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Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 2:38pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
fratermathy:Can you counter the court judgement stated there? I stated Judicial precedents and you still stated that you want to believe otherwise? Who cares, the North will believe Nigerdelta oil belongs to all until you people have regard for law and justice. 3 Likes 1 Share |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by Dedetwo(m): 2:41pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje: I thought the dude who joined the fight against British was Nana of Itsekiri. |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 2:41pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
fratermathy:You are deceiving yourself. So because they don't pay rents again the land automatically belongs to them? So Ibos that bought land in Lagos will claim ownership of land will Aworis, Egbas and Ijebus? This is the joke. As for archives, I propose we use judicial archives as it more acceptable (to sane people) and undeniable. Here I come with judicial archives all the way from Warri high court to the Privy council in London. You go tire today. 11 Likes 1 Share |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 2:43pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
OAUTemitayo: I can't counter what I can't verify. This is not an issue of oil or whatever. There is no vendetta here. I believe we are all having a productive argument, except if you are taking it personal. Let us verify the judicial precedents from a source that is not an Itsekiri or Urhobo blog! Anyone can put up anything there and say whatever and if those precedents are true, then on what basis are Urhobos still occupying those areas, even with their own monarchies? 2 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 2:43pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
OAUTemitayo: You are working yourself over nothing. Goodbye. Don't mention me again & I won't bother replying you. Onuwaje, Jolomiurenyi, Wirinet, let's talk on this issue objectively. |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 2:44pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
Dedetwo: he is an Itsekiri from Ebrohimi 1 Like |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 2:49pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
the issue concerning the ownership of Warri is as a result of non documentations of agreement between the said parties. but who we go blame na... lol that wud av gone a long way 1 Like |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 2:54pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje: onuwaje: Yes you are very right. As a result of the lack of written history, there are many conjectures here and there over who owns what and what. But should that really be a problem at this day and age? We are done with the system of land tenureship where all land are deemed to belong to the monarch. Officially, every land in Warri belongs to the FGN! All that we are doing is to work ourselves in order to massage our egos. But as a matter of true facts, do you agree that the idea of Warri City and Warri Kingdom are different? If yes or no, why? This is the question we should ask so as to engage in a fruitful debate that will lead somewhere. |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 3:04pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
Ownership of Warri Nigeria – Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 22 October 2010 Information on the following: 1. The similarities (if any) between Urhobo (alternatively “Sobo”) and Itsekiri (alt. “Isekiri”; “Ishekiri”; etc.) language; 2. The similarities (if any) between Urhobo and Itsekiri ethnicities/cultures/customs; 3. The distribution of Urhobo and Itsekiri populations; including whether these groups live in the same towns/regions of Nigeria; 4. Whether there is any information on whether Itsekiri speakers can or do speak Urhobo, and vice versa. 5. Whether there is conflict/co-operation between Urhobo and Itsekiri people (groups or individuals), and to what extent. A page on the Delta State Tourism website states: “There are five ethnic groups in Delta State, namely Anioma, Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri and Urhobo. Deltans speak a variety of languages and dialects but have nearly identical customs, culture and occupations. These are easily identified in the courts of most traditional rulers across the state.” (Delta State Tourism (undated) Delta State: The Big Heart) An entry on the Urhobo in The Peoples of Africa – An Ethnohistorical Dictionary states: “The Urhobo (Uhrobo, Biotu, and the pejorative Sobo) people live in Bendel State in Nigeria, primarily in the Western and Eastern Urhobo divisions. They are closely related to the neighboring Edo people.” (Olson, James S. (1996) The Peoples of Africa – An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Westport, Greenwood Press. p.578) A page on the Urhobo Association of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut website, in a paragraph headed “People”, states: “The Urhobo people are located in the present Delta State of Nigeria. They occupy the southern portion of the Benin lowland