By Davies Iheamnachor

ALLEGED quest for  control of oil benefits has split Okoroagu community, Etche Local Government Area, Rivers State, into two factions.

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The community had five villages, Umuochiogu, Achara, Dike-Nkpaka, Umuokechi and Ukpala, but in 2000, Ukpala secured autonomy as Okoroagu II, leaving the four remaining communities as Okoroagu I.

How problem started—Oshilem

A well-known Okoroagu I leader and Secretary,  Traditional Supreme Council of Elders,  Chief  Gift Oshilem, told NDV that the self-professed leader of Okoroagu II unilaterally declared his own village autonomous in 2000.

According to him, “since year 2000, he declared his own village autonomous. When he declared it autonomous,  he announced his community as Okoroagu II. He has consistently said that our own leader, Chief Innocent Nwosu, is not a native of Okoroagu. He said that Nwosu is a landgrabber. Such claims are laughable. Nwosu is from Okoroagu.

“Since he has declared his own community autonomous,  he has no right to come and claim any part of Okoroagu 1. The elders remain the one who holds the history of this community. And they know that Nwosu is from Okoroagu.

“He is not a Royal Highness, if he does not retract describing himself as a such, everybody in this community will begin to bear Royal Highness. I urge our people to be law abiding while this matter is being handled. We have always been law abiding and civil.

“We were one till early in year 2000 when there was a spill on well 10 in Okoroagu. The well originally is in the land which we are saying belongs to the people of Umuokechi.

“When the chief felt that the area was in his village, he announced himself as autonomous. He did not know that Ukpala is different from Umuokechi, which there is a document to that fact.

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“Our stand is that since he declared autonomy because of the revenue that is in the land,  he should remain in his community. He should leave the other four communities to remain in Okoroagu I.”

Division caused by greed for oil money

The community scribe claimed that the split of the community was a result of revenue, calling on the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, not to deal with Amadi anymore.

In his words: “We are also calling on SPDC to stop doing business with Chief Marcus for now until justice is done. The split is as a result of greed for oil revenue. He wants to control the resource that Okoroagu manages alone. He wants Umuokechi because of their God-given natural resources.

“He should remain in Ukpala and should not extend his leadership to Okoroagu 1. I am from Achala and I do not  have control over anything in Umuokechi or Ukpala. The Ukpala has been declared autonomous, so the other communities should be away from his control. The remaining communities are indivisible and we are not ready to separate to join Ukpala.”

We are not happy about the split

Chair, Elders Council, Okoroagu I, Elder Onyegoro Amadi, told NDV:  “We are not  happy about what is happening because Okoroagu was five villages. But Chief Marcus separated Ukpala and called it an autonomous community. He named his own council of chiefs.

“Now he is looking into the other four communities that are together and we have refused because we cannot separate. Since Okoroagu came to existence we have not heard of that before. Our former ruler, Chief Daniel Nwuwa did not divide this community.

“Umuokechi and Ukpala have boundary and traditionally  they intermarry. They are not related. Amadi should remove his hand from Okoroagu I, because we have stood as a community. We are warning him to remove his hand from Umuokechi property.”

We were marginalized —Okoroagu II

However, the people of Okoroagu II  represented by Chief I. O. D. Amadi, Akajiaku I of Okoroagu II, Chief M. O. Amadi, Eze Omenma I of Okoroagu II, Chief Godspower Nwanikwe, Chief Eric Otamiri, in a joint letter,  to the leaders of Etche, said they sought autonomy because they were marginalised.

Accrding to them, “we gave land to Okoroagu community, which was used for building Technical Secondary School. But in the committee for the school, none of our sons was taken as committee member,  rather the chairman of the committee is from Umudike, vice chairman and secretary from Umunkpaka and Umuchiogu, respectively.

“We also applied for messenger, cleaner and matron,  which was supposed to be the employment opportunity for landlords, but the Okoroagu community refused us these employments.

“Since May 18, 1928, Okoroagu had one market called Eketa Okerealauche. Now as a result of development the market was moved from the former position to a new site known as Ekenta Okoroagu community and it sells every Thursday.

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“From 1999 to 2001, Okoroagu community had two markets, one situated in the hamlet of Umunkpaka and sells on Wednesday. Because of this act, the women of Okoroagu abandoned their market and this market stopped operation.”

Vanguard