When the Ijaw-born Major Isaac Jaspero Adaka Boro was assassinated, the Hausa/Fulani immediately pointed fingers at Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and the Biafran army. Believing them Ijaws refused to see what was obvious, that Yakubu Gowon who openly amnestied Boro could have secretly killed him to stop Boro’s Niger Delta Republic. Ojukwu’s war was the ruse he needed.


In this essay I presume to talk to Chief Ralph Uwazurike, leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB. He said he could opt for violence, like Boko Haram, to press home his demand. But by so doing he had provided the Hausa/Fulani the subterfuge to kill Boro all over again. Can Ndigbo risk another blockade, abandoned properties and 43 years of Ijaw hatred?

Ijaws received two amnesties in 1966 and 2009, periods preceding major political upheavals. On each occasion the grantors were the Hausa/Fulani who abhor same for their northern minorities. Meaning that this thing called presidential “pardon” or “amnesty” is other than what it is.

For the avoidance of doubt these are the historical interplays leading to the first presidential pardon granted Ijaws in 1966 by Gowon. The beneficiary was the restless Boro.

Pre-colonial Ijaws were wealthy middle men who prohibited Igbos from trading directly with foreign supercargoes berthed in their waters. You sold your palm oil to them and also purchased imported goods from them. Igbos never quarreled with this unfair trade practice. Ijaw trading houses had war canoes patrolling the creeks.

What happened to those Ibibios who sold directly to whites? Did not King Jaja of Opobo’s canons rain grape shots at close range on them after which he wrote London explaining why he chastised them?

Same goes to King William Koko of Nembe. He completely razed a British trading post at Akassa in 1895 before hauling sixty-seven whites into his private prison till ransom on them were paid. The British had annoyed him by not punishing George Tubman Goldie who stopped Ijaw merchants from exporting oil to Britain. Compared with Ijaw militancy of the 19th century what you have today is brush war.

This glimpse into the past means that our ancestors were not savages. Walter Rodney credits them with export based economy before colonial predatoriness undid them. Given the right condition we can repeat their feats. The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, under Miabiya Kuromiema, has set up the Koko and Jaja Foundation. This foundation will clone latter days Kokos and Jajas to dominate trade and export in Ijaw territories. In solidarity the IYC also sponsored Igbo youths to key into their economic blue print.

By 1900 the British began to cage Ijaws; completely eclipsing them in 1939 when the Southern Protectorate was divided into the Eastern and Western regions. Territorially contiguous and culturally homogeneous Ijaws were balkanized into administrative units under the newly created Eastern Region. Igbo administrators were then placed over these administrative units, in line with colonial divide and rule system.

Niccolo Machiavelli believes a man can forgive you for killing his father but not when you rob him of his land. Disenfranchised Ijaws reacted like a man whose land was stolen. From 1939 they never said a good thing about Igbos. Chief Uwazurike, that is how our problem with Ndijaw began. The British were behind it all.

Ijaw historians agree that 1900 marked a paradigm shift in Ijaw nationalism. From this date war was abandoned for diplomacy, due mainly to the superior fire power of the imperturbable British who euphemised genocide as pacification. To the bewildering developments of 1939 poor Ijaws could only talk and complain.

Since the Ijo Rivers Peoples League of 1930 Ijaws have complained to no avail. Next they formed the Ijo Tribe Union in 1943 to demand for a separate but unified Ijaw region. The British never listened. In 1944 the Rivers State Congress was formed and when that also failed Harold Dappa Biriye et al formed the Niger Delta Congress in 1954. This time Ijaws succeeded in electing the young Melford Okilo into the House of Representative in Lagos.

Note: Whereas Igbos, Yorubas, and the Hausa/Fulani were fighting for Nigerian independence, Ijaws fought for a different kind of independence. All they ever wanted was a distinct political space from Igbos. Their demand led to the setting up of the 1957 Sir Henry Willinks Minority Commission which recommended, inter alia, for a separate Niger Delta Basin Development Authority, NDBDA. Too little too late; with independence the British left Ijaws worse than they found them.

Frustrated Ijaws allied with Ahmadu Bello’s Northern Peoples Congress, NPC, against Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigerian Citizens, NCNC. This entente proved the Igbo’s greatest weakness and, the Hausa/Fulani’s greatest strength in an independent Nigeria. It was not until 2011 that Ndigbo broke this jinx by massively voting for the Ijaw-born Goodluck Ebele Jonathan against the Hausa/Fulani Mohammadu Buhari.

When on the 23rd February 1966 Boro launched his 12 Day Revolution from the Tontoubau forests aimed at establishing the Niger Delta Republic, none understood the power of amnesty. General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi had Boro arrested and sentenced to death, though refused to carry out the sentence. Both Aguiyi-Ironsi and Ndigbo were bitterly resented by Ijaws as a result. But General Yakubu Gowon pardoned Boro with one hand only to orchestrate his assassination with the other. Ijaws loved him and the Hausa/Fulani to a fault.