and the floodplains and swamps of the petroleumrich Niger delta. With a population of some two million people, the Urhobo people are the 5th largest ethnic group in Nigeria and constitute the largest single ethnic group in Delta State.” (Urhobo Association of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut (undated) The Urhobo People) An entry on the Itsekiris in The Peoples of Africa – An Ethnohistorical Dictionary states: “The Itsekiris (lsekivi, Ishekiris, Shekiris, Chekiris, Jekois, Ijekiris, Jekiris, Ichakiris, Iweres, Irhobos, Warris, and Iselema-Otus) are an ethnic group living today on the western side of the Niger River delta in Bendel State in Nigeria. They are concentrated in the Warri and West Benin divisions…Today, the Itsekiris speak a Yoruba dialect.” A page on the Ugbajo Itsekiri USA, Inc website states: “The Itsekiri are a peculiar and unique people in the Nigerian Niger delta. They have inhabited their homeland, which now constitutes the three Warri Local Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria, for centuries.” (Ugbajo Itsekiri USA, Inc (21 October 2010) Who Are The Itsekiri?) In a section titled “The Warri crisis over oil (section 2.1.5) an Amnesty International report states: “Violence in the Warri area has escalated significantly since 1997, and particularly in the last two years. The cosmopolitan town of Warri has grown in significance, size and population since the discovery of oil. Competition for control of local government in the town and attendant royalties from oil companies, jobs and contracts has exacerbated tensions between Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo populations. Itsekiri dominance of the region goes back to their privileged position with European traders as middlemen in the trade in slaves and later palm oil. The Itsekiris date their claim to Warri from the 15th century and cite court judgments including from the Privy Council, a final Court of Appeal under UK colonial rule. In 1936 they declared the Olu (king) of Itsekiri to be the Olu of Warri, a claim recognized by the colonial government in the 1950s. After the discovery of oil, companies reached agreements with the Olu of Warri, depriving other communities of benefits. The Ijaws and Urhobos say that some local court judgments in the dispute were obtained fraudulently, and that they have lived in Warri as long as the Itsekiris. In 1996 the local military administration created a new local government area, Warri Southwest, with its headquarters in Ogbe Ijoh, an Ijaw town. The subsequent overturning of this decision by the federal military government, which moved the headquarters to Ogidigben, an Itsekiri town, provoked riots. In 2003, over 500 Itsekiris and several hundred Ijaws died as conflict returned.” (Amnesty International (November 2005) Ten years on: Injustice and violence haunt the oil Delta) In a section titled “Delta State: The Ownership Controversy in Warri” a Human Rights Watch report states: “In and around Warri, the Niger Delta’s broader problems have become inextricably bound up with a long-running controversy over who the “true indigenes” of the city are. Warri is home to three different ethnic groups that each claim to be the town’s true 'owners'—the Ijaw, the Itsekiri and the Urhobo, and each has compiled elaborately detailed treatises detailing their historical and demographic claims upon the place. Each group has made some attempt to claim that they were the first to settle the area, and each group has made claims about their demographic strength that are rejected by their neighbors.” (Human Rights Watch (25 April 2006) "They Do Not Own This Place": Government Discrimination Against "Non-Indigenes" in Nigeria, p.55) This section of the report also states: “Only the Itsekiri have been successful in asserting their claim to be the true indigenes of Warri. All three of Warri’s Local Government Areas are run by predominantly Itsekiri administrations and Warri’s representative in the federal National Assembly is also an Itsekiri, a fact that the town’s Urhobo and Ijaw residents believe has resulted in the economic and political marginalization of their communities.” (ibid, p.55) This section of the report refers to intercommunal violence in Warri as follows: “Since 1997 Warri’s ‘ownership’ controversy has given rise to a series of intercommunal clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives. In 1997 hundreds of people were killed in clashes sparked by the creation of a new LGA, Warri Southwest; the location of its headquarters, and the swearing-in of local officials to that LGA administration, helped spark renewed fighting in 1999. In the last large-scale outbreak of violence, in 2003, several hundred people were killed over the course of several months in clashes triggered initially by a dispute over the delineation of electoral wards in Warri. At the time of Human Rights Watch’s last visit to Warri in December 2005, a fragile peace was in place, but many community and youth leaders on all sides felt that it could not be expected to hold unless the issue of ownership was resolved to their group’s satisfaction.” (ibid, pp.55-56) This report refers to perceived Urhobo grievances as follows: “All three of Warri’s local government areas are