[allAfrica.com] [Africa_2003] Warri - War Without End The News (Lagos) NEWS September 1, 2003 Posted to the web September 2, 2003 By Michael Mukwuzi The Oil City of Warri lives up to the billing as Nigeria's "Middle East." Like the tiny but highly volatile Middle East region of the world, the petroleum rich Warri area has remained a theatre of ageless fratricidal conflict. From the early days of the legendary Nana Olomu of Itsekiri to the later periods of Chief Mukoro Mowoe, Alfred Rewane and the Okumagbas, the story is the same. However, in recent times, since the 1997 creation and relocation of the headquarters of the Warri SouthWest LGA from Ogbeijoh to Ogidingben, the story has metamorphosed from mere rhetorics and courtroom battle to a full-scale fratricidal programme. Once again, the oil rich city went down in infamy last week as militant youth of rival Itsekiri and Ijaw ethnic stock re-launched the age long animosity. At the end of the bloody clash recorded after a three months lull in ethnic warfare, "Warri" was left devastated as a good number of buildings were left in rubbles. From the humanitarian angle, thousands of residents are now homeless while an unspecified number of people lost their lives. With Warri and it's environs accounting for more than 40 per cent of the nations crude petroleum production, the crisis got to pulsating proportion last Monday with the announcement by Shell Petroleum, of the closure of its operation in the area. The news, it was gathered triggered off a chain of events which sent panic down the oil industry. The clashes also led to the disruption of repair works at the Chevron and Elf flow stations destroyed during the March - April skirmishes in the Escravos and Opamanimi communities. Coming at the heels of earlier threats by the oil companies to close down completely if the federal government fails to solve the perennial problem of pipeline vandalization in the Delta, a panicky President Obasanjo reportedly summoned Governor James Ibori of Delta State to Aso Rock. Acting swiftly to forestall a complete closure of the oil sector, President Obasanjo ordered the immediate deployment of an additional battalion of soldiers from 4th Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Benin to complement the efforts of the host 7th Amphibious battalion stationed in Effurun. In addition, an equal number of mobile policemen and scores of state security service operatives were deployed to Warri and its adjoining creeks to squelch the uprising. Like a sore thumb destined to last for a long time, TheNEWS gathered that the recent wave of ethnic war like previous encounter, is a product of a carry-over from the bitterness of the last war. According to findings, the problem started late June when newly appointed secretary to the state government, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan assumed office. Pouncing on a petition said to have been written by Chief Gabriel Mabiaku, the Iyasere of Warri Kingdom, against the Ijaws, Dr. Uduaghan reportedly issued a directive to all Ijaws to hand over what is believed to be looted Itsekiri landed properties, allegedly taken over by their Ijaw neighbours as war booties during the 1997 LGA relocation war. The structures, 33 in all, were said to belong to prominent Itsekiri indigenes including the Olu of Warri and Chief Mabiaku (the petitioner), were located around the Mcaiver, Market street, Delta boat yard and Skin road areas of the city. The polity soon became tensed when the SSG, an Itsekiri and a maternal cousin of the Delta State Governor was said to have threatened to wield the big stick against the Ijaws. Soon, the traditional exchange of recriminations followed and the SSG's family home in Abiugborodo was razed down early August by persons suspected to be militant Ijaw youths in protest against Dr. Uduaghan's perceived bias and also in retaliation against an earlier Itsekiri raid on three Ijaw communities of Erekongbene, Ojudorgbene and Gbaribodegboene. The invectives intensified, thus rubbishing all the peace shuttling effort embarked upon by Governor Ibori in July. Matters soon came to a hilt when the embattled SSG started receiving death threats. One of such messages purportedly sent via a text message to his cell phone by persons suspected to be an Ijaw activist and delivered via phone number 08023561774 read thus "Uduaghan, know that you are in trouble? If you don't fear the Ijaw man, you'll die very soon, be warned." A terrified Uduaghan reportedly went into hiding afterwards and avoiding any public appearance including press interview until his recent appearance at last week's expanded state security council meeting. Nonetheless, rumours and counter rumours of verbal threats and warning from both sides was animated in the ensuing gun battle that was witnessed at the city centre on Sunday, 17 August 2003. In what has been unanimously described throughout the city as the black Sunday" residents scampered for dear lives as the Ijaw and Itsekiri militant engaged each other in a four-hour-gun battle. Both parties freely used sophisticated machine guns and dynamites. At the end of the exercise, Mcaiver, Market road and the NPA areas of the town laid in ruins. Those who thought the worst was over were in for a shocker the next day as a vanquished Ijaw group reportedly dazed by an unprecedented Itsekiri superior fire power staged an unsuccessful but spirited attempts to invade the Ekurede Itsekiri area of the city, via the Shell area. Relief however came the way of residents when the 1,000 men strong Nigerian army contingent stormed the city round 2:30pm on Tuesday in a convoy of 12 lorry loads. Reminiscent of the recent ECOMIL liberation of Monrovia from rebel forces, commercial motorcycles operators, popularly known as "Okada" formed a convoy of escort and chanted songs of praise for the soldiers as they made a joyous entry from Effurun roundabout to the city centre. Thus the joy of residents was increased when Governor James Ibori announced unconditional cease-fire deal reached with the militants. However, if reactions from both parties are anything to go by, then Gov. Ibori has to do more than securing a cease-fire. "Don't be fooled by the so called truce, Ibori was just working on a script, he got an order from Aso Rock to make things work in Warri either by hook or by crook so that the oil companies can get back to work, the truce is purely for economic benefit simple," Alex Eyengho, an Itsekiri youth leader and spokes-man of the Central Itsekiri Association of Lagos (CIAL), fumed. Such economic consideration are at the heart of the government efforts at quelling the fighting in the Warri area. The government is said to be disturbed by the impact of the fighting on oil production and the attendant loss it suffers. Recently there were reports that the government was considering stationing American marines to safeguard oil production in the area. Collins Eselemo, a renowned Ijaw youth leader insist that Gov. Ibori is using the SSG to curry favour for his Itsekiri maternal home at the expense of the marginalized Ijaw group. Speaking with journalist in Warri, Eselemo described the state governor as a very biased umpire. Ibori however explained that such accusation are not "new to me anymore, I have been accused by all the tribes at one time or the other of taken sides, I guess it goes with the job". He said. Whichever way it goes, the unfolding events in the Niger Delta remains at the front burner of the nation's economic interest.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2003 The News. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================