IYC faults Gov. Obaseki over threat of subjugating Ijaws in Edo

Ijaw Youth Council, Worldwide (IYC), has faulted Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, on his call on Ijaws of the state not to take the tolerance of his governance for granted.

Spokesman for the IYC, Mr. Daniel Dasimaka, described the Governor’s statement as “unfortunate, sad and awful” coming from a Governor that was voted to serve all citizens of Edo State.

The statement reads in part, “According to Oweilaemi Peretubo, the President of IYC, “ we are quite appalled by the statements credited to the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki made during the commemoration of the International Day for Tolerance where he called on Ijaws in his state not to abuse the state government’s tolerance towards them”

“His statement presupposes that Obaseki and his government that was elected and administered the oath to be fair to all Edo indigenes, was in actuality only tolerating the Ijaw people of Olodiama, Furupa, Egbema, Okomu and Gbarain Kingdoms in the state who are aborigines of the territories (land, water and air) they occupy long before the Binis, whose bidding the Governor is obviously pandering to come into the picture.

“We are glad that the Governor even in that address described us as ‘the peace-loving Ijaw people of Edo State’.  “The statement, however, warned that their peaceful nature should not be mistaken for cowardice as Ijaws everywhere would mobilize to resist any group that tried to exploit their balkanised state that had made some of their people minorities in states dominated by smaller ethnic groups that were not as big as some Ijaw clans.

The IYC called on Obaseki to rise to the duty of his office and desist from carrying out the orders of the Oba of the Binis against the Pere of Olodiama Kingdom in Ovia North East Local Government Area and other ancient Ijaw kingdoms in the state.

The group added, ”We also find the statement issued by the Edo State government signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodin Ogie, which denied the existence of Ijaw communities and kingdoms in Edo most shameful.

”It is an abdication of the government’s constitutional right to preside over the governmental activities of Ijaw territories in Edo State.

“Finally, for the sake of peaceful co-existence, we implore the government of Edo State to respect the right of Ijaw people in Edo State to choose their own traditional institutions and rulers just like other Edo indigenes rather than attempt to subject them to the sovereignty of the Oba of Benin.

”To this end, we call on the government to withdraw the ill-advised statement signed by Ogie and leave the Pere of Olodiama to continue his reign in peace as Ijaws will not tolerate any form of ethnic-based political domination perpetrated against us using the instrumentality of the Edo State Government.”