Claims of Ownership of Warri

Every Warri indigene knows exactly from which town, community or village he comes. There can be no argument about that. The noise about the ownership of Warri is sponsored noise; noise sponsored for personal aggrandizement by persons who are mostly non-indigenes of Warri, like Chief E. K. Clark, who is from Bomadi Local Government Area, and the Urhobo Progress Union which expends all her energy and resources campaigning about Warri whilst sorely neglecting the development of their own homelands of Ughelli, Orerokpe, Aghalokpe, Eku, Orogun, Abraka, Effurun, Aladja, Udu, even the home town of the famous Ibru family, Agbarha-Otor, etc.

The table below shows the towns, communities, and villages in the three Warri Local Government Areas – Warri South, Warri North and Warri South-West – along with their corresponding indigenous ethnic groups. Every follower or visitor to this Blog is invited to consider and decide for themselves who indeed the owner of Warri is. No argument. No intellectual sophistry. No professorial labor at conjuring, reconfiguring, and/or rewriting history. Just plain seeing and recognizing the hard facts on ground. So, please take a look at the table and decide for yourself.

TOWNS AND COMMUNITIES IN ALL THREE WARRI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS AND CORRESPONDING ETHNIC GROUPS – ITSEKIRI (96); ILAJE (3); URHOBO (5); IJAW (10).

Case rested. No sentiments. Just facts.

But lest it be forgotten, let it be noted that for each of the 10 listed towns and communities occupied by the Ijaw and the 5 occupied by the Urhobo in these three Local Government Areas of Warri, which constitute the Warri Kingdom, the Itsekiri have decisive court judgments of ownership of the said lands, except perhaps for Idimi-Sobo in Okere where the Itsekiri have radical title to the 281.1 acres of land fondly referred to as “Okere Urhobo Kingdom” by the Urhobo who have but a possessory title to it by virtue of a Supreme Court judgment as recent as 1976. That apart, neither the Urhobo nor the Ijaw have a single court judgment in their favor in respect of any square inch of land in the three Warri Local Government Areas. Please see the “Adjudications on Warri” article on this Blog for details of the court judgments.

And furthermore, let it also be noted that the Itsekiri also have towns and communities in Urhobo and Ijaw Local Government Areas just like the Urhobo and Ijaw have in Warri, for example:

1. Ogun-Aja – Sapele Local Government Area
2. Aja Ojigwo – Sapele Local Government Area
3. Aja-Imele – Sapele Local Government Area
4. Efrokpe – Ethiope West Local Government Area
5. Oyaja – Ethiope West Local Government Area
6. Brifo – Ethiope West Local Government Area
7. Ugbolokposo – Uvwie Local Government Area
8. Obontie – Okpe Local Government Area
9. Aja Ogunoyibo -Okpe Local Government Area
10. Itsekiri also abound in Burutu and Forcados in Burutu Local Government Area.

The difference is that the Itsekiri in these Urhobo and Ijaw Local Government Areas have not sought to claim and declare the lands they occupy as “kingdoms” with procured traditional rulership and titles. Rather, they have continued to live in peace and harmony with their Urhobo and Ijaw brethren. Why can’t the Urhobo and Ijaw in the Warri Local Government Areas do the same?!