₦airaland Forum

Well written, op....

Three of them own warri....... The only thread keeping them is because they have all intermarried..... If not, war would have been constant

stmartynz:
The Oba of Benin
The Sultan of Sokoto
The Ooni of Ife
The Oba of Lagos
The Olu of Warri
..... Argue no more, just draw ur answer from this @op

NOTE THE LAND THE OLU OF ITSEKIRI IS OCCUPYING IS RENTED FROM THE OKUMAGBA FAMILY

Na me ooo!!. ..it was given to me by yar'adua...mek u go ask amm.

The urhobos, ijaws always want to claim ownership over the itsekiris calling us strangers in our land just because of crude oil (I weak for una) yet u av nt provided any historical piece that says we hired land from d urhobos or ijaws..

So long there re more itsekiri communities in warri than any of the other tribes.. den itsekiris own warrii

ednut1:
it belongs to oduduwa

dennismukoro:
NOTE THE LAND THE OLU OF ITSEKIRI IS OCCUPYING IS RENTED FROM THE OKUMAGBA FAMILY

lies from the pit of hell...

Who did okumagba family buy d land from?? Angel Gabriel I guess

ify84:
Well written, op....

Three of them own warri....... The only thread keeping them is because they have all intermarried..... If not, war would have been constant

true talk

barcanista:
Op thank you. Well, I'm Ijaw frm Rivers State, this issue of Warri affects me so much because I have my brothers and sisters there. Well, I wouldn't want to go into any argument but I have to correct one impression. According to we the Ijaws, the word Warri originated from the Ijaw word "Wari" which means house. The Iwere stuff of the Itsekiri is unacceptable to us, and that is it.
The Itsekiris are more educated and the British favored them, the Oil Companies also favored them against the Ijaws. What is keeping the Ijaws today is Almighty God and our zeal to defend ourselves against every odd. The issue of Warri is a very special one, and I believe a roundtable discussion should be convoked to solve every grey area once and for all. However, the Ijaws will not seek to take what is not theirs and will not lose an inch of what belongs to them. God bless us all

SO YOU ARE AN IJAW GUY? AND YOU KNOW THAT ALOT OF INJUSTICE HAVE BEEN MELTED ON YOU GUYS STILL YOU ARE CONNIVING WITH YOUR ENEMIES TO DENIE YOUR BROTHER AN IJAW PERSON IS RIGHTFUL OR LEGITIMATE MANDATE! mind you am an yoruba person by right of father while my mother is from warri. My main reason of supporting a niger delta person is have been living in the northern region for the past 19year, my decision of supporting is not base on sentiment but on what i know of the hausa. IF YOU ASK ME TO GIVE OR TRANSLATE WORD HAUSA INTO ENGLISH, I WILL SIMPLY SAY "GREEDINESS" yes greediness hausa sense of justice is GIVE 100 TO 10 FOR SHARE, HAUSA ALONE WILL WANT TO TAKE 9...

Ishilove:
Please go and do more research! How is Delta generally Urhobo populated? That's a fallacy

URHOBO HAVE THE HIGHEST POPULATION IN DELTA WITH OVER 4MILLIONS PEOPLE. AND IS THE 5TH LARGEST TRIBE IN NIGERIA

OP, olease don't start another warri war.

Warri belongs to Olu of Warri

dennismukoro:
urhobo occupies 80% of warri south which is the biggest. follow by itsekiris of 20%

this is what I call biased judgement

These re the only urhobo communities in warri south!

1.idimi sobo
2.agbassa
3.edjeba
4.okere-urhobo
5.ogunu

So how can u say such rubbish?

Abi u dey add uvwie LGA join warri?

Jigsawkillah, what do u have to say about this?

I b urhobo guy..... Na three of us get am..... We are one...

dennismukoro:
URHOBO HAVE THE HIGHEST POPULATION IN DELTA WITH OVER 4MILLIONS PEOPLE. AND IS THE 5TH LARGEST TRIBE IN NIGERIA

does that make dem the owners of warri?

guass:
Ishilove go and learn very well u hear am
Urhobo is the 5th largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria and largest in Delta State

Sauce?

onuwaje:
lies from the pit of hell...

Who did okumagba family buy d land from?? Angel Gabriel I guess

Lmao!

mifavour:
how we saying d same thing

WHO HE HELP... EVERYBODY NAH KING FOR E OWN LANE.....

literarymathy:
Many of you have heard about Warri in Delta State. It is a very popular place and one of the most well known areas of Southern Nigeria. Warri is a fast growing megacity filled with so many potentials and so many people. It is like a small Nigeria of its own. Warri is the unofficial capital of Delta State as well as its economic hub. It is a well known fact that politics dictated the relocation of Delta State's capital city to the current Anioma town of Asaba. This act prompted a lot of sentiments from all corners but what has been done has been done. I wish to present you all with some facts about this oil city that should be known and also address its origins and theories about its ownership.

