Yorubas And Ogonis: The Stories Of The Potency Of Consistent Advocacies That Ijaws Need To Learn

WISDOM ONIEKPAR IKULI

I wish to start this piece with one of the most popular songs about Caroline that they taught how to read and write, but began to do better than the teacher.

Historically, Ijaws are the proponents (originators) of both armed and nonviolent resistance in the history of what we have today as Nigeria.

It is on good records that Ijaws are the first people that had direct encounter with the European explorers and adventurers.

It is important to note that the first set of European explorers and adventurers were Portuguese who transacted businesses with Ijaws as equal trade partners.

The British, who are very cunny, crafty, and exploitative people, came later when they heard about the area that was full of abundant natural resources.

The major and perhaps the only available international travel route then was the water and Ijaws lived along the coastline. So, they were the first set of people who had direct encounter with the European explorers and adventurers.

During the slave era, Ijaws who already had long existing business relationships with the Europeans served as middlemen to buy slaves from Igbo hinterlands.

So even Igbos got western civilization through the European missionaries and merchants who passed through Ijaw land to access the Igbo hinterland.

In the case of the Yorubas, the European ships that went to Lagos and then spread to other parts of Yoruba land all passed Ijaw territories.

It is only the Hausa-Fulanis that had encounter with the Arabs through the deserts. The Europeans who later moved up to the far north all passed through Ijaw territories.

Back to the crux that revolves around history of resistance struggle. Ijaws are the originators of the above. But the Yorubas and Ogonis who learned from Ijaws have remained resolute.

For the purposes of this piece, it is pertinent to chronicle some of those contemporary struggles and their ultimate results.

YORUBA AGITATIONS

Sir Herbert Macaulay, a yoruba man and Chief Ernest Sisei Ikoli, an Ijaw man are the originators of independence nationalist struggle.

Sir Herbert Macaulay, who was born in 1864, died in 1946, long before the independence that he dreamt and also fought for.

While Chief Ernest Sisei Ikoli, who was born in 1893, actually died twenty (20) days after the independence of Nigeria, precisely on 21st October, 1960.

In the history of the post-civil war Nigeria, Yorubas fought and got the following;

1. After facing prosecution during the General Sani Abacha military regime, at the return of our contemporary democracy in 1999, only Yorubas were allowed to contest for the Nigerian presidency, which was used to compensate them.

The Presidential election was between Chief Olu Falae who was a product of political alliance between two of Nigeria’s main political parties, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All People’s Party (APP), and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

At the end, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was a former Military Head of State and the candidate of the then outgoing military regime, was declared winner.

The above is the first and only time that contest for the Nigerian presidency has been left for only one tribe.

What happened was the power and evidence of consistent and persistent advocacy.

2. The Yorubas came up with a story of marginalization again by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, and at the end, another Yoruba man, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was made running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari, and he subsequently served as Nigeria’s Vice President for 8 years (2015-2023).

3. As if that was not enough, in 2023, another Yoruba man Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was elected again as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Today, Yorubas are occupying almost all the key offices in the country. Other tribes, particularly the North, are accusing President Tinubu of Yorubanization of the country.

Having taken a succinct look at the exploits of the Yorubas through consistent and persistent advocacy, it is pertinent to look at those of the Ogonis too before concluding with words of advice to Ijaws.

OGONIS

Ogonis like Igbos copied what High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye and Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro did.

Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, a young undergraduate, led a group of young patriotic Ijaw people under the name of Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), to declare the famous Niger Delta Republic.

The Niger Delta Republic was a short-lived secessionist state that was declared on February 23, 1966 and lasted for only 12 days before it was subdued by the federal troop under General Johnson Thomas Umunakwe Aguiyi, the then military Head of State.

But few months later, Igbos, under the command and leadership of Col. Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, the then Military Governor of Eastern region copied the Ijaw seccessionist struggle, by declaring the Republic of Biafra that culminated to the thirty (30) months (1967-1970) avoidable civil war that claimed the lives of over three million Nigerians mostly women and children from the old Eastern region and witnessed the destruction of unquantifiable properties.

The Ogonis started the environmental struggle against the federal military government under General Sani Abacha in the 90s.

The struggle that was led by the renowned poet, playwright and environmentalist, Kenule Beesom Saro-Wiwa under the platform of the Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) was a success story even though it led to the killing of some Ogoni elites, Chief Edward Kobani, Albert Badey, Chief Samuel Orage, and Chief Theophilus Orage on 21st May 1994 in Ogoni land.

Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa, Barinem Kiobel, John Kpuine, Baribor Bera, Saturday Dobee, Felix Nuate, Nordu Eawo, Paul Levura, and Daniel Gbokoo who were accused by the military government as masterminds behind the killing of the Ogoni 4, were later found guilty by a military tribunal and sentenced to death by hanging and they were actually executed on 5th November, 1995 despite pressure and pleas by the international community.

The killing of Ken Saro-Wiwa led to international sanctions. The Ogonis also stopped the federal government from exploring crude oil and gas in Ogoni land.

Their consistent and persistent advocacy has resulted to the following;

1. Ongoing environmental remediation and clean up of Ogoni land.

2. Federal government is building and providing several infrastructure and social amenities besides the hundreds of millions of dollars that are entering Ogoni land.

3. The federal government has established Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) that is located in Koroma/Saakpenwa in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.

4. The story of Ogonis is internationalized, and they have global recognition. Ogonis are all over the world. Many countries grant them asylum.

5. Ogonis are occupying key positions in federal government and also in the international oil companies (IOCs).

LESSONS FOR IJAWS

The success stories of the Yorubas and Ogonis are due to unity of purpose and resilience.

Like the case of Ijaws, they have traitors and internal saboteurs, but the potency of their ideological struggles always prevailed.

Both Yorubas and Ogonis place high premiums on their intellectuals. They do not play politics with their intellectual reservoirs.

Ijaws should embark on self-introspection and do self-reinvention.

Ijaws must identify their vocal voices and encourage them. Where are the Joseph Evahs, the Ann Kio-Briggs and others?

How are they treated?

In Yoruba land, such vocal voices are bankrolled by the governments.

They work together with the political class. They speak the minds of the political class who are often constraint to speak due to observance of TABLE MANNER.

Most times they pretend to disagree and even fight in the public, but they work together behind the scenes to achieve their common, collective goals.

Whereas in Ijaw land, those who oppose government are seen and even treated as enemies.

Ijaws should strengthen the leaderships of Ijaw National Congress (INC) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC). They should stop playing politics with the leaderships of the apex socio-cultural organizations of Ijaw people all over the world.

The leaderships of both umbrella bodies of Ijaw people should not be used for political patronage.

INC and IYC stands as the symbols and images of Ijaw people all over the world, thus they need outstanding and very vibrant and vocal voices and not people who are docile. Ijaws are not weak or docile people.

Moving forward, Ijaws need to unite and speak with a united voice.

Right from the pre-independence era to the post-civil war Nigeria, whenever Ijaws work together and speak with one united voice, positive things happen in Ijaw land.

Ijaws need to reawaken the Spirit of NEO-IJAWISM that will reactivate their IJAWNESS.

– Most Senior Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli
Mirror and Conscience of Society