admin

Picture Gallery

 My name is Obikoko Miller Uloho, I have gone through a lot of things, by profession am a real estate consultant of about 55 years standing, I started my profession in London, because I went to college of estate management in London University, when I graduated I work sometime, did my IT with the Greater London Council, I took part in real development of Satis London before I came back because I was a western government scholar throughout my studies here and abroad, I was there when they created Midwest and I was told by western government that whom sponsored me throughout that when I finish I should not come to Ibadan but go to Benin which I did reluctantly but later I was happy and I believe I went through government school warri, I grew up in warri went to government school warri then I attended government college Ughelli, which brought me here from here I went to Ibadan, Ibadan to Old Nigeria College of Science and Technology, Enugu Camp then from there to London on scholarship throughout and when I return I joined the ministry and I worked in the ministry as a lands officer, senior lands officer, principal lands officer and got to the kader of principal lands officer and am in charge of the lands division of ministry of lands and housing, that is the post they call director of lands now. So I will say I got to the position of director of lands but one day under Ogbemudia I just say Civil Service will not count for me I just paid them salary of one month notice and left to start my professional practice and infact one of  the major job I get as an estate surveyor and varie was a brief of spillage of oil, a lawyer took there that was many year ago 1972 that was the first brief I got and I went and rendered the services to the Ijaw Community I can’t remember the place now I am getting old now, the basis was let me do it lets find shell, at the end of it when they paid me you can show your gratitude to me and you know the shell have a way of fighting the poor people they don’t know their right and shell took undue advantage of that and fought the people they delayed even when it is obvious they were to pay compensation they delayed it until the people were frustrated and left but one major thing I did which I can recall as a lands officer is, when I was in the ministry I made sure we came out with a rate of compensating the people whose property where damaged because shell will just come for a big orange tree they will say they will pay you N1, they have no choice so I say no there were not buyers to represent them and I curse to establish a compensation rate which was develop so that is the genesis I was one of those who started it, they said no for orange tree, you this, for Okro you pay this, I was one of the motivator of that rate, but they still use it to oppress people, one other thing I see that, what you call excarvous today I will say I am one of the brains because as a young man when I came from Britain, what is the company called (Golf) wanted to establish there, there was no problem of how they were going to get the land, there were two major families that were claiming ownership over that land, I don’t want to name them, but there were two families up to the extent that golf was fed up and said was to move to the neighboring state after all they all off shore, so I came up with the idea say no that will be loss for Midwest state then, I said lets go in by combusting acquisition, so we combusting acquisition we acquire the whole land, and I remember they were coming with afibuos plain to pick me from Benin to that place, we acquired it. I gave them 24hrs acquisition notice, the place was acquired paid them, I gave them possession and now pay the money to the court for the two families to go and struggle that was how, if not we could have lost Chevron being in excravous today, we went on and on, Effurun roundabout was my brain child and so fort then when I left the first big job I did I rendered to federal government was this land use panel that gave birth to the very talk about land use degree. 11 people were selected from this country to go and look into the land tenure system of Nigeria and come back with recommendation and I was one of the 11 pick out of this country and we went the country visited all the traditional rulers to see what the land tenure system is I don’t want to tell you the experience we have but Northerns land tenure system is not the same with ours but I think the power that beat them were out to make sure the southern systems of land use tenure to fall in line with the west that is why they came out the land use degree of 1978 because we told them that the southern tenure system of land was interwoven with the culture of the people so please don’t take away the land from the people, in the north they have  no few, when Lugard came back conquered the emirs, emirs have the land and take over the leadership so the free hole was definitely in the hands of the government but not so in the north but what they have done here now by the promogation of 1978 degree was eventually transferring of all what we call reventionally interest all the fewholes of pound the south to the government, they have seize it bring 17 the same line with the north, which is unfair, because that was not the majority recommendation and say it without fear of interruption, the majority say leave the people with their land

I am the president, oldest, live chairman of Ughelli Traditional Council of Chief, I am a Rotarians of about 40yrs standing, I am a poharis fellow, I pay some dollars, I have attended many rotary convention nearly all over the world and today I am the head of my community, and the head of two families of the four families that make up Iwreko and of course am a prince descendants of the royal family  

Answer-: Well thank you, you know all histories about Africa, Nigeria, urhobos, binis are what we refer to as oral tradition before we couldn’t right, we couldn’t document anything so all what we know was oral traditions oh this is what they said that happen, this is what is happening, you know what is happening now in two weeks time if you call anyone of us to tell us what is happening now everybody will have his own version but talking about oral traditions we the Ughelli people believes we are urhobos and this question of urhobo business the origin of urhobo have been a bit very storning everybody has his own version, at first we believe that the urhobos came from bini which is down fall that is not true, we couldn’t have come from a place and your numberical strength is about 5, 6, 10 times you came from, the culture is not same, the type of food is not the same, the dressing is not the same, how can you say you came from the place talking about the tradition, there have been a lot of version of the origin of the urhobos, I have read so many but the one that really attracted me which I tend to rely on is that documented by Peter Enahoro popularly known as Peter Pan some of you who are old will hear of Peter brown how to be a gentleman, how to be this and this, he was amuca, the publishers of vanguard they were classmate in government college, he documented and I am carried away that the urhobos, the binis, the esan and the esako people are children of one descendants call Idu, that once leave in the plateau area when they have nok civilization which existed about half a century before Christ was born, and the man there Edo had these children and of cause establish a denomination where they were worshipping the creator of heaven, the creator of human reign which they called Oghene, that was about 500 years ago before Christ was born so we can talk of 2500 and that is what Oghene Ughelli people refer to  Oghene and Peter Pan in his autobiography then spoke that the urhobo language is the closet language to the people the nok  civilization, the E peole from where we migrated, so I believe in that, haven said that he said the 4 groups Esaka, Urhobo, Bini and Esan at where they were moving in groups because they were running away from their Uncle who took over power from his own father and what to retain the typical human being to him he will eliminate them so they move, as were moving his party in the main group started celebrating the Urhobo also separated and further south so they are the Urhobos, lets us come a bit nearer home, so we believe that out of the Urhobos, the Urhobos group started fragmenting as it is happening now, then came the Urhobo people, then came first the person we believe strongly a great ancestor called Owowa, and Owowa is believed to have four children 3 boys, Ughelli, Ogor and Agbara and a girl who delivered Orogun so, Orogun is the nephew of Ughelli because Orogun’s is the nephew of Ughelli because Orogun’s mother and Ughelli’s mother are the same, Ogor and this are the same mother, so they were believe they move  lets come near home, Ughelli people believe when they came they landed along the niger we all believe here that it was impossible difficult, in those days when there is no root with lion, tigers, boars through forest not conquered someone will go through that forest with boars is not possible, so the way people migrated were by the Creeks and rivers you had of Mogo Park and all this people, they went through river niger and so fort but in the north yes it is possible savannah you could go through anywhere, we believe Owowa also came along the river niger, if you look coming from the north you will hit the niger or benue at a point, so they move down when they got to where we have some Ughelli people there now called Unernuere, Odorubu, Patani area, they came down, they said Owowa stayed there a bit with his children and moved further into the inland, where they stayed at Ogovirin where you have Ogor Techinical College today but when Owoma died, the children started separating house by house every mother to his mother and so fort then the Ughelli branch now had his own, then when they move from Ogovirin, they quarrel, who is going to be the first this and this, Ughelli now move to this area where I am now which is called Orodoawaren which is old seat but after sometime they move to Otowovdo where you have the palace now from there, as they were growing up by tradition when a man have reach the age of puberty you can’t be staying in the same compound with your father you move out, so that is how they were moving out to form other villages which we have about 22 because of some problem again we now have, some of the Ughelli children move back to where their father first stayed when they landed through the niger that is why today you have Odorubu, Oduophori and Ophoni in Bayelsa, you can’t believe it the Ophoni people, Odorubu and Oduophori people speak more perfect Ughelli than myself here because mine has been adulterated in the township if I want to grow up in warri with the Egbo since we speak pigin, I can speak a little bit of kwale, Itsekiri I can’t speak perfect Ughelli, but those people Ophoni speak better Ughelli than us and they are part of Ughelli Kingdom, they have been some the scene we have dedication, they have been garzeding as part of Ughelli kingdom but there is battle going on there now, the Ijaws wants them to remain there Ughelli people say no look at the gazet the people don’t even speak Ijaw they don’t understand Ijaw so let them struggle whatever they are but the important thing who created this land is God, is when you get there first you say is yours, when you move other people move there it becomes theirs so that is the origin of the Ughelli people as I know it but there is another talk about oh is an Ijaw person, their mother is Ijaw but they believe is Owowa but they say their mother is Ijaw, if their mother is Ijaw what about the Ogor people who did not go there, because when Ughelli people children when moving eastward towards where their father stayed before, the Agbara people when moving westward and they founded Oghara, Mosogar, Jesse, Agbara Warri and so fort so different direction when Orogun move toward that side got married to Abo and so fort so that is we believe strongly we have no Ijaw blood in the Ughelli but later on an Ijaw man came called Osia he was received by some people say he have problem in taracre kingdom or something but he came to Ughelli here he was received by the Ovie and the people so they got intermarried with Ughelli people my mother for instance paternally is from that Osia the mother is from the royal house so you have today in Ughelli intermarriage but certainly Ughelli is the man who founded this place welcomed Osia but something happened like guineawa who escape from benin so that is how Osia escape came here and he was welcome but the Ughelli himself has no blood of benin or as Ijaw but some of the Ijaw Osia people children are intermarrying with us, so that is the origin any other question

