24SEVEN:


Ok. Well said.

In your opinion, do you think the too many ethnicities in Niger Delta compete for federal presence/recognition and by that undo each other?? Do you think among the Niger Deltans there should be a sharing formula for allocation of national assets/infrastructures?

to answer your question I don't think the problem is the amount of ethnic groups but rather the way the country is structured... in a true federation we wouldn't have these issues cos we will all control what we produce whether it's crude oil or palm oil.... and having to fend for yourself will force everyone to fully utilize available resources or means to generate income.... in our case as urhobos, if we had control of our resources then we would have no one but our selves to hold responsible if we do not achieve the right level of progress.... it's leaders that are dynamic and selfless enough to fight for these ideals that we lack....

fratermathy:


I don't think you know anything about Delta State politics. And to correct your ethnophobic statement: Urhobos occupy 8lgas in Delta Central; 2 in Delta South (parts of Warri South and Patani) and this is even without Isoko yet; some communities in Ikpoba - Okha, Edo State; some communities in Sagbama, Bayelsa State. Urhobos are also an Edoid group, contrary to your attempt to bifurcate Edoid groups and Urhobo. Urhobos dominate Delta State with a population of about 4million, minus Isoko. If you are lumping Efik-Ibibio together then Urhobo-Isoko should be lumped together to level the field. Isoko has 2 extra LGAs in Delta South and a population of 1million. And when you say Igboid groups, do they feature as a single body or as different groups? Nawao. See ethnic fanatics coming to spew trash.

In any case, you are entitled to your opinion!

This thread is not about Igbos but Urhobos. Keep your facts to yourself and your brothers & let us cane our Lane. It's not by force.

And mind you, Urhobos are not competing with anybody or any group so if you think it's a competition, you can go and win it yourself but make sure you eat the medal.

word! this is why Nigeria is in the mess we find her today.... it's all bout competitively undermining other ethnic groups in order to feel better bout yours... energy better spent trying to make your ethnic group the best it can be...
people go carry another man tribe matter for head like yam when dem dey hawk for market!

an unjust law/ rule is no law/ rule.... freedom of expression is golden and a society which seeks to repress such freedoms is one under the thumb of oppressive leadership....

gidgiddy:


I want to expose you and this fradulent thread by asking you 3 basic questions.

1) You believe in the Nigerian project but only demand that you be treated better and given your due right? What if the Nigerian project never ever treats you right or gives you your due? Are you going to then believe in the Nigerian project forever until Lord Lugard ressurects to create the next project you will believe in?

2) As an Uroboh man, what is your connection with an Efik man, Ogoja man, Ibibio man, Oron man? How are these people your people? So what is the Niger Delta project?

3) What about the Igbos in your so called Niger Delta? Asaba your capital city is an Igbo city. I want know where the Igbos in Delta state figure in this thread in relation to the Igbo nation as a whole

abeg carry your irrelevant and derailing attitude and go! if you aren't intelligent enough to contribute meaningfully to this thread then clear off and stay off....

fratermathy:


Then again, with some ethnic groups claiming land that belongs to others, i.e. the Warri case, how can we truly know who gets what and who doesn't? Some of our political leaders and monarchs are VERY CORRUPT. In fact, we sit at the heart of corruption. How then can the gains of our collective wealth be shared when those at the helm of affairs are self centered?

True federalism will only enrich the few if corruption and divisive politics are not eradicated. Our detractors will just watch us burn ourselves as we descend to civil strife except we get things right.

you have a valid point.... greed and the inevitable corruption it breeds are part of the reasons we urhobos have it so bad, but here again the onus lies on us, especially the current generation to make the much needed change happen, to stand up and spit in the eye of tyrant even if we be labelled as rebels or disrespectful... if we cant stand up and face the possible repercussions then we do not deserve the rewards we so badly crave for...

fratermathy:


Will true federalism solve our problems? I think even before that, we need more states and geographical lines should be probably demarcated well. The Ijaws in Delta need to be harmonized with those in Bayelsa, same with Rivers & Ondo. The Urhobo-Isoko need their own state. The Anioma need theirs, while Itsekiri can opt to stay in Delta, Bayelsa or Edo States or even get theirs.

