- Wike: “Ijaws Are The Minority of Minorities, They Can’t Produce Governor In Rivers, Delta State…”
- Okaba To Wike: “You Are A Drowning Man, We ‘ll Keep Dealing With You..,Ijaw ‘ll Send Send Thunder if …”
By Abiola Olawale
Following escalation of political and ethnic tensions in Rivers State, a fiery verbal confrontation has erupted between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) Professor Benjamin Okaba.
This comes after Wike made some comments about Ijaw during a media parley in Abuja on Tuesday. The comments have been generating massive reactions, with many perceiving the Minister’s statement as derogatory or dismissive of the Ijaw community’s contributions to Rivers State’s political and economic landscape.
Wike had stated: “When law speaks, all this asawana will die. And the law has spoken, let me tell you something, and people should have that right. Ijaw does not constitute the majority of the Niger Delta. People must speak out the truth; heaven will not fall, and we only die once, not twice. Ijaw does not constitute the majority of the Niger Delta; what nonsense every day you wake up; Ijaw will do this.
“In Akwa Ibom, Ijaw cannot be Governor, in Delta, Ijaw is the minority of the minorities, with all due respect to our late elder statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, he has never produced Ijaw man to be Governor in Delta, he has never. The only place an Ijaw man can solely be Governor is in Bayelsa State. Not in Edo, not in Rivers where they are a minority of the minority. It is out of our benevolence, live and let live, we picked an Ijaw man to be Governor.”
However, Okaba, a respected academic and the leader of the INC, the apex socio-cultural organization representing the Ijaw people, swiftly responded, in a video that has equally gone viral.
Known for his fierce defence of Ijaw interests, Okaba did not mince words in condemning what he described as an “unfortunate and reckless” outburst from Wike.
Okaba accused the FCT Minister of displaying a lack of sensitivity towards the Ijaw, a group he argued has played pivotal role in the creation and development of Rivers State.
Addressing the press, the INC President labelled Wike as a “drowning man” who is desperately trying to drag others down with him. He made it clear that the Ijaw people would no longer tolerate Wike’s continuous attacks and disrespect, warning that a political reckoning is near.
He also issued a direct challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stating that going forward, the President should choose between Nyesom Wike and the Ijaw Nation.
He asserted: “We watched Wike insult Ijaw people. However, that will not make us have any issue with Ikwere people. We have them as friends. We respect their views, we respect their disposition.
“We know this man is just a fight alone, fighting the last fight. That is why he’s amassing so much energy, putting everything to play, insulting everybody, trying to bring down anything as a drowning man.
“Wike had dared us. Some years ago, he said, “Thunder fire Ijaw”, and we sent thunder to him because the Ijaw Nation knows the origin of the spirit of thunder. Since that time, we send thunder to Wike, look at him, look at his physique. Does he look the same? Thunder is tormenting Wike now as we speak. The thunder he sent to us, we have sent it back to him and it’s tormenting him seriously. Let him send another thing; we will send it back to the sender.
“We are a peace loving people. Where were the grandfathers of Wike when Ijaw elders fought for the creation of Rivers? President Tinubu has the choice to choose between Wike and Ijaw Nation. Let him keep encouraging him to mess up himself in public. Let him encourage him to be insulting people. But should the otherwise happen, they should not hold the leadership of the Ijaw Nation responsible.”
