IJAW LEADERS OF THOUGHT LAMBAST NYESOM WIKE FOR ATTEMPTING TO PORTRAY THE OPOBO KINGDOM AS NOT TRUE IJAW
Chief Nyesom Wike, the singing and dancing politician of Ikwerre extraction, is a lawyer. As a Nigerian-made lawyer, it is expected that he enjoyed being introduced into the creative world of giant Nigerian writers like Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, J.P Clark, Ola Rotimi, and a string of others. Even if it turns out to be a mere assumption that he knew Ola Rotimi, the famous dramatist, on a personal basis, in his heydays at Uniport, it is unlikely that Nyesom Wike never encountered that seminal title, “The gods are not to blame.” Our amiable comedian in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is only a year older than Ola Rotimi’s masterpiece. Although the tale traces its roots to the Yoruba cultural soil, the lessons drawn from it make it universal and difficult to avoid. If, by default, as a law student or by coincidence, Nyesom Wike read that piece of drama, he should remember how the powerful and valorous King Odewale was led to a damning fall by hubristic pride.
The defining incident of hubris in the play is Odewale’s murder of a man who was later revealed as his biological father. Odewale killed the old man, King Adetusa, simply because the man insulted his tribe. The statement, “bushman from Ijekun,” perhaps sounded innocuous to the older man who pelted it, but Odewale gave it a more profound interpretation and accordingly reacted. Rightly or wrongly, Odewale demonstrated that his tribe, ancestry, or history deserves protection and respect. The lesson Ola Rotimi generously presents is that there are consequences for denigrating and disparaging other people and their origins. Nyesom Wike, probably under the influence of narcotics or the capricious authority of some malevolent forces, crossed the red line by insinuating that the people of Opobo are not true Ijaws.
The Ijaw man will neither fight Nyesom Wike for his uncouth and puerile comments about the Ijaws, particularly the people of Opobo, nor the Ikwerre nation for the misfortune of having an uncultured and ill-mannered warmonger as a son. However, it is pertinent to share what Nyesom Wike has, knowingly or unknowingly, unveiled about his character and background. It is time his fans and traducers understand more deeply about a man whose pride and poor foundational moulding are about to hunt down from his place of grace. Yes, the nuisance value which has always attracted him sympathy and patronage will soon plunge him into political decline and extinction.
Taking from his comment on the Opobo Ijaws, the former governor of Rivers State undoubtedly has a hollow sense of history and is culturally bankrupt. His lack of historical and cultural knowledge is unclad and sadly so. Dr. Reuben Abati was the first to expose that Nyesom Wike is empty and shallow in these regards and ready to undertake any adventure to perpetually enjoy political relevance and security. Wike’s cultural and historical illiteracy can be cured if he is prepared to accept just a one-hour tutorial from Prof. Ebiegberi Joe Alagoa, the living encyclopedia of past events. E.J Alagoa, the most sacred oracle of history in the Niger Delta, will be glad to educate him on the fact that Opobo is core Ijaw and nobody is more Ijaw than Opobo.
Perhaps Nyesom Wike should go on a fact-finding mission to Bonny to know that Jaja, who led the migrant group from Bonny to establish in Opobo in 1869, was the head of Annie Pepple House of Bonny and a direct descendant of King Opubo. Opubo and Fubara were brothers from a union between King Perekule and, Okuru, the daughter of a previous king, Amakiri. Perekule (Pepple) became king of Bonny around 1695, and Fubara and Opubo succeeded him. Precisely, Fubara ascended the throne in 1792. Kingship in Bonny still resides with the lineage of Perekule. Bonny (Ibani), from where Opobo migrated, is still known as Okoloba in the Kolokuma axis of Bayelsa State. The Bonny people are known to come from the Isedani lineage of the Kolokuma, and by default, the Opobo people are from Bayelsa State. Opobo is an original Ijaw town and a pride of the Ijaw nation.
Nyesom Wike’s false sense of protection and control is also partly responsible for the political doom he is fated to meet before the end of this dispensation. His promise to respond to the Ijaws and all the various critiques of his inglorious expedition to take the head of the governor of Rivers State is because of the self-delusion that he has the machinery of state under his command. Nobody is afraid of whatever blackmail and propaganda he is preparing to negatively portray the governor and his Ijaw brothers. The world already knows that blackmail and propaganda are his stock in trade. A thousand intellectuals in Ijaw land are ready to give it back to him should he throw tantrums.
As a politician of many years standing, Nyesom Wike ought to have been sensible enough to understand that His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara is the one with the political muscles to rescue him when he is booted out eventually by his new allies. Governor Sim Fubara, a blue-blooded Ijaw son who understands the principles of provocation and retaliation in Ijaw warfare, will not fight against a benefactor unless prompted by divine justice. The asa-wana chant that Nyesom Wike referred to with scorn is a reminder of the fact that the Ijaws fight only justifiable causes. Ijaw wars are always against oppression, injustice, and intimidation. Asa-wana is never shouted to threaten anyone but encourages youths to stand for truth and justice. That is why Wike should not provoke the sleeping giants.
For Chief Nyesom Wike to escape the approaching storm, he should humble himself, repent of his rancorous attitude, and make peace with all foes and allies. He should be aware that the battle he plots will fail woefully and backfire in the long run because it is against an innocent, patriotic, and loyal man. Anyone who thinks the governor will sit back and allow enemies to capture him and pluck his crown is daydreaming. Chinua Achebe enlightens all politicians with a defense strategy in his Things Fall Apart. He wrote, “Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.” Chief Wike must also know that he is only an appointee whose fate lies with the appointor to manipulate as he wishes. As an appointee, he can be easily distracted out of office.
A word is enough for the wise!
Signed:
Comrade Jackson Agbor
Chairman
Comrade Moses Omare
Secretary General
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