By Francis Maku-Eyituoyor

THE recent aggression on some Itsekiri communities in our Warri North Local Government Area by some Ijaw militants in which a number of Itsekiris were killed and their houses razed down, to my mind, was an unfortunate development and it was uncalled for. Although those who perpetrated the dastardly act gave their reason as political marginalization in the LGA, it was however, a good thing that Ijaw leaders were unanimous in joining their Itsekiri counterparts to condemn the attack in its entirety.

I am glad that the ugly incident was not allowed to snowball into another festering hostility. Indeed, another Ijaw-Itsekiri crisis is the worst thing that can happen in Warri North LGA at this time or even at any other time in the future. The reason is simple: In whatever way one looks at it, crisis will do neither the Ijaws nor Itsekiris any good. There is no alternative to peaceful coexistence.

Itsekiris and Ijaws in Warri North LGA have a long history of living peacefully together that spans centuries. Our ancestors had genuine love for each other. They married each other. They ate and drank together. They patronised each other for goods and services. They celebrated cultural festivals together. They bear akpujas (local appellations) together. A number of akpujas Itsekiris bear are Ijaw dialect. Ditto for Ijaws. They spoke each other’s language. Despite the fact that sometimes they also had their disagreement, the brotherhood of the Ijaws and Itsekiris in the days of yore and their peaceful coexistence were almost total.

This was what they bequeathed to us. The present generation of Ijaws and Itsekiris maintained this sweet togetherness until very recent times when some people with selfish and parochial interests stealthily infiltrated our ranks to sow the seed of discord and hate in our midst. The enemies of our peaceful coexistence mischievously twisted issues and manipulated us to become suspicious of one another and to hate one another. The disaffection led to an unfortunate war between the two ethnic communities otherwise referred to as the Warri crisis.

But as it were, Ijaw and Itsekiri leaders put on their thinking caps again and realised that the crisis was not doing either side any good. So the crisis stopped. Since then, a lot has been done to mend fences and to reinvent those values both tribes mutually cherish and share together. Love and friendship replaced hate. Our socio-cultural and eco-political interactions were restored. A number of grounds have been covered in this regard. This is the reason I said in my opening lines that the aggression on Itsekiri communities was rather unfortunate and it was uncalled for.

The way I view it, the unanimous condemnation of the attack by both Ijaw and Itsekiri leaders sent a clear message. The message should be taken seriously by every one of us. We must not allow a few persons with selfish interest to manipulate and drag us into another fratricidal crisis. We must remain resolute on this. We can no longer afford to traffic in hate, misinformation and killing of one another. It is a poison we must purge from our politics. We must never be tired to tear down any wall the enemies of peace want to erect between us.

Ijaws and Itsekiris in Warri North LGA must live together as one people with a collective destiny. Our homesteads are side by side together in the creeks. We are both victims of oil exploitation and exploration by multi-national oil conglomerates. Over the decades, we both suffer neglect by the Federal Government in spite of the huge money we contribute to the nation’s coffers. We are subjected to the same environmental despoliation and hazards. What else can I say? So it should be clear to us that we matter to one another and we need to join our potentials together to create a better future for ourselves and our children. So, we should look past what divide us in our time, bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.

There is an emerging trend in the world we must come to terms with. Ijaws in Bayelsa State did not need to take up arms to massacre Hausas and Fulanis in Northern Nigeria for His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to become the President of Nigeria. The minority Blacks in the United States of America did not need to take up arms to kill and maim their White compatriots for erstwhile Senator Barack Obama to become the nation’s president. Itsekiris did not need to take up arms against the Urhobos and Ibos in Delta State for His Excellency, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to become the governor of Delta State.

Let me further view the excuse of political marginalisation adduced by the Ijaw militants for their crime from the prism of discrimination against women. We live in a world characterised by male chauvinism and unmitigated dominance.

A global arena where there is an outrageous socio-cultural and political discrimination against women in spite of affirmative action. Yet, women did not take up arms against their men folks to enable them emerge as heads of government in different nations. Even if it is argued that women are incapable of taking up arms against men, they can at least still ruthlessly eliminate the men by conniving to secretly poison the food the men are given to eat. When it comes to food, men with all their vaunted macho are vulnerable and are at the mercy of women. But the women did not resort to such diabolical perfidy or matrimonial treason.

In the past, women such as Golda Meir of Israel, Indira Gandhi of India and Margeret Thatcher of England, to name but three, were prime ministers of their respective countries. In contemporary times, we have Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Germany, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president of Liberia, Cristinia Fernandez de Kirchner as president of Argentina, Julia Gillard as prime minister of Australia and Dilma Rousseff as president of Brazil, among others, who broke through the highly fortified wall of gender discrimination to become numero uno citizens of their respective nations where men hold sway.

Yes, I am not saying there are no genuine contentious issues in Warri North LGA. No society in the world is free of issues of disagreement. The local government is for both Itsekiris and Ijaws. I believe our leaders on both sides will be able to sit down together and jaw-jaw, not in an atmosphere of rancor or hate or bitterness but of peace, love, mutual respect and understanding, to find amicable answers to the problems confronting us.

Maku-Eyituoyor is a Special Project Director, SPD, Governor’s Office, Asaba, Delta State.