AN INTERVIEW ABOUT THE UDUOVWORI COMMUNITY

Igidigi Paradise

Local government area, Engr. Abire and his entourage, the Odion Council of elders, the Okpako eghweya, the presidency, the chairman, distinguished chiefs, I mean the youth president, distinguish ladies and gentle men, I feel humble to stand before you to welcome all of you to our peace loving community Uduovwori. This day as we all know, this was the initial date that was schedule for the visit but circumstances beyond our control led to the postponement, we are sorry for any inconveniencies the postponement may have caused you and your team. From your letter dated 9^th May 2014 to the community, about the historical information language, culture etc that will be posted in the Uduovwori town page of the portal of Patani local government area has the second largest and densely populated town in the local government area will be provided in detail to you immediately after this address, but kindly allow me to speak briefly on some of the subheads.

The history of Uduovwori Federated Community in the patani local government area is not far-fetched as we know patani local government is made up of three clans, kabouwe, kumbo and tarakri clans, and uduovwori town is one of the villages in tarakri clan, uduovwori who is the founder is the son of tarakrowe, did this in search for greener and peaceful pasture.

Uduovwori federated community is made up of Okugbe north and south communities, Ugbokwa north and south communities and Ogbe number one community, others are Etovie, Ogbudu, Ogbevron, Ogberufuoma and new bethel community uduovwori.

Uduvwori federated community are Ijaw/Urhobo speaking community, speaks urhobo more because of the dominiary role of the mother over the father, as earlier stated the community is highly populated and the second largest town in the patani local government we are peaceful and hardworking people who are mere farmers, we have our culture as a people over time and festival, while we celebrate annually, this address will not be complete if I fail to mention some of our challenges.

Politically Uduovwori federated community has not taken its place as the second largest community in the local government area, we are taken as minority which is not suppose to be. Secondly, the community main road and the street need piling which is long overdue, this is so because without rain boot, one cannot walk or come outside during and after rainfall.  

Thirdly, as the federal government transformation agenda is affecting agriculture positively, we need mechanized government agricultural farmers in the community, fishery, poultry, plantain plantation cassava etc, which can be started by the local government administration, the absence of social amenities like playing ground, golf, table tennis etc are affecting the development athletics and football in the community and these are very good source of money making ventures and the creation of self employment for the teaming youth also worth of mention is the state of government infrastructures in the community, they are very few and nothing to write home about, the elderly ones should be cared for, infact, it should be taken as a point of duty by every government of the local government area to take care of the most elderly ones of every communities in the local government area.

As we know, human wants are insatiable, were we are appealing that this people pressing need as a matter of urgency and public importance should be attended to as we look forward to see a new dawn in patani local government area, we hope that this visit to our community Uduovwori will make us occupy our rightful position in the local government area, galvanized the transformation of our community and patani local government in general.   

Once again, you are welcome to Uduovwori federated community, a hospital and peaceful loving people which is a rare trait in the modern world, thank you and God bless as we wish you a safe journey home, Igidigi Paradise, Chairman Uduovwori federated community.  

And that is the welcome address read by the community chairman, Mr. Igidigi Paradise, Thank you.

We have listened to the address carefully and we want to say thank you very much, are we still expecting other recognitions.

Crowd: Yes

Odion: Historical and practices of Uduovwori community, Uduovwori village is one of the villages in tarabri clan, esenpau, ebedebri, ayamansa, aganabri, egebemaganabri, egbidiama, ofoni, agbere, odorubu and some other villages of tarakri clan. The founders of the villages are the children of tarakrowe, tarakrowe who is the father of children was the son of Ondo, Ondo was benin who died in benin after his death, his son tarakrowe who married the daughter of oroghwa, moved from benin to Abor with his family, he later came to Amatolo in Amasomo creek, he settled and died here, after tarakrowe’s death, because of wars and strives, all his children scattered and some moved to forcados river to settle.

They came to oruwasa, where the tarakrowe fetish is still kept till date from oruwasa some tarakrowe children still moved out to find more comfortable and peaceful areas to settle.

Uduovwori came to settle in the present site of Uduovwori village along forcados river because of continuous wars. Uduovwori, Ofoni and Odorubu moved with their mother who happened to be the daughter of Oroghwa up land to settle.

At the time when tarakrowe was leaving benin, Oroghwa his father in-law was also leaving benin but his daughter Emetechare decided to follow her husband tarakrowe, here in the upland Uduovwori, Ofoni and Odorubu settled in their mothers place, here in the upland this villages establish the Ovie Kingdom of Ughelli.

