The strong dislike albeit hatred that is exuded by Rivers Ijaws on Igbos on this Nairaland forum is bewildering even to an Isoko Non-Rivers spectator like myself. This anger has led to their creation of aimless threads to vent their steam. Threads about Igbos not being in Rivers state and the likes. Ofcourse there are Igbos in rivers State, the reason for this argument of the Ijaws has a hidden root cause
The root cause of this anger is due to the 16 years of dominance by Igboid groups in Rivers State.... As of 2015 the Ijaw groups (Kalabari, Okrika etc) and the Ogoni's watched as 16 years of upland candidates translated to 24 years under the so-called new rivers Vision.

I would list out 4 reasons why the Rivers Ijaws may never produce an Ijaw Governor.

1. The various Igbo groups in Rivers have perpetuated that they are Ikwerre, Oyigbo, Etche and through such means they have continued to rotate power among themselves.
Peter Odili who every Rivers Man knows has nothing to do with Rivers State and has no Rivers blood in his vein handed over to Ameachi and now back to Ezebunwo who stands in Odili's shadow. Read the editorial by point blank news below:


Odili did not tell Amaechi that part of his problem in the state was because of the part of the state he was born. Some sections did not see him as a pure blood riversman. Rather they saw him as a pure Igbo man who became “riversman merely by state creation.”

http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/articles-opinions/rivers-state-what-odili-did-not-tell-amaechi-part-i/


The Rivers Ijaws by and large have perpetuated that not only are Igbos not in Rivers but also that the Ikwerres and Etche are not REAL RIVERS PEOPLE.


2. The Rivers Ijaws have been sabotaged by their so-called leaders. Patience Jonathan who calls the shots in the Riverine areas is undoubtably of Abriba origin in Abia state. She is without a known mother!!!. Her adopted mother is all we are aware of. She has been secretly in bed with the Igbo groups who see her for who she really is......an Abriba woman. She asked George Sekibo to wait for 2015 and single handedly handpicked nyesom Wike for Odili to install.

allafrica.com/stories/201104250991.html

3. The divide and rule tactics has simply back-fired. The Igboid groups in Rivers State have successfully used the bullets of the rivers Ijaws against their said detractors. They have used the the division to perpetuate themselves. From the Omoku Otunanya Odili to the Ubima Chibuike Ameachi and now the RumuIgbo/Rumueme Ezebunwo Nyesom. By 2023 the Etche and Oyigbo people will slug it out with the Ijaws. Afterall they are not Igbos and no Etche or Oyigbo has been Governor. The sooner the Ijaws term this people as Igbos and nothing more, the sooner they attain political relevance.
In Delta the Urhobo-Isoko majority have seen the Igbo technique. They will claim Ndokwa, Delta Igbo, Aniocha, Ika, Ukwuani etc but we call them IGBO PEOPLE. If you start recognizing their various subgroups they simply turn on you and rotate power among themselves. Ijaws should learn.....else after the Ikwerre's Wike there would be an Oyigbo or Etche Governor ....but they aren't IGBO they are ........please educate me.

4. The Igboid population is over 60% in Rivers, with Ogoni having 10% and the Ijaws having roughly 27%. The only route for an Ijaw Governor is through a strong teamup with the Ogoni and some support from sections of the Igboid groups.





However I can guarantee that with the divide and rule tactics Rivers State would only produce Igboid governors who capitalize on the Ikwerre, Oyigbo, Ndoki, Etche tags or labels.



In conclusion the Rivers Ijaws should imitate the Urhobo-Isoko group in Delta. Recognize them for who they are. They are all Igbos, whether they claim Mbaise, Ndokwa, Anioma, Ndoki, Ika, Ukwuani, Ikwerre, Etche, Oyigbo etc. Igbo is Igbo.




PLEASE READ MORE ON

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/dr-peter-odili-and-the-ijaw-question.html

Sometime in June a group calling themselves the "Niger Delta Coastal Guerrilla's" (NDCG) issued several advert's in Nigerian newspapers where they claimed Dr Peter Odili is a "non native" of Rivers state and could not use the South-south ticket for the presidency, just as Olusola Saraki can not use the Northern ticket for the presidency, they insisted that Peter Odili is an Igboman, and threatened that if he get's nominated for the presidency they would blow up the oil wells and make the country ungovernable.