After this, we can then talk of federalism.

As things are now, it seems that some groups are getting the larger part of the largesse than others. This is building up resentments and envy and the government is at fault here. The sheer irony is that even the groups receiving attention have not received enough development from the government. Paying people certain amounts of money monthly is not the same as developing their lands. What will it take to link Warri with Ode-Itsekiri island and Oporoza.? Or Yenagoa and Nembe? Or Portharcourt and Bonny? The money is there. Other nations have done it. Why can't we do it?

Even with true federalism, which groups will enjoy the returns of the so-called "oil money" more? We need to reason this matter critically.

with true federalism we will have a situation where you control what you produce and pay the appropriate taxes from said product.... like if you find oil in your back yard it belongs to you and not the almighty government... then you can truly be responsible for your own progress

no one pays for the milk when he can get the whole cow for free.... until such a time as when true federalism, especially in regards to resource control comes into play, we well continue to see marginalization and worse afflicting the "minority" ethnic groups of the nigerdelta. another problem is the fact that urhobos donot present a united front in most issues the affect us as a people.... we will have to find a way to stand together or be scattered asunder by the might of the oppressive system of government we find ourselves shackled to...

YourNemesis:


It is "slowly dying" no thanks to Ijaw and Urhobo migrants into the Warri LGs ..... who have made exclusive communication in itsekiri a herculean task. Dying language no be new thing, but relinquishing ancestral lands to outside forces? Nah nah.... These people want to relegate Itsekiri land to just Warri North.. while they keep all their own traditional lGs intact. Ijaws have Burutu, Bomadi, and Patani to themselves, and have also managed to corner the LG headquarter of Warri SW to Ogbe Ijo through Bloodshed and terrorism. The Urhobos and Isokos have 11 LGAs to themselves... but both groups still want to be dragging Warri South with has been ancestrally Itsekiri from time immemorial with Itsekiris.

The Oyibos were not stupid people they were excellent ethnographers knew Nigeria more than the natives who lived in it and knew what groups lived where. They clearly labeled what areas belonged to what group. Look very well, the original city core of Warri has always been in Warri division separate from the Adjacent urhobo areas.

that's a self deprecating low blow that smacks of desperation.... so the white man who came centuries after these places were populated are the final authority on the history of your own people? I wonder if you would say that if their "findings" had fingered your people as the late comers they really were to warri. btw the so called never wrong white men posited that ode itsekiri ( big warri) and not warri metropolis as the ancestral home of your people. warri metropolis was a planned city that encompassed lands from mostly urhobos and itsekiri communities.

YourNemesis:


Not all Itsekiris also came from the West.
Moreso the early Portuguese and British clearly documented Itsekiris/Jekris as Aboriginals to the Warri (Ouere), Escravos and Benin river regions and stated clearly that the Sobos were to be found further inland. The Itsekiris were the middlemen between the inland Sobos and the coast. They have clearly been there for a long long time indeed.
The Ijaws might be the first settlers in the Delta, but that does not mean their original homeland covered ALL the delta, uness you want to tell me a place like Sapele for example which is clearly in the Delta region is Ijaw land.

I understand that the "Warri' of today has expanded into a metropolis covering more land , mostly Urhobo land. That is not the issue here, Itsekiris are not dragging urhobo settlements in Warri with them. All the want is their ancestral lands in Warri. Mostly the original city core. The sensitivity of Itsekiris towards the Warri issue only makes sense. Even King solomon in the Bible was able to know which mother owned the living child by judging their attitudes. I won't take it easy if someone is trying to tamper with my ancestral heritage. Neither will you.

your argument lacks depth... the Portuguese arrived in the 1500s and if they met the itsekiris first doesn't automatically validate the authenticity of itsekiris being the original Aborigines of the areas they visited...

at least to your credit you are one of the few itsekiris who admit that warri has other Aborigines aside from your people.... a fact which many itsekiris are in denial over. urhobos have never said itsekiris do not own any part of warri. it is itsekiris that keep trying to force that claim down our throats!

fratermathy:


Not all Urhobos came from Benin. For instance, some of the Ughelli South Urhobos are related to Ijaw and studies show that IJAWS are the first settlers in the Delta. If anyone is to lay claim to Warri, trust me, Ijaws have the vantage point. Ijaws have been in the Delta far longer than any other tribe.

