Blessing Okorite, Port Harcourt
A serious disagreement is deepening among indigenes of Okoroagu community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, over oil benefit.
The community recently split into two groups, struggling for leadership that will manage the benefits from the oil well in the area.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that as at early 2000, there was peace in the community, until there was a spill in well 10 in Okoroagu.
Immediately the people were notified that the company managing the facility would compensate the community for the damage, a part of the community declared autonomy, thereby splitting the hitherto united people into two.
Five villages, Umuochiogu, Achara, Dike-Nkpaka, Umuokechi and Ukpala make up Okoroagu but in 2000, Ukpala secured autonomy as Okoroagu II, leaving the four remaining communities as Okoroagu I.
On a visit to the community, elders of Okoroagu I said the reason for the move by Chief Marcus Amadi and others to secure the autonomy was to control the oil revenues that come into the community.
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But the chiefs and elders of Umuota and Umuonyele Okoroagu II stated that the breakup was to avoid conflict, while alleging marginalisation by the other villages.
Mr. Gift Oshilem, the Secretary of the Traditional Supreme Council of Elders and Chiefs of Okoroagu I stated that the Chief of Okoroagu II, Amadi, pulled his community out on his own volition.
Oshilem said: “Chief Marcus Amadi since the year 2000, declared his own village autonomous. When he declared it autonomous he announced his community as Okoroagu ll.
“He has consistently said that our own Chief, Chief Innocent Nwosu is not a native of Okoroagu. He said that Nwosu is a land grabber. Such claims are laughable. Nwosu is from Okoroagu.”
Oshilem stated that Amadi had no right coming to the land of Okoroagu I to talk of land and other issues, adding he should remain in his Okoroagu II.
He said: “When he has declared his own community autonomous he has no right to come and claim any part of Okoroagu 1. The elders remain the one who hold the history of this community. And they know that Nwosu is from Okoroagu.
“Marcus Amadi is not a royal highness. If he does not retract describing himself as a royal highness everybody in this community will begin to bear royal highness.
“I urge our people to be law abiding while this matter is being handled. We have always been law abiding and civil.”
Oshilem stated further: “We were one till earlier the year 2000, when there was a spill in well 10 in Okoroagu. The well originally is in the land which we are saying belongs to the people of Umuokechi.
“When Amadi felt that the area was in his village, he declared autonomy. He did not know that Ukpala is different from Umuokechi, with a document to that fact.
“Our stand is that since he declared autonomy because of the revenue that is in the land that he should remain in his community. He should leave the other four communities to remain in Okoroagu I.
The community secretary claimed that the split of the community was a result of revenue that comes into the community, calling on the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, not to deal with Amadi anymore.
In his words: “We are also calling on SPDC to stop doing business with Chief Marcus for now until justice is done. The split is as a result of greed of the oil revenue. He alone wants to control the resource that Okoroagu manages. He wants Umuokechi because of their God-given natural resources.
“He should remain in Ukpala and should not extend his leadership to Okoroagu 1. I am from Achala and I don’t have control of anything in Umuokechi or Ukpala, the Ukpala has been declared autonomous, so the other communities should be away from his control. The remaining communities are indivisible and we are not ready to separate to join Ukpala.”
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Elder Onyegoro Amadi, the chairman of Elders Council, Okoroagu I, said elders of the community were not happy with the development, adding past leaders of the community did not divide it.
He said: “This thing that is happening now we are not happy because Okoroagu was five villages. But Chief Marcus separated Ukpala and called it an autonomous community. He named his own council of chiefs.
“Now he is looking into the other four communities that are together and we have refused because we cannot separate. Okoroagu since this community came to existence we have not heard of that before. Our former Ruler, Chief Daniel Nwuwa, did not divide this community.
“Umuokechi and Ukpala have boundary and traditionally they intermarry. They are not related. Amadi should remove his hand from Okoroagu I, because we have stood as a community. We are warning him to remove his hand from Umuokechi property.
However, in a letter signed by Chief I.O.D Amadi, Akajiaku I of Okoroagu 2, Chief M.O Amadi, Eze Omenma I of Okoroagu 2, Chief Godspower Nwanikwe, Chief Eric Otamiri, the people of Okoroagu 2 noted their reason of seeking autonomy was marginalisation.
The letter to the leaders of Etche read in part: “We gave land to Okoroagu Community which was used for building Technical Secondary School, but the committee for the school none of our sons was taken as committee member rather, the chairman of the committee is from Umudike, Vice Chairman and secretary were from Umunkpaka and Umuchiogu respectively.
“We also applied for messenger, cleaner and matron which was supposed to be the employment opportunity for Landlords, but the Okoroagu community refused us these employments.
“Since 18th May, 1928 Okoroagu had one market called Eketa Okerealauche. Now as a result of development, the market was moved from the former position to a new site known as Ekenta Okoroagu Community and it sells every Thursday.
“Since 1999-2001 Okoroagu Community had two markets, one situated in the hamlet of Umunkpaka and sells on Wednesday because of this act, the women of Okoroagu abandoned their market and this market stopped operation”.