‎Stay Off Our Land, Ondo Oil Communities Warn Itsekiri

Residents of 19 coastal and oil-producing communities in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have warned people of the neighbouring Itsekiri community to stay off their ancestral land, following an alleged invasion of the area by armed persons.

‎The affected communities include Odun Ebiwon Community, Odun Makin, Ilu Titun, Odun Odunjo, Odun Maha, Eke Nla, Eke Kekere, Ubajakere, Eke Itiola, Odun Okoro, Odun Yonren, Odun Beku, Odun Ogungbeje, Odun Oyinbo, Odun Oriretan, Ubale Kekere, Ubale Nla, Ikuyinminu and Odun Igo.

‎The communities, which are situated in Ugbo Kingdom, said the alleged development had created tension among residents and threatened the peaceful relationship that had existed between the Ilaje and Itsekiri people for generations.

‎Speaking on behalf of the residents, Busayo Julius Ebiniyi, said the people had chosen peace despite what he described as an attempt to threaten their territorial integrity.

‎Ebiniyi said the people had maintained cordial relations with the Itsekiri for decades, stressing that intermarriages, cultural similarities and social interactions had strengthened the relationship between the two groups.

‎He, however, insisted that peaceful coexistence should not be interpreted as an abandonment of the community’s ancestral claim to the land, which he said was known as Odun Ebiwonjumi and had been handed down by their forefathers.

‎According to him, the community had historical and political records to support its claim, while development projects executed by the Ondo State government and its agencies also demonstrated the state’s longstanding involvement in the area.

‎He cited projects executed by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), as well as projects attributed to former governors Olusegun Agagu and Olusegun Mimiko, as evidence of the area’s connection with Ondo State.

‎He said, “We are a peace-loving nation, and we have established norms of promoting peace and peaceful coexistence between ourselves and our sister community and other nationalities around us. We want to plead with the state governments of Ondo and Delta to go into government-to-government engagement and assemble elders of both the Ilaje and Itsekiri communities for dialogue.

‎“We have evidence and proofs. We have historical data and political data that is a pointer to the fact of our ownership of this land. We have the OSOPADEC project here, the school built by Agagu and the walkway built by Mimiko. There has not been any time where Delta State government has intervened in any matter that concerns Ebiwonjumi community.”

‎The community representative further alleged that the latest development could be linked to the economic importance of the area, particularly its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and offshore oil activities.

‎He said the discovery and presence of crude oil in the area had made the land economically attractive, but warned that economic interests should not be allowed to destroy the relationship between the neighbouring communities.

‎Ebiniyi said the alleged incident was not the first time tensions had occurred in the area, claiming that the Ilaje people had previously maintained peace despite disagreements involving their neighbours. He said the affected communities were determined to prevent the latest development from degenerating into violence.

‎He appealed to the Itsekiri people to return to the path of dialogue, warning that a full-scale crisis would have devastating consequences for both sides.

‎“My message to them is that we should invest more in peace than anything that will cause crisis. Both sides will bleed if this thing boils down to full-fledged crisis. Let them pin down their spear and let us go to the round table and talk peace.

‎“We are asking them to stay very far away from our land. The reason is that our youths, they don’t like war, but they prepare for one. We are not cowards and we are not conquered people. No race around us here or far away has conquered us before. They should stay away from our land,” he said.

‎Another indigene of the community, Olumide John Ebiwonjumi, said the area had existed for more than 200 years and maintained that it was part of Ugbo Kingdom in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

‎Ebiwonjumi said, “This community is not Delta State; it is Ondo State, under Ilaje Local Government in Ugbo Kingdom. Since I was born and brought up in this community, I have seen all the projects here, and they are Ondo State projects. We have never bowed to any Itsekiri people in our whole life, and we will never allow them to take over our community.”

‎He urged the Ondo State Government to engage its Delta State counterpart and resolve the matter before it escalated, warning that continued incursions could provoke retaliation from youths in the affected communities.‎

‎Also speaking, the community leader of Ebiwon, Orimisan Ebiwonjumi, also called for government intervention, alleging that people from Delta State had recently invaded the community with boats. He appealed for urgent provision of basic amenities, including potable water, decent housing, solar power facilities, telecommunications network and healthcare services.