Oghara, the hometown of former Delta State Governor James Ibori, is boiling. The youths are up in arms against their monarch. The fight may get messier, reports OKUNGBOWA AIWERE

ll is not well with the residents of Oghara community in Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State.

Fear of insecurity has enveloped the community of former Governor James Ibori, with residents living in mutual suspicion. The past few weeks have been tumultuous. Irate youths have barricaded its streets, setting bonfires at intersections, seeking justice for the extra-judicial murder of the community’s vigilante boss.

To further worsen the matter, the community is inexorably drawn into further crisis with a low level war being prosecuted between the youth’s group and the traditional institution.

The crux of the matter is a government’s directive lifting ban on youth activities in the twin communities of Ogharafe and Ogharaeki.

The battle line is drawn between executive members of the subsisting youth organisations jointly led by Ejiro Efetobore and Favour Ededey and the traditional institution.

•Hrm Eshemitan
Ejiro and Ededey, the pre-ban leaders of the youth groups, want to continue in office following the lifting of the ban, but the traditional ruler (Ovie) of Oghara, Noble Oyibo Eshemitan, Oreki III, wants a new youth’s body elected based on new guidelines. The net effect of the monarch’s plan will see the removal of the executive and usher in a new group, a situation the subsisting youth group find intolerable.

Youth activities were banned in 2013 by the Uduaghan administration following allegations of rampant criminality, including kidnapping, oil bunkering and extortion of oil companies by youths in the area.

But the youth’s chairmen alleged that the king, who upon ascension in 2013 to the throne, misled the Uduaghan administration into banning youth activities, stressing that the real reason for the ban was to have unrestrained access to oil companies.

The monarch debunked such insinuations, adding that he and his council of chiefs have resolved to put an end to the violent crimes in the area engineered by the youth’s group by electing credible youths.

He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in a tripartite agreement between the youth, traditional ruler, and the women at a meeting with the ex-Governor Uduaghan at his Warri residence, required him to set new guidelines for election into the youth’s group.

According to him, the process was close to completion, stressing that the new rules include pegging membership of the youth group to those between the ages of 20 to 40 years old and other criteria that will be unveiled soon.

He said the youth group did not meet conditions stipulated in the new guidelines, stressing that the ‘youth’ are ‘discredited men of over 50 years’.

He alleged that the current youth constituted themselves into an extortionist body that terrorised oil companies in area.

•Efetobore
•Efetobore
However, Ejiro Efetobore, who is the Chairman Ogharefe community, argued that it was wrong for the king to implement new conditions to elect new youth group when there is a subsisting youth executive council.

His words: “We were delighted following the lifting of the ban on youth activities by ex-Gov. Uduaghan on the 26th May 2015. Uduaghan invited the youths, traditional ruler and the chiefs. This meeting culminated in the lifting of the ban on youth activities. There is the assumption that the youths ought to resume their various functions including building our secretariat, liaising with youth leadership at clan level for the good of the community. Whether you like it or not, the youth is the mouthpiece of every community. The tradition has been that we the youths take on issues afflicting community and report to the elders.”

He traced the crisis to 2013 when three persons aspired to the kingship position, adding that since the kingship tussle had been resolved and staff of office presented to the new king, the youths had pledged their allegiance to the new monarch and are prepared to work with him.

Continuing, he said: “Some time ago after the demise of our former King the tussle for the position between three persons but some persons believed the youths were not in support of the reigning monarch. When he became King he opposed the youth body and told lies to Uduaghan who banned youth activities in the community. Some of the allegations ranged from extortion of oil companies, illegal bunkering, kidnapping and other social vices. A traditional ruler who is supposed to support the youth has turned around to fight us. We are surprised we do not know where the problem is coming from. We pledged our loyalty to him, but we are surprised that the king does not want us to function.”

On what exactly the monarch is doing to frustrate their efforts at performing their functions, Ejiro stressed, “since the ex-governor lifted the ban on youth activities we have not been allowed to function. If we gather in our secretariat for a meeting or organise a party, he instigates the law enforcement agents to disrupt the occasion”.

At the heart of the dispute, according to our investigation, is the annual N200 million royalties, allegedly accruable to Oghara community from the oil companies operating in the area.

Efetobore maintained that the monarch stopped the youth from providing labour contracts to the oil companies, while accusing the monarch of ‘appointing his chiefs to the positions of community liaison officer of the various oil companies’.

His words: “He stopped us from performing our various function to oil companies and appointed some people who reports to him all transactions between the community and the oil companies. The persons appointed by the king have side-lined the community and reports only to the king and this has not been the tradition and custom of Oghara community.

“The former monarch never intruded into community affairs, he was entitled to 40 per cent royalty from the oil companies, but we are surprised that this reigning king wants all the money and always intrudes in our activities. The custom is that the youth’s intermediates between community and oil companies including homage, appointments, labour contracts, and so on, these are passed through the youths onward to our king. The situation is that the king has direct transactions with the oil companies including yearly homage.”

On the rampant cases of criminality for which the community has become infamous, Efetobore blamed the upsurge in criminal activities to the ban placed on youth activities, adding that, ‘There has been series of criminal activities, but thank God, we have the military and the police which are working round the clock to check their activities.

“There was an upsurge after youth activities were banned as they were no longer given chance to function, but since the lifting of the ban and with renewed collaboration with the military criminal activities will be minimised. The youth group does not harbour criminals, when we discover any such persons we usually hand over such to the police. The vigilance group set up by the last administration had bad elements among them, some were criminals. We cannot guarantee that they are all clean’.

Ededey
Ededey
Favour Ededey, co-chair Oghareki community corroborated Efetobore. He said, ‘Our present king is really giving us hard time. During the reign of the former King, the three tier of administration were functioning in the community. After the presentation of staff of office, we have been banned from his palace.

According to him, ‘during the last meeting with Uduaghan, it was resolved that three members be drawn from among the youths, chiefs in order to fashion a proposal to guide youth activities. Since on the 28th May, the monarch and his chiefs have not put anything forward to resolve this conflict’.

He alleged that monies collected from oil activities in the area have been diverted into pockets of individuals, stressing that the monarch has usurped the activities of the youths.

He said: “In Oghareki vessels berth daily and NI million is collected, we ask where this money is going to. It is going to the pockets of individuals in the community. This has been going on since youth’s were banned, they cannot account for the money. In the past when oil companies come to the community they deal with us, but not so any longer as the king is directly in charge they give the jobs to their children and sell the other job slots.”

But, the monarch in an interview with our reporter blasted the youth body labelling its members extortionists. He said since he assumed the throne he had done a lot to curb the excesses of the youth group.

His words: “The youth group has been terrorising the oil companies in the area, and this has impacted negatively on the community. The task given to us by Governor Okowa is nearing completion and we will make our proposals known in due course. Youths are normally from ages 20-40 years but this set of youths is over 50 years. This situation will not be allowed in this community. The youths in the community are known to us.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/iboris-kinsmen-draw-battle-line-with-monarch-over-n200m-oil-royalties/

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