The Urhobos who left Udo, in Benin, settled in their land hundreds of years before Ilaje migrants, now Itsekiris, came for fishing and commercial activities. Urhobos have never laid claim to the whole of Warri but simply where their homelands are. Itsekiris are the ones boiling blood over Warri issue. Let them eat the title since it's food but to lay claim to aboriginal ownership of Warri is an aberration.

abeg tell them!!! I am from udu and udu was an ijaw woman... my people like many other urhobos did NOT migrate from Benin...

fratermathy:


But you should know that Itsekiris came to the Delta from Ilaje, mostly. The first Olu was an Edo prince. In any case, if we are to go back to our ancestral homes, Itsekiris may have to return to ONDO STATE!

not may have to... WILL have to... it doesnt matter what they call their king... question is... is he king indeed of warri or just in name? we all know the answer to that question!

fratermathy:
On Friday 29th April, 2016, a great intellectual, literati, philosopher and friend departed this world of strife. I got wind of the news the following day and it was difficult to react to it. I became short of words because this friend was so full of life and bubbling with ideas. I have known him all through my years as an undergraduate student and even now, he is one of the few people I can truly call my friend. I remember how we wanted to publish a philosophical book entitled "What Happened to Man?" but for certain circumstances. I remember that we did publish a poem together "How does it feel to be a Problem?" which was published by Saraba Literary Magazine in the Solitude Edition 2013/2014. I remember when we talked about postgraduate studies and its prospects. I remember that he called Sandra James an Athenian beau. I remember that he was a bossom friend, and even beyond so, to the Iwezus; Joy and Ewere. I remember he spoke well about "Blacky" Daniel Nnamani and actually did introduce me to him. I remember our chats; some of which I still have "screen-grabbed". I remember the day you graced Lillysparrow's day with Blacky. I remember our Masonic alignments and ideals. The Hobbessian state of nature. I remember... EVERYTHING!
I have not made many friends in the life but you, Freeman David II, are my friend and I'll carry your memory with me, always and forever. You are not dead! I refute this Neitzschean state of affair!
You had always been an Existentialist! A Sartrean and a believer of Kierkegaard and Hiedegger! You believed in the power of human FREEWILL in the face of nothingness, absurdity and futility. Why did you compare yourself with Sisyphus? Why did you become Tantalus? You put questions at the lips of everyone! You made me reevaluate reality all day. It was you Freeman, it was you... I am short of words, for the umpteenth time.

Alas! The traveller has returned
Like an Avatar couched with dust:
This is the final initiation.
Memento, Memento Mori:
From dust we come,
To dust we return.
"Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
'To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his Gods.'"

Farewell my bro. We shall meet at the Cosmic gate!


-Mathias Orhero

I spent the last 6 months believing one of my closest pals on NL was absent cos he finally got his wish to enlist in the military.... I remember us tag teaming on issues and e fights within my first few days on NL... I remember the numerous times I would cc him in a post to come have my back and he always showed up guns blazing.... he was one of the few naira landers I always assumed I would one day get to sit across from and get to know as a friend... I have missed his presence on NL and it's so painful that I will never again get to interact with this incredibly intelligent young man... my intellectual brother... philosopher par excellence... if there is peace after life in this apathetic world... may you find it.... home is the sailor, home from the sea.... home is the hunter, home from the hills.

sail on my intellectual brother.... all the I thought you were off NL cos of your naval training and you were actually pushing out worms. this life's so fücking unfair.... but then that's no longer news.

ireneony:
thanks.. happy birthday my late father's name was Joseph... such a coincidence

happy birthday in arrears dear.... spambot gave me ban as bday present

joseph1832:
Yeeeesh the bolded had to draw me out. I planned on watching the thread with mute curiosity.

Dax, after all this month, never knew you were still keeping grudges.

Anyway, thanks for the wishes and happy birthday to you also.

nah! am way past that bro... no grudges. have a fab day of celebration

whoa!!! my greatest protagonist on dairyland is my bday mate... strange world.... happy birth day bro