ITSEKIRI: A Kingdom Built In Ijaw Land And Heritage__

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By Esther David

ITSEKIRI: A KINGDOM BUILT IN IJAW LAND AND HERITAGE.
‎UNCOVERING THE TRUE ORIGINS OF A STORIED MONARCHY
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‎In the vibrant and complex mosaic of Nigeria’s ethnic identities, few histories are as contested and as misunderstood as that of the Itsekiri people. At the heart of the narrative lies a compelling truth: the Itsekiri Kingdom, though often projected as an ancient coastal empire, owes its very existence to the hospitality, intermarriage and cultural generosity of the Ijaw people.
‎This isn’t just an alternative view, it’s a well documented fact that reshapes how we understand the past and present of the Warri region.
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‎PRINCE GINUWA’S JOURNEY BEGINS ON IJAW LAND
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‎The story begins in 1480 AD when Prince Ginuwa, the eldest son of the Oba of Benin, was exiled and journeyed into Ijaw Territory. His destination: the lands of the Ijaw, a coastal people with established settlements and thriving communities long before his arrival.
‎While many Itsekiris proudly trace their lineage to this Benin prince, the full story is more layered. According to the respected Itsekiri historian William A. Moore in History of Itsekiri (1970), the territory that Ginuwa entered was already inhabited by Ijaw, Urhobo (Sobo), and Mahin tribes, each deeply rooted in the land and each playing a role in shaping the culture Ginuwa encountered.
‎One of the most significant locations in this journey was Ijala, a small Ijaw community on the outskirts of what is now Warri. It was here that Prince Ginuwa finally settled and it remains the traditional burial site of all Itsekiri monarchs to this day.
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‎A KINGDOM BUILT ON IJAW GENEROSITY AND BLOODLINES
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‎Contrary to the myth of a conquest or blank-slate settlement, the evidence shows that Ijaw communities gave Ginuwa land to settle at multiple points in his journey and the lands and territories currently occupied by the Itsekiri people in Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West Local Government Areas of Delta State are historically all Ijaw lands. They even gave him wives, one of whom, Ebinimi-ere (Emaye) of Isaba Kingdom, became the matriarch of the current ruling houses of the Itsekiri monarchy.
‎In The Royal Magazine (1987), published during the coronation of Ogiame Atuwatse II, the Itsekiri themselves recount how Ginuwa and his party lived for years in the Ijaw village of Amatu in present-day Bayelsa State, where they intermarried with the locals.
‎Later, in Oruselumo, he married an Ijaw woman named Derumo, whose tragic death in a dispute in Gulani (now Ogulagha) further underscores just how deep and personal the Itsekiri-Ijaw connection runs.
‎Let’s be clear: If your founding king marries an Ijaw woman and your royal bloodline comes through her, then you are not just allies—you are kin.
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‎WARRI: A CITY OF IJAW ORIGINS
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‎The claim that Warri has always been an Itsekiri domain is not only historically inaccurate, it’s contradicted by British colonial records. A 1928 colonial report of Warri Township Assessment Report, offers a detailed account of how Warri was formed. Here’s what it says:
‎“The original settlement… was known as Ogbe-Ijaw, which literally means ‘the Ijaw fish market’. It was an Ijaw fishing settlement… The Itsekiris came later, acting as middlemen between inland traders and Europeans.”
‎This report, found in Nigeria’s National Archives, is unambiguous. Warri township as we know it was built on Ogbe-Ijoh land and despite several attempts of the Itsekiri to erase the facts and presence of the Ijaw people of Ogbe-Ijoh, they remain dominant in their God given land and territory in the Warri South Local Government Area.
‎It also describes how other communities, such as Agbassa (Urhobo) and Okere (Itsekiri) emerged later and interacted with the Ogbe-Ijoh people. The claim that Warri was historically an Itsekiri capital is simply a fabricated lie and not supported by the most credible documents of the time.
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‎THE QUESTION OF LAND OWNERSHIP: HISTORY VS. HEGEMONY
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‎Despite clear historical ties to their Ijaw roots, the Itsekiri nation continues to assert sweeping claims over all territories within the Warri Federal Constituency. This position stands in sharp contrast to the very foundation of their history and monarchy, which traces its lineage directly to the Isaba Kingdom, an Ijaw Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area.
‎A recent Supreme Court ruling in a land dispute between Isaba Kingdom and Aladja Community in Udu Local Government Area underscores this contradiction. In that case, the Itsekiri monarch himself joined the suit as a claimant, not for Itsekiri Kingdom, but in defense of Isaba Kingdom’s rightful ownership. This act, supporting his maternal homeland, reaffirms the historical fact that the Itsekiri royal bloodline descends through Ijaw heritage and the lands occupied by the Itsekiri Nation were given to them by the Ijaws.
‎This raises a fundamental question: how can one lay claim to dominate or dispossess the very land from which their own identity originates? It’s both a historical and moral contradiction.
‎To put it simply: a child cannot lay ownership over their mother’s home, especially not when that home gave them life, heritage and standing.
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‎RECLAIMING A SHARED HISTORY, NOT ERASING ONE.
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‎This is a call for historical honesty and for mutual respect among the peoples of the Warri Federal Constituency of Delta State.
‎The story of the Itsekiri is incomplete without the Ijaw. The early chapters written in blood, kinship and hospitality speak to a time before politics and land disputes clouded the waters. And those roots, if acknowledged and honored, can still serve as a foundation for peace, unity and progress.
‎Warri belongs to all its peoples and the Ijaws are the first aborigines of Warri. Its future, like its past, depends on remembering that no kingdom stands alone.
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‎Written by: IZONKEME OWEI
‎Category: History & Culture | Niger Delta
‎Tags: #Itsekiri #Ijaw #Warri #NigerDeltaHistory #NigeriaHeritage #EthnicRelations