Introduction:
Falsehood is like the darkness which vanishes as soon as the light appears. The holy book “bible” condemned it in Revelation Chapter 21:8 saying, “but the cowardly, unbelieving, abomination, murderers, sexually, Immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all “LIARS” shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”. While the truth, only but the truth shall save us, so, we should not deviate from the scripture, such as John Chapter 14:6 which says “that Jesus said to him “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”. John Chapter 17:17 says “sanctify them your truth, your word is truth” and Ephesians Chapter 4:15-15 which says “that we should no longer be children, tossed about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ”.
The above scriptural chapters and verses from the Bible should at least, be guiding instruments and tools for two brothers, who in one way or the other, are enmeshed in one form of misunderstanding or the other, because whatever the end of the situation, blood brothers remain genetically, culturally and traditionally related as the present case of Ibabu and Ugiliamai Communities of Onitcha-Ukwuani.
It came as a rude shock to us, members of Ibabu Community, when our attention was drawn to the publication of Ndokwa reporters Newspaper of August 2014 Edition, Vol. 1 No. 7, page 7, with the title “Ugiliamai Community, Ugiliamai Onitcha-Ukwuani, Ndokwa West Local Government Area, Delta State: Motto; Unity, Peace and Progress, our position on the Ibabu/Iselegu war, Ugiliamai shares boundary with Iselegu not Ibabu”.
Based on this therefore, we have no other option than to keep the records straight. It is fundamentally true that Onicha-Ukwuani clan is made up of five different communities namely Ike-Onicha, Eweshi, Ugiliamai, Amorji and Ibabu, with the Ike-Onicha as the first settlers and the most senior among them. It is also true that Ugiliamai Communities was undisputedly the third settler and junior in seniority, while Ibabu Community came last and remains most junior as the fifth settler. Only that in their publication, there were, many missing links and facts about the migration of various Onicha-Ukwuani villages.
The history of Onicha-Ukwuani as regards the migrational records of the people, still has it that when Ibabu Community founded by Odumegu and Ojeh, arrived from Nsukwa Kingdom, in Present Aniocha-South Local Government Area of Delta State, they were received by the first settlers Ikilike and Adoh who founded Ike-Onicha Community. Already, the Nkwor cultural area had been occupied by the first four settlers, so, the Ibabu Founders, Odumegu and Ojeh were allocated area of land behind Ugiliamai Community for settlement, with instruction to expand eastward. According to the history, a deity called Elishi Ikilike was therefore buried inside Ibabu Community for spiritual protection against evil spirits, and external invasion. This deity uptill date still exists and been appeased by Ike-Onicha indigenes not members of Ugiliamai Community.
Having been located at the back of Ugiliamai Obiaka Community, with the instruction to expand eastward to acquire more land for Onicha-Ukwuani, Ibabu people started expanding eastward in search of water and other factors of settlement by ways of farming, hunting and fishing. One of the indigenes of Ibabu called Ogwu Adeze was a very powerful farmer, hunter and a fisherman. He kept exploring and acquiring land eastwards until he discovered the present Iselegu River, where he established a fishing camp called “Ose-Ogwu (Ogwu water front) and settled there as a result of the river. Before then, Ogwu Adeze had already founded and established other satellite farming camps such as “Odegbu” Obi-Ofu” “Obi-Ukpo where other members of Ibabu community also settled. As if not satisfied, the Ogwu Adeze went further east securing more land across the river until he met Eze Ekpeshi who was the founder of Afor clan.
The history said that Eze Ekpeshi was coming westward, escaping from constant attack by wild elephants when they both met and agreed to have common boundary. For fear of the wild elephants Ogwu Adeze pegged a demarcation at a point more than two kilometres across the river and came back to his water front (Ose-Ogwu) where he lived until his death. Meanwhile another Elishi Ikilike was also buried at the Ose-Ogwu fishing/farming camp for protection against Evil Spirits and external invasion as a famous and a great farmer, hunter and a fisherman, he was able to secure the area of land he acquired eastwards from the present location of Uno-Obodo Ugiliamai. While he was at the (“Ose-Ogwu”) Ekpeshi who founded Afor, settled beside him southward, until the arrival of the white explorers, who were discovering African water ways. They traced Ose-Ogwu, along the river through the balls of smoke emitting from the camp. As the history stated, the Whiteman anchored and exchanged pleasantries with Ogwu Adeze and few of his co-settlers who were farmers, hunters, fishermen and oil palm nut collectors. This encounter led to the renaming of the “Ose-Ogwu” as “Iselegu” by the white men, according to their information.
At this juncture, the white men requested to establish there, which was immediately granted by Ogwu Adeze and this led to the establishment of the defunct John–Holt Company near the river where strangers were later employed as labourers as the company specialized in trading and palm Oil Mills. In line with the principle of urban attraction, the camp started increasing in population, mostly dominated by non-indigenes such as the Ijaw’s, Isokos, Ibos and other communities of Ndokwa and beyond. This increase in population of strangers, coupled with the illiterate background of Ogwu Adeze and his co-original settlers, gave room for their early domination by the strangers, who finally decided to settle permanently in the camp. The outcome of it was their claim of the ownership of the land, more especially after the exit of the Whiteman and the death of Ogwu Adeze and other original founders.
