“A Kingdom Built On Fake History, Fake Crown And Lies Cannot Stand” Says Rights Group, As They Describes Olu Of Warri Tittle As A Colonial Invention -

By Esther David

PRESS RELEASE

From: Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

THE MASK MUST FALL — FAKE CROWN, FAKE KINGDOM, FAKE HISTORY!

We, the Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency, come before Nigeria and the world with fire in our bones and truth in our mouths. The long silence is over. The Itsekiri elite can no longer hide behind colonial masks, borrowed crowns and forged histories. We expose and reject their desperation, self deceitful and domination mindset.

The Olu of Warri title is a fabrication. It was never Olu of Warri. It was Olu of Itsekiri and must return to that title. The name change was a colonial fraud, a tool of oppression and a betrayal of every other ethnic nationality in Warri. The Ijaw people were never consulted neither part of that fraudulent kingdom, likewise the Urhobos. We refused them and it has been so from the history of time.

The Itsekiri do not own Warri. They never did. They are not the indigenous custodians of this land. They are not our landlords. They are not our kings. They cannot summon us for any reason. We are not their subjects. We have never even in our dream bow to that fraud

Every inch of Ijaw land in Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Egbema, Isaba and more, predates the arrival of the Itsekiris. These communities were not founded under the Olu’s authority. The Ijaw did not pledge loyalty to any Itsekiri monarchy. They met us here. They settled on our shores. They beg to stay. Stop pretending to rule us with fake history.

The manipulation of electoral wards in 1997 was not just illegal. It was evil. Our ten Ijaw wards were cut down to four. Three imported Itsekiri wards were inflated into six. They flipped our democratic rights. They moved the LGA headquarters to their settlement overnight. And when we protested, they called us violent. But who started the violence? Who changed the law behind closed doors? Who turned a majority into a minority by decree?

We watched in patience. We fought legally. And we won. The Supreme Court, in its judgment of December 2, 2022 (SC/413/2016), ruled clearly: INEC must conduct a new delineation. INEC did. The fieldwork showed the truth: The Ijaws are the majority in Warri South West. The Itsekiri elite panicked. They want the report buried. But we will not be silenced.

You built a kingdom on lies. It will not stand.

Your population figures are false. Your land claims are false. Your maps are false. Your crown is false. You are not a majority. You do not own Warri. And you do not speak for us.

We reject the fraudulent title “Olu of Warri” That title is an insult to truth, an assault on justice and a weapon of psychological warfare against the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples. The so-called Olu of Warri does not reign over us, speak for us or represent any authority in our ancestral lands. We are not Itsekiri vassals, we are free people, ancient owners of this land and we will never kneel to a throne built on lies.

Let it be known across Nigeria and the world, the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples of Warri Federal Constituency has never recognize a monarchy founded on deception, sustained by colonial trickery and protected by political manipulation. The Itsekiri elite may control propaganda machines and media allies, but they do not control history. They do not own the truth and the truth time as exposed.

The delay in INEC’s publication of the final ward delineation report is not administrative, it is an extension of Itsekiri sabotage. After fieldwork confirmed our demographic majority, they began lobbying to suppress the truth. They want elections to be held under illegal ward structures that disenfranchise our people. They want to cover the truth with there manipulative fraudulent attitude. But that era is over.

There will be no election in Warri Federal Constituency under a fake ward structure. There will be no submission to colonial distortions. There will be no peace until there is justice. The law is clear. The facts are settled. The people are ready.

INEC must release the final delineation report now, without compromise, without political editing, without fear. Any attempt to override the Supreme Court judgment, any effort to tamper with the fieldwork results, will be resisted. We will defend our right to be counted, to be heard, and to be free from minority tyranny.

To the Federal Government of Nigeria, history is watching. You can no longer pretend neutrality while one ethnic group uses the instruments of state to suppress others. You must stand for justice or forever be remembered as accomplices to injustice.

To the Itsekiri elite, your manipulation has failed. Your lies are exposed. Your fake monarchy has no future.

To the international community, civil society and democratic institutions: speak now, or your silence will be taken as complicity. A demographic majority is being held hostage by a manufactured minority and Nigeria’s institutions are standing still.

We will not be erased. We will not be reduced. We will not bow.

We are the Ijaw Nation.
We are the Urhobo Nation.
We are the landlords of Warri.
Itshekiris has never rule over us, not today, not ever.

Let the world take note: the era of Itsekiri fraud is over.
The Olu of Warri title must be reverted to its true name, Olu of Itsekiri.
The war against truth is lost. The mask has fallen.
Let justice rise.

Signed,

Chief, Tamara-Preye justice
President

Elder, Marvelous Onos
Secretary
The Ijaw Stakeholders of Warri Federal Constituency

Cc:
INEC
The Nigerian Presidency
National Assembly
United Nations
African Union
US State Dept
ECOWAS
Nigerian Media & Civil Society