under predominantly Itsekiri administrations. The Urhobo and Ijaw youth leaders interviewed by Human Rights Watch were unanimous in their belief that these local governments systematically exclude their communities from access to jobs, educational opportunities, and even basic government services, choosing instead to lavish all of their resources upon ethnic Itsekiri.” (ibid, p.56) In a section titled “Background” a Human Rights Watch report states: “Since before Nigeria’s independence in 1960 there have been tensions surrounding the arrangements for the government of the region surrounding Warri, the second most important oil town in Nigeria after Port Harcourt. Warri itself, the largest town (though not the capital) of Delta State, is claimed as their homeland by three ethnic groups: the Itsekiri, the Urhobo, and the Ijaw. The Itsekiri, a small ethnic group of a few hundred thousand people whose language is related to Yoruba (one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups), also live in villages spread out along the Benin and Escravos Rivers into the mangrove forest riverine areas towards the Atlantic Ocean. The Urhobo, a much larger group numbering some millions related to the Edo-speaking people of Benin City, live in Warri town and to the north, on land.” (Human Rights Watch (17 December 2003) The Warri Crisis: Fueling Violence, p.3) In a section titled “Violence in 2003” this report states: “The latest round of violence began in early 2003, during the lead up to state and federal elections held in April and May (local government elections have still not been held anywhere in Nigeria since 1999). On the weekend of January 31 / February 1, there was fighting in the Okere district of Warri town between Itsekiris and Urhobos, during primaries being held for the Delta South senatorial district by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the incumbent party in both Delta State and at federal level. The dispute centered on the number of wards making up the district, and the boundaries between the wards, which Urhobos alleged disadvantaged them. According to local accounts and press reports, Urhobo youths attacked an Itsekiri area on the afternoon of January 31, and began to loot and burn property. Itsekiri youth collected at the stadium where the primary voting was taking place then retaliated in response to reports of this raid. Over the next couple of days most of a large estate belonging to Chief Benjamin Okumagba, the traditional ruler of the Urhobo in Warri, was destroyed. Government soldiers intervened during the initial Urhobo attack on the Itsekiri neighborhood, and one soldier was reportedly killed in this confrontation. Urhobo witnesses to the events alleged that soldiers patrolling the Okumagba estate were withdrawn before the Itsekiri attack. There were other reports of random shooting or executions by the armed forces during efforts to quell the fighting. Estimates of the number of dead over the few days of violence ranged from twelve to two hundred. The Nigerian Red Cross reported that more than 6,000 people had been displaced.” (ibid, pp.5-6) This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to. References: Amnesty International (November 2005) Ten years on: Injustice and violence haunt the oil Delta http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/43945e282.pdf (Accessed 22 October 2010) Delta State Tourism (undated) Delta State: The Big Heart http://deltastatetourism.com/about_delta_state.html (Accessed 22 October 2010) Human Rights Watch (25 April 2006) "They Do Not Own This Place": Government Discrimination Against "Non-Indigenes" in Nigeria http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=4455d9d64 (Accessed 22 October 2010) Human Rights Watch (17 December 2003) The Warri Crisis: Fueling Violence http://www.unhcr.org/cgibin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=402f6e7d4 (Accessed 21 October 2010) Olson, James S. (1996) The Peoples of Africa – An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Westport, Greenwood Press Refugee Documentation Centre Library Ugbajo Itsekiri USA, Inc (21 October 2010) Who Are The Itsekiri? http://www.itsekiri.org/files/history/history.php (Accessed 21 October 2010) Urhobo Association of New York, New Jersey & Connecticut (undated) The Urhobo People http://www.urhoboassociation.org/The_Urhobo_People_New.html (Accessed 22 October 2010) Sources Consulted: All Africa Delta State Tourism Electronic Immigration Network Ethnologue Human Rights Watch International Crisis group Minorities At Risk Refugee Documentation Centre Library Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database UNHCR Refworld Urhobo Historical Society https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/06/11/Urhobo%20and%20Itsekiri.pdf 4 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 3:04pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