In recent times I have noticed an increasing trend where Ijaw commentators routinely refer to people from the Igbo speaking areas of Rivers State as "non natives". In an article written by SB Tienabeso and forwarded by Sabella Abide titled "Dr. Peter Odili honorary doctorate from lincoln University" published in NVS on the 15th of june,the originator of the article Mr SB Tienabeso also referred to Dr Peter Odili as a non native of Rivers state.

There seems to be an emerging consensus by the Ijaw to brand people from the Igbo speaking areas of Rivers state as non natives. The irony or rather what makes it funny, is that the Ijaw are always quick to exploit the internal divisions within the Igbo nation, to tell us that the Ikwerre's or Etche for example are not Igbo, the obvious fact notwithstanding. The divide and rule game that is being played, is that the Ijaw's claim that the Ikwerre or Ndoni are not Igbo when it suits their political calculations, and remembers they are Igbo when it does not suit their political purpose. This should serve as a lesson to those Rivers Igbo charlatans who make themselves pawns and clowns in the hands of their enemies by denying their identities. When the chips are down they would be reminded by their very enemies that they are Igbo.

The threat being issued by the so called Niger Delta Coastal Guerrilla's against the candidacy of Dr. Peter Odili confirms that there is a subtle ethnic war of supremacy being fought within the Niger Delta. However it is pertinent to note, that such a move coming at this time, that the South-south is struggling to get the presidency is counter productive. The South-south by it's very nature is a conglomerate of different ethnic groups. The only way they can achieve anything within a vastly unjust Nigerian federation is by being united, which was what they demonstrated until recently when some Ijaw militant groups introduced a divisive ethnic dimension into the South-south struggle for the presidency.


I have tried to understand the reason why the Ijaw continues to see Ndigbo as a threat. Various historical researches have not thrown up even one instance where the Igbo ever had any armed conflict with the Ijaw, inspite of having been neighbours for thousand's of years long before there was any such place as Nigeria. Anybody who visits Bonny or Opobo would be surprised to see how intertwined Ndigbo and Ndijaw are. Opobo itself was founded by an Igbo slave "King Jaja of Opobo". These towns are predominantly Ijaw towns, but because of massive intermarriage between Ijaw's and Igbo's, spanning several generations, Igbo has become one of the languages spoken in these towns. Inspite of this mix and integration, the Ijaw as exemplified by the stand of the militants on Odili's candidacy and several other commentaries, have continued to show great animosity towards Ndigbo.


The abandoned property robbery in Port-Harcourt (technically Igboland) was one area where Ndigbo was stabbed in the back by their Ijaw neighbours, having disenfranchised the Ikwerre.Aided by federal might in the aftermath of the civil war. Since then successive Ijaw Governors of Rivers state have waged a relentless war of cultural genocide on Ndigbo, all the Igbo street names were changed.Umuigbo became Rumuigbo etc, even Obigbo a core Igbo oil producing town that was formerly part of Aba province was annexed to Rivers state, and the Ijaw Governor of Rivers state Chief Melford Okilo changed the name from Obigbo to Oyigbo in a bid to de-Igbonise the town. Inspite of this monumental assault on Ndigbo by the Ijaw who readily and gleefully took opportunistic advantage of the aftermath of the civil war to stab Ndigbo in the back, most Igbo including the leadership have moved on.


Igbo leaders have realised that with or without Nigeria the Ijaw,will continue to be our neighbours as it is not humanly possible to move boundaries. Our destinies are inextricably linked. This has informed the reason why Ndigbo have continued to remain in the forefront of the struggle for resource control which directly affects the Ijaw. In the "National Political reforms conference" only Ndigbo stood with the South-south 100% on the question of resource control.

I believe it is time for a paradigm shift in Igbo, Ijaw relations. The divisive advert by the Niger Delta militants on Odili's candidacy should be condemned by Ijaw leaders, and the recent phenomenon of tagging Igbo speaking indigenes of Rivers state "non natives" should be nipped in the bud and discontinued forthwith. We do not want the kind of crisis that erupted between the Ijaw and Itshekiri to repeat itself in Rivers state. Truth is, inspite of the politically induced identity crisis plaguing some Rivers Igbo, anybody who attacks them will have to contend with the whole Igbo nation.Ndigbo will not tolerate any attack on any Rivers or Delta Igbo in the East, or South-south, such an attack is at best a suicidal move by whichever group initiates it.

