Gokana kingdom is among the six kingdoms of the Ogoni people in Ogoni (also Ogoniland) in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Gokana kingdom has geographic, historic and ethno-linguistic elements with some 130,000 Gokana language speakers located in the Gokana Local Government Area in Rivers State.[ citation needed ] Gokana contains a tremendous number of villages, including Lewe, B.Dere (Barayowa-Dere), K. Dere (Kegbara-Dere), Nwe-biara Kpor, Mogho, Bomu, Bodo, Gio-koo, Nwe-ol, Bera, Biara, Deeyor, Gbe, Goi, Barako, Deken, and Yeghe. [1] [2] [3]
Gokana is a local government area that is located in Rivers state, in the South South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The headquarter of the LGA is found in the town of Kpor, while the Gokana area comprises several towns and villages which includes Nwe-biara, Yeghe, Gbe, Goi, Barako, Kibangba, Bomu, Deken, and Bera etc. [4] The estimated population of Gokana LGA is 194,713 inhabitants, [5] with the vast majority of the people that inhabit the area being members of the Ogoni ethnic sub-division. The Gokana kingdom speaks the Gokana language as it is predominantly spoken in the area. Christianity is the religion that is mostly practiced although they still have traditionalist in the area. The Gbere Mene of Gokana LGA is the traditional administrator of the LGA while important festivals held in the area include the Naa Bira Dae [6] festival which is usually celebrated in the month of April after Easter. [7]
Gokana kingdom is sub-divided into two zones, namely; Kibangha and the Numuu zone. The traditional headquarter of Gokana kingdom is Giokoo. [8]
Gokana LGA sits on a total area measuring 126 square kilometers and had a population of 228,828 at the 2006 census, which has several rivers and tributaries flowing through its territory. The average temperature of the LGA is 26 °C, while the average humidity level of the area is 87 percent. [9] [10]
Gokana people are mainly farmers, as farming is a key economic activity in Gokana LGA. A variety of crops such as plantain, oil palm, cassava, okra, melon, and banana are grown in the area. They are also fishermen, as fishing is another important occupation engaged in by the people of Gokana, given the abundance of rivers and tributaries being rich in seafood. Other important economic enterprises of the people of Gokana include trades, the making of fishing nets, and the construction of canoes. [11]
Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogoniland, in the Niger Delta, has been targeted for crude oil extraction since the 1950s and has suffered extreme environmental damage from decades of indiscriminate petroleum waste dumping.
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), is a social movement organization representing the indigenous Ogoni people of Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogoni contend that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), along with other petroleum multinationals and the Nigerian government, have destroyed their environment, polluted their rivers, and provided no benefits in return for enormous oil revenues extracted from their lands.
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo and Anambra to the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom to the east, and Bayelsa and Delta to the west.The State capital, Port Harcourt, is a metropolis that is considered to be the commercial center of the Nigerian oil industry.
The Ogonis are a people in the Rivers South East senatorial district of Rivers State, in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. They number just over 2 million and live in a 1,050-square-kilometre (404-square-mile) homeland which they also refer to as Ogoniland. They share common oil-related environmental problems with the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta.
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The Nkoro tribe' of the Ijaw people lives in southeastern Rivers State, Nigeria. Nkoro settlements include: Nkoro, Ayama, Dema, The cultural traditions have been influenced by its proximity to the Andoni, the Bonny. The Nkoro dialect is a dialect of the Ijaw language.
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Gokana is a Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town(community) of Kpor but the traditional headquarters is Giokoo.It happens to be a part of the Ogoni tribe
Khana is a Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Its administrative seat is in the town of Bori.
Lt. Colonel Dauda Musa Komo was Administrator of Rivers State, Nigeria from December 1993 to August 1996 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha. He took office at a time of escalating violence between the Ogoni and Okrika people over crowded waterfront land, combined with Ogoni protest against Shell Oil activities and the environmental destruction of Ogoni land. He reacted aggressively, sending troops to break up demonstrations and arresting leaders of the Ogoni's MOSOP movement.
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Kpor is a community in Gokana local government area, in Rivers State, Nigeria.