Interview Am not a militant as proclaim - Aruighe

Mr. lsreal Uzezi Aruighe is from lbrede community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State. He was a former PDP ward chairman and former vice chairman PDP Ndokwa East Local Government Area. Presently, he is the chairman, Ndokwa East environmental Committee.

In this interview with Isoko Mirror, he shed more light on the lingering crisis in lbrede. He said he (Aruighe) is not a militant as some people have proclaimed to the world. That he is a man of peace.

Excerpts:

Let us know your name Sir,

My name is lsreal Uzezi Aruighe. I am of the Ugbo family in lbrede community in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of Delta State.

What do you do for a living?

Well, I am into business, my company render services to Agip Oil Company also into the sales of weavon, attachment and perfumes for ladies. We have offices in Ozoro and Lagos. I am also into politics.

Have you contested before for any position before now?

No, I have not contested but I was the former vice chairman PDP in Ndokwa East Local Government Area and also a former ward chairman (PDP). Apparently, I was the ward chairman before I became the vice chairman at the local government level. Presently I am the chairman of the Ndokwa East Environmental Committee.

Briefly, tell us about the crisis in your community (lbrede)

Thank you very much for that question. Let me begin from the background. I am the 7^thgeneration of a man known as Ugbo, the founder of lbrede community. This man Ugbo migrated from lyede in the days of King ltuan to Onya and move from there to Umugako and came to lbrede and lived at the present place called odabor. He came along with his personal deity called “uloho”. You can get all the historical facts relating to lbrede in a book written by Prof. Obaro lkime and also in a compendium of lbrede written by four persons amongst who are Late Ayoma, late Peter Onogwa, Late Okpevuno who was the former solicitor general in the old Bendel State and Great Ovo who is presently still living. It was edited by one Late Edward Odinaka. If you go to the archives in lbadan you can get it.  It is also in the minority report of the then Assistant District Officer, Benin in 1932.

All this while, there has been a tremendous peace in lbrede. The second sets of immigrant came to lbrede and were welcome by Ugbo, the founder of odabor land. The odabor land cut across Ase Creeks. To demonstrate the true ownership of the odabor land, he (Ugbo) instructed that whatever meat (animal) killed by the second immigrants, four arms of the animal must be given to him (Ugbo) to show that he is the owner and founder of the place. As I speak to you today that practice is still on and it has become a part of our customs and traditions. The fishing and agrarian nature of lbrede led to intermarriage among the founder and settlers and they have live peacefully since then. To confirm all I have said, the rulership of lbrede used to be known as Okparuku in the then Aboh division until 1973 when we decided to join Isoko Local Government Area based on consensus.  The last Okparuku was Ovah. All these information’s am giving you here now are all in the lbrede compendium which I will give a copy to you later.

Again, I must confess that, till now, the Ugbo family and lbrede community have never had any issue regarding the odabor land. Everything has been smooth and peaceful. Though in 1921, Uzogo, from the family, Akram alleged that the odabor land is owned by Akram people. The case was well attended to and disposed off at the high court at that time and all the certified copies of the case are with us, (the Ugbo family). In 1945, the man came again to drag the lakes and ponds in the odabor land, that it belongs to them. The lbrede people, instead of supporting their Ugbo brother, supported an Akram man believing that the land in contention is owned by the Akram people and pretended that the Akram people owned it to Anwan area and Anyama (boundaries). The man that represented the lbrede then was my maternal uncle kick against the Ugbo family, his name is Mr. Emieri and one Ogbologbo supported the Akram people. They all went to court to testify against the Ugbo family, but, as luck will have it, the Ugbo family eventually won the case.

