Again, our attention has been drawn to another round of concocted tales and mischievous lies being peddled by an undignified fellow known as Mr. Clement Koki in the Vanguard Newspaper publication of 19th June, 2024.
Mr. Koki, who santimoniously parades himself as the chairman of Okoloba community, Bomadi local government of Delta State had ignominiously stated in the said publication that Okuama people are “strangers” in their ancestral home situate along Forcados river, Ughelli South local government of Delta State.
Ordinarily, the unfounded and mischievous publication by Mr. Koki is undeserving of our reply, but as a responsible and enlightened people who understand the potential harm misinformation does to the psyche of the public, we deem it very important to correct the fictitious claims and distorted information he had fed the public with to attract cheap recognition.
In the said publication, Mr. Koki said that the only land boundary Okoloba had is with Ewu Urhobo in Ughelli South. That Okuama people were farmers from Ewu Urhobo who came for settlement as farmers and paid annual rent and other royalties to Okoloba, an Ijaw community.
We consider this statement as an affront and a bizarre commentary by a fellow who is roundly ignorant, uninformed and lacks full knowledge of the origin of Okoloba people and their historical relics that define their ancestral homeland.
On that note, we sternly admonish Mr. Koki and his cohort of faceless sponsors to desist from spewing unedited false statements about the origin of Okuama people in a devious ploy to twist established truths and misinform the public.
We, therefore, advise Mr. Koki that rather that dissipating his energy in such vain hallucinations akin to his lineage, he should’ve better preoccupy himself with a thorough investigation and fact-based findings about the true origin of Okuama people of Ewu Urhobo kingdom as such established facts are verifiable and retrievable from various archives that are already in public space and making a good read for serious and progressive minds across Delta State and even among members of the aboriginal Okoloba community.
To prove our leniency and unquestionable peaceful disposition as against the hostility and waring path the Okoloba people are “treading,” we want to unequivocally reiterate that Okuama people are peace loving and committed to proving to the world the uncontestable origin of Okuama community situate along the Forcados river in Ughelli South local government area of Delta State.
We make bold to tell Mr. Koki and his clout of mischief makers that we are “loaded” with verifiable proofs to shame them and discredit whatever concocted, baseless and unverifiable claims they are sticking to.
Having said that, we want to caution Mr. Koki and reaffirm that Okuama people had and have been toeing the path of peace, despite the belligerent disposition of the Okoloba people. And following the ensuing conflict between the communities (Okoloba and Okuama), the peace accord initiated by the Delta State government has been diligently obeyed to the letter by Okuama people, but still, the Okoloba people have continued to perpetrate hostility with impunity. A development that has further indicted them overtime as a people that find pleasure in fomenting trouble.
We also seriously advise Mr. Koki not to truncate the effort being made by the Delta State government and other relevant institutions to resettle the displaced people of Okuama Community in the wake of the atrocious invading of the community by the army in a gestapo manner that resulted in the demolition of the community, killing of innocent Okuama indigenes, including women, children, aged, sick and pregnant women.
We want to remind the heartless Mr. Koki that, having suffered this huge collosal damage, the Okuama people are currently in a state of mourning and we will not be distracted by his renewed media ranting aimed at spiting Okuama people.
On a final note, we say though Mr. Koki has a full right to his own opinions, he however totally missed the points and distorted established facts in his poorly crafted statements and publications.
On that note, we saliently advise the public to jettison the lies being spewn by Mr. Koki in the pages of newspapers and online newspapers outlets as diligent and lawful steps are being taken by Okuama people to cause the Okoloba people to submit to untainted truth and kowtow to the supremacy of the laws of the land.
May the good Lord give Mr. Koki and his cohort of Okoloba mischief makers the wisdom to discern the truth and hold strongly to it and profess it without fear or favour in Jesus Name, Amen.
Signed by:
Mr. Bernard Esegba,
Secretary General, Okuama Community.