Southern Nigeria is too divided, and that is why the North has dominated power to the detriment of Southern Nigerians who are clearly more educated, more talented, and more creative. Until the day Ndigbo, Ndi-Edo, Ndi-Yoruba, Ndi-Efik, Ndijaw, Ndi-Urhobo, Ndisoko, Ndi-Annang, Ndibibio, Ndi-Itshekiri, realise that we are all brothers and sisters from Southern Nigeria, who would have remained Southern Nigerians if not for the criminal amalgamation of 1914, and begin to work together for the political control of our destiny, we will continue to be slaves and underdogs to the Northerners. As the South-south and South-east continues the struggle to keep power in the South beyond Obasanjo's presidency, there is no way it can be achieved without Southern unity. If such ethnically divisive adverts by the Ijaw militants are allowed to continued, it will drive a wedge between the South, and pave the way for the North to return to power with all the negative consequences. A word is enough for the wise!


http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/dr-peter-odili-and-the-ijaw-question.html

What is this

When this piece was first published in November 2008, no serious interpretation was given to the issues raised. But today, five years later, this piece has been fully confirmed as will be shown in Part two of the article.

From the manner the two last governors including the interim one emerged in Rivers state, it could now rightly be said that it is a state that gets its governors strictly by divine intervention.

Peter Odili became governor of Rivers state by divine intervention after the forces of light in the churches defeated the forces of the “anti-Christ” that originally won a landslide victory in the first run of the 1999 governorship election.

Subsequently, both Omehia and Ameachi also came by divine transportation though through very different vehicles.

Truly, when Odili became governor in 1999, he came with the spirit and genuine zeal to really serve and deliver the dividends of democracy to the ordinary people of Rivers state and he was bent on achieving that.

It is on record that he was the only governor in the entire country who developed a comprehensive work programme as policy document. And the implementation of projects and programmes as set out in the master plan was carried out with utmost sincerity and frugality.

Odili’s independent power project was innovative and the first in the entire country. At the onset, the project was pursued on strict budget discipline and “utmost frugality,” though much later, it became the worst drain pipe and arena of fraud. But that’s not the issue here.

His metro rail transport service was the grassroots” delight because it was strictly targeted to help them.

In the housing sector, estates were built in all the local government headquarters in the state. Though most of the houses were cited in evil forests which made it easier for people closer to the spirit world (psycha) to occupy than normal human beings, the fact remains that at least he built and they exist till today.

Odili, early in the life of his administration preached and pursued the gospel of “utmost frugality”in the use of state funds. And because he had nothing to hide, every month, he gathered representatives from all the national, local and even foreign media. He was asked direct uncensored questions and the media interactions were transmitted live even beyond the state.

However all these changed when Odili started dancing the “na who be the mani-yiooo’regae tune towards the end of his first tenure.

He suddenly stopped dedicating Rivers state to God and metamorphosed into an “Ogbuagu (killer of lion) in the Knight of saint something”. And from the “utmost frugality “ gospel, he switched over to “in tandem with the thinking of the administration.” He co-opted the “anti- Christ” from the pit of hell into his work programme to execute his Total Root Out campaign (RTO).

The reckless devouring of state funds assumed a criminal dimension when the former governor became blindfolded by his inundated ambition to grab power at all cost at the centre. Rivers state stopped being his constituency and primary area of service.

Though the state’s annual budgets moved from few billions of naira to hundreds of billions, the Rivers people became more deprived in terms of service delivery. Infrastructures depreciated to laughable standard to the point school pupils sat on bare floor to receive lessons in roofless classrooms.

Matching both Odili and Amaechi’s early years in office, it seems there is a replay. And thus it has become imperative to berate Odili for not telling Amaechi certain crucial facts that could stop the son from committing the same sins of the father.

As a governor, Odili virtually lived in churches and surrounded himself with men of god and men who want to be like god as the church was instrumental to his defeating the “anti-Christ”. Throughout his stay at the Brick House, these men of god with their anointing for signs and wonders did not see a single thing wrong with the way he ran the state until the day Amaechi came into office.

