Ijaws, Urhobos Rejects Itsekiris Colonial Overlordship, Says Olu Is King Of His People Not Warri -

By Freeborn Abraye

PRESS RELEASE

OUR FREEDOM IS NON-NEGOTIABLE — THE IJAW AND URHOBO PEOPLES REJECT THE COLONIAL MYTH OF ITSEKIRI OVERLORDSHIP

We, the Indigenous Ijaw People of Warri Federal Constituency, joined by our Urhobo brothers and allies in truth, rise today not with fear but with freedom in our bones and truth in our tongues. This land, our land has a soul. And it remembers.

Let it be known, across Nigeria and the world.
We were not born to be ruled by strangers we sheltered.
We are not vassals. We are not subordinates. We are not subjects to any Olu of Itsekiri.

This dangerous, fabricated title of “overlordship” being thrown around by the Itsekiri elite is not only an insult to our ancestors, it is a deliberate distortion of history designed to weaken our identity, manipulate power and erase indigenous truth. We reject it outrighly, completely and eternally.

WE ARE FREE PEOPLE, NOT SUBJECTS

The Olu of Itsekiri is a monarch of his people and his people alone.
He has no jurisdiction, no spiritual mandate and no ancestral claim over the Ijaw or Urhobo nations.

Our people pay no homage to the Olu.
Our land recognizes no lord but our own kings, our ancestors and our God.

This colonial narrative of lordship over others must be shattered, once and for all. We were not born into chains. We were born free and we shall remain free.

A FALSE CROWN BUILT ON SHAMEFUL BEGINNINGS

Let us speak with historical clarity.

The founder of the Itsekiri monarchy, Ginuwa, did not come in glory, he came in disgrace, fleeing from Benin for committing incest with his father’s wife. That origin alone is a moral blemish, not a foundation for dominion.

When they came, they met us, the Ijaws, settled and rooted in Warri.
Our communities of Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Isaba and Diebiri were already alive, already vibrant, already sovereign.

We gave them shelter.
We allowed them to stay.
And now they twist that sacred act of hospitality into a claim of ownership.

What a betrayal of goodwill. What a shameful inversion of truth.

WE CANNOT BE STRIPPED OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN

Our land is not just soil. It is blood, memory, covenant and destiny.
No forged judgment, no manipulated map, no palace ceremony can take away the truth that the Ijaw people were here before the Itsekiri presence ever emerged.

The Urhobo people never surrendered their sovereignty to anyone.

Every tribe in Warri has its own king and we bow to no other.

The Olu of Itsekiri rules only his people, not ours.

WE DEMAND THE TRUTH BE UPHELD

We call on:

INEC: Immediately publish the final ward delineation result. Every day of delay is a betrayal of democratic justice.

The Federal Government: Reject the manipulation of historical injustice to appease political noise. The time for truth is now.

The International Community and Global Human Rights Observers: Pay attention. A people are rising to reclaim their voice, their land and their place in history.

LET IT BE KNOWN

We are the Ijaws of Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Isaba and Diebiri.
We are the sons and daughters of freedom.
We are not strangers, we are the soul of this land.

You cannot steal what was never yours.
You cannot rule those who never chose you.
You cannot bury the truth. And you cannot erase a people whose roots go deeper than any colonial ink.

IN CONCLUSION

Freedom is not a favor. It is our birthright.
Our land is not a gift from the powerful. It is an inheritance from our ancestors.
Our silence was patience not weakness. Now, we speak. And we will not be silenced again.

Signed:
Bar, Efe Bass
President

Thankgod Timi
Secretary

The matching front of Warri Federal Constituency