Read on http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2011/jun/291.html

They are just plain sttupid.

udezue:

They are just plain sttupid.

who are they?

bashr4:

who are they?

Who do you think?

actually i support the writer , massob needs to support GEJ government or just stay clear. ijaws dey find who to blame for their problems ,thank God we  voted an ijaw man for president so they can solve their problem themselves.

The Ijaws are such troublesome people.

According to the write up,which I find kind of fishy, it seems like eventually the Ijaws domineering but later became dominated. If anything, it seems like a case of the worker becoming his boss's boss. The inlanders were prevented fromtrading directly with the Brits but later the inlanders became the controlers/administrators of the shores/port/rivers derived its benefits and decide on how to allocate it. I guess this is a great example of the saying, "who knows tommow?". The ijaws should stop crying over something that they once did to others.

Chyz*:

According to the write up,which I find kind of fishy, it seems like eventually the Ijaws domineering but later became dominated. If anything, it seems like a case of the worker becoming his boss's boss. The inlanders were prevented fromtrading directly with the Brits but later the inlanders became the controlers/administrators of the shores/port/rivers derived its benefits and decide on how to allocate it. I guess this is a great example of the saying, "who knows tommow?". The ijaws should stop crying over something that they once did to others.

Gbam!

Many Igbos tend to forget that these "middle men" controlled the trade and became very wealthy.

Let's see what they can do now that the power is in their hands.

tyson55:

Let's see what they can do now that the power is in their hands.

There's no power in their hands.

Nigeria's tripod system is still in effect. Ijaws must learn to understand (I think they've understood) that there's little they can achieve without support from Ndiigbo. One leg of the tripod supports their presidency which guarantees their political survival as for now. Without continued support from Ndiigbo, his presidency is guaranteed to fail.

Shebi when I tell una say Ndigbo was never allowed to see the sea or trade with the white man, una been dey argue? The only Igbo who held their own in Palm Oil trade back then were the Agbor. The Ijaw man is still struggling with the idea that he should answer to the Igbo man in Eastern Region.

For an umpteenth time, Ijo was never an ethnic group. Ijo is a modern day creation which is an unfortunate mixture of Igbo and porters from Gold Coast.

Ibime:

Shebi when I tell una say Ndigbo was never allowed to see the sea or trade with the white man, una been dey argue? The only Igbo who held their own in Palm Oil trade back then were the Agbor.  The Ijaw man is still struggling with the idea that he should answer to the Igbo man in Eastern Region.

No offense but the Ijaw have to understand that there's no comparison between them and  Ndiigbo as Ndiigbo are evidently better-off than the Ijaw in everything I can think of. We were and are never rivals. The Ijaw regard Ndiigbo as their "senior brother" and Ndiigbo regard the Ijaw as their "junior but very stubborn brother".

Dede1:

For an umpteenth time, Ijo was never an ethnic group. Ijo is a modern day creation which is an unfortunate mixture of Igbo and[size=14pt] porters from Gold Coast.[/size]

Well supported.

If an ethnic group means among other definitions, a group that has a common intelligible language then of course, Ijaw isn't an ethnic group.

dem_people:

No offense but the Ijaw have to understand that there's no comparison between them and  Ndiigbo as Ndiigbo are evidently better-off than the Ijaw in everything I can think of. We were and are never rivals. The Ijaw regard Ndiigbo as their "senior brother" and Ndiigbo regard the Ijaw as their "junior but very stubborn brother".



Well supported.

If an ethnic group means among other definitions, a group that has a common intelligible language then of course, Ijaw isn't an ethnic group.

When I wrote the mixture of Igbo and porters from Gold Coast, the statement is limited to Ijo of eastern region of Nigeria. By the way, all the so-called Ijo were posters to early Europeans to Rio Real in Bight of Biafra and were drawn from Gold Coast.

Dede1:


When I wrote the mixture of Igbo and porters from Gold Coast, I limited the statement to Ijo of eastern region of Nigeria. By the way, all the so-called Ijo were posters to early Europeans to Rio Real in Bight of Biafra and were drawn from Gold Coast.

I know. My statement referred to the so-called Ijaw clans/groups who spoke entirely different languages.

dem_people:

No offense but the Ijaw have to understand that there's no comparison between them and  Ndiigbo as Ndiigbo are evidently better-off than the Ijaw in everything I can think of. We were and are never rivals. The Ijaw regard Ndiigbo as their "senior brother" and Ndiigbo regard the Ijaw as their "junior but very stubborn brother".

Nope, the only difference between the Ijaw and Igbo is their attitude to money. The Igbo lust for money which created great tradesmen, craftsmen and technicians also creates great kidnappers and armed robbers.

Ibime:

Nope, the only difference between the Ijaw and Igbo is their attitude to money. The Igbo lust for money which created great tradesmen, craftsmen and technicians also creates great kidnappers and armed robbers. 

And the Ijaw who are known as lazy fisherman. . .  Who only know about violence and oil.

