[allAfrica.com] [Christian_Science_Monitor] How Ibori's 'Road Map to Peace' in Warri Crashed Vanguard (Lagos) NEWS April 4, 2004 Posted to the web April 5, 2004 By Austin Ogwuda Asaba The ethnic clashes that bedeviled Delta South and Central senatorial districts in Delta State, that is between Ijaw and Itsekiri on one hand, and Urhobo and Itsekiri on the other, appear to have defied solutions. Several adjudication panels were set up in the past to chart the course of peace in the area to no avail. Actually, the problem is intractable due largely to the fact that claims are variously laid to ownership of land and so whenever moves are made to reconcile the warring three ethnic groups, none of these groups is prepared to let go the ownership of areas in conflict. Try and interact with the different ethnic groups, each one of the them would tell you that it is the bona-fide landlord and that others are mere tenants. Bit there was a dramatic turn of event sometime in August last year when Governor James Ibori, armed with a document he termed "Road Map To Peace In Warri", came to the State Assembly and presented it amidst cheers. That address which was eloquently delivered with scholarly display, indeed, went a long to relatively douse tension in the state. It kept everybody thinking aloud that at last somebody who understood the nitty gritty of the crisis had finally come with solution since many Deltans were of the belief that outside intervention such as the Danjuma Commission would not positively resolve the problem. A Deltan had, in fact, posited on the Danjuma Commission: "How do you expect this Abuja people to understand and resolve our internal problem". Having presented the Road Map, many people thought that Daniel had come to judgment. But that was not to be. Initially, many thought the State Assembly would initiate a process towards creating new local government councils. But the coast was not clear. The assembly was probably deterred by the negative signals coming from the National Assembly concerning creation of new councils. But just last month before the local government elections, Governor James Ibori forwarded a draft Bill to the state Assembly seeking for a law "to establish a system of participatory development administration by communities and peoples having or sharing traditional, ethnic or linguistic association or other indigenous ties in a local government area of the state through Development Committees" That Bill came as a welcome development but the speed, the rush with which the Bill was passed by members of the house tends to raise some crucial questions. That Bill, which was presented on the floor of the house on the 15th of March, went through its first reading, second reading, followed by just a one-day public sitting and was passed on the 25th of March, a space of ten days. And that was the fastest Bill passed since the inception of the state assembly and has remained the most controversial too. Member representing Warri North constituency, Mr. Missan Ukubeyinje was first to raise alarm before the Bill was even presented to the house. He condemned the Bill and said that it was meant to short-change the Itsekiri people. The Passage Any body who witnessed the proceedings of the house on the day of passage of that bill would sympathise with the only three Itsekiri legislators in the 29- member house. Their views particularly that of Ukubeyinje who tried to bring some amendments to some sections of the bill especially Section 7 were completely drowned. Infact, the three legislators wore long faces and were literally abandoned by their colleagues .They looked like orphans and at a stage they individually walked out of the house in protest. They later converged and addressed a press conference where they ( Mr. Missan Ukubeyinje reprsenting Warri North, Mrs. Omawumi Udoh, representing Warri South and Mr. Daniel Mayuku representing Warri South-West) distanced themselves from the Bill, describing it as"road map to war instead of peace". Now to the Bill itself, nine Development Committees were created and political observers say the creation was to pacify the Ijaws who had been complaining of being marginalised by the Itsekiri in terms of having more wards than Ijaws in Warri. A peep into the passed Bill showed that three Development Committes were created in Warri North local government area namely Egbema Development Committee with headquarters at Opuama; Koko/Abigborodo Development Committee with headquarters at Abigborodo and Benin River Itsekiris Development Committee which has its headquarters at Ogheye. Warri South local government area equally has three Development committees namely Ode-Itsekiri Development Committee with headquarters at Ugbuwangue, Okere Urhobo Development Committee with headquarters at Okumagba Layout and Agbarha Development Committee which has its headquarters located at Otovwodo Agbarha. Also, Warri South West local government council area has Ugborodo/Orere Development Committee with headquarters at Ogidigben; Ogbe Ijoh/Isaba Development Committee has Ogbe-Ijoh as its headquarters and Gbaramatu Development Committee has Kunukunuma as its headquarters. Also a cursory look at the passed Bill showed some elements of discrepancies, which member representing Warri South constituency in the Delta state house of assembly, Mrs. Omawumi Udoh described as a coup. According to her "the Bill passed into law was different from the one sent to the House by its sponsor, the Governor of Delta State, following its mutilation". Udoh in a statement in Asaba vowed to fight against the implementation of the Bill because, according to her "that Bill which ought to be a step towards finding peace in Warri has succeeded in creating further tension and problems in the area". According to her, "I Hon.(Mrs) Omawumi Udoh as the member representing Warri South constituency I in the State House of Assembly completely disassociate myself for the passage of that Bill into law. "That as the people's representative in the state legislature, I cannot be a part of an arrangement aimed at conscripting the people I represent to an area. "That the Itsekiris, which those behind the passage of the Bill tend to relegate to the background, cannot take such lightly. "That to achieve peace, all parties involved must be satisfied and finally, because I have sworn to represent my people, any step they may deem fit to follow as a result of the open assault and confrontation, I am solidly behind them. Let it be on record that as one of the 29 members of the House, I did all I could to ensure that this problem does not degenerate to this point", she added. Already, the Itsekiri have disowned the Bill, while the Ijaw are jubilating over the passage. The question now is, hasn't the Bill further worsened the fragile peace in the area as one of the major stakeholders in the crisis - the Itsekiri nation - has counted itself out of the peace pact which the bill was supposed to achieve? Time will definitely tell.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================