Answer-: Okay, that is alright we can make it all but Otowovdo is the first and the original seat goes with Otowovdo, then you have Afiesere, you have Ufuoma, Igrewko, Ekuigbo, Ododegho, Eruemukuokwane, Odovie, Ujode, Orkwaro,Igremaro, Igreneinei, Igrovie, Igremeragha, Irogbowan then to add of it this kingdom you have Ophoni, Oduophori, is alright, there are some Ijaws in delta and there are some delta state in bayelsa and there are some bayelsa here you see people live together, let this government put artificial boundary it doesn’t work

• Do you know the number 3 man of hierarchy in Ughelli Council of Chief is from Ophoni but we just lost him

Answer-: the major one which covers every Ughelli people is the eherin which is celebrated once a year but that is for all Ughelli people including even the Ughelli people that are in the kingdom of Agbaro today they call Ughelli they celebrate it nad ekerayen also celebrated it with us, but apart from that each of these towns and villages have their own festival, like Igrewko for instance they have mamoku, oku better mamoka is a regatile, they have entertainment in the river they put canoe, they drum at that, ekuigbo people I think they have eni which they perform, Otovwodo here have their own special one too but the one unifing everyone is eherin, eherin that one am told is part of war is a symbol of the Ughelli people am saying am told because what happened about 5 century ago I will say i am told, you know Ughelli people don’t eat a particular type of antelope they called Orva, it is believe that, the animal is tied with the shrine, it is believe that in those days when we go to war if you get lost in the jungle in the forest which was very common, this animal will appear and lead you to where from where you can go after that the animal will leave you, so we don’t eat it, however educated, whether you are a religious man or not you don’t eat Orva, is a type of antelope with white stripes very colourful and so fort, so we believe the strength of Ughelli and is hint on that Shrine Eherin and so fort.

Answer-: well it is celebrated in September or October it commerce like the muslim people watch the moon, when the moon, the day the moon will appear that is the day they will start the celebration, I think the one you see up now, when that one finishes another new moon will come in and that will move in towards the end of September I don’t know but when the other one is going to come out we have people monitoring the moon, when it is time Ovie will say, they will tell him, this is the day we will expect the moon will come out and that is the day they commerce the festival, google says 17^th of September alright because they are now trying to come, timing when the moon is likely to come out because is then the Ovie will declare the commencement of the festival.

Answer-: I think about 8 or 9 days

Answer-: alright but let me quickly before I forget 1931 was the colonial intelligence report that covers lots of this things you are asking marriages, death how to treat a murderer, how if somebody comits adultery what is done, and so on and so fort, the type of income, when do you harvest palm tree, all these things are fully documented there, intelligence report of 1931 if you can lay your hands on it, it covers the Owoma kingdom, that is Ogor, Ughelli and Agbara if you lay your hands on it, I can arrange getting you a copy, you will read all we are talking about now, all you what to know marriages, they are documented there. In any case lets us talk about the death, well Ughelli generally men are not buried outside they are buried in the parlour of where he lives then women generally are buried in the varander of the building. 2 in the Ughelli traditional when you give out a girl in marriage when she dies, she must come back home because when we pay the bride price we must tell you whatever it is we will refund some money to you and say we have not sold our daughter that at the last day the body must come back home so wherever you are however comfortable however rich your husband is, a true Ughelli girl you must bring the body home to Ughelli for burial but nowadays things have change, those who are chieves and who have the money but you now see that people now be mosonium advance tumb is called mosonium, well house meant for families burial ground and so fort that is just is, but normally women are the varander but if you can build a house is fine, but nobody is forcing, but the urhobo man. Ughelli man is not buried outside it must be inside, that next room there is my grave prepared but I have told my children they are well to do but no problem if you decided to change your mind and put me in an edifies is your headache but someone came he was building a monominm very soon for me and my children but my grave is ready so that is the system, no fast things have come if a woman can big enough is a chief especially when she is a chief you won’t be buried outside, but inside the house, but if you have no house is your own headache, you will be buried in the varander of your father’s house. When a non-native dies there is a burial ground there you take him to the burial ground