Odili should have told Amaechi that the same men of god who benefited heavily from his largess singing praises and powerful prayers throughout the eight years only turned around to call for his crucifixion right from Amaechi’s first day in office.

Publicly, even in the media especially the (web-based), some people have severally referred to Amaechi as an Igbo man merely because the Ikweres can be accepted to be pure Niger Delta when it suits some people while at other times, they become more Igbo than Niger Delta.

Odili did not tell Amaechi that part of his problem in the state was because of the part of the state he was born. Some sections did not see him as a pure blood riversman. Rather they saw him as a pure Igbo man who became “riversman merely by state creation.” This was part of the fight he faced.





http://pointblanknews.com/pbn/articles-opinions/rivers-state-what-odili-did-not-tell-amaechi-part-i/

Food for thought OP. After the elapse of Wike's tenure come 2022 an Etche man must be allowed to produce the next Governor of Rivers state for the sake of equity. The Ogoni's will then be considered for Governorship position in 2030, thereafter it goes back to the Ahoada upland group again. From there an Opobo man will be given the next shot to maintain the cycle.

Okay.

...

Okada man ka o puo, you can keep the change.
Is gonna be fun here baby

Nice one. The ijaws wanted PH to be an ijaw city in the old rivers state which they dominated.
Ebite Ukiwe and Sen. Obi wali frustrated the plan by Bayelsa creation.
- Ikwerre is Ikwerre.
- Etche, Omuma, Oyigbo, Egbema, Ekpeye, Ogba, etc have NOT Produced governor.
So after wike tenure ends in 2023, Etche man takes over till 2031, Ogba man will be warming up to take over.
-The Ijaw divide and conquer tactics in Rivers have backfired.

Eastlink:
Food for thought OP. After the elapse of Wike's tenure come 2022 an Etche man must be allowed to produce the next Governor of Rivers state for the sake of equity. The Ogoni's will then be considered for Governorship position in 2030, thereafter it goes back to the Ahoada upland group again. From there an Opobo man will be given the next shot to maintain the cycle.

My brother, are you not wicked?

All hail Biafra!

My brother you have a point,after eze nyesom wike it will be the turn of ndoki/etche candidacy for the brick walls in PH. And with our ndoki-igbo names most upland rivers votes are guaranteed,portharcourt with votes are in our favour,even few riverine areas like bonny and opobo will favour us... This ijaws fail to realise that this is new rivers state with new rivers vision,there is now an ijo homeland of bayelsa for all riverine

Na una dey carry divide and rule the come rivers tomorrow una. Go still cry say na government d divide south and east.
After last election there ve been a kinda of synergy among the east ans south..in fighting a common enemy and interest.
So what's the purpose of this thread..
Ateke pulled much resources to for wike,like wise patience, sekibo,tompolo,among other Ijaws to see a pdp win..by extension ikwere ibo.without rancour.
Whereas ogbaku ikwere were the base of Ameachi even tho wike was contesting..
Ijaws ruling rivers is not a priority..ijaws have close to 50/ stake..and can't be look down by any other tribe..
In addition to bayelsa state..so all this noise about ijaws rulingg rivers or not is an attempt by you ibos to continue with the division via the peace attend among the east and south..in which taken to the extreme..ijaws won't lose...but you ibos.
Will advise to bring down this thread..and look for a way to forge and maintain understanding which jonathan's lost have brought.

ificatchmodeh:
Na una dey carry divide and rule the come rivers tomorrow una. Go still cry say na government d divide south and east.
After last election there ve been a kinda of synergy among the east ans south..in fighting a common enemy and interest.
So what's the purpose of this thread..
Ateke pulled much resources to for wike,like wise patience, sekibo,tompolo,among other Ijaws to see a pdp win..by extension ikwere ibo.without rancour.
Whereas ogbaku ikwere were the base of Ameachi even tho wike was contesting..
Ijaws ruling rivers is not a priority..ijaws have close to 50/ stake..and can't be look down by any other tribe..
In addition to bayelsa state..so all this noise about ijaws rulingg rivers or not is an attempt by you ibos to continue with the division via the peace attend among the east and south..in which taken to the extreme..ijaws won't lose...but you ibos.
Will advise to bring down this thread..and look for a way to forge and maintain understanding which jonathan's lost have brought.

You don't mean it

Excellent write-up!

