Some elders have warned against attempts to distort the history of the Ijaw struggle in Nigeria over resource control and fortune negotiation for the Niger Delta.
They gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja at the public presentation of a 452-page book, “Fundamentals of the Niger Delta Struggle: The Ijaw Youth Council Perspective”, written by the President of Niger Delta Nonviolence Agitators Forum (NDNAF), Comrade Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli.
They vowed to continue the struggle and chronicle events of the past for future generations of Ijaw people.
Speaking at the event, founder of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and Movement for the Survival of the ljaw Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta, Chief Timi Kay Ogoriba, said plan to disrupt the public presentation of the book necessitated its being held in Abuja.
“The public presentation of this book was slated for Yenagoa, Bayelsa State but we decided to bring it to Abuja to ensure that the event was not disrupted by persons bent on concealing the truth about the Niger Delta struggle, especially as it relates to the role played by some Ijaw sons.
“Some people never wanted the book published because it has unravelled some truths. Some other persons didn’t want people to know what transpired in the past and they opposed its public presentation,” Ogoriba said.
Author of the book, Comrade Ikuli, a political scientist and South African trained nonviolence agitator, expressed optimism that the book would provoke other sons and daughters of the ljaw nation to put together other literature on a wide range of issues.
“Thos is in order to bridge the existing gap of dependence largely on books that were written by non-Ijaws since no one can tell our stories better than we do.
He said, “It is time to pull off the inferiority ‘minority’ garb that was forcefully worn us. I say this because Ijaws are not minorities in any way, despite the deliberate balkanization of our great people into different political segments and compartments called states.
“It is very illogical to continue to see or call ljaw people ‘minority’. I say the above because the ljaw nation was not designated the fourth largest ethnic group by verbal pronouncement of the Sir Henry Willink Commission of 1958, rather, members of the said Commission went round the country and conducted a census which showed that the ljaw nation is the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.”
He said the book is a chronological account of Nigeria, the Niger Delta struggle and the evolution of Ijaw Youth Council.
Chairman of the occasion, King Famous Sayeregha Eseduwo Akou II, the Amananaowei of Angalabiri Federated Communities, said the book was controversial only because it touched on issues that some people would rather want covered.
He said, “This is a very controversial book, but it is so because truth is bitter and any book that is bringing up the truth must face a lot of obstacles because there are people who don’t want the truth to be told.” (Daily Trust)