Answer-: When he passes on nobody knows to start with the Ughelli king never dies I to start with the Ughelli king never dies I just menoforce and the save, at a proper time well it will take some time before you announce it to the Ughelli kingdom and that announcement is done in a particular place in a place they call Ogbeorosejebor, Osejebor is the second son of the king Oghoghowe who was the Iyasere and Prime Minister when Jersa the Father of Oharisi the first was ruling the second son, so in his compound there, there use to be an Iroko tree, that is where the Iyasere of the Ughelli, will go there and pronounce announce to the Ughelli people Ogbetushe ame he say something has fallen into water, you don’t say the Ovie pass on how there you, Ovie never dies, you just say he has fallen into water, you say Iroko tree has moved and fallen that is what you can say, then after that the Ughelli people will start mourning preparatory to cut matter short, before the crown prince never sees the Ovie but because of Oyibo life now he sees the Ovie but what we cannot compromise now he cannot stay under the same roof with his father never it cannot happen, he cannot even enter that palace building, the only way he can get to is the hall, and when he is in hall, he cannot be there when is father is inside there, and if he has course to talk to the father which normally do not happen nowadays because of civilization, he talks through the window, he cannot get in, it is allowed that is the crown prince and I know we have promodation system of kinship from father to senior son which have never been changed, the senior son is the king, the second half brother next to him is the Iyasere to the Prime Minister, then the one next to him of the same mother is the Azomo those 3 position are sacosaned it has never been changed, then every other thing can follow, so at the appropriate time the crown prince will now be escorted to where we call adon, adon is where, the way he is going to govern the kingdom, then the elders will be meeting with him, they will eat and drink and exchange views, the crown prince will ask all these questions he wants to ask, then the elderly people will be telling them what Ughelli is, what is need to be done, so by the time he stay there for a long period, depending on his stay. I think the last one he stay only six months because things are moving fast now if not he can stay there more than that, by the time he leaves that place, he becomes like king Solomon, because everything concerning Ughelli has been impacted in him before he is escorted from there now to the throne and once he gets to the throne because once the Ovie passes on, the Iyasere also whether he is alice or not also leaves the seat, bet the Izomo also will leave the seat, bet the new Ovie will now have the second next half brother to be the Iyasere the traditional Prime Minister and the Spoke man of the whole Ughelli while the second next brother from the same mother becomes the Izomo, so the Izomo is the custodian of the Palace, the life and custody of the family is the hand of the Izomo while the Iyasere as the Prime Minister is the second in command of the Ughelli Kingdom, is there any other area you want me to talk about? Just remind me if I have not reach the point.

Answer-: yes, it takes some quite a while, it will not be quicker than 3 months. I can’t remember the exalt time, you can help me to, though it will not be less than 3 months because it all just be rumor that the Ovie is sleeping, people will say Ovie is sleeping that is all you can hear, he is sleeping, Ovie doesn’t die how can Ovie die it is not possible, but it will take a minimum of 3 months before maybe there or there before they will announce it.

Answer-: No No, special thing because as soon as the Ovie passes on the Iyasere and Izomo also ends their offices.

Answer-: yes, this has not happened before because they are younger persons and all I know and remembered, that there was one occasion when the senior crown prince pass on when the father was still alice, so the one next to him takes over as the crown prince is the same thing in the same line of the Izomo, so when they pass away when the King is still alive the person next to him becomes the prime minister which is the Iyasere or the one next to him in the line of the same mother becomes the Izomo, so there is no any vaccum

Answer-: yes some of these words like we talk of Oghene, the Urhobo word or world because the nok civilization of 2500 years ago talks of Oghene, which we Urhobo talks of Oghene that is why Peter Pan said the Urhobo language is closer to, so when we speak of these things some of these theings Urhobo man will say sekerebone the esan man will  say sekerebone so what am I speaking now is it Urhobo or esan, so some of these words we cannot nobody can really strictly reclaim to them like Okoro, Okoro the Urhobo say Okoro, the Ibo say Okoro, esan say Okoro, all is the same spelling so which language is that, is it Urhobo, Ibo or this things so, let nobody reclaim to any particular one, is just above the words have come, we have beg am our ancestors have being using these words centuries ago so we start using them that is my view about it, like for instance esabatu, esabatu this one is what we call esabatu, isetkiri say esabatu which language is that is the portuguese, kujere that spoon for Urhobo, kujere is portugese which is called kuje, so you see all these languages I believe nobody is serving to say is my language like I tell you, my uloho’s father Urisejebor who is the second son of Ughoghowen, that is why he was not king because as the first he would have been king is Oresejebor some people say Oresejebor,  Orise is Isetkiri but this is Orese in Urhobo in those days you people keep on saying we are juju people, who is not a juju man, they have a long pole a big man will have a long pole in his centre of his compound he will put a white flag wherever he wants to print a curtain they call if Oyise, they call some Oyiseowe one at owe at Isoko Orieseowe was very powerful both Orise is the same thing Orese in Isoko and Urhobo, so Oresejebor is because of Orise if you trace it prayers call Orese Oghene na biko so they pass their prayers through that to God, I am an Anglican to start with I will set my own big cathedral there so am not a devil so these words are neither here we say Orese, Oritse is Isetkiri, Orese is Urhobo, like these Omanuko, some people call it Omanuko we self say Mamoku, Oku is the God of the water, Omamo ron, the good one in iwreko there.

Answer-: Yes, what happen the whole Ughelli people will come, the coffin will be there they will carry, it there is a particular place where there is somewhere not very far from the catholic church, saint micheal there it is normally prepared at Ofiroko tree, they leave the Iroko tree to get matured when the time comes, they will fall it and carve if use it to prepare the coffin and there is a special family that prepares that, that is a the caffing they use but now adays the want to order special coffin and this thing, when they prepare it, that coffin there will be ceremony,  tradition special possession that will carry the coffin from there to the palace, then it stays there for some days after that the next thing is how do we burial the Ovie I don’t know, is all formality Ovie never dies, so what do you want to burial, in some kingdom when you go round you see the grave of their king, but in Ughelli here we never see any grave because Ovie doesn’t die not to talk of his being buried all those coffin are just formality is not dead, so you can see anywhere, where you will say you burial the Ovie today, you will go to the palace let them show you if his spirit is gone then the powers go to the crown prince and he reigns, you see Ughelli is very rich and very ancient  

Answer-: Alright to start with, do you the Ovie of Ughelli was presented with a staff of office by Lugard are you aware of that no.

