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Wonders shall never cease!! The Yoruba tribal council Afenifere is about to embark on a vicious land grab that will finally set the lower Delta on fire.
Hear them Afenifere added: "We encourage all Yoruba living in Warri to ignore the ultimatum (asking them to quit Warri) as nobody can send them away from Warri, which is part of Oduduwa land, every inch of the land there."
One can't help but wonder where this new found courage is coming from, I guess warri is about to become war booty too.
BISIRIYU OLAOYE, Asst. News Editor and CAJETAN MMUTA,Asaba
AS the 48-hour ultimatum given the Ijaw in Warri by pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, to release its six allegedly kidnapped kinsmen expires today, militant group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday washed its hands of the crises-ridden oil city.
The disclosure came as Governor James Ibori of Delta State called for quick trial of suspects arrested in the Warri crisis. Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu said reports of the ultimatum and kidnapping were sponsored.
Founder of OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, disclosed the group’s position in Lagos, just as he warned that it would amount to exposing the Yoruba living in the strife-torn city to "unnecessary danger" if any South-West individual or group got involved in the Warri crisis.
The Ijaw claimed the Yoruba sided with their Itsekiri rivals in two recent clashes in the city.
Afenifere had on Tuesday in a statement signed by its Administrative Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, given captors of the six Yoruba till today to release them alive as "failure to do this would make the Ijaw to realise that ‘violence’ is not their exclusive property."
Afenifere added: "We encourage all Yoruba living in Warri to ignore the ultimatum (asking them to quit Warri) as nobody can send them away from Warri, which is part of Oduduwa land, every inch of the land there."
But speaking at an emergency meeting of the Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities of Nigeria (CENN) towards stopping the Warri war at Century Hotel, Okota, Lagos, Dr. Fasheun said for any Yoruba individual or group to get involved in the war that did not concern his tribe, would amount to exposing the Yoruba people living in the area to "unnecessary danger".
"Without any iota of equivocation, I, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, declare that the OPC has no hand whatsoever in the killings and dislocations that have ravaged Warri and everybody should take that as official, the truth and nothing but the truth.
"And OPC has no purpose of taking part in this modern day tragedy that is rooted in the ethnic chauvinism of the past. OPC, like other members of the Coalition of Ethnic Nationalities, wants this unnecessary "civil war" in Warri to end and end today," he said.
While urging the warring groups to voluntarily sheathe their swords and "unfurl the flag of peace", he stressed the need for assistance and encouragement of governments and non-governmental organisations to end the strife.
To end the crisis in Warri, Fasehun suggested that the city be accorded the status of a federal territory like Lagos and Abuja.
He suggested that local governments should be created for each of the warring ethnic groups, "thus, according them a level of ethnic autonomy and dousing the flames of tribal chauvinism."
He suggested that establishing or consolidating existing kingdoms for each of the warring factions may bring appreciable, long-lasting peace, adding that "after all, there are five kingdoms in peaceful Abeokuta, two in Ilorin and two in Sagamu."
"Arising from this, can we now have the Olu of Itsekiri kingdom, the Egbema of Ijaw kingdom, the Ororokpe of Urhobo kingdom, to correct the mistake of our recent past and institutionalise peace and good neighbourliness?
"The Federal Government should establish a body saddled with permanent all-time aerial surveillance of the coastal areas to detect and intercept professional bunkerers, financiers, who fan the embers of discord to their own advantage," Fasehun said.
Those who attended the emergency meeting included representatives of Itsekiri, Urhobo, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Eastern Youth Congress, National Igbo Congress, Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and Ayo Opadokun.
Meanwhile, Governor Ibori has urged the judiciary and security agencies to treat with despatch all criminal cases associated with the recent ethnic crisis in Warri and other riverine areas to serve as deterrent to others.
Governor Ibori made the call yesterday when the Comptroller of Prisons, Alhaji A.Y. Dagaci, visited him at Government House, Asaba, the state capital.
Ibori said effective and prompt action of the Bar, Bench and the security agencies was necessary to assist the efforts by the Presidency and the state government to curb the increasing menace of armed robbers, who cash in on the crisis to perpetrate more crimes.