Here Uduovwon, Ofoni, Odonubu became uncomfortable because of the harsh and disturbing attitude of their relations over there, they decided and came back to the father tarakrowe land to resettle in the present site, they came back to tarakri clan to settle which is their fathers area, this his history, is tested to buy.

1. Intelligence report of tarakri clan of the western Ijaw sub tribe, warri march 1932.
2. The investigation report of the investigation committee carried out by the district officers of Sobou and western Ijaw on the 10^th of July, 1933.

This investigation prove conclusively that Uduovwori village is essentially a tarakri clan village.

• In 1992, the investigation report brought out by the fact finding investigation of about seven traditional rulers, kings appointed by the delta state government which took place at Ororokpe proved strongly that Uduovwori, Odorubu and Ofoni are tarakri town villages.

Administration: Coming to administration as far back as 1860 Uduovwori village was with other tarakri clan villages, in warri division, she was in tarakri clan council and local authority administration. As time went on Uduovwori was under Western Ijaw administration L.A bomadi was the headquarters, this administration came to local government council administration and Uduovwori was rightly under the bomadi local government council, she came to be under patani local government council after the creation of this council, Uduovwori has been and still under Ijaw administration patani L.G.A, is made up of three clans, we have the kabouwe clan, tarakrowe and the kumbonwe clan, I repeat tarakrowe clan, kumbonwe clan and kabouwe clan.

Tardi clan the kumbonwe clan in this patani local government area Uduovwori is its second largest village.

Language: In Uduovwori village, her people though they are Ijaw speaking Urhobo language more this is so because urhobo language is Uduovwori’s mother tongue, it is undistributable that children speak the mother tongue more, however effort is on to see that Urhobo and Ijaw languages are equally spoken in Uduovwori village in the nearest future.

We strongly request here that Uduovwori been the second largest in Patani L.G.A be given her recognition when we talk about development.

Population of the town, population of Uduovwori community has risen to ten thousand five hundred and fifty persons.

Occupation: Occupation of Uduovwori people the major occupation of Uduovwori people is farming and they also engage in other types of occupation such as timber work, they practice. Different kind of farming such as fish farming, poultry farming, mixed farming etc.

I come to culture, our culture embraces many aspect of human living attitude, we start with our culture toward marriage. It is only person’s of eighteen years and above that is required of marriage involvement in our culture, by our culture, males and females are expected to reach marriage age before they marry. As to have their marriage honoured, by our culture, bride price is paid and all other traditional marriage demands are completed before the marriage is honoured. Our culture as the young rises and leaves his or her for the elderly person to sit. By our culture, one is regarded and honoured in ones paternal family than the maternal side.

Women are given kolanut from the kolanut dish, man do not hold married women in their sensitive part of their body. Our culture has a traditional dressing pattern which differentiates man dressing from women in their fathers home but not in their mothers home as some religious bodies profess.

The property of the dead are shared for the children and the relatives, with a dead man his wife or wives are shared for his children and the younger relatives of his after three months from the time of the burial.

Tourism: Uduovwori as a community have no tourism to write about.

Investment Potentials: The community is lacking input factors to produce output, so there is no investment potential in Uduovwori community.

Festival/Cultural Activities: Uduovwori village observe prominent festivals, we observe the world wide Christmas festival, in this festival which is so generally known that always comes up every December 25^th of every year, is regarded as Christian festival.

1. We have aquatasa festival, it last only one day, this does not involve serious dancing and such it is, men who take more acting parts in the celebration, this celebration gathers men at the middle of the village where men gather to talk about their wonderful and uncommon, that they did egona hunters from a single shot from his gun killed six grass cutters.
2. We have the Ojaride festival, in this festival, young women and young men dance in their sex groups to sing each other, they sing those who acted unusually against good sex attitudes e.g a woman who is not steady with one man, a woman who does bed wetting, a man who breaks into other men and wives sleeping places and does action to abuse the sex group.
3. Iju festival, in this festival, the tarakri juju priest is the main leader who gathers the heroes of the town with war dressing to the venue in the main street of the town with a very long drum beating by an expert drummer. Here all the heroes come out to tell the public what they have performed in past wars, this is to worship the tarakri juju Orewo or Agadagba.
4. Obarego festival comes as second festival of the village Uduovwori, it is celebrated to honour the Obarigo juju of the village. It is one day festival, this is a festival where men go to the bush without guns and cutlasses and capture animals mainly grasscutter for the service to the juju shrine.
5. Iyer festival, it is mainly for the worshipping of our ancestors to grade this festival, cow horns are washed in a stream. In this celebration, our ancestors are asked to fight our enemies, here young males and females are circumcised in the evening our ancestors are worshipped in their different families, high best tesirogbo are set up for proposed couple’s (bridegrooms) to sleep, bride attendance stay with them for three months eating, drinking and celebrating.