Oh Lugard presented him with a staff of office in 1906 is there, you will read it in that book, so this staff of office people are getting now, we got our own from Lugard who was representing the Queen of England then recognizing Ovie and when he was presenting the staff, he said I give it to you as the only king of Urhobo land but before then 1894, Ughelli when royal niger company came in, Ughelli was the only people who have trichi of protection which was signed by the Ovies and the Chieves of Ughelli people, every other one in Urhobo land was sound on a profound and with the profound we read king and chief, they will delete away king and leaving only chief which means that in all these other place there were only chieves there, so with that it was when we say great Ughelli Kingdom we were not the one who say we are great, when niger company came and when they were going to signed that agreement from their own ancessment they found this was a great kingdom, so they said the king and chieves of great Oghele, Ogele Kingdom, so if we come up now Oyibo say we are great kingdom so why should we say we are not great kingdom so that is the genesis of that word great, great, great, great and that after signing that agreement they ban us not to make war with our neighbors they will protect us but are they doing all those things no they are not doing them, this tourism now you are talking about this now took me to that place, now this was the first seat of government from where they administer the whole of Urhobo including Isoko that was west eastern Urhobo you know that Isoko was west eastern Urhobo, Ewrpe my very good uncle, William Otobo who open this station, so the seat here, they destroy things, is good for you to go there and say this was the house where the whole Urhobo and Isoko were being start from I went to look from record and the man told me the files where here but we have destroyed them, you destroyed them, I say now what have you got here now nothing, you just leave the place just be misuse, then after that, this hall you are seeing her now was built in 1937, how they got the materials here may be through high sea I don’t know, 1937 by it was the foundation we laid in 1937, laid by Captain E.A. Miller who was a D.O. in warri there when they were writing this intelligence report in 1931, but in 1931 they posted him here as the first D.O. in this place, but this children crises they set fire on that place, it was a magnificent building, you don’t see this type of roof there before but the wall ceiling remain there, when you get there you see a stone that was laid by Captain E.A. Miller in 1937, you see is still there, then many things, if you go there they will show you the shrine, where the whole Ughelli people believe is their savior is in Otowovdo there, then that is the ancient, even the fertility shrine, Eloho shrine  all those are there, the Orewo Shrine, that was seat they are there, then when you talk of modern thing, the first elfield shell had was in Ughelli here, when they were landing their small planes is in Eruemukuwanie, that was there first airport then of cause I don’t want to blow my trumpet, you know one of the best secondary school in Nigeria today is government college Ughelli have you being there, if you have drive me I will tell you it is a college, it you say am telling lies, take time drive me government college Ughelli if you go there you will think it is a university but no it is a college, so these are little modern things shell centre we would have got NPDC here as there headquarters but when they were searching for land they wanted free land which is not possible, you know this oil company are always oppressing us, when they were talking that they move it to benin because the Chief Executive of NNPC there Adams was Edo State man so he took it there. If not it could have being here so all these Shrines and botanical names you will see them but, when the war was reigning when they ran from the east, portharcourt this was where they settle, Shell was here and they were to make their headquarters here, they stayed here for years, you see their production centre, but what move them to warri was the need of water where they could bring their heavy pipes carry things which we haven’t got here, that was what move them and when they went they left by the river Ogunu, but they still retain here as their production centre.

Answer-: the land tenure system of Ughelli kingdom is this, the whole land in Ughelli belongs to individuals and individuals families because when your father dies despactation becomes individual but within the whole land in Ughelli, there are some of what we refer to as eteyerin which are stool land parcels of land tied to the throne

• In each community?
• No they are scattered all over Ughelli not one particular place, so those are stool lands or eteyerin, they are specifically meant for the up keep of the palace, so every other one is the individual but we believe that the Ovie being the ruler and father of Ughelli is the overlord of all lands, you know what overlord means but individual sell their lands at will to any body  

Answer-: is the modern thing, you go to court but if you like, the first thing is to go to the palace if you are not satisfied you go to the court, even some people don’t want to go the palace why waste my time let me just go to the court but if you go to the Ovie it is better for the Ordinary man it is less expensive, I will always advocate that people should take their dispute of land to Ovie because they will be very objective they will go there if you Uloho have not own this place and by the time we finished they will know who whose the land, so to me is a better place to go but people decide to go to the court nowadays

Answer-: marriage as I say what happens is that the man can give out his daughter gone are the days when you can force a girl to marry somebody, in those good olden days if you see a man you say he is very handsome very hardworking not mere say of beauty, if a boy a young man is serving some persons with girl you will say my son am going to give you a gift, if you are very powerful you work you will just say I give you this daughter is as simple as that, but things have change the girls now, you give out a girl to people or people will come and ask for the girl nowadays this girls will come and tell you I have gotten somebody to marry oh, so in any case that haven’t been said, once a boy or a girl sees the person they want to get married to especially the boy he will first go to the girls family through the mother of the girl , trying to talk to the mother after that then the parents of the boy will formally come to introduce themselves to tell the family that my son have seen a girl in your house and he will like to marry the girl then of cause secretly you will call your daughter, this people came that they are interested in you  the mother will pretend as though she has not held anything before but she is the master brain of the whole thing, but the girl will say daddy alright or tell the mother to the girl’s father, whether is one day old that will do the prayer but if the father of the girl is not alive again the senior son of the man will play the role of the father, but for details of all these things go to the intelligence report.

No why we called for the people themselves because of the fact that the intelligence report was created I guess by a foreigner who was interested, now some of these things you are saying now

Answer-:  Alright, like the Ibos for instance when you say you don’t marry Osu or what do you

For example in Isoko where I came from, you don’t hold a married woman in the waist oh Aright things that are forbidden for a married woman, you don’t hold a married woman on the hand do you know why, because normally if you want to seduced a woman hold her hands and drag her into the room, so that is why you don’t hold her hands.

Then where a married woman is sitting you don’t go or don’t cross her legs when you want to pass you say please will you withdraw your legs before you pass and you cannot touch especially the sensitive part of a woman the buttocks, chests, if she is close to you, you can pet her shoulders is a different matter and if here is any man making statement to the woman there are few forbidden words woyoyiharan when she gets home she tells her husband praises also leads to seduction, so you can’t praise a married woman, anybody making any statement you must tell your husband is believe if you don’t tell your husband when that day come now confess you go take tell am when you are in problem

• What about adultery

I am telling you can’t cross a married woman’s legs you are talking of adultery, you cannot hold her hands which is very suggestive you want to take her in you are telling me adultery, adultery when it happens if you don’t talk, we still believe it, if you don’t talk, if you don’t see it today you will see it tomorrow you must confess whether willing or unwilling and if that happens willing, there will be something they call Osaye which they will send message to the man and say this is what you have done, they will summon him and the family and there is heavy compensation they pay for that, person like me if I know not suspicion , if my wife commit adultery there is no need paying compensation she should go but traditionally if you like the woman pay this compensation you can go on marrying the woman, if she doesn’t confess, it will affect the woman or the children yet or unborn or already born.

• What if the woman does it secretly without the man knowing, how can it come out, or what are signs that this woman may have committed  

Answer-: That is why I say you will confess willing or unwillingly, our fathers will visit, you don’t believe our fathers will visit the woman and the day the woman is producing, there are cases when a woman is pregnant or under labour she will not be able to deliver, but modern this thing now have said because of lower pelvic and so fort, but women who have delivered before will now find it difficult to deliver and there are case when they say the child in the house after confess will go deliver, whether force or true I don’t know but these things, but we believe strongly if you don’t talk on that day you will talk or the type of presented illness which you doctor will tell you I don’t know I have done everything in science i don’t know the course of the illness, those are signs that you have done something and the woman will his people will plead with her Oboworuruta whatever you have done say it now if you like confess, if you don’t like don’t confess if you did something you will die unfortunate but if you don’t do anything and die in such a way they will say you did not confess.

•  But nothing happens to the children in that sickness

Answer-: oh, it will affect the children

Like in Isoko for instance when a woman does that, the children is the first replicate of that, yes we believe in that, there are a lot of things concern, we you see somebody that give birth and the person dies you say Ojeyetaya (she have not confess) the people will say confess you can’t convince them you haven’t done anything bad, then you start, saying, if anybody cross your legs without any physical sexual interest you must say.

So I think we have tried, like I said the decision

The Ovie speech-: the kingdom is Ughelli Kingdom, Ajuwe Ovie Igesa, he was a given a staff of office, that year he is the reign, the year of Ovie Igesa, when he was given staff of office is there.

