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The Engenni Kingdom of the Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State have presented a memorandum to the House of Representatives Committee zone A, comprising Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States on the review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The memorandum amongst others seeks for the cessation of the kingdom into Bayelsa State.
Making their presentation, a delegation of the kingdom comprising traditional rulers and community leaders and headed by Chief Eniata Abieba, noted that cultural, geographical, and developmental reasons were behind the kingdom’s rational for consistent demand to be included in the State.
The kingdom said: “The Engenni people are Ijaws. We share deep ancestral, linguistic, and socio-cultural ties with fellow Ijaw clans in Bayelsa, particularly those in Yenagoa and its environs.
“The Engenni people are not strangers to Bayelsa. Our dialect is closely related to that of Epie, Atissa, and Zarama. Our lands share a contiguous boundary with Bayelsa, and many of our communities have already been swallowed up by the expanding Yenagoa urban space.
“It is only just and fair that we be allowed to formally become part of Bayelsa State where our cultural heritage can be preserved and our people can access development more easily.”
Responding to the presentation, the Chairman of the Committee, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, commended the kingdom’s delegation for their clarity and peaceful advocacy.
He assured them that their concerns and demands would be thoroughly reviewed and given due attention in the course of the constitutional amendment process.
He said: “We thank you for this well-articulated submission. Every Nigerian community has the right to express its desires within the framework of the law.
“As a Committee, we are committed to fairness and inclusivity. Your position will be documented and given the seriousness it deserves.”
Our Source gathered that however, the road to Engenni kingdom’s presentation was not without some sociopolitical intrigues and procedural false-starts penultimately as the delegation which had earlier been slated to make their presentation at the Calabar Centre comprising Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States opted to make theirs in Yenagoa instead, maintaining that their interest and concerns were better addressed in the zone A venue rather, citing the cultural and geographic context of their agitation as reasons.
The kingdom added: “We were bewildered when we were told to go to Calabar. One of the elders in the delegation confided. How could we, an Ijaw people with historical roots and cultural alignment with Bayelsa, be redirected to a centre that has no bearing on our cause? We insisted on presenting our case in Yenagoa, and we’re grateful that common sense eventually prevailed.”
Our Source further gathered that the Engenni people have long expressed opposition to their perceived inclusion in the proposed Orashi State which is presently gaining traction.
Our Correspondent reports that the agitation for the creation of Orashi State would include the Ahoada West local government area of Rivers State, where the Engenni kingdom is situated, Ahoada East, Abua-Odual and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Areas of the State as well as parts of Imo State.
The delegation further noted thus: “The creation of Orashi state would likely fall under Nigeria’s South-East geopolitical zone and be dominated by the Igbo ethnic group. If our kingdom forms part of the proposed Orashi State, it will effectively erase our Ijaw identity and place us under the political and cultural dominance of an entirely different ethnic bloc.
“If we are forced into Orashi State, we will be politically and culturally displaced. We want to be with our Ijaw brothers and sisters. Our demand to join Bayelsa State is about preserving our language, our culture, and ensuring sustainable development for our people.
“We are not asking for too much. We are only asking to return home.”
Meanwhile, the Engenni position has received some level of empathy by sister Ijaw communities and traditional rulers present at the public hearing with many expressing solidarity with the struggle while also calling on the Federal Government to respect the wishes of the people.
