Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has been characterized by Professor Benjamin Okaba, President of the Ijaw Nation Congress, as a reckless orator who may say anything while intoxicated.
In reaction to Wike’s assertion that the Ijaws are a minority ethnic group in Nigeria, Prof. Okaba made this statement.
Speaking to reporters about the political conflict between himself and Siminalayi Fubara, an Ijaw man who succeeded him as governor of Rivers State, Wike recently made a contentious remark.
The sociology professor slammed Wike’s comment as a thoughtless one when appearing on Arise Television’s “The Morning Show” on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
According to Prof. Okaba, the Ijaws are one of Nigeria’s four largest ethnic groups, and their lands are located outside of the nation’s borders.
“The person you’re talking about (Wike) is a very careless speaker; he could say anything while intoxicated and then refute it,” he remarked. These are well-known fundamental demographics. Among the four largest, ijaws are not the fourth largest.
“The majority of the time, we consider the land mass, which in spatial sense is impossible to exist outside of a water region. Therefore, the borders of Ijawland, or possibly Nigeria, extend into the rivers. Therefore, all of those river locations are part of Ijawland, regardless of where Nigeria’s borders are.
Prof. Okaba went on to say that the Ijaws, who live in six states, are the most numerous ethnic group in the Niger Delta.
We are not minorities; in fact, it is commonly acknowledged that we are the most numerous and indigenous ethnic group in the Niger Delta. Six states are home to Ijaws, he insisted.
He said that the Ijaws are indigenous to numerous communities in Abia, Delta, Edo, Ondo, and Rivers States in addition to Bayelsa State, and that Wike’s remark was a purposeful misrepresentation of the truth.
“They’re in Abia.” Abia State is home to 26 indigenous Ijaw communities. We therefore believed that to be a purposeful misrepresentation. There are more than four local government areas in Delta State; in Rivers State, there are even ten and a half, while Ikwerre has just three. When the time comes for the actual counting, we will be able to identify those who falsified political census results. He argued that Ijaws are in Edo State, not Ondo State.
Because Wike is nothing outside of government, the scholar urged President Bola Tinubu to not let one person ruin his attempts to guarantee democracy in Nigeria.
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