The bridegroom and the attendance rub red barter usale.

• Akpo urhobo festival: This is mainly a masquerade festival, different grade of masquerade showing the head of animals, showing war heroes are displayed in a very good dance. At the end of this masquerade dance comes the close salutation celebration.

Infrastructures in the town: The community has only have bout. Infrastructural facilities such as ongoing Uduovwori road project coloured water, electricity, health care and solar light.

Challenges of the community, Uduovwori community has many challenges to talk about such as political challenge, social challenges, agricultural challenges and governmental challenges tribalisms etc.

Agricultural challenges: Uduovwori has no input factors in order to output factor such farm machinery, fertilizers etc.

Governmental challenges: When we talk of governmental challenges, we are talking of infrastructure facilities not that we don’t have infrastructural facilities, they are not properly done. So the government should try and monitor any project given to any contractor to ensure a credible work.

Social challenges: Uduovwori has no social amenities of or facilities such as playing ground, pitch etc that is why we don’t have tourism in the community.

Tribalism: Uduovwon community is an urhobo speaking community right from the time and you know and ancient practices cannot be sentiment between Ijaws and Urhobo’s, but please let see our self as brothers and sister because we are all tarakri children.

I am high chief Jacob Egbe, the traditional prime minister of tarakri in Delta and acting amananawe of Uduovwori, am hereby speaking on behalf of my community, Uduovwori is a tarakri village proper, tarakri is our father, while Ogele is our mother and father tarakri is Ondo, we are not borrowed, they don’t borrow us to this local government, we are bonafied sons, daughters of the local government because we are Ijaws.

Our cultures and festivals, everything affiliated from tarakri clan and patani local government is made up of three clans, namely kabouwe kingdom, kumbuwe kingdom and tarakrowe kingdom and Uduovwori is the second largest community as far as patani local government is concerned. I am hereby saying that in terms of development, Uduovwori should be recognized as well, we should not be marginalized, when the government want to create patani local government, there was a contribution to each of the community, patani had the largest contribution followed by Uduovwori which we paid for the purpose of the creation of patani local government. Why must we not taste the dividend of democracy in patani local government we should be considered despite the fact that we speak our mother tongue, we are tarakri children under patani local government, we should be treated equally, what is due for A must be due for B, I am saying this to the whole world that we are not from Urhobo alone, paternally we are Ijaws, tarakri children, maternally we are Ogale, even that Ogale is an Ijaw language not Ughelli, Ogale is the name, we have Ogale primary school in Ughelli, that is to tell you we, Ijaw by paternal side, we have Omaluku, Omaluku festival which Ughelli are celebrating today till tomorrow, Omaluku is the eldest son of tarakri, he has no child, after his death, what do we do to remember the man that is the Omaluku we are celebrating today to remember that man.

While Asapo is next to Omaluku, I am appealing to the government that they should not neglect us they should remember that we are tarakri children Uduovwori per say we are tarakri proper, they should give us our recognition, thank God we are in patani local government, we have never any point in time belong the urhobo government, before patani local government was created, we were under bomadi administration and before bomadi local government, we are under western Ijaw administration.

Why must we be regarded as an urhobo and abandon us, in quote, I said E.K Clark, he is partly Urhobo, partly Ijaw, he’s given the pure recognition because of what, please I am begging the government, he should hear our voice, he should do us a favour. We have nowhere to go, we are in patani local government and we are sons of tarakri, thank you and God bless.  

Chief Jacob: Like I said Uduovwori is the second largest community to patani, Uduovwori community comprise of about ten communities namely, Okugbe north, Okugbe south, Ugbokwa north, Ugbokwa South communities, Ogbe number one community, Ogbudu community, Ogberise community, Ugbevwrori community, Ogbefuoma community, new bethel community, eko iwrheko community, ubruro community, this are all communities within the domain Uduovwori domain.  