We have a similar case with the same Uzogo people in 1958 and we also won, since then, the odabor land is historically and legally owned by the Ugbo family. The odabor land shared boundaries with the Akram, Anwan, and Ase Creeks and 1965, the lbrede people killed an Anyama man who was trying to survey Ama. The man’s name is Edune Ogukpe and in the process, a lot of arrests were made and the lbrede people begged their Ugbo brothers to use part of the land to raise money to pay their lawyer, Bar. lgbogine Williams George, shows we are one.  But when issues were coming out between the Ugbo family and lbrede, Great Ovo called a peaceful meeting concerning the odabor land and agreement was reached that the Ugbo family should get 1/3 while the community gets the rest.  But a particular lake called Okpeteze should specifically not to be fished by anybody without permission unless the Ugbo family to show the true ownership of the land. This agreement was abided by both parties until sometime in the year 2000 because between 2000 and 2004, there was a pipeline project that passed through this land odabor and other lands owned by other families. In view of this, looking at the other families, I made a representation to the Odio-Ologbo that if other families did not remit any money from the compensation paid to the community for development the Ugbo family will not remit too. However, when the compensation was eventually paid, the Odio-Ologbo’s family refused to remit money to the lbrede community. On the whole, no family remitted money to the community. And when the job started, it started from their end and refused our people to work and when it came to our end we also pay them back with the same coin. It generated a serious controversy and the Odio-Ologbo convened a meeting to look into the matter. After much deliberation, it was agreed that the sharing formula should be 50% for the family while 50% for the community. Everything has been going smoothly and peacefully too, until July last year 2013 when some people went to saw woods in the land without the consent of the Ugbo family. Because whatever you do in the land, you must inform the family first because it is the family that does the cleansing and appeasement of the land before anything can be done in the land. And when we discovered this, we called on Onomerike who took three persons to saw wood in the land, because whoever you are, a motor saw is thirty thousand naira fee. They paid for the three motor saw, but what happened is that the Onomerike now rented another two without the family consent for the second time, in this case we took the two motor saws to Ashaka Police Station. He was invited and the matter got to the traditional ruler of Ashaka and pleaded with us that the matter should be taken back home for settlement. However, when the matter came up at the Odio-Ologbo’s palace, we were surprised with disbelieve when one Mr. Thomas Okudo raised an objection that one of the Odio-Ologbo cabinet chief should not be at the settlement meeting because he is an Ugbo’s family member. What annoyed us is that nobody challenged the comment of the young man who is about 33 years old and the next thing we got was an invitation from State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Asaba. We wrote a counter letter too, and when we got to Asaba to honour the invitation. At Asaba we provided all documents relating to the odabor land while lbrede community could not provide a single one. At the end of the day the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the matter asked them to make peace with us after seeing all the evidence available. The then president-general of lbrede, Mr. Shadrack Obaduemu appealed to both parties to sheathe their swords and settle the matter amicably in a later date.

The community invited Prof. Emiri to step into the matter. An agreement was reached that the issue will be settled finally in December conference. But, on December 17, 2013, Prof. Emiri, Barr. Mrs. Mary Erijo who was the vice –president general and Bayo Oke invited me to the vice-president general father’s house and asked me not to speak about the matter because after the intervention Mr. Shadrack Obaduemu , on his way back, he was called that he Obaduemu has been removed as the president-general of lbrede. They said, between December 31, 2013 and January 2014, they will call me to come along with three persons from my family (Ugbo) and the new president-general, Mr. Onomerike will bring three persons from lbrede community while external arbitrators would be invited to the meeting which will also hold in a neutral place and both parties should present documents of true ownership. I accepted this offer and I was also able to convince my family members. We were now awaiting their summon for the meeting.

But on the December 27, 2013, the main day of the conference, the president-general informed the conference that, there was a declaration from the Odio-Ologbo which he wants to read to the conference. The fact is that the entire community is aware that the Odio-Ologbo is very sick. The president-general declared that the odabor land is no longer owned by any family, it now belongs to the community henceforth. After this declaration, nobody was allowed to comment. I went home and tension started rising. I wrote a petition to the chief security officer of Ndokwa East Local Government and both parties were invited and were asked to come with documents as evidence to prove the original ownership. The Ugbo family presented documents while the lbrede community could not present any document. The chairman of the local government after seeing the evidence before him, he advised that for the sake of peace, both parties should not step on the controversial land pending when a truce has been struck.

What was the reaction of Prof. Emiri and others after the declaration by the new president-general?

Thank you very much Madam, I put a call across to Prof. Emiri and others. Prof. Emiri was not happy over the way the matter rear its head in the conference through the new president-general. Prof. Emiri further said that the Odio-Ologbo cannot make such statement knowing fully well that the process of reconciliation is in progress. So he (Prof. Emiri) was not happy at all. Mrs. Mary Erijo and Shadrack Obaduemu also said the same thing. Apparently to cause crisis for the community, the president-general and his executive flouted the order of the local government chairman and lifted the ban imposed on the land and some of them were arrested and they organized themselves and started destroying properties and houses belonging to Ugbo family members. Some of the Ugbo family members during the first crisis were arrested and taken to Kwale and later to zone 5. The lbrede community petition the Local Government Chairman and the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) but at the end of the day the AIG in charge of zone 5 in his wisdom transferred the matter back to Asaba.

While the matter was still in Asaba a meeting was called on February 18, 2014 to look into the matter, in that meeting one Chief Ulogbe raised a motion that the Ugbo family should be ostracized and one man from Lagos supported the motion and we were ostracized from that day not to participate in anything involving the community, we can not buy and sell in the market and even our children can not go to school in lbrede.

On April 5, 2014 we had another meeting at Chief Onogberie house in Warri and Prof. Emiri, Bayo Oke, Oghenejabor and others were present. I told them that the main actors who are causing this problem are not here. Where are they I asked? But Oghenejabor said we should sit down and discuss and asked me if I will abide by any decision or step taken to settle this matter. I answered them yes because all of us needed peace in lbrede.