- Warri was a major hub for trading as far back as the 15th centuries when Portuguese traders arrived its shores.

- Warri is occupied by three main ethnic groups: the Ijaws, the Itsekiris and the Urhobos. Each of these ethnic nationalities claim original ownership of Warri and each may as well be right. However, this issue will be treated later on.

- Warri was the headquarters of the colonial Delta province and has always served useful functions as a hub for all the nearby ethnic groups.

- The FIRST NIGERIAN to ever go to a university was Antonio Dom Domingo who graduated from Coimbra University in Portugal in 1611. He was a Warri Itsekiri man.

- Modern day Warri is made up of three local government areas; Warri South LGA which is dominated by the Urhobos of Okere and Agbassa and the Itsekiris, Warri South West which is dominated by Ijaws and Itsekiris and Warri North which is mainly dominated by the Itsekiris with Ijaws as well. These LGAs are all in Delta South Senatorial District. They share this district together with the Isokos.

- Warri was a major slave hub during the transatlantic slave trade that lasted for over 400 years. Itsekiri chiefs and monarchs were partners with European slave traders and they imported slaves to be shipped to North America, South America, Europe and the West Indies.

- The name "Warri" was coined by a Portuguese explorer and has no origin with the Itsekiri titular name of "Iwere". This is a historical fact. Furthermore, other names of places in the Warri Axis such as "Forcados" were also colonial coinages.

- The Agbassa (Agbara-Ame) People of Warri South Local Government Area were migrants to Warri from their home town of Agbarha-Otor just like the Idjerhe(Jesse) and Oghara people of Ethiope West. The Itsekiri people of Warri are also migrants. Their documented history shows that most of them migrated from Ijebu and Ilaje(Yoruba conclaves) and were placed together as one people under the reign of Ginuwa, an exiled Benin prince who took refuge at Ode-Itsekiri, the ancestral home of the Itsekiri people. The Ijaws are quite older in Warri. However, history documents that they were also migrants from the hinterland of the Niger Delta when the old Edo people came to their current land in the Pre-Ogiso era. So if any tribe can lay claim to Warri (based on original occupation), it will be the Ijaw people. However, it is known that the Ijaws, prior to the Kaiama declaration, were less concerned with territorial holds. There were passive in old Warri. In reality, Warri is no man's land .

- In Pre-colonial times, it was fashionable for the tribes occupying Warri to inter-marry. In fact, there are a few Warri indigenes without any mixed Itsekiri, Urhobo or Ijaw ancestry.

- In pre-colonial and colonial times, there was a marked division of territory in Warri. The Ijaws occupied the islands and shores in the Warri South West Axis, the Itsekiris occupied the islands and mainlands close to the coastal areas in Warri South and North while the Urhobos occupied the hinterland with the exception of Okere-Urhobo and Agbassa urhobo who occupied coastal regions.

- Due to the fact said above, the Itsekiris had the privileged advantage of meeting the Europeans first and trading with them. There were open and eager to learn the European way of life. They eventually monopolised trade with the Europeans and other ethnic groups went through the Itsekiris in other to gain access to the Europeans.

- When colonisation started officially, the Itsekiris were much more favoured by the British. This brought about envy and jealousy by the other tribes occupying Warri. The Itsekiris became colonial court clerks and judges, they were interpreters, they were agents, they were virtually everything embodying the indirect rule system. Bad blood was developed.

- When the colonial NCNC and the Action Group party was formed, the Itsekiris embraced the AG while the Urhobos embraced NCNC. Awolowo punished the Urhobos for this by placing the Itsekiri monarch above all the Urhobo monarchs. Awo also changed the traditional title of the Olu of Itsekiri to the Olu of Warri and moved their traditional island of Ode-Itsekiri to mainland Warri. This led to a series of protests by the Urhobos and Ijaws. This period also marked the beginning of Urhobo nationalism led by the great Mukoro Mowoe, M.G. Ejaife and others. However, the change was already gazetted and little could be done about it. Another bad blood was spilt.

- With the discovery of Oil in the Warri region, another trouble started for the people of this region. Most of the oil wells in this region were presumably in Itsekiri land. However, Ijaw and Urhobo land has its large share of these oil wells. The Olu of Itsekiri, in a bid to monopolise the oil wells, decided to impose lordship over all lands in Warri since his title is the Olu of Warri and there's an etymological link between Warri and "Iwerre", an Itsekiri word. This led to a series of court cases which lasted for decades until a particular court ruling that stated unequivocally the the Olu of Warri is a mere titular appellation and his over-lord's powers are limited to Itsekiri traditional homesteads. This brought relative peace to Warri.

- With the coming of oil companies such as Shell, Chevron, NNPC and others, the Itsekiris presented themselves as pitiable minorities that were oppressed by their big brothers in Warri. Employment was monopolised to Itsekiris, so also with development, scholarship, etc. Urhobo and Ijaw lands became desolate like the proverbial "wasteland" of T. S. Eliot, the British poet. Ironically, the areas of Warri that are shared by the tribes were never developed by these companies due the influence of the Itsekiris. Even the airport in Warri now was fought against by the Itsekiris for their own reasons. More bad blood was spilt again...