Chief Jacob: Yes, traditionally we have the Odion of the community which is the Amakosowe by Ijaw language, we have the community chairman, we have the traditional arm which is me, today, we have the youth president, we have the women council, all the communities I counted, they have their own executives. Governmentally they render how they govern their different communities to the general chairman himself, today paradise Igidigi is the general chairman for all the communities traditionally. When we talk of the feast, all the feast I have quoted we do them together generally.

Chief Jacob: Yes, for now somehow, some may never happen.

Paradise Igidigi: I am Comrade Paradise Igidigi, the chairman Uduovwori, I want to say the Uduovwori like we likely said before, Uduovwori is the second largest community in patani local government. But today, we are facing so much challenges. We’ve not taken our place in the local government as the second largest, money are been spent in the main local government which is patani town, developing the street,  developing everything that is what developing but Uduovwori here nothing like that is done, everyone will ask the chairman to bring money for the clearing of this our stream, they don’t bring money so the youth suffer to clear the stream, that apart, we have schools in this town, the schools we have we don’t have teachers in the school, some of the schools we don’t have structures, we don’t have buildings, we don’t have materials that could be used by the pupils, we are saying that we are appealing to the government to come to our aid.

Then again, we don’t have mars, that is very painful, we cannot communicate our people outside, just because we struggle maybe we go to the waterside to search for network, we are also appealing that the government should come to our aid to erect one mars for us.

Then again, we don’t have road or this place is not a place that is, that has sandy soil, we have clay soil, so when the rain fall we suffer, but when the tying of the road and the tying of the street is done, I think it will be accessible to even motor, bicycle and human that is for the road.  

Then we are also appealing to the government to bring equipment for our maternity so that sick people will have peace to go to receive treatment.

Then again our old men and women, they are also suffering, they need to be paid if not monthly at least annually. Then haven said that I think infrastructure we don’t have, tourism, no tourist centre cause the one we have now, the one we have before they are not developing it so it has gone to the mud, so we are praying that government should help us to build all this things I have mentioned.

Paradise Igidigi: It is the elders that can answer that question.

Chief Jacob: Let us be very realistic, one Chief Late S.I. Edoja, the former Amananawe of Uduovwori was one of the founder again chief Derbi Akpo and my own very self, we were together moving that movement, we are the founder of the creation of patani local government.

Paradise Igidigi: I, the chairman of Uduovwori community 2014 am not satisfied with the political situation patani local government against Uduovwori let me use it like that, am not satisfied because I told you earlier that uduovwori has not taken its place as second largest in patani local government, if you look at Uduovwori community, we ought to have been producing chairman, house of assembly even commissioners, but today we have been deprived of that position as if we are not from the local government area, I want them to see us as one people. We have the same right as they have, we are all from the local government, we have it together, so we should not be treated as minority, anu minority today Uduaghan, even Goodluck Jonathan who is the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, today is from the minority, but he’s still ruling very well today, Uduaghan is from Itsekiri, Delta south from a minority group ethnicity, he’s still ruling as the governor, so why should our own be different, they should also see us as their own brother, they should give us those vital position, that if anybody is there from a community, he can develop the community, we are not having those people that is why our able positions in the political arena, thank you.  

Paradise Igidigi: We have got the vice chairman like two or three times now, then the other ones are counselors, we also got the caretaker committee chairman this past caretaker before this one now.  

Paradise Igidigi: We got one of our late brother, Honourable Frances Akpebere as the first vice chairman patani local government, I think he was the vice chairman to Eguana, barrister Obi guana have forgotten  the year.

Then again, we got Onoyiose Godspower as the second vice chairman, then we got a transition chairman which is honourable Samson Akpebere.

Then we got another, Vice Chairman who was vice chairman to Mrs. Josephine Abeki, the vice chairman is Honourable Elijah Onoge and counselors.

Paradise Igidigi: Apart from patani local government?  

Paradise Igidigi: I don’t think so.  

Paradise Igidigi: They said Abare is also two ward.

Odion: My name is Obayedo Bobson, the Odion, the Council Uduovwori federated community, am regent from our culture, the odion is the most senior man when he dies, the son or any of the relation will occupy that position for the next three years before the installation of another odion. So my father who was the most senior man died 2012, so I came to this position 2013 and I will be in the position by the special grace of God till next year 2015 before I will hand over to the chief speaker who will install the next king.

