DELTA 25YEARS AFTER: CHIEF LORI-OGBEBOR REVEALS INTRIGUES BEHIND CREATION OF DELTA STATE
•How the Itsekiri were prevented from
being with Benin
How the Itsekiri pushed for Asaba as Delta State capital
• The roles IBB, Aikhomou, Clark, Ogbemudia, others played
25 years after the splitting of the defunct Bendel State into Delta and Edo states, foremost rights activist, Chief Mrs. Rita Lori-Ogbebor, goes down memory lane to reveal what could perhaps pass as high-powered intrigues that marked the process.
Nudged, by an earlier report on the matter where it was said that the late Oba of Benin prevented the Itsekiri from being in the same state with the Benin, she provided an exhaustive account of the issues surrounding the restructuring of the defunct Bendel State.
With much emphasis on the Itsekiri, she revealed the roles played by an ex-President, Gen Ibrahim Babangida, retd, the late Oba of Benin, the late Olu of Warri, Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Samuel Ogbemudia, and the late Vice-President Augustus Aikhomou among others.
Ogbebor, who is the Igba of Warri kingdom, narrated the historical occurrence from the standpoint of an active participant in the series of meetings leading to the creation of Delta State.
This is the story as told by Chief Rita Lori Ogbebor.
Relationship between Itsekiri, Benin "I feel obliged to put right some issues in an interview granted your reporter by ex-governor Ogbemudia regarding the creation of Delta State.
In that interview, Ogbemudia said the Itsekiris said they did not want to be with the Benis during the period arrangements were being made on how to create Delta State from the then Bendel State. That statement was an opposite of what transpired.
And I feel pained that Ogbemudia who was present could say such a thing. I wish he said it when the Olu was alive or when the Oba of Benin was alive but they have both gone to rejoin their ancestors. I am the only one who can testify to what those men said then because I am a chief of the Olu of Warri. I am an Okere woman and I know the relationship between the Itsekiris and Benis.
They are blood relations and therefore when there were concerns over the creation of state, I had the privilege of being sent by the Olu of Warri to go and see the Oba of Benin on the issue. And on the night when the discussions were being held at the residence of the late former Vice-President, Augustus Aikhomou, I had the privilege of being there. So whatever I say, therefore, is the authentic story. I am not a politician, I am a traditional chief so I am saying this for posterity sake.''
On Olu of Warri, Oba of Benin
''On that day, the Olu called me at about 5am and told me he was called Aikhomou that he was coming to Lagos. He said he did not know why he was being called that he was going to come by road that I should be ready to follow him. However, because of bad weather, the Olu left Warri in the morning but did not arrive Lagos until 6pm.
Together, we went to Aikhomou’s house and he welcomed us. He then told the Olu why the Olu was being called and Olu posed the question:
‘’Where is the Oba?’’ Aikhomou said he had for the Oba that he was not sure the Oba will be coming. So the Olu said that he can not go into the without the presence of the Oba because two of them are the leading traditional leaders in the then Bendel State, therefore, two of them must meet.
So the Olu sat down. Aikhomou pressured the Olu that they should go into the hall for the meeting but the Olu refused. When it was about 11 pm, Aikhomou then said to the Olu to do him a favour by going inside the hall to meet the people who were there. He said that after the prayer and the agenda, the Olu can go. The Olu asked for my opinion and as a chief, we know how to respond to such questions. And I did so.''
Aikhomou pressured the Olu
''Then the Olu said he would grant Aikhomou that favour because he was his friend. Inside the hall, we found Michael Ibru, David Ejor, Chief Dafinone, Edwin Clark, Chief Moemeke of the advertising fame, Sunny Odogwu, Prince Omatseye, Tayo Akpata and Ogbemudia. When the Olu came, they prayed and read the agenda and we left because the Oba was not there.
As Aikhomou escorted the Olu out, Aikhomou asked the Olu if he could allow me to join the meeting. The Ogiame (Olu) turned to me again asked what I thought, I responded that if he so wishes. I responded that the fact that I would be listening there would not mean anything. I went there and sat down.
They had been talking and they said I should speak. At that time I was always being sent on errands by the Olu so I knew his thinking on the issue.
In fact, the earlier that week, the Olu he had sent me to the Oba of Benin to find out the thinking of the Oba because we were hearing a lot of stories regarding the at that time.
Some people came and told lies to the Olu and we also knew that a lot of politicians were seeking their own interest on the state creation. We were also sure that they were also telling negative stories to the Oba because the politicians were so scared of having two powerful traditional rulers in the same state.''
''When I met the Oba after a lot of discussions, he said the Benin will go with the Itsekiris in the same state. My mission was to tell the Oba that we will like to be with the Benin in the new state that will be created. So, a letter was written from the palace of the Oba to Aikhomou saying that should the then Bendel State be restructured in line with the creation of states, the Benin would be in the same state with the Itsekiri, who are their kit and kin. That was what the Oba said.
When they asked me the position of the Itsekiri, I told them then that we will like to go with the Benin. I gave no alternative because the matter had already been discussed with Itsekiri chiefs. And going to see the Oba was not for anything.
What Ogbemudia said that we maintained that we will not be with the Benin was wrong. Would it not sound stupid to think that we went to give the Oba options? How can chief present options to the Oba? The Olu sent me to tell him the position of the Itsekiri on the proposed new state following the planned restructuring of
Bendel State. The Oba agreed on our
position. It was based on the letter from the palace that Aikhomou convened the meeting and when the politicians heard that the Itsekiri and Benin were likely to go together into a new state, it was a big rush for them. I must say that Aikhomou too did want the two monarchs to be in the same state.