fratermathy: we are practising the Nigerian Federal system of government where we borrow the white man's system of democracy and we still can't let go of our roots that is where the problem comes from. Warri city and Warri Kingdom are two different things. those of us who happen to be born and bred and grow up here knows that Warri City is a name that covers about 5 LGAs while the Warri Kingdom is associated with the Itsekiris. I don't think i have heard the Urhobo people made mention of Warri Kingdom. 7 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 3:18pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje:Question is how was the city of Warri founded? Did it predates the Warri Kingdom or vice versa? Who did the British colonialists recognised as the overlords of Warri? 2 Likes 1 Share |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 3:23pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje: And that is where the problem seems to derive from. Many "hotheads" on the Warri issue seem to mistake Iwerre Kingdom with Warri City. Although it is true that due to many litigations (which were not predicated on any historical facts but rather at colonial interest), Warri was largely bequeathed to the Itsekiri but you and I know that it unfair to the Urhobos, who like the Itsekiri, were also migrants to the area and have established homelands there. It is also important to note that the Urhobos in Warri have NEVER claimed to own Warri but only where they occupy. Let us, the modern generation, try to harmonise interests and stop resuscitating bad blood over land that officially belongs to FGN! I'm happy that there are Itsekiris like you who are knowledgeable and willing to cohabit with your neighbours, for good or bad. We should always exercise restraint when proclaiming that Warri City belongs to one ethnic group. Instead, we should focus on the distinction between Warri Kingdom and Warri City. 2 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 3:24pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
OAUTemitayo: the city of warri (Warri South LGA)was founded based on a land leased by the Itsekiris to the british. the area covers what is known to the Itsekiris as Iwere and that covers what we all know today as Warri the Kingdom of Iwere was in existence way beyond the city of Warri (Warri south LGA). the name Warri has different variations over time the Portuguese called it Oere until the British pegged it to what we know it as today 5 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 3:29pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje: And the fact that the modern Warri started as as GRA in Agbassa-Urhobo land tells a whole lot. The British did consult the Itsekiri for the land, as all records do show. But how did the British determine the Itsekiri overlordship of an area (specifically Agbassa now) where most of its residents were Urhobos? The Itsekiri monarchy was even at Ode-Itsekiri at the time this occurred. So what was the motive of the British? Where were the written records they used to determine Itsekiri ownership of the land? You see how the Britons, in connivance with some of us, heated the polity due to politics of interest? 3 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 3:31pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
fratermathy: be it as it may. the issue of land ownership in the Nigerian setting is all about finders keepers. who got there first but the problem of who got there first isn't documented that is why all parties involved are saying they got there first lol (i am sure deep within they know the truth). for information purposes there are Itsekiri villages in Urhobo LGAs like Oghara, Sapele etc even in Edo State, u dont expect them to start taking people to court. the issue why Ownership of Warri has lingered on is that nobody wants to be submissive or agree to the truth that has been hidden. My mom is Urhobo from Ughelli my grandmother is from Udu my greatgrand mom is from Otokutu. lol 5 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 3:33pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje:Thank you my brother for this reply. For the fact that the present day Warri city was leased to the British by the Itshekiri means and emphasis the undeniable fact that they were the owners of the land wherein the present day Warri is cited! This simply means that Warri city is a subset of Warri kingdom. There is no need playing to the gallery. 4 Likes 1 Share |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 3:34pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
onuwaje: But does it really matter who got there first? People are there and that is the most important thing. Will one group send another away for being there first or second, even when they themselves were migrants too? Do they have that moral responsibility? Would it have been very difficult for all ethnicities in Warri to get along, regardless of land? After all, there were no land issues before the British came. Why was that? There has also been little to land issues after the British left. Why so? |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by OAUTemitayo: 3:40pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
fratermathy:Bro Frathermathy, I am very sorry if i sound abusive in my first reply. Accept my apologies. I however will like to state that the main reason why their was no crises during the precolonial era was because the urhobos and other settlers accepted the lordship of the itshekiris! 6 Likes 1 Share |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by fratermathy(m): 3:43pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
