OGBA: A DIVIDED NATION
By:
Ajukura, Fidelis O.
ajukurafidelisobi@gmail.com
July, 2022

One of the terrible things to befall a nation is not poverty or hunger but disunity. Disunity breaks a peoples’ spirit: it renders them susceptible to devious schemes. When a nation is divided, genuine progress and development becomes impossible. No wonder it is said that, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. Ogba land, a nation blessed both in human and natural resources bears a conspicuous mark of disunity. In fact, Ogba land has become a cynosure of disunity. The lack of unity amongst the people has ushered in unnecessary rivalry and unspeakable backwardness. Today, Ogba land, as one of the highest oil and gas producing areas in the Niger Delta region occupies the backburner in the scheme of things. In recent time, we realize that no significant developmental project has been located in the area by the government despite its enormous contribution to the wealth of this country. What is the cause of this unfortunate situation? Disunity! The Ogba nation is highly polarized. This polarity is not as a result of observable differences in speech, customs and tradition but an attempt by members of the elite to dominate or control the resources of their territories. To achieve this, they churn out divisive narratives that will keep the people eternally antagonistic to each other. In this way, the manipulators (elites) have ample opportunity to enrich themselves and members of their immediate families as well as their friends. Majority of the elites who fuel divisive stories have their children placed in juicy positions while those of ordinary Ogba people engage in war of vanity.

I didn’t know that the division amongst Ogba people is this severe. Back when we were in University, we, Ogba students related with one another as members of one big family but today, I realized that there is nothing like one big family. People have been chiseled into an unthinking automaton – they act in a machinelike way.

When I wrote that the Eze-Egi Stool is a relatively recent one, all hell broke loose. Some people reacted angrily by throwing abuses at my person. They accused me of denigrating their paramount ruler. Although, some had received the information contained therein with equanimity. To majority of them, the information I had passed was false and demeaning to their King. At this point, I realized that the problem of Ogba was largely misinformation and ignorance. Many people content themselves with what they hear (them say) without making any effort to verify them. One thing that I know enlightenment does is to give an individual the impetus to ask questions. Unfortunately, many are not aware of this.

Ogba land is a nation on the verge of disintegration following lies that have been planted in the minds of the people. For example, some people believe that the Eze-Egi Stool is an ancient stool whereas, Eze Kingdom Elemchukwu Elenwa was the second Eze to occupy the Stool. When he paid a cultural visit to the Oba of Benin on 22nd December, 2008, he told the Oba that “…the ancient Eze-Egi Stool was among the cultural heritage of Old Ahoada Province, former Eastern and Mid-Western bioregional administration but till date I have been without success for the recognition of the ancient Eze-Egi Stool in Rivers State”. I’m sure many people never knew that by 2008, the Eze-Egi Stool was not recognized by the Rivers State Government. Although, Eze Elenwa mentioned severally that the Eze-Egi Stool was an ancient Stool of Old Ahoada Province… but was that the case? The answer is NO! It will interest you to know that during the visit, the Eze-Egi complained that his Stool is yet to be recognized by the Rivers State Government and, expectedly, the Oba promised to get across to the Rivers State Government to ensure that something is done about the situation. I have decided to bring this information to the fore because most of the campaigners of Eze-Egi Stool being old or ancient may not be aware of this fact. In this regard, it becomes convenient to argue that what drives Ogba society is ignorance. Again, many are not prepared to make inquiries: they are just satisfied with the information that has been hurled at them – it is these type of people who constitutes themselves as agents of stasis. In my conversations recently with one hotheaded Egi brother, he accused me of not knowing anything and bragged how he is an adept in Ogba history because his grand-father was a famous traditional historian in Egi land. When I asked him about the source or means through which he got his information? He started stuttering. Obviously, he knew I will not accept what he wanted to say – “my father told me”.

Swallowing hook, line and sinker all that is thrown at us has brought Ogba land to this pathetic situation. The ordinary Ogba people do not have problem with each other. It is members of the Ogba elite or ruling class that have brought this division amongst the common people. The reason for this is obvious – to control the resources. Recall that, during the Eze-Ohali contest in 1971, all the prominent sons of Ohali across Ogba (including Egi) met in Obigwe to decide who becomes the Eze-Ohali. It was in this meeting that Moses Igwe emerged as Eze Ohali. It was also in this meeting that they unanimously decided that he rule, not from his ancestral village, Amah but Omoku. In this regard, the power of unity becomes very apparent. But I am not sure that such a meeting (unity) will be possible today. This is bad for a land that shares a common ancestry. The only way out of this mire is to develop a new attitude towards our nation (Ogba) – we must not see ourselves as island. We have to work together to overcome the challenges ahead. We must not constitute ourselves as stumbling block to fellow Ogba brothers and sisters. We must, as a matter of course develop a philosophical approach to issues. In order words, we must learn how to query or question things brought before us. The reason for this is that our leaders, those who benefit from the resources of the land will not want to relinquish their position for whatever reason. They will want to continue to manipulate the people by feeding them with venomous and divisive narratives. Lastly, we have to revisit our history; there are too many gaps that needs to be filled. If this will require us to pull down the entire structure and rebuild it like Rene Descartes did in his “Meditations” then let us begin without delay.