What is the name given to this thing Ughelli dynase, if you look at it, the years of the reign of each traditional ruler is there so when we look at the Ughelli dynase, you will see that the very year that Igesa received that staff of office from Lord Lugard sent by the queen of England the is there, that is how Ughelli become a great  Ughelli, the everybody migrate as other people migrated the Ughelli people migrated like other people still migrated, but by the man called Owowa that gave birth to four children, Ogor, Agbara, Ughelli and Orogun by version of marriage Oria married Orogun, the kingdom started from Ughelli, the spelling of Ughelli you will see it on the paper of the most senior Olorogun.

I had the other time that you first of all came here and because I do not come out I was resting, so when you through you will come back to meet the senior Olorogun or you will wait.

The history that the Okpako Olorogun wrote everything is there, now I will say, when we talk about the social aspect of Ughelli people, we are very accommodating, that is why this local government, the first local government in this area apart from warri is Ughelli, the Isoko cut from here, the Agbon, infact the neighboring kingdom, local government of Urhobo kingdom they split from here also because when the English people came  we accept them with clear mind, we gave them land and they establish, otherwise according to history they said Ughelli was not the first place that they came to demand for land to establish local government but because of those people they first of all visited, they did not accept them, they came from there and come to Ughelli because the Ughelli people are very accommodating we gave them land they establish and we do well with them, till now the Ughelli Kingdom, the local government is still there like I told you the Urhobo and the Isoko even as far as Kwale, the local government they are operating is from Ughelli because the people are very accommodating, we use the opportunity to create that local government as it is.

Development if the people are good, that we are good to them, by this time no street will remain untied but because people are jealously if project comes, they will say the kingdom never get, this kingdom never, so they begin to struggle for the development, as we are talking, Ughelli is also one of the lucky people who have the deepest well of gas in South Africa, from here to anywhere Ughelli Gas well is the deepest and neatest you can think of but we are not getting anything from it, people are burn the gas the little one they are using they don’t use it to develop where they are getting this gas, when we talk about crude oil, I believe the senior Olorogun must have told you that the numbers of Oil Well in Ughelli Kingdom is enough to take care of or establish state, is good they say state feeds itself or herself, the money they are getting from Crude Oil in Ughelli can be used to establish a state and that is why we have been agitating for the state that Ughelli will be the headquarter but because of their selfishness and long leg  they carried the headquarter to where they like, for example this delta state we are now, Asaba was under benin province then they are not supposed to put another, when Edo is there, they don’t need to put another capital in Asaba because it was under benin province, now benin province now have 2 capital why delta province now have no headquarter, so am also supporting it that we don’t cheat nature, and they should give us our state capital and it should be in Ughelli, they should not put sentiment to say kingdom that have 2 states, I mean 2 local government why some have only I kingdom, why some are 3 kingdom local government why here we have 7 kingdom, we have the Ughelli , Ogor, Agbarha, Orogun, Evwreni, Uwheru and Ogor all these are Ughelli North because of selfishness, they refuse to recognize the first kingdom that gave them place to stay that was the time of the colonel masters, till now they are still punishing us, like I said that Ughelli people have plenty Oil Well and Gas surplus it is not a joke, to ride on, the only benefit we have is the major Ughelli township road which is dualise  this road from Otowovdo here to Ekuigbo that is a standable thing we can think of that happen when Urhie was in government, I will say work for it and may be by the grace of God they are moving forward, all these streets you see the reason why motorcycle is very many in Ughelli is that all the street are bad very very bad and we have enough Crude Oil that can tie the whole Ughelli Street, but they don’t give us our own fresh air, so that is for the development, me as a person, when I say me, the Ovies, the past traditional rulers during the time of Akporoba, the present, we call it Shell Company first time through before using Heritage where they are now that was the first place this palace started we call it Orodoyawaren, Otowovdo means where the Kings stay that very town is the headquarters, so Otowovdo is the headquarter of all Ughelli towns and villages, the Orodoyawaren where it is situated now or where they stay is the formal palace it was Ovie Akporoba that left that place for this place, they are operating there, but they still give it to Shell that time but till now the rent is pill nut  then when we talk about the expiring dates they refuse to pay or come and review the money they are paying, first of  all they were paying whether N200 mean Two Hundred Thousand, it was this time per hectare, nothing should talk about the other place which they hire estate they pay heavily for that place, here now that they build for themselves,  they refuse to pay well or to recognize the people that gave them the land, that is my development well I will say in my time I was very lucky to see that this room was dualised our ultramodern palace is paying advance in telephone remain to roof, deck and renovate the palace well. The Ughelli, the Ogor market they are talking about it was only for Ughelli, supposing I know I will discuss to that extent, I would have brought the paper, the petition that the Late Ovie of Ughelli wrote say they should join them because they are assistance kingdom, so they name it  Ughelli and Ogor and the government at that time approved it which is Doctor Uduaghan so that goes like that, then we still have Ughelli meaning housing estate that was built and furnished people are still staying, the kingdom as they are we have peace because  there is no way the person that you are communicating well will treat you badly, so we sell lands, we allocate lands and people build it, the Ughelli Kingdom now is comprises of many towns and many tribes that are developing other people’s kingdom, today am hearing now that they are trying to be building, so for now Ughelli is very very peaceful, We have Vigilantly, Over fifteen years ago Ughelli people were experiencing all these bad boys, the thing started from Otovirie to Okorodafe, from Okorodafe to other areas where this church is infact they were operating like that, you will see small boys who are not up to 15 years, they want to talk, they don’t have regard, so they join the gangs of Arm Robbers, so Ughelli people dim it fit to form this vigilanty and the vigilanty you are see today started in Ughelli and other kingdoms imitate Ughelli, Delta State also how came into it they are still having their own vigilanty, what is bordering us now is this, people now begin to form the vigilanty on their own individual vigilanty, Oteri will say they have their own vigilanty, ekuigbo will say they have their own, even Afiesere the same thing the main town as we are talking that is Otowovdo Kingdom which is the headquarter they are still agitating that how will the small small villages or other villages around them are having their own vigilanty, what makes them not to have their own vigilanty but I always talk to them that the peace have here is okay, business that is why you see people there springing up for Ughelli Kingdom recently about 3 days ago they open 5 star hotel, so people who are coming from portharcourt like to sleep in Ughelli, those that are coming from lagos to calabar like to sleep in Ughelli, so this is peaceful moments of the kingdoms. Ughelli have being very peaceful you know they say without peace there will be no possible development delta state is aware of that I will say to round up, I will say the Ughelli dynasty, that is my father this is the fourteenth Ovie that is the father and it is from father to son, when you look at the years of Igesa, you will see the years Ughelli begin to experience the government staff of office, when Akporoba receive the staff of office, no body assume that Ughelli Kingdom.

• No that is Oharisi the first, that is Idjesa, this Oghoghowen, this is Idjesa from 1887 – 1916, that was when Ughelli receive the government staff of office, when you look at Akporoba from 1802 – 1825 I hope you got the neglect the kingdom is suffering
• The Ovie-: we have the Ughelli national anthem, the Ughelli national anthem, all the Urhobo people have formed the ughelli national anthem to Urhobo national anthem, they modified it to suit the Urhobo nation, otherwise the ughelli national anthem is this-:

Ughelli ee…… 2x

Ani ko ko ko Ogbare

Ughelli ee…..

Oboro ughelli e aso fa

Edefa me ta akpo

Ughelli ee…

Orere Iviesa

It says any town that Ovie is it must be different but no Urhobo people turn it to

Urhobo ee…..