- The heightened tension came when the Delta State government decided to situate the headquarters of Warri-South West LGA in an Itsekiri land, bypassing the proposed Ijaw land of Ogbe-Ijoh. This led to a series of violent clashes now known as the Warri Crisis that lasted for years. It was only the Urhobos that were somewhat neutral in this clash. Relative peace was regained when the headquarters was shifted to the proposed Ogbe-Ijoh land of the Ijaws.

- Warri is currently enjoying a very delicate peace among the tribes. However, this peace can change at any given moment if any tribe engages in any actions not sanctioned by the other tribes.

- The Itsekiris are currently seeking for their own state with capital at Warri. Before now, they sought to be placed together with Edo state in a contraption known as "EDOWA" or to be connected with Ondo state. It is even presumed that they had political roles played in the situation of the Delta State capital at Asaba and not Warri, the true heart of Delta. This is because they believed that the Urhobos will gain more from this rather than themselves.


The above facts have been presented as objectively as possible. I am not from Warri. These facts beg the question, who TRULY owns Warri City? Is it the Ijaws, Urhobos, Itsekiris, all of them or none of them? Judging from the above facts, please answer the question.

p.s. I am not claiming to be an authority in Urhobo-Ijaw-Itsekiri relationship and history. I am only trying to educate others. So if you have a point to add, or a correction to be made, please state it. This thread is not for ethnic rivalry or the likes. It is for the truth.

Oga, prior to ur opening remark,
Warri can never and should never be the Capital city of delta state.
It dose not meet the criteria required to make a place a capital.
less industrial, less population and not close to the main city hub.
Check that of lagos state, Anambra
And the Federal capital tertiary.
The capital of each state of place should be more administrative and more residential rather that industrial.
This is done because of war.
Other states did not meet up with that but shifting the capital city aways dnt mean that you guys have been cheated, the main criteria was considered.

onuwaje:
how many urhobo communities re found in warri (the 3LGAs?)

none in warri north! Few in warri south! Buh if u remove d issue of metropolice, warri ll b 2 small 2b found 4rm d map of delta state!

Ishilove:
Sauce?

MAGGI AND CRAYFISH ARE SAUCE

dennismukoro:
urhobo occupies 80% of warri south which is the biggest. follow by itsekiris of 20%

AT THE MOMENT THE URHOBOS ARE MARGINALISED THROUGHOUT THE STATE, THOUGH THEIR BREAKTHRU IS IMMINENT

zeezboy:
none! Buh if u remove d issue of metropolice, warri ll b 2 small 2b found 4rm d map of delta state!

Even in the warri metropolis there re more itsekiri towns than urhobo so what re u saying

dennismukoro:
MAGGI AND CRAYFISH ARE SAUCE

I prefer knorr chicken cube. Lol

guass:
Ishilove go and learn very well u hear am
Urhobo is the 5th largest ethnic nationality in Nigeria and largest in Delta State

Liar... Ibibio 4th, Ijaws fifth.....

abraka00:
I speak authoritatively. Warri belongs to the Urhobos as pronounced by the supreme court. Again, the title 'olu of warri' will cease to exist after the reign of this present olu. It shall be reverted to 'olu of itsekiri'.

LOLLLL. ....LIE OF THE YEAR!!

ogele:
I was born in Warri early 70's and I am from Imo state we where taught in School at Ogedemgbe Primary school then that is an Itsekiri town and own by the Itsekiri people.

Ogedengbe primary school in warri?

Ishilove:
Sauce?

Which of them KPOMO or TOMATOES

onuwaje:
does that make dem the owners of warri?

THE NAME WARRI JUST COVER THE THREE TRIBES. EVERYBODY HAVE BOUNDARIES....NO ONE TRESSPASS OR IT WILL CAUSE CRISES. FOR UR INFO OLU OF ITSEKIRI DONT TRESSPASS. BESIDES THE LAND HE STAYS IS RENTED WHICH IS AT AJAMIMOGHA HERE IN WARRI

Ishilove:
Sauce?

Which of them KPOMO or TOMATOES?

dennismukoro:
THE NAME WARRI JUST COVER THE THREE TRIBES. EVERYBODY HAVE BOUNDARIES....NO ONE TRESSPASS OR IT WILL CAUSE CRISES. FOR UR INFO OLU OF ITSEKIRI DONT TRESSPASS. BESIDES THE LAND HE STAYS IS RENTED WHICH IS AT AJAMIMOGHA HERE IN WARRI

Baseless and factless point... show mee ur evidence that olu of warri rented a land in his own domain??

AmazingDude:
Liar... Ibibio 4th, Ijaws fifth.....

CHECK THE LAST POPULATION CENSUS. NO NEED TO ARGUE