OAUTemitayo: No problem. I just didn't want this to be a tribal thing. It should be an argument, plain and simple and not a battle of supremacy between Itsekiris and Urhobos. So we should control our language. As per what you said on the acceptance of Itsekiri lordship, how do we verify that they did? Are you saying that they instantly stopped doing what they must have been doing for centuries just because the British came and continued doing it after the British left? |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by forgiveness: 5:53pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
Now, there's no problem on the ownership and lordship of Warri because of one Nigeria but at the event Nigeria eventually secedes, believe me there will be wars on this subject and especially Gbaramatu and other lands violently taken by some groups. 3 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by jared007: 5:57pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
I was banned on this forum twice for copy and paste if not I would ve sent many documents why warri town belongs to Urhobos before any other ethnic groups Difference Between Warri Kingdom And Warri Town The word 'Warri' has its origin from Portugal that means it's a foreign name just like Lagos, Port-harcourt, Calabar, New Calabar (Kalabari). Warri is a Portuguese word like Escravos, Forcados and Ramos. Warri is a word corrupted from a Portuguese Explorer called Aviero. It's pronounced as 'Awiero' . There's a present city in Portugal called Aviero. This same name Aviero gradually metamorphosed into Awyri, Ouerre, Iwere, Warri This same name Aviero or Iwere was named on the Itsekiri Kingdom called Ode-Itsekiri which was made a developed Kingdom by Ginuwas sons. The tittle ' Olu' which was gotten from the name 'Oba Olua' who was actually the father of Ginuwa. The King's that ruled over Ode-Itsekiri Kingdom were addressed as Olu of Ode-Itsekiri which was shortened to Olu of Itsekiri or Olu of Iwere. This same Ode-Itsekiri is what is called Iwere or Warri Kingdom! Not all Itsekiri communities were under Iwere Kingdom for example Ugborodo, Ugbuwangue and Okere Village resisted the so called overlord-ship of the Ode-Itsekiri King until the 20th century. If Ugbuwangue and Okere which are in Warri town were not under the control of the Olu of Ode-Itsekiri, how could Agbarha-ame(Agbassa) an Urhobo community in the same Warri town be under the Ode-Itsekiri King? Warri Kingdom is also known as Ode-Itsekiri and all Itsekiri communities that surrendered their sovereignty to the king at Ode-Itsekiri while Warri town is an Urhobo town that is demarcated from Ode-Itsekiri by swamps and the Warri River! 4 Likes |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by Eastfield1: 7:11pm On Jul 06, 2017 |
forgiveness: onuwaje:some one finally agree with me https://www.nairaland.com/3880262/biafra-why-ijawitshekiri-urhobo-not |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by Efewestern: 10:22am On Jul 08, 2017 |
seun I was banned why trying to list towns in warri, they should please review the spam list regarding this. Lalasticlala what ya say about this thread , FP |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by onuwaje(m): 10:33am On Jul 08, 2017 |
Efewestern: twice i have been banned trying to list towns |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by Nobody: 6:50pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
Efewestern: When yu post like this no include aerial photos, it shows you're not made yet otherwise we would see drone photography accompanying your text..i no go read am joor |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by DaminiteHood014(m): 6:52pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
History lesson. � |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by NtoAkwaIbom(m): 6:55pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
fratermathy: I know dis case... Okugmaba.. As a practicing Lawyer... the Case of IDUNDUN V OKUMAGBA (1976) 9-10 S.C 227 is a landmark case in Land law... it clearly states how land can be acquired in Nigeria.. ownership of land may be proved in any of the following five ways. (a) By traditional evidence (b) By production of documents of ownership, (c) Acts of the person claiming the land, (d) Acts of long possession and enjoyment, (e) Proof of possession of connected or adjacent land. and by that Law its stated that Itsekiri owns most part of Warri.. it's settled law.. as confirmed in the case of Odunze V. Nwosu 3, were it was further confirmed that these five grounds are settled law, stating. “… It is settled that where as plaintiffs here so claim, they must prove their ownership of the land in dispute by one of the five ways listed in the case of Idundun V. Okumagba. 6 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by Nobody: 7:10pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
From enerhen junction to Igbudu is were? Is that Warri |
Re: WARRI: The City And The Kingdom by tickertop(m): 7:14pm On Jul 08, 2017 |
Development fire. Thr developed warri is no more and it will take 50 years to bring it back. People should tell the truth here no lies 1 Like 1 Share |
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