BiafranPrince:

My brother, are you not wicked?
All hail Biafra!

Lol. The guy di merciless

What is this thread all about?

This post and also the posters so far has made zero sense. Who told you there's an ethnic battle for supremacy in Rivers state? Please if you aren't from Rivers state, quit this childishness and focus on things that will better your lives. It's true that we fought in the past and that is why so far our hardwork has been channelled to building bridges, posts like this is certainly uncalled for at this moment. I, as an Ikwerre citizen, will not support Wike to go for a second tenure or for another Igbo from Rivers state. The idea for Wike to run for 2015 was to usurp the ruling Amaechi's APC and by virtue of that successfully attained, I will advise PDP or any other party with the ambition to take power in 2019, to field a Riverside man for the sake of bridge building. We, the greater Igbo nation are not power greedy.

EzePromoe:
This post and also the posters so far has made zero sense. Who told you there's an ethnic battle for supremacy in Rivers state? Please if you aren't from Rivers state, quit this childishness and focus on things that will better your lives. It's true that we fought in the past and that is why so far our hardwork has been channelled to building bridges, posts like this is certainly uncalled for at this moment. I, as an Ikwerre citizen, will not support Wike to go for a second tenure or for another Igbo from Rivers state. The idea for Wike to run for 2015 was to usurp the ruling Amaechi's APC and by virtue of that successfully attained, I will advise PDP or any other party with the ambition to take power in 2019, to field a Riverside man for the sake of bridge building. We, the greater Igbo nation are not power greedy.

Rivers state is already divided, the divide and rule antics by the enemies of Ijaws and Igbo have started paying off.
unfurtunately many gullible Rivers indigenes are seriously buying into it.
Imagine balkanizing Igbo nations in Rivers which was championed by Ijaw themselves for their greedy aim. Now the seed sowed by Ijaw nation has germinated, they should be ready to reap the fruit of their labour.

as long as Rivers is concerned, nothing for Ijaws, because the Igboid groups of Ikwerre, etche, ogba, ndoni will have their taste of the Briggs house before any Ijaw will smell it.

There is no Igbo in Rivers unless Obigbo.

Now I know why most of the Igbo groups in Rivers state played along albeit smartly with the Ijaws & choose distinct identities instead of emphasizing their Igboness. It pays politically to bear Ikwere, Etche, Ndoni, Egbema, Oyigbo, Ndoki etc distinct ethnic nationalities & lay claim for governorship! I think I'll stop disparaging them since I now understand their logic which is political self preservation. The op forgot to add the non indigen Igbo population in Rivers State, which if added into the mix, will give them an overwhelming 90% of total eligible voters in the state!! But we cant support oppression when we are also victim of such in Nigeria.

Na there cup of tea.

di

Creation of Bayelsa was a masterstroke that kicked ijaws out of PH which they enjoyed briefly as civil bounty, we don't care if all igboid groups deny or accept being igbos, as long they kick ijaws out.

Who are the Igboid in Rivers State?

proeast:
Now I know why most of the Igbo groups in Rivers state played along albeit smartly with the Ijaws & choose distinct identities instead of emphasizing their Igboness. It pays politically to bear Ikwere, Etche, Ndoni, Egbema, Oyigbo, Ndoki etc distinct ethnic nationalities & lay claim for governorship! I think I'll stop disparaging them since I now understand their logic which is political self preservation. The op forgot to add the non indigen Igbo population in Rivers State, which if added into the mix, will give them an overwhelming 90% of total eligible voters in the state!! But we cant support oppression when we are also victim of such in Nigeria.

I don't support oppression. Infact it would be a good thing if a Riveriner emerges Governor at the end of Wike's tenure. Who wouldn't want peace and harmony in his home state. I do brother.
However, what pisses me off is the usual denigration a few Ijaws have shown for anything Igbo. Why would some people go as far as renewing the post-civil war agenda of wiping the term Igbo ethnic group in a website. I'm from Egbema and the RVSG recognizes me and my folks as Igbos. But when some people start to obliterate my identity from the list of tribes in the state, then you expect some backlash. The website may be fake or cloned alright, but the same nonsense was carried out again in the Rivers state Wikipedia page. And someone would tell me the Yoruba's did it. This is where my renewed anger is coming from.

