Uvwie Cautions Itsekiris Against Ethnic Strife Over Ownership Claims of Ugbenuohwuru, Others

Sylvester Idowu in Warri 

The Uvwie General Improvement Union (UGIU) has warned some Itsekiris against fanning embers of ethnic strife over alleged claims of some communities in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State.

President General of UGIU, Chief Hope Erute, at a press conference in Effurun yesterday warned “misguided Itsekiris attempting to sow seeds of discord that the peaceful disposition of the Uvwie people must never be mistaken for weakness.”

The Uvwie kingdom, he noted, was not afraid, and will never be afraid, to defend its territory, its heritage, and its people.

Uvwie Kingdom warning came in response to an alleged statement credited to a spokesman of Itsekiri regarding the founding of the communities in Ugbenuowhoru, Ugbomro, Okwatata and Iteregbi, all being indigenous communities in Uvwie Kingdom.

“Our attention has been drawn to the fallacious and provocative claims being peddled by a few Itsekiri persons, alleging that the Itsekiris founded the historic communities of Ugbenuohwuru (Ukpolokposo, as corrupted by the Itsekiris), Okwatata, Iteregbi and Ugbomro communities in Uvwie Local Government Area.

“It is reported that at a recent public cultural festival of the Itsekiri nation, a spokes person presented a narrative regarding the founding by the Itsekiris of the communities in Ugbenuowhoru, Ugbomro, Okwatata and Iteregbi, all being indigenous communities in Uvwie Kingdom.

“It is not in the character of the Uvwie people to respond to delusional folktales from neighbours. Ordinarily, we would have ignored these claims as the mere delusions of a few misinformed individuals or those who persist in the folklores of yore, lacking in substance. “However, silence in the face of persistent falsehoods can sometimes be mistaken for consent. Therefore, we state the facts for the records to properly educate discerning minds, sifting the wheat from chaff,“ he stated.

Erute in giving the relationship between the two ethnic nationalities, confirmed that Itsekiris were materially related with Uvwie in those communities but that that does not conferred the claims of ownership of the areas.

The President-General of UGIU condemned attempts by the “misinformed Itsekiris to shop for judgements to support their false narratives.

“The Itsekiri have recently used the occasion of their “Ghigho Aghofen festival” to propagate a version of history that claims they founded Ugbenuowhoru and Ugbomro towns in Uvwie Kingdom. 

“We observe that the Aghofen account that Prince Udefi “left Odi shekiri and settled in Ugbolokposo at his mother’s hometown” is itself an admission. According to the narrative, His mother was of Omoro (Ugbomro), daughter of Odogu, son of Ofo, described as one of the founding fathers of Ugbenuowhoru. Even in their own genealogy account, Udefi came to a place that already had Uvwie roots. He was received, not a founder. The narrative implicitly admitted that Prince Udefi’s mother was of Uvwie extraction at Ugbenuowhoru”, he added. 

He noted that the Uvwie people do not seek conflict with any neighbour as they believed in “what we have always called intellectual prowess, the use of truth, evidence, and historical record to defend our land and identity. 

“The truth, as the foregoing demonstrates, is sacrosanct and no grand standing can alter it. The narrative presented at the festival of the Itsekiris is pure grand standing, fictional and trouble seeking, very characteristic of the Itsekiri’s.

“Ugbenuowhoru, Iteregbi and Ugbomro are integral partsof Uvwie land. Ugbenuowhoru was a family settlement which the Erovie people of Uvwie granted to their maternal relations who were paternally Itsekiris; who moved to Uvwie as a result of crisis they had in Itsekiri land. 

“Ugbomro, on the other hand, was founded by Uwherume of the Abadi family of Erovie Quarters in Uvwie. The three Ruling Houses in Ugbomro reflect this history till date. There is no single indigenous or aboriginal Itsekiri family or compound in Ugbomro,” he maintained.

Erute acknowledged that Uvwie kingdom and the Itsekiri nation have had a long, documented history of peaceful coexistence, inter-marriage, and mutually beneficial social and economic relationships observing that though the Uvwie people were at peace with their maternal relations in Ugbenuowhoru, the vaunting narrative by the larger Itsekiri leadership falsely laying claim to Ugbenuowhoru and Ugbomro will not be tolerated by Uvwie who were known for hospitality, and demanded a cease and desist to such provocative narratives from the Itsekiri leadership.

“We advise the few Itsekiri individuals trying to foment trouble and drive a wedge between our two great ethnic nationalities to face another direction. The path of peace and mutual respect is large enough for all of us to walk on; do not create an artificial crisis where none exists. 

“Ugbomro, Okwatata, Iteregbi and Ugbenuowhoru (Ukpolokposo) are, and will always remain, integral and indivisible parts of Uvwie kingdom. Whilst their paternal ancestry may be Itsekiri, we consider them our maternal relations under the overlordship of the Ovie of Uvwie and in Uvwie Kingdom. 

“The Edo, Ibo and Hausa communities in Uvwie have peacefully co-existed in Uvwie Kindgom notwithstanding their ancestral origins. Our Itsekiri brothers and all peace loving people should adopt this posture,” he added. 

Erute urged the Delta State Government and relevant security agencies to take note of the inciting claims and called the perpetrators to order before they breach the existing peace in the region.