Urhobo Historical Society
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J. O.
S. Ayomike’s Doctored Writings on the History of Warri and the Western
Niger Delta
By Oke Sikere
[From Urhobo Voice, Vol. 7, No. 224, November 24, 2003]
I WISH to respond to J.O.S.
Ayomike's article titled "Before We Lay to Rest the Corpse of
'British Treaties with Urhobo Communities
in Warri District'" and published in the Vanguard
Newspaper of Tuesday, October 21, 2003 . I am a member of a group that
has been studying Itsekiri publications. We have a collection of
Ayomike’s writings and we are very familiar with his methods. To do
justice to the issue at hand, one would have to digress a little to
present Ayomike’s style in order that the reader could easily
understand.
As a writer, Ayomike has been less than honest. He has deliberately
misinterpreted quotations, purposely withholding relevant information
from his readers, in order to achieve a self-serving goal. He belongs
to the category of writers who take for granted that readers from the
gullible public have no time to verify sources. He often makes a
flamboyant reference, and goes ahead to claim that the author says abc,
whereas what the author actually says is xyz.
Samples of
Distortion of Original Sources in the Writings of J. O. S. Ayomike
Ayomike has written many books. Running through all of them is a
continuous flow of deliberate misinformation, tailored towards the
achievement of his self-imposed goals. In his first book, he states the
goal: “Thus the purpose of this work is to portray Warri local
government area as the homeland of Itsekiri people.” (A History of Warri, page ix). In
chapter one he quotes Professor P.C. Lloyd. This is what Professor
Lloyd says: “The administrative unit known as the Warri Division of
Delta Province whose area is 1,520 square miles, is approximately
conterminous with the territory of the Itsekiri…” (The Benin Kingdom, Bradbury and
Lloyd, page 172). Every honest scholar knows that what is approximately
conterminous is not totally conterminous. Even when Professor Lloyd
himself indicates in his map the Ijaw and Urhobo territories in Warri
Division, Ayomike has turned a blind eye. He has gone to town since
then, drumming it into the heads of the public that eminent historians
of the calibre of Professor Lloyd have written in support of the claim
that the whole of Warri Division is Itsekiri homeland.
In chapter eight Ayomike makes a case for the “Olu of Warri” title.
Here he had a very credible source at his disposal: William Moore’s
book, History of Itsekiri. He
quoted eloquently from it in other chapters of his book. William Moore
was the earliest Itsekiri historian. He wrote during the period of
interregnum of 88 years when the Itsekiri had no king, so, he could not
have been under pressure to use the wrong title. In addition, he was
the spokesman of the Itsekiri royal family and could not have been
ignorant of the correct title. William Moore used the title “Olu of
Itsekiri” more than twenty times. No where in his book did he use “Olu
of Warri”. Perhaps, a sample would do. “After Ijijen’s (the Ogbowuru)
demise, Irame became the Olu of Itsekiri.” (History of Itsekiri, page 25).
The evidence from William Moore was counter to Ayomike’s goal and he
discarded it. He decided to glean bits and pieces of uninformed
statements, as well as sponsored materials deposited in European
archives, to make his case. Meanwhile, Chief Alfred Rewane himself had
earlier confessed that the archival materials were sponsored. (He who
pays the piper dictates the tune). In the words of Rewane: “In the
1970’s some of us Itsekiri leaders of thought, at considerable personal
expense, commissioned research into Itsekiri history by the
Brazilian-Portuguese academician and specialist in African and European
history, Professor Orlinto, from archives in France, Spain, Portugal,
Italy, the Vatican and Brazil.” (The Title “Olu of Warri”. The Historic
Awolowo Compromise in The Guardian, May 20, 1993, page 31).
