War, they say, has been a constant with humanity, but it also indicates the weakness of leaderships. While the US and USSR invested in atomic and nuclear armament to show their strength we must also see that they have not shot a single missile at each other.
They only engaged in cold war, being careful about aggression because they well understand that war will only bring heavy suffering and destruction upon their peoples and nations. Simply put, they know that war is foolish.
After the destructions of the First and Second World Wars, various Super Powers resorted to bilateral and multilateral treaties and pacts to pursue peace and cooperation with one another. They have rather been engaging in negotiations to reduce arm stockpiling while, together with China, Japan and the European Union, they have shifted their competition from war to economy, trade, industry, science, space craft, technology, agriculture, medicine and acquisition of multilateral alliances.
I therefore find it awful that in this age and time, communities in my homeland Isoko nation are still engaging one another in communal war and mutual destruction of lives and property.
I first heard of the Emede/Igbide war while growing up in the 80s. I am surprised that the same communities are still at war even into the 2020s. Then we also heard of the crisis between Ozoro and Oleh, incidentally the headquarters of the two Isoko LGAs, and the killing of the Oleh 14 which included whole families. These only show that not only are we, as a people, growing backward from the rest of the world but, most disappointingly, that our leaderships at all levels, from traditional, political, community, social to youth, are terribly, despicably and embarrassingly poor.
We have seen intra-community disputes escalate to huge conflagrations to the point that sections of same communities killed themselves and destroyed their brother’s properties and even the sacredness of their monarchies were desecrated with kings chased out of town. It happened in Uzere, Emede, Igbide, Ozoro, Iyede and others. I stand to be corrected. In Oleh we saw the reign of terror through a youth that brought elders to their knees.
I reason that if at the community level the leaders could not hold their people together to maintain their own discipline, unity, peace and harmony, then I am not surprised at their intellectual poverty and inability to lead their people away from war with other communities. This is not only disgraceful but shows our leaders, without exception, are not worthy of their claim to leadership.
For the avoidance of doubt, during my consultation in bidding for the chairmanship of Isoko South LGA Council, I attended arbitration meeting called by Isoko Development Union and the LGA Chairman for Igbide and Okpolo-Enwhe. I attended with a view to understanding what the issues really are and the different arguments of the two communities. In attendance too were virtually all the traditional rulers from Isoko land.
I had thought that it was a great move by the IDU but I also saw that the body lacked the constitutional and legal capacity to enforce what ever decision they arrived at. This is mostly so because I also saw that the leaderships of the communities were not sincerely committed to the value of “give and take” for peace.
This insincerity is showing, once again with the aggression, attack and counter attacks between Emede and Igbide even in the recent peace mission led by the new leadership of the IDU.
At the IDU meeting, the Ovie of Ozoro and the Odiologbo of Oleh stood out to speak in strong terms against acts of communal aggression. It was therefore hugely disappointing to hear that they too have not been able to effectively manage a land dispute between their two communities. I had thought that the two monarchs, sitting at the two LGA headquarters of Isoko nation, will lead the example for other communities on “Isoko ovo.” They didn’t or haven’t. So, was the showing at the IDU meeting mere hypocrisy?
Sadly too, the monarchs in many other communities, often intimidated by the power of some inordinate politicians, the wealth of some big men, including possible fraudsters, their own greed to partake in booties or get contracts and the fear of violent youths empowered by joblessness, have lost the wisdom to direct their people aright and have surrendered their authority to their various town or clan union leaders some of whom are more or less thugs who thrive only in crisis.
Diplomacy, not war, is the best and only wise way of engagement but deriving from the poor leadership at all levels, Isoko is fast losing the sense of the values of love, unity, peace and cooperation. While the world is pursuing solutions for developments in agriculture, industry, technology, educational advancement and wealth creation through various forms of partnerships and collaboration, our people now pride themselves in their capacity to attack and destroy lives and property of their neighbours both within the same community and against other communities.
As part of this process, indigenes with the wherewithal are no longer judged by what investments and contributions they make towards development but by their donations towards the acquisition of arms and ammunitions to wage war with their neighbours. The youths are appraised not by their discipline and brilliance but by their bravery in attacking neighbouring communities.
We forget that war is without end. The community that is defeated today retreats to plan for vengeance. It will attack when the other is asleep. Then the other also retreats to plan and attacks again. And it continues from decade to decade, generation to generation. It becomes war without end. That is the legacy our community leadership is bequeathing on us.
Truth is, peaceful co-existence can only be by mutual understanding and disposition to give and take. This understanding can only be promoted by the community leaders. They is no value in the lands, lakes and waters that is worth the lives of our brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. It’s especially so as we are all related to one another either from our forefathers or by marriage.
The Edorehs of Umeh, for instance, have very close family ties in Igbide, Uzere, and Emede from where I married. Our grandmother was from Enwhe just as we are related with the former Ovie of Ozoro and just as my father’s wife has very close relations in Olomoro. Then, we all children grew up in Oleh which we take as second home till date. This is besides family friends across all other communities.
This sequence applies to virtually every Isoko man and if we do not regard these relationships in conducting ourselves in times of disagreements, then we must be a cursed people.
We must understand that no external power or influence can bring peace to us except ourselves. The history of our various communal conflicts show that from as far as the 20th century, we have been through various colonial and post independence courts, judicial commissions of inquiry, external peace panels etc etc, with various judgments and verdicts delivered, yet we have kept fighting and destroying ourselves into the 21st century over the same disputes. Are we so so stupid?
Unarguably, the government must have to step in and take responsibility of enforcing law and order in Isoko land. The Governor swore to this and Iskoo is eminently part of his constituency. Unlawful possession of firearms is an offence against the state. Murder or manslaughter is an offence against the state. Arson is an offence against the state. Destruction of property is an offence against the state. The state cannot and should not undermine these criminal acts and shirk its responsibility to bring offenders to book by the description of these acts in the context of communal crisis. If it does, it will be betraying its oath both to the constitution and to God.
We do agree that the description as Chief Security Officer of the state is only by title or letters of the constitution and we all know that Governors do not have command nor control of the military nor the police, nor can “Okowa Police” or “Amotekun” engage in this kind of matter where heavy arms are in use, but there is a lot they can do to prevent mayhem and the orgy of mutual killings and destructions in their constituency. They can relate to the Federal Government to deploy soldiers or invoke a state of emergency. They can, through the deployment of intelligence detect those fanning the cauldrons of bloodshed and bring them to book. They can be no excuse for dereliction.
However, Isoko must know that peace cannot be decreed, it can only be agreed. At the federal level, we must also see that even with the accusation of nepotism against the North of controlling all the top security and intelligence agencies, they are having a hell of time combatting Boko Haram and bandits troubling their peace. The system is overstretched with crises and they are now priority areas of attention.
The lesson from this is that our destiny and peace is in our hands as one people. We can either choose to remain in mutual destruction or seek mutual co-existence through mutual sacrifice.
If, for instance, Emede and Igbide agree, as they do, that they are brothers and have mutual stake in Ewokpaso land, what is the big deal in sacrificing portions to each other? What is the big deal in Uzere, Igbide and Emede having an understanding on Oruzu land, if they agree, as they do, that they are bothers? This same applies to Ozoro and Oleh.
What is it that we cannot share with our brothers? Last last, let’s take note that when two brothers fight and kill themselves, strangers will inherent their lands. I imagine that they might come a time when the lands we are fighting over might be seized by government and which we cannot fight. Case closed. Then we live in regrets.