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Urhobo Historical Society |
URHOBO UNITY SUMIIT
July 30-31, 2009
Petroleum Training Institute,
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Business Session II
Strategies for Achieving the Goals of Urhobo Unity
By Peter P. Ekeh
Chairman, Urhobo Historical Society
Comments on a draft of this paper came from the following members of
Urhobo Historical Society: Chief S. S. Obruche (in
Strategies may formally be defined as the methods or plans that a
group or organization employs in order to achieve its desired goals at
the end of its projects. Such a definition of strategies is generally
more hopeful than what emerges as the consequences of the
organization�s projects. This is so because there may be unintended
consequences, which may flow from the projects that a group pursues.
Some such unintended consequences may be weightier than the group�s
planned goals. It is therefore probably wise to characterize
strategies in terms of the outcomes of the group�s projects. Seen in
these terms, strategies may be regarded as plans for achieving the
goals of a group and for controlling the outcomes of its projects.
The outcomes of projects may be good or bad in terms of the values
and expectations of the group. Therefore, efficient strategies of an
organization seek to minimize the poor outcomes of its projects while
they strive to maximize the projects� good outcomes.
Good strategic thinking, therefore, involves some anticipation of
the possible outcomes of projects coupled with the invention of
devices that aim to hold down to a minimum possible bad outcomes
while promoting those devices that will probably allow good outcomes
to flourish.
We will adopt this approach to strategic thinking in weighing the
outcomes of the projects that Urhobo Unity Summit of 2009 has decided
to embark upon.
Projects of Urhobo Unity
When all the speeches will have been made, the main vehicle for
moving forward the agenda of the 2009 Urhobo Unity Summit will be its
projects. As envisaged in the address by Olorogun Felix Ibru,
President-General of Urhobo Progress Union, there are two principal
projects that will emerge from this
I.
In terms of modern political history of
Before national independence in 1960, the people of Benin and
The campaign for the creation of
The renewed campaign for a state, this time a fresh one for the
Urhobo People, should gain several lessons from the previous
experiences. At the very least, those previous experiences of
campaigns for state creation should help us to anticipate unhealthy
outcomes that could worsen our circumstances in Urhoboland following
the creation of an
Committee on the Case for an
In view of experiences of such past campaigns, a well-crafted case
for an
In our previous campaigns for state creation, the matter of state
capital was left out of public consideration, on the murky
understanding that it was too touchy a subject to be broached in
public. The result was that powerful individuals sought to influence
the choice of the capital, creating an appearance of disunity and
confusion among the Urhobo people. It has been mentioned that one
reason why we lost the case for the capital of
This Committee should also have the responsibility of consulting with
our ethnic neighbours so that our intentions are properly understood
by them. This is particularly important in the case of the Isoko. We
need close consultation with the Isoko people. While we should not be
dissuaded from any campaign for an
There were few areas of
For this purpose, I recommend an
Urhobo Lands and Boundaries Committee, mostly made up of
lawyers, geographers, surveyors, and historians who can document
Urhobo possessions of their lands. This Committee should prepare a map
of Urhobo lands that we seek to include in
Prospects of Good Governance and Possibility of Bad
Governance
We have a lot more to learn about the political history of state
creation and administration of states than the campaign for them. We
have experienced the outcomes of two created states in terms of their
benefits as well as their ills for our people. The examples of the
benefits and the ills of the creation of Midwest Region will provide
good lessons to reflect upon as we contemplate on embarking on a
renewed exercise. Doing so will help us to navigate our collective
fortunes away from avoidable pitfalls.
The benefits that flowed from the creation of Midwest Region (later
On the other hand, following the creation of the Midwest Region,
Urhobos experienced unexpected political hardships that nearly
destroyed their key institutions. Urhobo Progress Union was imperiled.
There was a brazen attempt to marginalize the
The above contrasts between the benefits and ills of the creation of
Midwest Region (later,
Control of Urhobo Progress
There are some in Urhobo leadership who canvass that the best way of
reaping benefits from the Government of the State or even the Federal
Government is through the UPU. Then there are State officials who
believe that it is important to control the affairs of the UPU as an
aspect of the governance of the State � even as Chief Festus
Okotie-Eboh clearly attempted in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In
these circumstances, the Urhobo People, who own the
Safeguarding the Institution of Ovie.