In another of his books, Ayomike quotes Jacob Egharevba, a Benin
historian. This is what Egharevba says: “Akengbuwa, the Olu of Jekri or
Itsekiri, quarrelled with the Uwangue of Itsekiri, and expelled him
from Ode-Itsekiri.” (A short History
of Benin, page 45). All historians
who wrote before 1952 used the title “Olu of Itsekiri”. Ordinarily,
Ayomike would not have ventured into quoting such a glaring passage,
except that the circumstances of the moment forced him to do so, and
this is how he quotes Egharevba: “Akengbuwa, the Olu… quarrelled with
the Uwangue… and expelled him from Ode-Itsekiri”. (Benin and Warri, Meeting Points in History,
page 46).
He would not want his readers, especially Itsekiri youths, to have the
relevant information that the title from ancient times was “Olu of
Itsekiri.”
J. O. S. Ayomike's
Falsification of Evidence of Forgery of British Treaties in the Western
Niger Delta
Now, to come to the issue at hand, it is a classical example of
Ayomike’s methods. He merely dropped the name of Professor Obaro Ikime,
and the title of his book, Merchant
Prince of the Niger Delta. Then he went ahead, as usual, to
assert that at page 63 of the book, one Mr. Flint advanced the view
that Agbassa treaties were forged. He began to build a powerful case on
this assertion, citing a lot of irrelevant references to confuse the
public. The gullible public, having read this, would go home with the
conclusion that Professor Obaro Ikime, an eminent scholar, has proved
that Agbassa treaties were forged. Haba! It becomes necessary to
present the scenario discussed by Professor Ikime. In doing so, the
relevant words of Ikime, himself, shall be quoted.
First, it should be clearly stated that the Agbassa treaties were not
in dispute at all, since Agbassa was not one of the communities on the
Forcados River. Professor Ikime did not even mention the Agbassa
treaties at all! The treaties in dispute were those of the Ijaw of
Burutu and Ogulaha communities on the Forcados River. The dispute
involved two parties authorized by the British Government to enter into
treaties, namely, the Royal Niger Company (RNC) and the Niger Coast
Protectorate (NCP). From here, one should let Ikime himself tell the
rest of the story by quoting his relevant words.
“Hewett advanced the argument that
the Royal Niger Company’s treaties could not be valid because ‘the
native signatories thereto had no power to enter into them they being
subjects of Nana and included in the Jekri Protection treaty of 1884”
(Professor Obaro Ikime, Merchant
Prince of the Niger Delta, page 61).
“In 1889, Major Claude Macdonald was appointed Special Commissioner to
examine and report on various complaints made against the Royal Niger
Company and its administration” (Ibid, page 62).
“According to Macdonald, the Ijo people told him that they had never
been subjects of Nana, but that the latter was a good friend” (Ibid,
page 62).
“In fairness to Macdonald, it should be recorded that he also held
interviews with Nana himself … Nana failed entirely to show him that he
ever had any right or power over the Ijo” (ibid, page 63).
“John Flint has advanced the view that the Forcados treaties were
forged, his argument being that the ‘marks’ of the signatory elders
were too neat and unsmudged to have been made by illiterates. While
Flint’s opinion might be true, it must be said that his argument is no
conclusive evidence of forgery, for the elders might have declared
their willingness to enter into, and their understanding of the terms
of, the treaty and thereupon empowered the company’s officials to put
down their names and marks” (Ibid, page 63).
Meanwhile, the official position of the British government concerning
the treaties is also stated by Professor Ikime: “The British government
did not, however, consider the matter one of great importance. As Lord
Salisbury, the foreign secretary, noted in a minute, whichever British
authority signed the treaties, the area accrued to the crown” (Ibid,
page 61).
It is clear from the foregoing, that the treaties, as discussed by
Professor Ikime, and the conclusions drawn therefrom, are the direct
opposite of what Ayomike claims. Ayomike should be ignored by all
people of goodwill. He is a man completely consumed by an overwhelming
passion and he has thrown all writing etiquette to the dust in his
desire to make the whole of Warri Division Itsekiri homeland.