Haven said that Uduovwori as a community, we have a primary health centre where the old, the young people are been taken care of medically because of the condition of the community. In those days, the primary health centre is sited or located at the water side because that was the only health centre around this western Ijaw as at then, the government has tried, they renovated the centre, we have midwives and health workers, but we need more to be done in terms to that place. The road to the health centre like my people have said earlier is a major challenge, the road is very bad and far from the main community, so we need the government either pile or tie that road.

Then every now and then the revolving system in the state government should affect us so that anytime when somebody falls sick, when you get to the health centre, available drugs to take care of the sicken ones and Uduovwori as a federated community is big enough to have a general hospital. We don’t have general hospital, a serious case that need to be referred before they travel or to convey the sick from here to Ughelli, if not by the special grace of God, he may give up the ghost on the way, many have died along that process, so we are calling on the government to assist us, the local government is closer to us that is why is a grassroot level, so the administration there should do more to assist us either through recommendation to the government either state for NDDC, we need hospital, we need specialist, we need doctors even the health centre there, a doctor can be there.

So please, we are calling on the government to assist us medically.

Then in terms of agriculture, which is our main stay, we need mechanize farm our people they have mentioned it before now, after producing you have to market your produce. But if there is no good road, how can you do your marketing, if you are producing for yourself, gone are those days when you should embark on subsistence farming, we don’t have road to convey our goods to the market, that is why we are calling on the government, we don’t need political road we need special road, the piling of the community we assist us is a very big challenge, you who is an in-law to the community, you cannot visit us during rainy season, unless you are told to come with your rain boot, you may ask what are you going to do with that rain boot when you get to the community, they say action speak louder than voice when you get there you will know and see the use of that rain boot, so we are calling on government to assist us.

We have enough land, agriculture is a very good employer of labour, if properly a nest, so if they come here, now I think just of recent our able doing business man signed MOU with government, with about some states, one hundred and sixty five billion to invest on rice production, we have enough place, enough land, even swamp area, those days our fathers were producing this water log rice, the area they are still there untrapped you can set up an industry in this place, employ the teaming youths, our mothers will be working there processing, so we are calling on government, there is enough to be done in this place, the exploration of this area is done long ago, when there is a heavy rain, you see the water rushing out glittering, when you look at it, I think one of our brother was digging a pit just last year, what came out of that place was wonderful. So its very clear that we have crude oil around that place but no exploration for that and the community is not buoyant enough to do that, so when they explore our area, they discover oil, is a very good source of money, we that it’s the main stay of Nigeria government for now before we are talking of Delta beyond others, so we need exploration of our bush, they should come to our aid.

When you talk about the play ground, this our Okogbare that is been halted here and there winning medal for Nigeria, there are young boys and girls here highly talented, but how can they be developed, you have not discover that, discovery at the grass root is what we want, then you develop them.

If the infrastructure is not there, nothing can be done, so we are calling on government they should assist us.

Social amenity, hypertension we know what brings hypertension, but the white man as we know, he will work for a while, the next thing you will see him playing game, whirling away the time, the infrastructures are there but here there is nothing, no social amenity. Please we are calling on government, so especially now that am on seat, I want something good to happen in our community, thank you very much.

Like what I said we need the presence of government in Uduovwori town as the second largest community in the L.G.A, if you look at the whole L.G.A, we are talking about education, we need government presence institution, they created one polytechnic in bomadi, local government which is taking off soon, something should be done in patani, we need higher institution, polytechnic, NCE, if there is a location one high education in Uduovwori you know what that means, everywhere market for the old ones, the young ones, self employment please government should not forget Uduovwori community, we have professors from this place, professors from Uduovwori but we’ve not gotten a position of a commissioner, what does that suppose to mean, are we not qualified, we have doctors, we should not be neglected to that extent, we are qualified to take the mantle of leadership in patani local government area please thank you very much.

Mrs. Akpor Lady: My name is Mrs. Akpor Lady, am a speaker to the Uduovwori women community, we are farmers, we women, we plant, we do bush work, so we plant plantain, cassava, sweet potatoe, everything, when we finish planting them, they don’t survive because there is no fertilizer to put even if we get, and we want to remove them to get road, that we will use them to pass to market, there is none, both all of them, some will get rotten in bush because there is no place we can pass, all the women are really suffering in all this things  that we don’t have, so we need help very well, we cry for help. Please do everything you can so that we will not suffer again, penede Agberfayo.

Our children that we owe debt to train them, now there is no work for them, ah what is it the debt we are owing, is it not from the children that we will collect the money and pay the debt, government we are crying for all this, we cannot count  everybody. Please we need help for every good thing we need help. Kene.