The institution of Ovie was a creation of Urhobo culture and is
probably important in defining who we are. In recent years, many
leaders of thought in Urhobo affairs and indeed the silent Urhobo
majority have expressed fears that political parties, politicians, and
indeed the Government have used the holders of the offices of Ivie in
ways that threaten the integrity of the institution. The office of
Ovie is expensive to maintain. It probably needs payment of stable
stipends from the Government. But that in no way means that the Ivie
are required to serve the political interests of those who exercise
political power. Good governance in an
Protecting the Right of Vote among the Urhobo People. Nelson Mandela spent more than twenty-five years in South African
jail because he was fighting for his people to gain the right to vote.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the Urhobo People were able to express,
through free elections, their dissatisfaction with the hostile
policies of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Action Group party towards
them. Sadly, in recent years, that right of Urhobo men and women to
vote their free will has been threatened by our own Urhobo
politicians. Those politicians may be unaware of the gravity of their
actions. But it is a practice that must not be allowed to be carried
over into an Urhobo state. If denying the masses of the Urhobo people
the right to vote becomes routine in an Urhobo state, chaos and
pathology will settle into our affairs with disastrous consequences.
Perhaps we should state this matter much more firmly: If Nelson
Mandela is regarded as an archetypal patriot because he suffered in
order to win the right of vote for his people in South Africa, then we
must state that those who deprive their own Urhobo people of the right
to vote are smeared in the eyes of their own people with a lack of
patriotism, to say the least. It is our patriotic duty to ensure that
such unpatriotic malpractices are not carried forward into an
Committee on Good Governance in an
The above three issues -- concerning Urhobo Progress Union, the
institution of Ovie, and protection of the right to vote among the
Urhobo people � belong to the realm of good governance. We should
assume that those who are elected to govern will do so on behalf of
the Urhobo People. To ensure that this will in fact be so, or at least
that the Urhobo People and those whom they elect will be constantly
reminded of this principle, we recommend a
Committee on Good Governance in an
Summary
We have recommended three distinct Committees to handle different
aspects of an Urhobo campaign for a state of their own. These
Committees are as follows:
(a)
Committee on the Case for an
(b)
(c)
Committee on Good Governance in an
We further recommend that the President-General of Urhobo Progress
Union, in consultation with the Organizing Committee of Urhobo Unity
Summit, draw up the terms of reference of these Committees and then
select the men and women who will serve in them. Some consideration
should be given to the idea of giving the last two of these Committees
a standing status.
II.
Nigerian universities face a major crisis in our times. It is clearly
the case that the culture of disciplined learning is more or less
broken in our universities. While some of the newer private
universities offer some hope of improvement, the overall prospects of
university education in
In current terms, there are four types of universities in the
Nigerian academic system:
Federal Government of Nigeria�s Universities. Beginning with the
State Universities. Most of the states in
Private For-Profit Universities. A good number of businessmen and former Heads of State as well as
former Governors of States have built what appear to be private
for-profit universities, mostly in southern
Private Not-For-Profit Universities. Some Christian denominations have established what appear to be
not-for-profit universities about which their owners do not act as
investors who must derive financial benefits from their investments.
The financial gains that flow into these universities� coffers are
retained for their further development.
The future of the Federal and
While the third category of private for-profit universities may have
some future, they are largely untested and will remain so until they
survive the lives of their financial owners. The strength in the
Nigerian university system seems to be in the fourth category of
private not-for-profit universities. And it is here that an
Model of Private Not-for-Profit Universities
Most of the private not-for-profit universities in
I am assuming that Urhobo Progress Union, as the proprietor of the
envisaged
There will be two preliminary steps in the founding of an
Charter for an
Urhobo Progress Union will build, or cause to be built on its behalf,
a complex of higher institutions (that may be named
The University shall be a centre of excellence such as will allow its
students, graduates, teachers and researchers to participate at the
highest level of national and international exchange of
scholarship.
The University shall establish modern libraries, including digital
libraries, which will hold documents on Urhobo history, culture, and
language for teaching and research purposes.
Urhobo Progress Union agrees to establish Urhobo University
Foundation whose responsibilities shall be to run the affairs of The
University on behalf of Urhobo Progress Union and the Urhobo
People.
The Urhobo University Foundation shall have the responsibility of
managing the funds and other properties of The University on behalf of
Urhobo Progress Union and the Urhobo People.
There shall be a board of trustees (drawn from public figures,
businessmen, high-profile academic and administrators) who will set
the policies of the Foundation, including appointing its Executive
Director, on behalf of Urhobo Progress Union.
As much as possible, there should be representatives of international
bodies (such as the
I recommend that the Urhobo Unity Summit, 2009, should authorize the
President-General of Urhobo Progress Union to empanel an
Urhobo University Committee that will study the above
issues on the matter of
III. Building an Enabling Environment
The preceding discussions on planning for an
Unfortunately, in recent years, the enabling environment for progress
in Urhoboland has been poisoned by an outbreak of chronic violence.
The level of violence has not only been unchecked; it has grown by
leaps and bounds with the introduction of sophisticated guns by
politicians and their hired thugs and with each election cycle. The
consequences of this regime of violence have been devastating for
Urhobo culture. Sacred funeral rites have been altered from their
evening and night calendars to day-time ceremonies. Traditional
evening weddings have been turned into day-time hurried ceremonies.