At this time, the strangers made up of different ethnic nationalities, became wealthy traders along the water route and were more exposed to the western education, that they forwarded their claim of the land ownership to the west African Court of Appeal (WACA) where the Ibabu indigenes were intimidated owing to their illiterate background and the matter was decided in their favour against Ibabu. This was allowed with constant harassment of Ibabu Indigenes which led to their relocation back to Obi Ukpo for safety, otherwise Ibabu land is bounded in the east with Onuaboh community, Obikwele community in the North, Utagba-Uno communities in the west, while Afor communities in the south.
The Ugiliamai people’s claim of owing the portion of land where we live, and that we at a time paid loyalty to them as our customary landlord is laughable and distortive of the original and traditional history of Onicha-Ukwuani. We in the spirit of brotherhood and blood relationship like to request them to retrace their history of migration to their present location along Obi-Ukpo/Utagba-Uno road. They should go back to their ancestors for more clear and detail account of their missing links and facts on how they got there. Ibabu community is not contesting their seniority in the history of arrival of various five quarters of Onicha-Ukwuani clan. Did their forefathers not tell them how Ibabu community aided their escape from enemies who were pursuing them from Nkwor cultural area where they first settled? Have they forgotten how Ibabu forefathers offered them a portion of land to settle beyond the desert? Have they also forgotten how the founding Ibabu traditionalists and spiritualists buried a charm at the entrance of their escape route to their present Onuobodo settlement at the outskirt of Ibabu?
This charm called “Ebichi Ogu” (War Protector) was meant to divert the attention of their pursuers which they (Ugiliamai people) were also instructed to appease periodically. We regard all their false claims as biting the fingers that fed them, as well as attempts to falsify, re-write the original, cultural, and traditional history of Onicha-Ukwuani. Moreover, if truly, they gave us the area of land where we live, where have they been since the origin of Ibabu-Iselegu land dispute several decades past? Why is it now that Ibabu and Iselegu people are at the verge of final settlement that our Ugiliamai brothers will open the claim of our land ownership? Permit us to recall that our Ugiliamai brothers , have for some years past denounced their membership of Onicha-Ukwuani clan, thereby declared themselves autonomous Ugiliamai Community, which was demonstrated in their abstaining from participating in the annual Onicha-Ukwuani cultural Ikenga and Ukpalabor festivals, as well as renamed their primary and secondary schools after Ugiliamai Asamala, instead of Onicha-Ukwuani. So, why should they say in their said publication that Ibabu community is not part of Onicha-Ukwuani? This is against the ancient and cultural phrase “Onicha-Ise”.
We wish to place on record categorically here that before our fleeing Ugiliamai brothers were given their present settlement by our founding fathers and the famous and great Ogwu Adeze had already acquired and secured the entire area of land across Iselegu River and established the satellite camps and farm settlements like “Odoegbu” “Obi Ofu”. Obi-Ukpo which was first called “Ugbo-Ocha” and the defunct “Ose Ogwu” farm and fishing camp. They have this history at tip of their fingers.
We do not intend to join issues with our brothers of Ugiliamai Community, even if they take delight in bearing false witness for Iselegu against us their brothers, because the history and facts are there for our Onicha-Ukwuani, ancestral gods and posterity to judge. What we are experiencing today is oppression and persecution in the hands of their wealthy sons and daughters who are more financially and politically advantaged than our children, to forcefully acquire our land for reasons best known to them.
The only fight we had with Ugiliamai as much we can remember, resulted from refusal to participate in the maintenance of the only link road between the two communities, which they later pleaded and promised to join in clearing the road, indeed they later joined and the matter was amicably and brother settled. The other alleged attacks listed in their publication were misunderstanding between youths and our community youths during public gatherings which were not at community level. Suffice us to inform you that in each of these youthful clashes, we the Ibabu leaders had always cautioned and punished our children found guilty as disciplinary measures which were up to the knowledge of our Ugiliamai brothers.
We see all their allegations and false claims as fanning embers of disunity and crises which will not pay two blood brothers any good, but on no account shall we go to war with our brothers, even in the face of acute provocation such as this. Let them be their brothers keepers and revisit the history of their second migration, with a view of filling the missing links and facts so that our cultural, social and political affinity can strive, even for the generations yet unborn. We request any interested group or individuals, who may wish to follow up this history, to take cursory visit and survey of the areas of land in question, or reach out to the Onicha-Ukwuani settler (Ike-Onicha), community for verification our claims for unbiased judgement.
Signed:
HRH. Okwa Young Ossai Ekele
(Okpala-Uku of Ibabu Community)
Chief Paul Aninyi
(The Onotu-Uku of Ibabu Community)