When at about 1 am, the Oba came in a
motorcade from Benin, he met me there echoing what I had decided with him. The Oba said to me, ‘’Chieftess, I have heard a lot of stories since I discussed with you, a lot of stories are going around, so if that is the case, the Itsekiri and the Benin can not go together.’’ You can imagine the kind of people I told you were there, Clark, Ejoor, Dafinone, and Ogbemudia is their friend. The only exception was Akpata. They must have put much pressure on the Oba and given him a different impression. Moemeke and Odogwu were there but they had no saying at that time because they were asking for Anioma State. When the Oba said the Itsekiri will not be with the Benin in the same state because of what he had heard in the last few days, you needed to see the jubilation in the hall.''
Encounter with the Oba
''The impression Ogbemudia created was that the Itsekiri said they would only join the Benin if they fail to be on their own.
But that is being debunked by the fact that I had earlier gone to see the Oba where he wrote a letter. So, if it is true that the L did not want to go with the Benin, the Olu would not have sent me to the Oba.
How could I have gone to the Oba to make a choice? The Oba wanted me to say what I wanted to say and he was also probing me at the same time. That was why I was there for nearly two hours. If it was true that he did not want the Itsekiri to be with the Benin in the proposed state, the discussion would not have been on for over an hour.''
The nearly two hours with Oba of Benin
"Who were the people there when you had the meeting with the Oba?
When I came in, some chiefs were the ones who took me in. When I sat down, the Oba came looked at me and the chiefs and told them to go. The bodyguards were the only ones left. They were seven in their traditional dresses. I was left alone with the Oba of Benin with these seven bodyguards.
At a time, he asked me whether I wanted him to send away the traditional body guards but I said no.
He thought I was scared, I had nothing to be scared of because I was only there to deliver a message. I had no ulterior motives.
If I were talking stupidly, he would not
have been able to talk to me that long. All our discussion was mutual. Our thoughts were mutual, I want to be conservative, I want to be humble to say that the man gave me much time because he found my discussion very interesting. As he was probity my mind, I listened to him.''
Oba's letter to Aikhomou
''A letter was subsequently sent to
Aikhoumou, who quickly summoned all the people I mentioned. Hence, the pressure on the Oba. And when the Oba said that, I was very disappointed but the Oba asked them if they heard what I had said. He told them that I said that the Itsekiri were afraid of marginalisation in the proposed state. I remember that Dafinone got up and said we should put it to vote.
But Omasteye questioned the rationale for such suggestion and said if the place of the Itsekiri was going to be put to vote, he would leave the place. I also said the same because we did not come there to vote. But they did not listen, they just said we should pray and go. I too was disappointed, I had to leave and it was about 2 am. What happened in the presence of the Oba did not last for more than five minutes.
The way the politicians acted showed that they planned it because they did not give time for the Oba to say much.
The next morning, I went to see the then Secretary to the Federal Government, SGF, Alhaji Aliyu to tell him what happened.''
Pressure over Anioma state
'' I told him what they had done and said if those people were the people going to rule us in Delta State, the minorities may not have a say. The Olu himself was not sleeping when I met him at his residence after the meeting. I told him what happened in tears and left for my house that night.
The SGF was surprised to know that the Olu and the Oba never met on the matter. The Olu knew what the politicians were up to. Both leaders did not see before the politicians prevented us from going with the Benin. The SGF said I should tell the Olu not to travel that he was going to arrange a meeting with the President, Babangida that night. But Aliyu was surprised to hear that there was already a communiqué stating that the Olu was at the meeting and tha both leaders had a big fight making the Olu leave the meeting angry. That was even not true because the both leaders never met.
That evening the Olu was called and we went to see the President. He told the President that he never met the Oba and told him that we want to be in the same state with the Benin.''
Natural place for Itsekiri
''The Olu said that was the natural place for the Itsekiri. But Aikhomou and those people I mentioned escalated their pressure. So all attempts by the President and others who, are interested in justice, did not work.
Everybody felt that the Itsekiri were going to be marginalised as a minority. Babangida is till alive and can testify to the pressure over where the Itsekiri should be.
There was also the pressure over where the Anioma should be. At the last decision, I was the one that said if the Anioma wants to join the proposed state, they are welcomed rather than we being the only minority in the state. That decision must have helped the President, who was looking for a place to put the Anioma people.
So this is how the Anioma people came to be part of Delta State during the creation of state. Out of anger, when the question of capital came up, I went to BBC to say that the capital should not be in Warri. I did so because they ganged up to deny us the
opportunity of being in the proposed new state with the Benin.''
On state capital
''We were asked to suggest names. I said that since they did what they did to us, they should not make Warri the capital because that may not augur well for Itsekiri land. And the BBC carried it all over based on the reasons I gave. Ogbemudia was not for us because it will pay him more if he does not have the Olu and the Oba in the same state. When I was talking then, Ogbemudia walked up to me to say that we should bow to the Urhobo if we want to have peace in Delta State.
He mentioned the name of the person I
should bow to among the Urhobo .That
made me swear with the land of Benin
where I come from and where he also
comes from. Why should he tell me that? That is why I always have my reservations about him till today. All I have said happened. Some may have died now, but there are a lot of chiefs, who are alive and can testify that I was sent to the Oba by the OIu.''
#Vanguard27thAugust2016
0 comments: