelli South LGA is his turf. Okuama people do not need any favourtism, but he understands what life is like in the riverine areas of Ewu, so he has his work cut out.
I am informed that the LGA is deeply involved in the rebuilding of Okuama, but Okuama people come before physical structures. Though new in office, he has visited the IDP camp to see the Okuama people. That is not good enough. The last time he came to the camp was when he was campaigning for the chairmanship position. The chairman of neighbouring Ughelli North LGA, who was sworn at the same time, did not only visit the camp but celebrated his last birthday with the Okuama people in the IDP camp. Their joy knew no limit.
That said, he should pursue the resettlement of Okuama people with utmost vigour. They have been in IDP camp, eating free food and living their lives devoid of their daily routine of family life, farming, fishing and trading. It is like a bodybuilder who stopped going to the gym. The longer he does that the more his muscles disappear. Okuama people should go home soon before their bodies become too flabby.
My last advice to the chairman is that should liaise with the chairman of the IDP camp committee, Abraham Ogbodo. Ogbodo has some wonderful ideas that will make his work easier and faster, and facilitate the return of Okuama people to their ancestral home.
