– Council of Ijaw Elders and Stakeholders declare Ijaws aborigines of Warri
– Warns against tenants label
– Seeks urgent implementation of Warri delineation outcome
Stakeholders in Warri under the Council of Ijaw Elders and stakeholders have reiterated that Ijaws are indeed aborogines of Warri.
In a statement on Tuesday signed by Pa Tie-Owei Goodnews, the group warned against anybody or ethnicity labelling Ijaws as tenants in Warri Federal Constituency.
The group expressed regret that Itsekiris, who were tenants welcomed with open arms by Ijaws, are turning around to ascribe their hosts as tenants in their own aboriginal land.
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READ ALSO: Again, Ijaws Dismiss Itsekiri Land Ownership Claims in Warri Federal Constituency
The statement titled “THE EARTH KNOWS ITS TRUE CHILDREN, THE IJAW PEOPLE WILL NOT BE STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND”, reads in full;
“With heavy hearts but unwavering spirit, we rise to speak, not just with words but with the truth of generations.
“Our silence has been mistaken for weakness, our peace interpreted as surrender, and our history buried beneath the weight of manufactured lies and state-sponsored manipulation.
“We, the Ijaw people of Warri, can no longer afford to sit in the shadows while others twist our heritage, trample upon our dignity and reduce us to tenants on ancestral soil where our umbilical cords were buried and where our ancestors lived, toiled and died.
“Let it be known across Nigeria and to the ends of the earth. The Itsekiris are not the owners of Warri. They are not aboriginal people.
“They came as migrants as settlers as guests. And it is to our eternal shame as a people that we welcomed them in peace only for that peace to be weaponized against us.
“They came at a time when our canoes had mapped the rivers, our shrines stood unshaken, our ancestors traded with foreign merchants, and our culture thrived with dignity. They came with nothing and now claim everything.
“It was we, the Ijaws, who gave them shelter. We allowed their feet to touch our soil. But today, they use courts, compromised officials, and state agencies to claim what was never theirs.
“They wear the cloak of history, but beneath it lies a garment of lies. They manipulate court judgments and parade documents crafted in deceit to silence the true owners of Warri.
“We say enough is enough.
“Let every Nigerian know that Ijaw land cannot and will never be stolen by deception, nor erased by propaganda. The soil bears witness. The rivers remember our names. The gods of our fathers will not be mocked.
“To those who claim that the Ijaws are tenants, we ask, which tenant buries their ancestors on the land? Which tenant owns the mangroves, the creeks, the sacred groves? Which tenant builds homes that are older than your kingdoms?
“You can not fabricate identity through threat. You can not inherit land by force. You can not rewrite truth with lies, not when our bones are in the land, not when our spirits walk these waters.
“We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop dragging its feet. The Supreme Court has spoken.
“The Warri Federal Constituency delineation must be completed in full compliance with constitutional and legal mandates. Justice delayed is injustice empowered.
“We call on the National Security Adviser, the Presidency, and Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to take note of the dangerous politics being played with land, identity, and people’s lives in Warri. We will not be pushed to the wall forever.
READ ALSO: Gbaramatu Raises Alarm Over Alleged Kill Threats to Ijaw Communities, Accuses Itsekiri Elements of Plot
“If peace must reign, justice must lead. If there is to be true unity, truth must be allowed to breathe.
“We, the Ijaw people, do not seek war. But neither will we accept slavery. The time has come to tell the world:
“We are the land. The land is us. You may lie to the world, but you can not lie to the soil.”
Signed:
Council of Ijaw Elders and Stakeholders
Warri Federal Constituency
Delta State. Nigeria