Orere Iviesa

• It was during the time of Akporoba, Akporoba brought, he is also the person who form chieftaincy title, during the time Akporoba coming from benin, power to give to his son, the good people of the Ughelli, first and foremost when you are coming from benin when you are going home, the first two people you will give the chieftaincy title is the Iyasere and the Izomo and you don’t confide in him all those things outside you will call him in the rain in that junction, so they will go there to wait for the Ovie, the Iyasere and the Izomo and the Iyasere is the immediate junior brother of the Ovie of different mother, while the Izomo is the Immediate junior brother of Ovie of the same mother, any Ovie to come must confide in those two people, so through there any person who is behaving well he gives them chieftaincy title. You sell every Urhobo king they call him Ajuwe the title Ajuwe came out during the time of reign out Idjesa too no sorry the time of Iseduro, Iseduro before Oghoghowen the Iseduro have junior brother from another mother is the Iyasere, Iyasere became very stubborn, the name of the Iyasere is Tivei, so he was very very stubborn, each time he is always trying to course trouble for the Ovie, each time he comes to the Ovie, he will be demanding unnecessary demand, so it got to a stage when the Iyasere now told the Ovie that he is Owen no Ewowo, Ewowo means those wood that people put in the river and cap can enter, certain fish will enter, so when you reach you will cover the two hole then when you come out you will pour it, anything you see there you will take, some people use it as a trap, people who are very anxious the fishermen, so when he come he will say Ewowo Movei means that those wood when e don catch any fish e go eat am, the Ovie said if you are an Ewowo I am an Owen, you are Ewowo I am owen, this owen you weave it when you weave it, it crosses the river and you put the hole for center anything that enters if na fish, if na wood that flows towards that area, plenty people will hold it and carry it outside, then they will select the bad things out, then the Ovie said if you are Ewowo I am Owen, the Ughelli people now said ye Ajuwe, Ajuwe, Ajuwe, he was using this Ewowo to threaten the Ovie, the Ovie said he is Owen, meaning he have chosen Owen, Ajuwe, Ajuwe, Ajuwe, the Ovie now choose that big trap that they put in river, so the name Ajuwe bring out Isedurou, but today now any Urhobo person you say is Ajuwe, if you tell them what is the meaning they will forget about that one, thank you very much.

Some say that there is one rope when they use to knit something in the bush, the rope will climb all the wood in the bush and go up, we call that one Iyaven, Ovie Idjesa has that nick name, when you call him Iyaven, he will say he don long all ughelli people, Iyaven means mei je kpa akweje in Urhobo then my grandfather his own is Odide, that is Oharisi the second, that Odide is that earthworm, it says earthworm can never enter into a strong soil, it can only enter into a soft soil, then my father was Imesegbadon, Imesegbadon means that there was this quarrel between Otowovdo and Oteri and Itivie came from Oteri, he did not some much work with my grandfather, so when my father came in, they supported the king, my father said mei mo ughelli ne je bsi  then me I am Ayeovovevie, Ayeovovevie means a mother that gave birth to two kings in a different kingdom, my father did not take it, but it was my father that the woman gave birth to in Okparabei Kingdom and Ughelli Kingdom have the same mother so for the name not to lost I now take Ayeovovevie, meaning a woman that gave birth to two kings, me and the king in Okparabei now we are first cousins Isregware, Iya

Okirimiemie is for, they came here to buy it from my father, it is also Ikebie Ogurimtemie, at that time they said children can stand at the bottom, they will hold you for shoulder like this and be walking so they call him Ikebe ede, Ogurimiemie

I am Chief Peter Itobore Akpofure the otota of great ughelli, kingdom, I am a technocrat in survey engineer by profession, I have worked about 20 to 25 years for Shell in the Oil Industry before I broke out to be on my own, one and half years ago, the kingdom called me to become the spoke man, the Otota of Ughelli Kingdom, and that position is what am currently threading, the part of it, you want me to focus on is the economic development of the region of the kingdom, as you know we are under the western region before the mid-west state was created from the western region and traditionally the area, this section of western region, mid-western region, section of bendel state and delta state, we are move focus on rubber plantation, cassava going and palm oil trading as our own indigenous what you call cash crops farming, the rubber plantation I grew up to meet, I can remember so many years I spent with my father, we use to cut some dullope rubber and ordinary rubber and all that, with the advent of the gold Crude Oil, rubber tapping production of lumps production of rubber sales, went to the background but they are so many countries like Malaysia like all that so many countries that are still dependent on this particular product and it is neither in so many other industries, I believe that a right focus we can injuvinate that particular industries in our kingdom. The Oil Industry somehow killed all the agricultural life of the niger delta including the cassava farming that we will especially, in those days we use to ship what we call starch to the Ijaw people and in return they give us plantain and all that, but now you hardly see people that are focus on that garri production, in the western region I was surprise during one of my visit to the UK to find the Ijebu garri well packaged and been sold in Supermarket so I also believe that our own kingdom here if government focuses one garri production, we can go to such length, that we can be exporting this to other parts of the country and to other parts of west Africa states and may be to the European world some time ago, we read in the papers, that the consumption of starch and what we call our local Owho Soup can actually fight the corona virus and there was a particular restaurant in the UK that became very popularly, all the Europeans were coming there to eat this starch and Owho Soup, there are things we can look into, I think that the government has been misled for so many years that Oil burn and it is time we come back to each of these regions especially our own kingdom, I say what can be produce from here, and our courtage industries in terms like rubber plantation, cassava farming and palm kernel for example, I grew up meeting my father having a palm kernel buy where we all go there keep marching it and producing Oil, resort palm in river state grew from there, Malaysia came to take the seedling from resort farm, right now our own resort farm in river state is dying while we are importing Oil from the same people who came to take it from us we can do better in this kingdom, all we need is for the government to refocus on developing cortage industries in each of our communities, we enjoy fresh water and particular fish we have here which they call Eba when you taste it you know you are eating fish because of the kind of water we have in this area, we will need the support of niger.delta.com to publicist some of these things so that government can take a second look of how do we, for example this community is called Oteri Community, what can Oteri Community produce that they can sustain themselves, the human mind is such that, once you are challenge you can willing produce so much, there was a video I watch two days ago, the video came in from dubai, in dubai a very dry area but they were able to generate electricity from the sun which we will run away from here,  that gives light continuously to so many communities just by using solar, powerless, we can do more a lot of things we can produce and I want to appeal to you, you and your team speak to the government, enlighten the government lead seminars and conferences where government will be force to say let’s do pilot projects in most of these community and from pilot project we come in to bigger cortage industries and I think I will be very delighted to be part and parcel of that drive. I really want to say thank you, thank you for team and I am delighted to be part and parcel of your, you can always call on me, i want to move back here that is why I am building, the parlour is too small, so I want to build bigger parlour where I can spend weekends here well with my 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.           

 My name is honourable Chief Orogun Jonathan, actually we Odorubu are under bomadi local government before the creation of patani local government. 

When we were in bomadi local government, Odorubu, Uduovwori and Odorbo are in one ward so three community and right from that time nobody from Odorubu can contest even councillorship election or Odorbo. So at that time, when we were in bomadi local government, nobody dare tries to contest even a councillorship election in Odorubu and Odorbo is only Uduovwori. 