The governor insisted that the situation called for great concern by the judiciary and security officers to see the adjudication of justice as a great task that must not be taken for granted on the crisis.
While calling for the total re-organisation of the nation’s prisons system for efficiency, the governor noted that the system, as presently constituted, cannot impact positively on inmates.
He pledged his resolve to consider the inclusion of the leadership of the Prisons and Immigrations in the state into the state security council.
Earlier, Alhaji Dagaci had appealed to the governor to approve free medical treatment for inmates.
Meanwhile, Chevron-Texaco has absolved itself of complicity in the Warri ethnic clashes which have claimed hundreds of lives and property worth millions of naira.
Head of Public Relations, Sola Omole, in a statement, described media reports linking Chevron-Texaco with a faction in the clashes as false and baseless.
He stated that the company maintained a global policy of neutrality in conflicts in its areas of operation.
He advocated peaceful resolution to the crises through dialogue by the warring factions, pointing out that violence could not yield any positive dividend to conflict resolution.
"We believe that the path to the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis is dialogue, not violence," Omole stated.
He emphasised that frank and open dialogue among stakeholders would be the only viable resolution to the crisis.
Meanwhile, Lagos State governor, Tinubu has urged the OPC and other militia of Yoruba extraction to exercise restraint in its response to the reports of kidnap and ultimatum issued to Yorubas in Warri.
Addressing journalists in his office, Gov. Tinubu said contrary to the reports no Yoruba was kidnapped and no ultimatum had been issued.
Quoting his Delta State counterpart James Ibori, the governor said the reports were sponsored by persons whose agenda was to drag Yorubas into a needless violence that can further truncate democracy.
He warn the agents of violence to avoid a situation in which Yorubas will become sacrificial lambs, adding that its is the beginning of violence that is obvious the outcome is not certain.
Asserting that Yorubas and Ijaws have a history of cordiality and peaceful co-existence, the governor said Lagos State remains a safe haven for all Nigerians and will continue to remain so.
The governor said it is the constitutional right of all Nigerians to live anywhere in the country and the right should be respected to ensure peaceful co-existence and harmony.
Tinubu, who further explained that he is in constant touch with his Delta State counterpart and is monitoring development also said he had assurance that no Nigerian, Yorubas in particular, will be intimidated or persecuted in the state.
The governor also said Nigerians should begin to celebrate democracy by avoiding violence, adding that "what is important now is to have bread not bullet, shelter not displeasure. We should be our brother’s keeper."
[ September 12, 2003, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: chiboy ]
Posts: 1532 | From: USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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I think what they maybe saying is that Warri is part of Western nigeria. In that case, they are correct with that accessment plus if some Igbos of Delta State think that they originated from Oduduwa Republic, why can't Afenifere claim Warri or even Asaba.
___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2447 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
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Afenifere gave an ultimatum. OPC washed its hands of the ultimatum and YCE (Yoruba Council of Elders) condemned the ultimatum.
Question: Who do we listen to here? Who has the final word?
Setting this aside---isn’t it a bit troubling that Afenifere would issue threats to Warri indigenes over the actions of a lawless few? This might come off as a joke, but why is Afenifere not addressing their grievances to Tafa Balogun and the Nigerian Police, whose duty it is to apprehend those criminals?
And yet, some need reminders of or are in denial over the fact that Nigerians define themselves first by their ethnic origins....
So, how exactly does one take this threat of violence by Afenifere? Should we dismiss it as the inconsequential rantings of semi-senile stooges or do we begin to make preparations for a heavy onslaught that would undoubtedly face the Warri indigenes by the Yorubas living there?
As for Warri being part of Oduduwa territory---I frankly would not be amazed if Afenifere decides to state publicly that Bamenda in Cameroon was also part of Oduduwa. All I ask is for Afenifere to sort through the situation in Kwara first before dabbling into other contentious geographical space tussles.
It is quite unsettling to me how that Afenifere would not issue threats or claim territory if the unfortunate kidnapping incident had happened in say, Kano for instance. But then again, I could be wrong. Anything goes in Nigeria these days. What can we do but to open our mouths wider in astonishment as more scintillating news seeps out of it?
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