By Young Erhiurhoro
The truth in this matter is that, the Unenurhie people have spoken much on this without making any headway or breakthrough. We tried in our little knowledge to present various facts and figures in the Unenurhie history as a people, their relationship with the Evwreni people, their position in the make up of Evwreni kingdom, their position in the make up of Evwreni Ward and most importantly, the cordiality and co-habitation of Evwreni and Unenurhie people.
Unfortunately, in all these our presentations and arguments, we couldn’t get any tangible results or achievements to write home about at the end of the day. Rather, all our efforts as concerns Unenurhie people and this struggle were killed and frustrated by the same Unenurhie people before the Evwreni people.
At several occasions, I was threatened to stop writing and publishing my articles on this Unenurhie relationship with the Evwreni people in any media platform. I was threatened of police arrest, court litigations and other government authorities for seeking secession of the Unenurhie people. I was accused by some Evwreni people of causing chaos and crisis in Evwreni kingdom by instigating the Unenurhie people to break away. Are these allegations really true?
However, these allegations against me are being masterminded not just by the Evwreni people in question, but by the Unenurhie people whom I thought we are paddling the same boat in the high sea. But my thoughts seem very far from the reality.
These same people are the people telling the Evwreni people to nail me to the cross immediately, if not, I may definitely have my way in a victorious way in this struggle. They however masterminded different ways to frustrate all my efforts as a person and also to frustrate the efforts of the present UCDU leadership in Unenurhie community to have their way in this struggle. All of us at the helm of affairs in the community are rightly being intimidated to drop this case if we want peace and comfort.
Truly these mis-chief makers designed various strategies to “pull me down” immediately by tying both my hands and legs to the discussion table. In this, I have to consider so many things about the safety of life as a person and the continuous existence of the Unenurhie people if I have to drag on this matter more than this.
First, they continued to tell me my identity and how I was related to Unenurhie as a community. These set of Unenurhie people would always call and meet with certain Evwreni leaders to tell them that, I’m typically from Uwheru kingdom. Nothing as the “African Thought and Philosophy” defined it connect me to the Unenurhie people. They have accused me severally that, I’m not an indigene of Unenurhie community. I told those people to define for me who an indigene is in a community. Till this moment, I’m still waiting for their definitions of an indigene.
Even with their shallow reasoning, they have still failed in all aspects of law pertaining to this very term, ‘indigene’. Yes, by birth and paternity, I’m an Uwheru man. But Unenurhie was a place they took me to when I was a child. They took me to Unenurhie in 1985 after my parents had divorced few years ago. My mother succeeded in marrying an Unenurhie man called Mr. Harrison Puley Atori. They both lived in Uku Sunday Efedudu’s compound. In this case, is it really my fault as a child to join my mother at Unenurhie? Which offence according to the Nigerian Law have I committed to lived with my mother at Unenurhie?
I had my primary school in Unenurhie Primary School between 1987 to 1992. I again proceeded to Eni Grammar School, Evwreni for SSCE certificate between 1993 to 1998. After some years because of lack of supporters, I then went to tertiary institutions for my higher degrees. In all these my academic pursuits, I was fully resident in Unenurhie community. From here, somebody should define an indigene for me.
After my academic pursuits, I came back to the Unenurhie community to be a full resident. I then prepared for my marriage and as God will have it, I got married to one of their daughters who is now my beloved wife today. Yes, our marriage is quite successful as we are blessed with children and made some other tangible achievements. From here too, I need a detailed definition of the term, “Indigene”.
Not only these, as I returned to the community, I took the part of a democrat and a community defender. This paved the ways for me to serve the Unenurhie community in different capacities which I’m very proud of today as a successful contributor. Most of my ideas and sellable dreams have continued to yield positive results in the community. Apart from being members of different “standing committees” under different UCDU governments, right from the time of late Chief Greg Atori as president-general, I also served majorly as Secretary of Unenurhie Youth Association under the chairmanship of Mr. Augustine Abrucha. Again, define the term “indigene” for me based on this my participation.
Seriously speaking, what the Unenurhie culture excluded non-indigenes or residents to do during their Ohworhu cultural festival, I have gladly done it in the name of indigene. I have participated as a masquerade dancer in the Ohworhu cultural festival for over a decade before I decided to handle over to another person. Yet, somebody will stand just because he wanted to blackmail and run me down to accused me before the Evwreni people that, I’m not an indigene of Unenurhie community. How I wish we have a legal expert here to define the term”indigene ” from the legal perspective.
Presently, for the two consecutive tenures I have served in this present UCDU leadership under Mr. Peter Maison, I first served as an Assistant Secretary-General in the first tenure and presently, as a Secretary-General. This present tenure would end by March, 2025 to bring in a new UCDU government. In fact, my tenure as a Secretary-General, even if the community is not proud of our contributions and achievements in the community, I will definitely be proud of myself. As a key stakeholder in this government, I have joined my forces with those of the president-general to move the community forward in several ways. Today, the positive results are very much realistic and everybody is seeing them, except these mis-chief makers and evil doers that are blind. I will love it if a practicing lawyer can throw more light on this discussion.
More importantly, I have to share this my ugly personal experience with the internal affairs of the Unenurhie people to enable us understand in clear terms, our topic of discussion in this short article. The sovereignty and independence of the person is as important as the life of that person. If you deny a person his/her sovereignty and independence, you equally deny the person his/her right to life.
This is why, if we stand to talk about our sovereignty and independence as a people in this Evwreni kingdom, I think it should be a communal project which every indigene of Unenurhie community, home and abroad must contribute to its success and victory.
Except we call ourselves together as members of one indigenous community, our status and position in the sovereignty and independence as a people in this struggle will perpetually remain the same. We can’t achieve any tangible result since we have defeated our own selves in this battle. We have succeeded in killing ourselves before the Evwreni people. They stand on the fence and they keep laughing at us.
Today, let me say this here, even to the hearing of those mis-chief makers in the community, you shouldn’t cause crisis and calamity in the community because somebody is pushing you into the 2025 UCDU Elections. This is a grievous mistake on your part if truly you called yourself an indigene of Unenurhie community. Many of those showing up for the UCDU elections are only doing that to seek for a reprisal attacks on one hand and again, for a personal interest. Anybody coming to the political scene without seeking for the sovereignty and independence of the Unenurhie people is doing that for self gratification and personal interest. Actually, these are not the kind of leaders that the Unenurhie people need at this material time.
The kind of leaders that the Unenurhie people need now are selfless leaders. Leaders that will assume the position of servants in the community. The kind of leaders that can speak boldly to the Evwreni people on these issues of sovereignty and independence as a people. To so many Evwreni people, even those that are closed to me, have now took me as a wicked person as soon as I mentioned this topic for discussion. To the Unenurhie people, these mis-chief makers have continued to paint me black before those ignorant in the community. My records are clear before the people. Let’s not practice political calumny in the community in order to have our ways in this coming 2025 UCDU elections.
We should not also encouraged external influence in this coming elections. I can see that, there are many external powers trying to control the elections to their own favour and advantage. They have continued to project persons that are loyal to them in order to have their way in subversion of the sovereignty and independence of the Unenurhie people. These Unenurhie people, out of fear of intimidation have accepted to toll the lines of the political opinions and views of these Evwreni people. Therefore, stand for your rights as a person.
Young Erhiurhoro;Kjc is a reporter and a member of the Urhobo Historical Society.
