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The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial capital of Delta State with a population of over 311,970 people in 2006. The city is the indigenous territory of Urhobo, itsekiri and Ijaw people.
The Izon people or Izon Otu, otherwise known as the Ijaw people due to the historic mispronunciation of the name Izon, are an ethnic group majorly found in the Niger Delta in Nigeria, with significant population clusters in Bayelsa, in Delta, and in Rivers. They are also found in other Nigerian states like Ondo, and Edo State. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon. Population figures for the Ijaws are placed at just over 4 million, accounting for 1.8% of the Nigerian population. They have long lived in locations near many sea trade routes, and they were well connected to other areas by trade as early as the 15th century.
Delta State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State on August 27, 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers States, and the south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The State was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991 which was later extended to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Asaba as its state capital is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the State, while the state's economic centre is the twin cities of Warri and Uvwie
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of which are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausas that are predominantly in the north, the Yorubas who predominate in the southwest, and the Igbos in the southeast. There are many other ethnic groups with sizeable populations across the different parts of the country. The Kanuri people are located in the northeast part of Nigeria, the Tiv people of north central and the Efik-Ibibio are in the south south. The Bini people are most frequent in the region between Yorubaland and Igboland.
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical zone, one state (Ondo) from South West geopolitical zone and two states from South East geopolitical zone.
The Itsekiri are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria. Significant communities of Itsekiris can be found in parts of Edo and Ondo states and in various other Nigerian cities including Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Many people of Itsekiri descent also reside in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Itsekiris are closely related to the Yoruba of South Western Nigeria and also close to the Okpe people and Edo peoples. The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically contiguous to the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's crude oil and natural gas production and petroleum refining and the main town Warri forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region.
The current conflict in the Niger Delta first arose in the early 1990s over tensions between foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic groups who feel they are being exploited, particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw. Ethnic and political unrest continued throughout the 1990s despite the return to democracy and the election of the Obasanjo government in 1999. Struggle for oil wealth and environmental harm over its impacts has fueled violence between ethnic groups, causing the militarization of nearly the entire region by ethnic militia groups, Nigerian military and police forces, notably the Nigerian Mobile Police. The violence has contributed to Nigeria's ongoing energy supply crisis by discouraging foreign investment in new power generation plants in the region.
Ijaw Youth Council is a civil rights organization in Nigeria, founded in 1998, which supports the interests of the Ijaw ethnic group of the Niger Delta. At the point of the establishment of the IYC, leadership of the organization spread across the Nigerian states where the Ijaw people resides. Hence, in the South-South Nigeria, Pronto Douglass led the IYC while Pere Camfo was the leader of the IYC in Ondo State From 2001 to 2004, it was headed by Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, until Asari split from the movement to found the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force.
Egbesu is the god or deity of justice of the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta region. Egbesu is also perceived as the spiritual foundational force for combating evil. The Egbesu force can only be used in defence or to correct an injustice, and only by people who are in harmony with the universe. The symbol of the divine force is the leopard, panther, and lion. Egbesu has both a philosophical and spiritual dimension, the latter of which has been more prominent during recent times due to conflicts in regions where the Ijaw reside.
The Eastern Apoi tribe of the Ijaw people is located in central Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The Eastern Apoi tribe is small and geographically isolated. Apoi settlements include: Keme-ebiama, Kolokologbene, Ogboinbiri, Sampou, Gbaran, Kassama, and Azama. Migrants from the Eastern Apoi clan established the Western Apoi clan in Ondo State hundreds of years ago. Also, the Arogbo tribe traces its origins to a migration from the Apoi town of Gbaran.
The Western Apoi tribe live in Ondo State, Nigeria. The tribe consists of nine settlements: Igbobini, Ojuala, Ikpoke, Inikorogha, Oboro, Shabomi, Igbotu, Kiribo and Gbekebo. The Apoi inhabited higher ground than most of the other Ijaw tribes. They speak the Yoruba language as they no longer speak the Ijaw language. They are bordered to the north by the Ikale and to the west by the Ilaje. The clan also shares border with the Arogbo Ijaw to the south and the Furupagha Ijaw to the east across the Siloko River.
The Engenni people live in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. They are considered to be Edoid based on linguistic grounds. They live in close proximity with Ijaw people. They primarily live in Ahoada west local government area of Rivers state, Nigeria. Although they consider themselves to be Engenni, the Engenni speak an Edoid language. Alagoa (2003) said: “---The penetration of the Niger-Delta by Edoid groups extends to the Epie-Atissa and Engenni of the central and Eastern Niger-Delta----The Epie, along with the Ogbia and other groups of the central and eastern Niger-Delta, are historically united with the Ijaw.” The other groups of the central and eastern Niger-Delta which Professor Ebiegberi Alagoa said that were historically united with the Ijaw, include the Engenni, as shown from his narrative above. The Engenni have close relations with neighbouring Ijaw tribes such as the Zarama and Epie-Atissa.
The Gbaran tribe of the Ijaw people lives along Taylor Creek in central Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Gbaran settlements include: Okotiama, Poloaku, Obinagha, Ogboloma, Nedugo, Agbia, Ibiaye (Ebiyai), and Koroama. Okotiama is the senior community. The close proximity of Gbaran villages along Taylor Creek has helped them maintain their shared cultural traditions. The clan god is Gbaran Ziba.
Ese Odo is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nigeria, populated by the Ijaw (Izon) ethnic sub groups of the Western Apoi tribe and the Arogbo tribe. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbekebo. The biggest towns within this Local Government Area are Arogbo, Igbobini, Agadagba-Obon, and Igbekebo.
The Itsekiri language is a major branch of the Yoruboid group of languages, which as a group, is a key member of the Volta–Niger sub-family of the Niger–Congo family of African languages. Itsekiri is spoken by nearly 900,000 people in Nigeria as a first language and by many others as an additional language notably in the Niger Delta and in parts of Edo and Ondo states of Nigeria. The other key members of the Yoruboid group are Yoruba and Igala along with the various Yoruba dialects spoken in Benin and Togo.
Izon (Ịzọn), also known as (Central–Western) Ijo, Ijaw, Izo and Uzo, is the dominant Ijaw language, spoken by a majority of the Ijaw people of Nigeria.
Kingsley Kuku is a Nigerian political and environmental rights activist, the special adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria on Niger Delta Affairs and the chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
The Kaiama Declaration was issued by the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) of Nigeria on 11 December 1998 to attribute the political crisis in Nigeria to the struggle for the control of oil mineral resources, while asserting that the degradation of the environment of Ijawland by transnational oil companies and the Nigerian State arise mainly because Ijaw people have been robbed of their natural rights to ownership and control of their land and resources. The council was formed in the town of Kaiama after 5,000 Ijaw people representing over 40 Ijaw clans, chose to articulate their aspirations for the Ijaw people, and to demand an end to 40 years of environmental damage and underdevelopment in the region.
The South South is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
Christopher 'Pere' Ajuwa was the first man from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria to run for the office of the President of Nigeria. He was an astute businessman during the 1980s and 1990s, and was best known for his humanitarian benefactions.
References
- ↑ "Arogbo-Ijaw: 11 years after tussle, new king is crowned". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ↑ "Commission Begins Treatment Of Chieftaincy Anomalies". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ↑ "Nigeriaworld Feature Article - Tribute to Late Chief Richard Jolowo - An Ijaw Statesman". nigeriaworld.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.