We also observed that the leadership of lbrede were not present and I suggested they should also be invited for a proper settlement, however, I also said that an apology should be tendered to the Ugbo family head for the destruction of properties, so that all wounds inflicted could be healed in good spirit of reconciliation. They all accepted this offer. But the leadership of lbrede rejected this move of settlement because another meeting was to follow up to ensure that other issues emanating to prolong the crisis are nipped to the bud. The leadership of lbrede that am talking about are; Gilbert Onomerike, Emieri, Mike Tamuno joined by Omovokudo and others. None of them is up to 43 years old. We expected a call for another meeting as greed previously, but we were told by the conveners of the peace meeting that the leadership refused to soft pedal.

So what happened next?

The lbrede leadership was still hunting us on till April 12, when this incident happened. A relative of mine called Kanu died and because the Ugbo family was ostracized, we could not attend the burial ceremony, but the sister of the man who died was thrown away from the burial ceremony and during the process the woman and her husband and some members of the Ugbo family were macheted. Those who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

And on the 15 April, I met the president-general at Ala Square in Ozoro and I asked him to go to lbrede and see what they have caused. I said if they had not ostracized the Uruebo people, what has happened would not have taken place. The president-general reacted negatively and drove away. So, I decided not to react like him. I met with my lawyer and advised that those who committed the crime should face the music of the law and wrote a petition to that effect. On the day of arrest, we met the Odio-Ologbo and briefed him our mission. The police were with us. There was no time the Odio-Ologbo was arrested as been insinuated by the lbrede people. It is only the Odio-Ologbo son who was involved that was arrested. If anybody says the Odio-Ologbo was arrested, who bailed him, or was he released on self recognition? I asked.

Before we could get to Kwale, the next thing we heard was that the lbrede people has started burning houses belonging to the Ugbo family. Instead of going with them to Asaba, I have to return to Ashaka Police Division to make a formal report concerning the latest development of burning houses. Later in the evening at about 8pm, a friend called me to say that the information reaching him now is that my mother has been kidnapped. I went to my house in Ozoro, my mother was not there which means the information was correct. I have to consult with the local government chairman on how to secure her release. At about 2am, my younger sister sent me certain numbers to call. One of the council official phone in, to say that during the crisis, he saw a group of people who took my mother away to a hidden place.

Moreover, I have paid my dues as a former leader of the community people have respect for me.

I called one of the numbers sent to me by my younger sister. I discovered that the owner is Owaribe Young because his number was in my phone. Mr. Young said that those who kidnapped my mother are Onomerike, Hon. Sunday Okugbe and others who were involved. Later I confirmed it to be true. The whole issue is that the lbrede people have not come to term with the realities on ground. They are accusing me of trying to create another kingdom in lbrede which is not true. Because I am the president-general of Ugbo family and they are saying that lbrede can not have two president at a time. I only see to the affairs of my Ugbo family. I do not interfere in community matters.

What happened next about your mother?

One Comrade Kpokpogri called me to say that he want the matter to be settled. I responded that the only way to begin any settlement process is to release my mother unconditionally. He was surprised because he did not know that my mother was kidnapped by the community leadership. An hour later the local government chairman called me and asked if Kpokpogri called me, I said yes. The chairman explained that is like the caller has linked with the lbrede people because he got my number through them. He asked if I know Mr. Emema Nwabeze. I said yes. The chairman said that the comrade has given Henry’s number to the JTF and that when the JTF get to lbrede, the said Henry will hand over my mother to the JTF. That was how my mother was released after 49 hours held in captivity.

How old is your mother?
My mother is 75 years old. My mother alleged that they took her to uncompleted building along with her grand children.

After the release of your mother, did they reach out to you again?

Yes, they called me, and I told them we can talk if there is any. Two days later the local government chairman called me. A meeting was arranged where Barr. (Mrs.) Erijo was present, and they said, I should not retaliate, but I should accept peace to move lbrede forward and I accepted and a peace accord was signed by both parties. After the agreement they did not reach out to me but we met at Security Council where both parties presented their case and the Assistant Commissioner of Police who chaired the meeting order the arrest of the lbrede president-general. Another meeting was convened again at the instance of Greg Oweh and Barr. (Mrs.) Erijo and others to look into the matter.

What is the way forward?
The way forward is very simple, what they should do now is to calm us down instead of using the money that would have been used for rebuilding of the burnt houses, is been channeled to pursue a case which they know is difficult for them to win. Because in view of the last peace meeting about nine persons have been released. I know eventually peace will return to lbrede community. However, the information reaching me at moment is that a group of people led by Egbamuno Emmanuel and Okudo Thomas are planning to burn down the houses of some prominent sons of lbrede among them are Chief Onogberie, Oghenejabor, Mr. Bayo Oke, Prof. Emiri and others making it look as a reprisal from the Ugbo family. Their plan is to truncate the peace process which is already yielding fruits.

My advise to them, is that they should sheathe their swords as violence has no place in history.