JUST IN: Education Support Group Tackles Itsekiris Calling For Exclusion Of Ijaw Language In Bill For Inclusion Of Ijaw And Itsekiri Languages In Schools Curriculum In Warri South West LGA, Describes The Call As Fight Against Indigenous Cultural Identity, Heritage -

By Ebiowei Gabriel

OPEN LETTER FROM THE CONCERNED MOVEMENT FOR JUSTICE AND HISTORICAL SANITY OF WARRI FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY

Subject: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON THE TEACHING OF IJAW LANGUAGE IN WARRI SOUTH-WEST

We have read the recent petition opposing the inclusion of the Ijaw language in the primary school curriculum in Warri South-West and we are compelled—by truth, by history and by constitutional duty to respond with absolute clarity and unfiltered indignation. This fear-driven rejection is not about culture, not about education and certainly not about identity. It is a loud admission that some individuals still believe Warri exists inside a false, outdated and historically discredited narrative created to suppress others.

Warri is not a mono-ethnic enclave and no amount of petitions, emotional outbursts or political theatre will erase the documented truth. The colonial archives, the Warri Province Intelligence Reports of 1927–1936, CSO 26/08549, CO 554/120/5, the 1928 Warri Assessment Register and multiple administrative dispatches—record Warri as a multi-indigenous region with Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo communities occupying their respective territories, each recognized as distinct native groups with their own languages and identities. This is not speculation. This is not modern rewriting. This is written history.

The claim that teaching the Ijaw language “dilutes cultural and political identity” is an argument rooted in insecurity, not fact. It contradicts the National Policy on Education, which clearly states that children should be taught in their mother tongue in the early years. It contradicts Section 21(a) of the Constitution, which encourages the state to promote indigenous languages and culture. If language is truly the soul of a people, why should any indigenous child in Warri be denied access to their own heritage?

This fear of inclusion does not protect culture; it suffocates progress. It is this same thinking that has held Warri hostage for years, turning development into a threat instead of a shared opportunity. A curriculum that reflects the true composition of Warri is not an attack on anyone; it is an acknowledgement of reality. The only thing this bill threatens is the comfort of those who have benefited from decades of historical misrepresentation.

Those claiming that the teaching of Ijaw language will “set a dangerous precedent” conveniently forget that this is not the first time cultures have coexisted in Warri. They forget the legal and historical victories that have repeatedly exposed the falsehood of exclusive ownership. They forget the Supreme Court pronouncements in multiple decades-long cases involving land, community autonomy and recognition. They forget that land, population and political representation in Warri have never been the monopoly of a single group.

What is truly dangerous is the desperation to silence other cultures in a region that has always been shared. What is dangerous is the refusal to accept that educational growth belongs to everyone. What is dangerous is the attempt to turn a policy of cultural inclusion into a battlefield of fear.

And while individuals waste energy fighting against a harmless, constitutional educational proposal, the real crisis in Warri continues: INEC’s refusal to release the final ward delineation result, despite completing fieldwork and despite a binding Supreme Court judgment. The lives, votes and representation of the people of Warri Federal Constituency are hanging in the balance, yet attention is being diverted to language suppression instead of democratic justice.

We state this without apology:
The Federal Government must compel INEC to obey the Constitution, honour Section 287, respect the Supreme Court and announce the final delineation result immediately.

The inclusion of indigenous languages strengthens unity.
The suppression of indigenous identity breeds resentment.
But nothing destabilizes a region faster than institutional injustice.

Warri does not need more fear. It needs truth.
Warri does not need more insecurity. It needs fairness.
Warri does not need more division. It needs historical sanity.

And that is what we stand for.

Signed,

Chief, Oweibiri Tony
(Chairman)

Dr, Seriwene Friday
(Secretary)

Concerned Movement For justice and historical sanity of Warri Federal Constitution

Cc.
The Federal Government

The National Security Adviser (NSA)

The Delta State Government