So in 1996, when they created patani local government, they created it with ten ward, Odorubu, buluapedebri and Odorbo are now made ten. So if one councilor, if we are contesting for councilor either one person coming from Odorubu or Odorbo or buluapedebri. So until state created some ward, Uduovwori who had been with us were given two ward, Odorbo two unit were given a ward, here in Odorubu, we have almost seven ward because we have the voting strength of three thousand, four hundred and forty eight voters, so which means we are suppose to have seven wards. If Odobro that have a two unit can build a ward to their own to make it three, because we have 1 unit already and even we have a village called Imigwre in Odorubu water side. 

Then those bomadi local government, we have two units in that area till today, there is no single unit in the new patani local government. There is no single unit. People who are there, they come to Odoruu to vote, so if those people should be given a unit of their own as it was done before, two units or three units because their population has grown. Grown to say about three unit, if the three unit are added to Odorubu which means we have ten units, so which can enable us get additional two wards to make it three. So we are using this opportunity to.   

Hon. Chief Orogun Jonathan: Like I was saying we will like to use this opportunity to appeal to the relevant authority, the federal government, the state government to create additional two wards for us because our population is up to ten units. So if a community having two units can have a ward, there is nothing that can prevent us a community that has ten units not to have up to three wards.

So we are using this opportunity to appeal to those relevant authorities like the federal government and state government to create additional two wards for us. So that Odorubu can have three wards.

Hon. Chief Orogun Jonathan: It is seven units 

Hon. Chief Orogun Jonathan: of three thousand, four hundred and forty eight voters, then why the village, the Odorubu water side they are not registered and formally when were in bomadi local government they are two voting units in Imigwre, we call it Imigwre in Odorubu water side. So those areas too should be registered. There are other villages that we need to be included to be part of the wards.   

Hon. Chief Orogun Jonathan: Yes, Odorubu like the said is a directly tarakri community which is Ijaw, urhobo speaking Ijaw. 

We are hearing in papers that they are going to create states, torabe state, eventually if torabe state is created we Odorubu which that the headquarter of the state to be sited in bomadi because it is closer to use as against the proposal that the headquarter should be in burutu. 

We Odorubu which the federal government to site up the state headquarter in bomadi, so that we can easily get access to the state headquarter. 

Therefore, we still wish the state or federal government to give tarakri a local government of its own with the headquarter sited up at Odorubu because we have all the infrastructures that can make a community be a local government headquarter. 

Apart from Patani, all other communities don’t have infrastructure like us. All other tarakri communities don’t have infrastructure as we have. 

So we should be given the opportunity to be given a local government headquarter and we wish the federal government to create the torabe state so that the headquarter can be in urhobo here, that is another area, I wish to add, thank you. 

My name is Mr. Orughere Roland, the president general of Odorubu Community. 

I just want to mention some of the things about the challenges of Odorubu community politically. Of course, its an appeal to the people of patani local government those who are in the hem of affairs to stop choosing counselor for Odorubu. For a very long time, the people at the hem of affairs in patani local government usually adopt somebody from Odorubu as their councilor and Odorubu is not happy. 

Odorubu community is happy over that development because Odorubu community is an autonomous community they know the good person, they know the person that will represent them at the council level, instead one politician from Asaba will pick Ese, you are my council counselor to the detriment of Odorubu community even at present, the local government election is about to start. 

We are hearing that one of those big men has chosen somebody as his own choice to the detriment of Odorubu community. They are not aware, they are not happy. Infact Odorubu will not want that to happen, its an advise that, those who are using, who are trying to be an indigene of Odorubu who are choosing somebody as Odorubu councellor, we will not tolerate that, they should disease from that arrangements. Let Odorubu come together, Odorubu know who will be their representative, democracy is a representative government, so the community will send a representative, a person of their choice that will go there to represent them.

So if you are choosing your friend to represent Odorubu that Odorubu don’t know “Is that person representing Odorubu”?. The answer is no. so stop representing Odorubu, that person is not doing Odorubu favour, so any person, any politician who is saying that Odorubu, John is my candidate, that person should desist from it, if not there is going to be a day that the Odorubu community will involve against that politician.

That politician comes from a community, if he’s well known in his community, he can nominate somebody of his choice in his community that is where he has power, that person has no power in Odorubu Community. That is one of the challenges facing Odorubu politically, thank you and God bless you.  

Mr. Orughere Roland: Thank you, very much, as a matter of fact, we have two bore holes constructed by delta state government and shell from the beginning the one constructed by shell was usable but the water is reddish, but we were still managing it to an extent where the engine got bad and as we are talking today, that place is abandoned, no water is coming from that place.

All effort made by the community for shell to come and repair the engine and even the local government fell to their deaf ears, so nothing is happening there.

Then the other one done by the state, I think I was the speaker of the house, the deputy honourable Bassey Gana that took the contract, we did not see water from that bore hole till today, no water, we don’t see water as present.

We’ve been writing to the local government chairman especially to this electoral committee, he told us that he’s going to do the water for us till today nothing has happened. So presently we are relying on rain water and streams. We don’t have water. If not because of ragolis and pure water, that is coming, most of us would have, nobody knows what would have happened especially the little ones.

So that is where we rely on, all those things, we don’t have water in our community now.  

Mr. Orughere Roland: Thank you very much, like as we have read from the papers given to you, the oganogram drawn by the community, the first of the hem of affairs which is the odion, which is the eldest man of the community and traditionally is the head as you can see from the paper given.

Then we still have a secretary who represent the community in any meeting of the tarakri town and comes back to give information of what have been discussed concerning the tarakri people to the entire community.

Then we have the president general, the presidential board that take charge of the administrative aspect of the entire community as we have enumerated. Then the chairman who take, who is in charge of day to day activity of the community and I hope that is done in every community if Nigeria, if not Delta State.

Then the women council headed by the eldest woman that is the Okpako Eghweya, if you see that back years, women council headed by Okpako Eghweya that is how we call it. So any issue concerning women and if women discover that there is something wrong they also gather to come to the council of elders to tell them that this is what we have observed and this thing need to be done, the odion council will give approval that yes this thing that you people have observed us actually correct, let us put heads together and give go ahead to them for them to continue that. So we all work hand in hand.

Then finally, the youth president as you have said no other function than sanitation, maintenance of the road, the street, everywhere, so that is how it is done.

Infact all the organogram work in unity and if there is, for example now that you have given us a letter that you are coming all the organs have to be invited and say look oh, we are having visitors, so come together at odion place so that everybody can discuss the issue and that is what you are seeing today, everybody that is here, one members of this organ that have mentioned so that by the time we live here, nobody will say am sidelined, I was not informed, when and how, how was it said, is no longer there. So there is unity among the organogram of the community, thank you.  

My name is Chief Patrick Awoke the Amonowo of Odorubu community.

Odorubu is a peace loving community that among ourselves. We live in peace and harmony. That even in this community, we have strangers who are amongst our midst, we have tenants who are doing different occupation in the community and whenever they come around, they stay peace and harmony, we don’t discriminate among strangers and community is a place where everybody mind their own business, whatever you are doing for a living is what you focus on, that, nobody challenges you of what you are doing to earn your living.