Ibime:

Nope, the only difference between the Ijaw and Igbo is their attitude to money. The Igbo lust for money which created great tradesmen, craftsmen and technicians [s]also creates great kidnappers and armed robbers.[/s]  

And the Ijaw attitude to hardwork and violence created much laziness in their system with the introduction of militancy and chronic armed robbery.  

Thanx 4 the bolded. U know Ndigbo well.  

dem_people:

I know. My statement referred to the so-called Ijaw clans/groups who spoke entirely different languages.

You must be talking about the Ga. Another coastal people who the Akan people say came from the sea.

EzeUche:

You must be talking about the Ga. Another coastal people who the Akan people say came from the sea.

Yeah. Them and others too. Its still debatable as its still often said that they migrated from East Africa.

this is river state

@ Ibime, well tell your fellow fishermen that they really have no other choice but to answer to Ndi-Igbo in Eastern Nigeria whether they like it or not.

^^ Stop making noise! Eastern Region is gone forever and never coming back. How can you claim dominion over those who have always had dominion? The only hope for Igbo to dominate Ijaws is through electoral representation ala the former Eastern Region. If its anything else, Egbesu would answer the call.

<Quote> Stop making noise! How can you claim dominion over those who have always had dominion?</quote>

I don tell 'em soteey I red for mouth!

Wey ethnic history concern Igbo majority na oyibo create am.

Ibime:

^^ Stop making noise! Eastern Region is gone forever and never coming back. How can you claim dominion over those who have always had dominion? The only hope for Igbo to dominate Ijaws is through electoral representation ala the former Eastern Region. If its anything else, Egbesu would answer the call.

How about we flood your creeks with Igbo mercenaries? To think a small ethnic group like your own talk to a group that is 3 to 4 times more than your own is very interesting.

Remember there will be a time when we Igbos will take rightfully what is ours. We already control Rivers State and it will take a 100 years for an Ijaw man to be governor over a state that is majority Igbo. If you do not like that, then there is always Bayelsa state. Yenagoa needs to be improved.

To Allah (God) be the glory that we have the Northerners whose membership in this country, Nigeria, continues to keep the country ONE. If not for this glue, you people for don kill una selves finish - truth be told.

ndu_chucks:

To Allah (God) be the glory that we have the Northerners whose membership in this country, Nigeria, continues to keep the country ONE. If not for this glue, you people for don kill una selves finish - truth be told.

Like your people already maim and kill in the Middle Belt? How do you explain Jos, Kaduna and what is happening in Benue state? Truth be told?

My people's problems do not concern your much bigger problems.

EzeUche:

Like your people already maim and kill in the Middle Belt? How do you explain Jos, Kaduna and what is happening in Benue state? Truth be told?

My people's problems do not concern your much bigger problems.

Be honest with yourself for once. My statement is accurate and you know it. The midde-belt problem you alluded to is simply due to the failure of the federal government to deal with the Fulani herdsmens' complaints of land encroachment. Blame GEJ for the continued senseless killings going on in those regions.

ndu_chucks:

Be honest with yourself for once. My statement is accurate and you know it.  The midde-belt problem you alluded to is simply due to the failure of the federal government to deal with the Fulani herdsmens' complaints of land encroachment. Blame GEJ for the continued senseless killings going on in those regions.

Everything cannot be blamed on the Fulani. How do you explain what is happening in Kaduna? Hausa vs. Southern Kaduna people. The Fulani are not the cause of that situation.

Why blame GEJ, when this problem has been occurring for DECADES?

The North is messed up. Do you see Southern groups killing each other over land?

Maybe you should be honest with yourself.

EzeUche:

Everything cannot be blamed on the Fulani. How do you explain what is happening in Kaduna? Hausa vs. Southern Kaduna people. The Fulani are not the cause of that situation.

Why blame GEJ, when this problem has been occurring for DECADES?

The North is messed up. Do you see Southern groups killing each other over land?

Maybe you should be honest with yourself.

to be honest ezeuche, southern kaduna was part of hausa land and we never had a problem in that part until the migration

@Ezeuche, please do not try to put words into my mouth and stop pretending that you can't read.  I never said Fulanis caused any problem, what I said was that, it was the failure of government to deal with the Fulani complaints of land encroachment which is responsible for the middle-belt issue. I will continue to blame the government for these problems, and since GEJ is the President, the buck stops with him.

What is your understanding of the  Hausa vs Southern Kaduna conflicts? Lets start here.  Who are the Southern Kaduna people, are they Hausa, Fulani, Gwari, or some other tribe?  I don't think you are aware that the Southern Kaduna people, most of who are Christians are primarily Hausa Kaje.

Southerners do not kill each other over land? What was the Modakeke issue all about?

ndu_chucks:

To Allah (God) be the glory that we have the Northerners whose membership in this country, Nigeria, continues to keep the country ONE. If not for this glue, you people for don kill una selves finish - truth be told.

People quarrel but how many times have you heard Igbo vs Ijaw fight if it ever happened?

Now lets study what's happening up North.