By Akpokona Omafuaire
THE Olu of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, has said that he can no longer keep quiet while his kingdom suffers continued marginalization and suppression by oil companies “who have exploited it’s resources” for over 60 years.
The Olu of Warri spoke yesterday at Jakpa community of Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State during a visit.
The monarch lamented that the Itsekiri nation, despite being one of the geese that lay the golden eggs for Nigeria, remains poor, frustrated and neglected.
“The records confirm what the nation already knows, that this tribe called the Itsekiri in the Western corner of the Niger Delta, is one of the geese that lays the golden eggs for Nigeria, and yet paradoxically, our people remain poor, frustrated and neglected. But this did not happen by accident,” he said.
“It is the result of previous, indifferent and inconsistent regulatory attitudes, It is the result of previous, indifferent and inconsistent regulatory attitudes, divide and rule tactics by all companies.
“A culture that tolerates oppression and more importantly, internal compromise and betrayal by a few among our own ishakiri, people who are driven by greed, selfishness and wickedness.
“Today, for the sake of my people, I refuse to remain silent. I refuse to hide behind diplomacy. And I say it plainly, My people are discouraged, My people are poor, My people are tired.
“However, my people will no longer accept being treated as though they do not matter if not matter. But before speaking to companies and to outsiders, I must first speak to my own people.
“No external actor can truly undermine us unless someone on the inside opens the door to give them opportunity. Intervention agencies, international or Nigerian, they take advantage of us only when they see that those who pose as leaders among us are willing to trade our collective destiny for they only worship one God, and that God is none other than their stomach”.
The post ITSEKIRI Alleged Maginalisation: I will no longer keep quiet, Olu of Warri tells oil companies appeared first on Vanguard News.