Though I'm from Delta state, as far as I'm concerned, the major ethnic groups in Rivers state are Igbo(Ikwerre, Ndoki, Egbema, Ogba etc.) Ijaw and Ogoni.





Period.

ificatchmodeh:
Na una dey carry divide and rule the come rivers tomorrow una. Go still cry say na government d divide south and east.
After last election there ve been a kinda of synergy among the east ans south..in fighting a common enemy and interest.
So what's the purpose of this thread..
Ateke pulled much resources to for wike,like wise patience, sekibo,tompolo,among other Ijaws to see a pdp win..by extension ikwere ibo.without rancour.
Whereas ogbaku ikwere were the base of Ameachi even tho wike was contesting..
Ijaws ruling rivers is not a priority..ijaws have close to 50/ stake..and can't be look down by any other tribe..
In addition to bayelsa state..so all this noise about ijaws rulingg rivers or not is an attempt by you ibos to continue with the division via the peace attend among the east and south..in which taken to the extreme..ijaws won't lose...but you ibos.
Will advise to bring down this thread..and look for a way to forge and maintain understanding which jonathan's lost have brought.

what makes you think the op is yeebohoe?
dont you think this is the work of a fulani agent provocateur?

Honestly I stopped worrying about few yrs ago after I had a conversation with an Ikwerre man...he attended an Igbo cultural group meeting. What he told me was the Igboids in Rivers are doing this for geopolitical reasons. That as soon as Biafra is restored, all this will end...fall in line as every Igbo man. But for now, they have to keep firm control of Rivers not to lose it. Let me say this...I understand Ikwerre Igbo far more than Nnsuka or Ebonyi Igbo.

Eastlink:
I don't support oppression. Infact it would be a good thing if a Riveriner emerges Governor at the end of Wike's tenure. Who wouldn't want peace and harmony in his home state. I do brother.
However, what pisses me off is the usual denigration a few Ijaws have shown for anything Igbo. Why would some people go as far as renewing the post-civil war agenda of wiping the term Igbo ethnic group in a website. I'm from Egbema and the RVSG recognizes me and my folks as Igbos. But when some people start to obliterate my identity from the list of tribes in the state, then you expect some backlash. The website may be fake or cloned alright, but the same nonsense was carried out again in the Rivers state Wikipedia page. And someone would tell me the Yoruba's did it. This is where my renewed anger is coming from.

I understand your point very well but the irony is that the Ijaws are angry that they have been reduced to a miniscle minority in Rivers State.

basilo101:
Creation of Bayelsa was a masterstroke that kicked ijaws out of PH which they enjoyed briefly as civil bounty, we don't care if all igboid groups deny or accept being igbos, as long they kick ijaws out.

The creation of Bayelsa state reduced the remaining Ijaws in Rivers State to an insignificant minority and it would be next to impossible for them to rule Rivers again except on the magnanimity of Igboid upland areas. This is the bitter truth because even if any party chooses zoning, the upland could decide to boycott such party and move enmass to another which would signify automatic defeat to such party!

There is no problem between the Igbos and Ijaws, except some few "protection-seekers' raised in yorubaland and begin for stipends from Tinubu's table.

After the Igboid groups, Ogoni will take government, Ijoids will then continue.
Igbos are not power-greedy like the 2 other ethnic group that have lots of feudal muslims.
They've even once elected a Fulani man as mayor in , when they thought fulanis were normal human beings.

lalasticlala take down the ethni thread, we know that the other old man in APC won't take it down.

Eastlink:
I don't support oppression. Infact it would be a good thing if a Riveriner emerges Governor at the end of Wike's tenure. Who wouldn't want peace and harmony in his home state. I do brother.
However, what pisses me off is the usual denigration a few Ijaws have shown for anything Igbo. Why would some people go as far as renewing the post-civil war agenda of wiping the term Igbo ethnic group in a website. I'm from Egbema and the RVSG recognizes me and my folks as Igbos. But when some people start to obliterate my identity from the list of tribes in the state, then you expect some backlash. The website may be fake or cloned alright, but the same nonsense was carried out again in the Rivers state Wikipedia page. And someone would tell me the Yoruba's did it. This is where my renewed anger is coming from.

Na now your eyes dey open. You guys should act fast and get that website modified asp.... A stitch in time.....