Why and how Ibeno and Eastern Obolo suddenly became Ijaw in 2014.
By Manfred Ekpe, Esq. L. LB (Hons).
Though the original settlers as tenants on the Ibibio coastal regions in what is today Eastern Obolo and Ibeno were people of Obolo ethnic group from Andoni. However, the Andoni settlers were few. Ibibio original landowners in the area, escapee Ibibio slaves and dissidents in subsequent years merged with the settlers, hence most of the Ibeno population has Ibibio surnames.
It is observed that no person of Obolo surname in Ibeno and Eastern Obolo have ever risen up against the Ibibios. It is always those with the Ibibio surnames. This speaks volumes, and has roots in the history of their background. A real Obolo man has no ill-will against the Ibibios as observed by several European and Obolo historians from the 15th century.
ARE IBENO AND EASTERN OBOLO OF IJAW ETHNICITY?
As early as the 1400s the European ethnographers and historians had established that Obolo and Ijaw are two different ethnic groups. One of the earliest writers on this fact was a Dutch historian, Dapper Olfert in his book entitled, “Description de l’Afrique” published in 1668. Read also Ralph Ikuru in his book, “Manuscript History of Andoni” (1936). Ikuru was an Andoni-Obolo historian. See Also MDW Jefferys Intelligence Report on Andoni (1936) etc.
Even in the Ibeno memo of 1956 submitted to Mr. G. I. Jones, Sole Commissioner Inquiring into the status of chiefs in the Eastern Region of Nigeria, Ibeno claimed that they were Andoni-Obolo by ancestry not Ijaw.
In the Ibeno letter to the Secretary Eastern Provinces at Enugu dated 18 April 1950, they deny being Efik, Ijaw, Itsekeri etc, but Andoni-Obolo. And there were right.
HOW IBENO AND EASTERN OBOLO BECAME IJAW IN 2014.
When Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan an Ijaw man became vice president of Nigeria in 2007, Ibeno started claiming Ijaw ancestry. This was a fraudulent diplomatic stunt believing that Jonathan would influence state creation for the Ijaws so that Ibeno and Eastern Obolo can annex Ibibio mineral-rich coastal homelands for a state for the Ijaws.
Security information had leaked about 9 years ago that in 2013 when Jonathan was president of Nigeria, Ibeno chiefs visited Ijaw chiefs and warlords begging to be recognized as an Ijaw group. This led to the IJAW NATIONAL CONGRESS (INC) amending their constitution in 2014 to add Ibeno and Eastern Obolo as Ijaw clans! Attached to this post is a part of the amended Ijaw National Congress (INC) 2014 Constitution showing Ibibioland as Ijawland.
This map of Ijaw nation was drawn based on the fake map of Akwa Ibom State forged by Ibeno people in Govt in or about 1999 which falsely reflected only Ibeno and Eastern Obolo as occupying the Atlantic Coast.
See also the attached statement by an Ijaw man picked from an online news site which seems to confirm the leaked security report that we had 9 years ago on the Ibeno chiefs’ secret visit to Ijaw leaders to beg them to be recognized as an Ijaw group and to form alliance with Ijaw militants to fight the Ibibios when the need arises.
Ekid (Eket) have traced their identity as Ibibios on record beginning from 1894. More than 10 verifiable authorities have been cited in support of Eket-Ibibio identity. Ibeno is hereby challenged to show, with verifiable evidence, that they had been Ijaw before 2007.
MANFRED EKPE is a foreign trained lawyer (not yet called to the Nigerian Bar). He is legal adviser to int’l organizations, an educator and an author. His first intellectual work (on Eket history) was published in 2006. His 590 page book on International law is about being published in London<<Continue Reading>>>>
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