Much of night-time business (such as evening and night University
classes) has been lost to this wanton reign of violence in
Urhoboland.
Moreover, violence poses threats to personal safety in Urhoboland.
The evidence for this growing threat can be seen in the behaviours of
people in the huge Urhobo Diaspora. Few people visiting home from
outside Urhoboland want to sleep in their own homes and in their
hometowns � unless they are wealthy enough to provide private
security. In
Combating the Reign of Violence in
Various communities have put up their limited defences in several
corners of Urhoboland against this growing peril. But they are
inadequate and will probably crumble as another election season
approaches. One response, especially from politicians, has been to say
that such violence is not limited to Urhoboland and that it is
widespread in
In order for Urhobo to step up and take this matter seriously as a
people, a review of the different strategies to combat violence in
various areas of
Igbo Response: Bakassi Boys. Igboland is plagued with wanton violence. The Igbo response has
been for communities to employ so-called Bakassi Boys who strive to
eliminate with brute force those who they deemed guilty. Because the
system became politicized in several communities and because the
Bakassi Boys got into conflict with the Nigeria Police, they have not
been as effective in controlling violence as was originally hoped by
the communities that employed them.
Yoruba Response: Traditional Rulers and Traditional Control of
Crimes. In the face of rising violence in traditional Yoruba cities and
towns, Yoruba Ọba and Balẹ have picked up their
traditional mantle of providing security in their domains. A great
deal of the security arrangements in Yoruba towns have been organized
from their palaces where retired Nigeria Police Officers are often
employed to help with the management of security in their towns. The
Yoruba system relies a great deal on intelligence gathering about
criminals and their families. Community response seems to have been
very supportive of these arrangements. The results have been
impressive. It is striking that the growth of universities in recent
times has largely been in Yorubaland where there seems to be a more
favourable enabling environment than elsewhere in
Urhobo Response: Town and Clan �Presidents-General� and Provision
of Security. The response to the expansion of violence in Urhoboland has been
rather novel. Communities have elected public-spirited individuals,
whom they brand with the lofty title of �President-General,� to help
them to fight the violence that has come upon them. It is striking
that the respected Ivie have not played major roles in combating the
stream of violence in Urhoboland. Some of the �Presidents-General�
have been quite successful in cutting down the rate of violent crimes
in their areas. The result, though, is that violent criminals abandon
tough areas for weaker spots in Urhoboland.
A Comprehensive Plan for Combating Violence in Urhoboland
In my own view, it would be a major achievement of this Urhobo Unity
Summit if we are able to persuade Urhobo�s two major institutions �
namely, Urhobo Progress Union and the Ivie of Urhoboland � to pay full
attention to the onrush of violence as a threshold problem that needs
to be defeated. Such victory over the reign of violence in Urhoboland
will allow Urhobo�s two legitimate projects -- creation of an
Urhobo Progress Union should expand its menu of duties to include
peace and security in Urhoboland. A
Committee on Peace and Security in Urhoboland would be
appropriate and could incorporate retired Police Commissioners as
ex-officio
members.
The Council of Urhobo Ivie should similarly include peace and
security in its deliberations. The Ivie should make it clear to the
Urhobo People that they regard the provision of security as part of
their royal responsibilities.
As much as possible each Ovie should have an Intelligence Officer who
will assist the Town or Clan �President-General� and his team with
security information about violent criminals in their domain.
Urhobo Progress Union should consider helping to coordinate the
security work of the different Town and Clan �Presidents-General� with
the aim of strengthening their common efforts of providing security in
their communities.
Before the campaign for any election season begins, Urhobo Progress
Union should summon the political parties and political platforms to
discuss the banning of guns in the campaigns. They should be told that
Urhobo People will regard those who bring guns into campaigns in
Urhoboland as unpatriotic because these guns kill Urhobo people.
Urhobo Progress Union should consider raising funds from Urhobo
communities at home in Urhoboland as well as from the Urhobo Diaspora
to help finance the security needs of Urhoboland. Such fund-raising
should be extended to the
All of these steps � and perhaps more as these are reviewed � require
hard work and a lot of patience. But the pay-off could be handsome. We
are in a crisis. The Urhobo People will not forget any institutions
and organizations that will pay attention to this open sore of
violence in Urhoboland. Urhobo People will reward with great esteem
the contributions of our Royal fathers to the provision of security in
Urhoboland. And the Urhobo People will forever bless Urhobo Progress
Union if it helps to defeat this dangerous expansion of violence.
Above all else, we need to lower the level of violence in order to run
a proper
Peter P. Ekeh
July 31, 2009