Like he said that Odorubu is a peace loving community, like he rightly said that we, neighbouring communities that we share boundary with that on one side of the community we are sharing boundary with Ijaw community of the tarakri clan, that is known as Odorbo community, we also have another community on this side known as Onodama, is an urhobo speaking community also of eghwore clan in Ughelli South, that among all this community that we are sharing boundary with us, we don’t have problem with them, we are always maintaining peace and security among ourselves, we live in cordial relationship with them.

Even on the other side, we have Uduovwori community of the tarakri clan too of patani local government an urhobo speaking community, we also have benesegha, also an Ijaw speaking community we share boundary with them, another community called Asan in Eghwu clan in Ughelli South Local Government, all those community we share boundary with them and we are also maintaining peace and harmony, that in terms of peace and security at least we are trying our best to live in peace within ourselves.

My name is Otobore Ese, the youth president of Odorubu, am here to analyze on the issues concerning the lack of skill acquisition in my community.

For the fact if you look at the community, we have majority of the youth wasting in the community, moving aimlessly in the community without doing anything in the community.

Then the other way round, we also have, we are still facing the problem of unemployment in the community, we have students who graduated from school of health, college of education, up till now no job. They are still moving aimlessly. So for me, for my opinion I will that the government, the state level to come to our aid to make sure there is employment within the community and there is a privilege for skill and acquisition within the youth in the community, so this is what I have for  now.

Am Mr. David Emeruwun, am also a youth of Odorubu, then in addition to what the youth president has just said, so we want to actually talk about the rate of unemployment in our community.

So many of our youth are graduating from school every year without job, in most cases, if there is job in delta state, we don’t really have any politician to project us because job is not given on merit in delta state rather chances are allocated to politician and because of the terran we are poor, so they cannot afford money to bribe their way out, that is why we have about sixty percent of our youth unemployed, in this community roaming about. So we want to appeal to the government that our youth should be considered in terms of employment and skills acquisition, also skills acquisition is done.

We are hearing of skill acquisition, but we have not really seen anyone benefit enough from this community, so in terms of jobs, learning of job and other skill and even the few ones equipment are not given to them to establish.

Mr. Otobore Ese: Yes  

Mr. Otobore Ese: Actually I can say that in this community we have not heard anything about the short pin exercise, if we heard it maybe it is for secret but up till now nobody benefit from short pin in this community.

S/B: It was hijacked; just tell him it was hijacked.

Mr. Otobore Ese: Okay, the short pin are hijacked in the L.G.A level, so none of them is coming to the community as well. Nobody is benefiting from the short pin in this community.  

Mr. Otobore Ese: Actually we don’t have a councilor because we have not done a new election, but we have a secretary who represent this community who is Awoke Alfred by name.  

All: Yes

All: is because we have not done election, he’s the secretary to the care taker committee.  

Community Chairman: The cause is that during the course of bringing people for this position the community is not involved, somebody will just come up and pick people of his choice and fix in into the shopping program. Is not the decision of the community, even as a community chairman, if you ask me who among the youth of this community is benefiting from this programme, I cannot lay hand on any of them, because they were picked on behalf of the community based on personal choice. So that is where our feeling is.

THE WOMEN 

Man interpreting for Mama: What she’s saying is that the women here, they are farming on small scale base on the fact that they don’t have the fund to go on a large scale farming, and because most of them are not educated so they are always based on farming, that they want the government to help them to give a kind of microfinance which they can get fund to improve on their farming where they can farm on a large scale.

She said even them as women, they don’t have farming implements, that they need some machines which they can use to aid their farming for easy farming, and even harvesting from the farm in terms of cassava. They don’t have money to go and grind their cassava, that if grinding machine can be made available for the women, were every woman will harvest cassava and they will take their cassava to the free engine to grind, it will also ease their farming process.

If we watch carefully in our community, we will see that many of the children are all uneducated, that one of the reasons why they are not educated is because the parents don’t have money to take them to school, because they are farming on a very small scale and the fund they are getting from the produce is not enough to train the children that if government can help them to farm on a large scale as they specialize on farming here, the yam can be able to aid the education of their children, that even as it is because of the hardship of the farming they are getting old easily, they don’t have strength to work any longer and they also appeal that most of the aged women who can no longer help themselves, in terms of farming they should be given a little token at the end of the month to take care of themselves.

She said that they are very much aware that local government chairman doctor Chris Ekwo is the founding father of this team, now that the team is here, they want the team to inform the local government chairman that they themselves the women here even though they are not educated, they are still getting information concerning women empowerment going across the L.G.A and other area, empowerment has been given to them in terms of women empowerment.

And even at that, during the flood, all our buildings were taken over, crops and everything were damaged, they came, they took photographs, counted crop till today, they say they will pay compensation, nothing came, that even some of us are homeless.

We have no place to live, that all those things are things the local government have come to inquire but up till today they’ve not done anything and its affecting us greatly.

We want the chairman to act in this direction.  

Chairman: Like on the issue of the health centre, actually by approval, a health centre was approved for us and we have a health centre but we don’t have befitting building where one can go there and say yes, this is a befitting health centre where we have all the structures on ground, as far as Odorubu community is concerned, there is no structure of that nature.  

If you go that health centre, it is an uncompleted building, there is no facility in that health centre that the nurses can work with even as we are talking, none of our women are going to that health centre for any treatment.  

Mama: The nurses that are posted to work in the health centre because of the fact that there are no facility on ground, there is no befitting structure, they are not fully on ground to do their job, as a result, our women are not patronizing the health centre. They are saying they want the health centre of Odorubu to be completed, all the structures that are contained in the health centre should be made available then they should be post qualified nurses who can work with these facilities in the health centre as a result all our women can be well attended and that process of not caring for our pregnant women and not having safe delivery has been reduced within us here. 

If the health centre is well equipped, the facilities are all available and qualified nurses are posted in and our people, pregnant, nursing mother will patronize the health centre.

 That even at that if we have a befitting health centre, some of our women can also be employed to do some casual jobs in that place, that they also need that aspect and to be paid for their own job done. 

As women, the little farming they are doing, the little they are getting from this farming they have been able to put effort to train some of their children to the university, some to polytechnic, college of education and school of health and some of these graduate have no job doing and the government should make available jobs for them to do so that the course of training them to school will not be a waste. 

Community Chairman: This Uduovwri Primary school Odorubu. A school that was founded since 1952 and you can rightly see that we are having four structures in this school and out of the four structures, they are damaged, the walls are collapsing and even in raining season, the whole classrooms are leaking, water is covering everywhere, there are no desk in the school, and as it is, our children are taking risk to come to this environment to learn, because of the kind of structures that on ground, we don’t have blackboard, befitting blackboard, there are no desk, all the children coming here are sitting on the floor, they don’t have any place to put their book to write, even because of the condition of the school majority of the staff, when they come to school 1952. 

So we are appealing to the relevant authorities, the state government, our deputy governor, our deputy speaker who is representing the patani local government and even the chairman of the patani local government, to please come to our aid to ensure that good structures are put in place. In this school, we need new renovation, new structures and especially desk for the children to sit on and the staffroom also are not equipped and the staffroom are not comfortable to give a befitting work here, so that is our own challenge concerning the primary school here. Thank you.