April 29, 2010
In recent weeks, I have been asked by several of my non-Urhobo friends to comment on why we the Urhobos are openly supporting and harboring Ibori from prosecution. Such opinion about Urhobo people was undoubtedly formed because of the recent events occurring daily in Oghara. As an Urhobo person, I am ashamed and peeved as a Nigerian that the federal government has dragged its feet in making sure that this unabashed thief is put away for good.
In recent weeks, I have been asked by several of my non-Urhobo friends to comment on why we the Urhobos are openly supporting and harboring Ibori from prosecution. Such opinion about Urhobo people was undoubtedly formed because of the recent events occurring daily in Oghara. As an Urhobo person, I am ashamed and peeved as a Nigerian that the federal government has dragged its feet in making sure that this unabashed thief is put away for good.
The situation in Oghara should not be used by any measure to define who the Urhobo people are. Oghara is one of the 23 clans in Urhobo kingdom. The majority of ordinary Urhobo people find it shameful that Oghara youths have resorted to hooliganism and their women marching naked to protest recent efforts by the EFCC to apprehend Ibori. All of the actions taken by the Oghara people to protect Ibori are shameful and distasteful. Usually, when our women bare it all in public, it is for a just cause and has a legendary meaningful relevance in Urhobo cultural. However, in the case of the Oghara women, it is an abuse of a cultural practice that could indeed have a boomerang effect on the community because they either knew or should have known that their son is a thief and guilty as charged.
As an Urhobo person, I am also ashamed by the actions or lack of action of Urhobo leaders who have silently supported Ibori and his shenanigans. They include some Urhobo traditional rulers who have been bribed and co-opted to either look the other way or give false testimony to the magnanimity of a thief. A case in point is the advertorial reportedly signed by several traditional Urhobo rulers that was published in several local newspapers in Nigeria on April 18, and April 19, protesting the planned arrest of Ibori by the EFCC. If true, it is unimaginably shameful. Delta state receives quite substantial amounts of money through federal allocation every month. Yet, countless number of communities lack clean drinking water, schools and colleges are run down, safety endangered while Ibori and his cohorts used Delta state funds as their personal account. Instead of relying on Delta State government to provide boreholes and access to clean drinking water, Urhobo communities rely more on various Urhobo organizations in the Diasporas for such basic necessity. Urhobo traditional rulers live in these communities, they see first hand the suffering and anguish of their subjects but because they themselves lack the moral authority to remind Ibori of his moral obligations, the lives and aspirations of many are forsaken. Those who condone criminal acts of another person cannot claim innocence when the lives of children and communities are endangered.
Since Ibori left office and the subsequent brushes he’s had with the law about his money laundering and grand scale roguishness of state funds, Ibori is often invited as a special guest to functions instead of being ostracized and banned from all Urhobo communities and events. These actions by Urhobo communities sends the wrong message and gives Ibori the impression of being smart, larger than life while the rest of every other Urhobo person is spineless and idiotic. As a child of the 50s, growing up in the then Western State of Nigeria as an Urhobo child was quite memorable. There were the unspoken codes of conduct and the ramifications for violating them were severe. Depending on the offense, punishments for violations included monetary fines and ostracism. It was unforgivable for an Urhobo person that is entrusted with monies to steal from the coffers of hardworking Urhobo men and women in the community. Other cultures have their own codes of conducts. For example, in Asia, the punishment for stealing or diverting government funds or funds meant for the people to personal use is to commit suicide. The Asians believe this is justifiable because of the shame brought upon self, family, and country. As we say in Urhoboland, we should remind Ibori of the old saying that “a thief who is not ashamed of his acts, need to be reminded of the shame he brings to his family, friends and the Urhobo people.”
Bernard Ayanruoh, CPA
[email protected]
The situation in Oghara should not be used by any measure to define who the Urhobo people are. Oghara is one of the 23 clans in Urhobo kingdom. The majority of ordinary Urhobo people find it shameful that Oghara youths have resorted to hooliganism and their women marching naked to protest recent efforts by the EFCC to apprehend Ibori. All of the actions taken by the Oghara people to protect Ibori are shameful and distasteful. Usually, when our women bare it all in public, it is for a just cause and has a legendary meaningful relevance in Urhobo cultural. However, in the case of the Oghara women, it is an abuse of a cultural practice that could indeed have a boomerang effect on the community because they either knew or should have known that their son is a thief and guilty as charged.
As an Urhobo person, I am also ashamed by the actions or lack of action of Urhobo leaders who have silently supported Ibori and his shenanigans. They include some Urhobo traditional rulers who have been bribed and co-opted to either look the other way or give false testimony to the magnanimity of a thief. A case in point is the advertorial reportedly signed by several traditional Urhobo rulers that was published in several local newspapers in Nigeria on April 18, and April 19, protesting the planned arrest of Ibori by the EFCC. If true, it is unimaginably shameful. Delta state receives quite substantial amounts of money through federal allocation every month. Yet, countless number of communities lack clean drinking water, schools and colleges are run down, safety endangered while Ibori and his cohorts used Delta state funds as their personal account. Instead of relying on Delta State government to provide boreholes and access to clean drinking water, Urhobo communities rely more on various Urhobo organizations in the Diasporas for such basic necessity. Urhobo traditional rulers live in these communities, they see first hand the suffering and anguish of their subjects but because they themselves lack the moral authority to remind Ibori of his moral obligations, the lives and aspirations of many are forsaken. Those who condone criminal acts of another person cannot claim innocence when the lives of children and communities are endangered.
Since Ibori left office and the subsequent brushes he’s had with the law about his money laundering and grand scale roguishness of state funds, Ibori is often invited as a special guest to functions instead of being ostracized and banned from all Urhobo communities and events. These actions by Urhobo communities sends the wrong message and gives Ibori the impression of being smart, larger than life while the rest of every other Urhobo person is spineless and idiotic. As a child of the 50s, growing up in the then Western State of Nigeria as an Urhobo child was quite memorable. There were the unspoken codes of conduct and the ramifications for violating them were severe. Depending on the offense, punishments for violations included monetary fines and ostracism. It was unforgivable for an Urhobo person that is entrusted with monies to steal from the coffers of hardworking Urhobo men and women in the community. Other cultures have their own codes of conducts. For example, in Asia, the punishment for stealing or diverting government funds or funds meant for the people to personal use is to commit suicide. The Asians believe this is justifiable because of the shame brought upon self, family, and country. As we say in Urhoboland, we should remind Ibori of the old saying that “a thief who is not ashamed of his acts, need to be reminded of the shame he brings to his family, friends and the Urhobo people.”
Bernard Ayanruoh, CPA
[email protected]
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