RE: A BLUNT RESPONSE TO THE ITSEKIRI HISTORICAL FRONT'S DECEITFUL OPEN LETTER ON THE OLU OF WARRI
An Open Letter to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, the National Security Adviser, INEC, the Federal Government of Nigeria, and the International Community
By the Undisguised, Unshaken and Unapologetic Indigenous Peoples of Warri
Your Excellency,
We write with utmost clarity, unapologetic resolve and historic authority in response to the brazen and dishonest open letter dated 2rd July 2025, authored by the so-called Itsekiri Historical Front (IHF), in reaction to the widely-circulated publication titled “The Misleading Title ‘Olu of Warri’ and Its Impact” by the Concerned Citizens of Warri and Environs.
Let the truth ring loud and clear, the Olu of Warri does not speak for Warri, and never has. He speaks for the Itsekiri people only, a minority ethnic group in a multi-ethnic region built by the labor, blood and ancestral legacy of the Ijaws, the Urhobos, and other founding nations.
We are not “faceless.” We are landowners, kings, scholars, chiefs, and descendants of the true aboriginal peoples of Warri. And we do not need your permission or royal validation to assert our place.
THE FRAUDULENT CLAIMS OF THE ITSEKIRI HISTORICAL FRONT
ON MAPS AND CARTOGRAPHIC FRAUD
We are well aware of the misuse of colonial cartography by the Itsekiri to advance false ownership narratives. Historical maps by Europeans, Portuguese, Dutch and British, often labeled trade centers, not ethnic homelands. A town marked “Warri” or “Ware” on a map is no proof of ownership, sovereignty or population. These maps often ignored the complex landholding traditions of Niger Delta peoples.
Indeed, the British Parliamentary Papers on the Oil Rivers Protectorate (1891) repeatedly mentioned Ijaw and Urhobo settlements by name but rarely mentioned the Itsekiris beyond the Olu’s court, showing clearly that Itsekiri political power was symbolic and restricted, not expansive.
QUOTATIONS FROM COLONIAL ADMINISTRATORS AND REPORTS
Let us cite Captain D.H. Gallwey, British Vice-Consul for the Niger Coast Protectorate, who in his 1894 report wrote:
“The Ijos and Sobos inhabit the lands and creeks adjoining the Forcados and Escravos rivers. They control the waterways and fishing grounds… their leaders have been in negotiation with the government for recognition of their authority.”
This is direct colonial testimony affirming that the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples owned and governed their territories independently of any Olu or Itsekiri structure.
Similarly, the 1926 Court Judgement in W/62/1926 (Iginla vs. Eyewuoma) ruled:
“The Itsekiri claim to overlordship of Agbassa is unfounded. The people of Agbassa (Urhobo) are not tenants of the Olu or of any Itsekiri chief. They hold their land by inheritance.”
IJAW AND URHOBO VILLAGES EXISTED LONG BEFORE THE ITSEKIRI CAME
Before Ginuwa’s arrival in the late 15th century, Ijaw communities such as Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Isaba, Diebiri, Egbema and others had long existed, engaging in fishing, trade and complex inter-clan diplomacy. Similarly, Urhobo communities like Agbassa and Okere-Urhobo had well-established sociopolitical structures.
The Itsekiris did not bring civilization to Warri, they came into an already thriving, populated and structured region. Their narrative is built on colonial favoritism and elite collaboration, not on truth or demographic reality.
ON THE POPULATION DECEPTION AND ELECTORAL EVIDENCE
The Itsekiri Historical Front, in its usual exaggerative fashion, claims dominion over all Warri territories. Yet this is false and laughable. The Itsekiris have no population strength to back these claims.
The use of INEC’s BVAS machines in the 2023 general elections has further destroyed the population myth. In Warri South, Warri North, and Warri South-West LGAs, Ijaw and Urhobo units recorded 80–95% of the total votes. Itsekiri wards, especially those in sparsely populated creek areas, recorded zero or near-zero votes.
Even INEC’s internal delineation report in 2023 noted:
“Some wards in Warri South, Warri South West and Warri North returned less than 100 accredited voters in 10 units each. Verification shows most of these areas were uninhabited or inaccessible.”
This proves that the Itsekiris do not possess the demographic weight to justify their loud claims.
Furthermore, Chief Amaju Pinnick himself of Itsekiri descent, stated openly on national television that “the Itsekiris are not up to one million people.”
Where are these so-called Itsekiri villages? Beyond a few small settlements, they largely exist on paper, inflated by colonial favoritism, not demographic reality and used for ethnic gerrymandering. Compare this to Ijaw-dominated units in Ogbe-Ijoh, Gbaramatu, Isaba, and Urhobo units in Agbarha and Okere-Urhobo where thousands of voters turned out. The implication is simple, the Ijaws and Urhobos are the true numerical majority.
ON THE TITLE: “OLU OF WARRI” A POLITICAL FRAUD
The original title was “Olu of Itsekiri”, as seen in:
The Western Region Gazette of 1936
The Palmer Report (1932) on Native Administration
The Brass Native Ordinance (1929)
As admitted even by colonial officers, the title “Olu of Warri” was a political creation, weaponized by the Awolowo government to project Itsekiri dominance over non-Itsekiri lands. The title was changed from “Olu of the Itsekiri” to “Olu of Warri” in 1952 without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous Ijaw and Urhobo populations who make up the majority of the Warri region.
Let this be etched in Nigeria’s political conscience: The title “Olu of Warri” is a colonial-political invention, not a traditional reality. It was birthed not from truth but from the scheming minds of colonial collaborators and post-independence regional politicians who weaponized identity to suppress majority populations.
And even Chief Obafemi Awolowo, despite facilitating the change, later regretted the political fallout, acknowledging it sparked avoidable ethnic tension.
The Rewane Fiction: A Businessman, Not a Historian
Citing Alfred Rewane, an Itsekiri millionaire-politician, to justify Itsekiri dominion over Warri is laughable. That’s like citing Adolf Hitler’s secretary to confirm Nazi innocence.
Rewane’s 1993 letter has no legal weight. He was not a historian. He was not neutral. He was not from Ijaw. His opinions serve only as ethnic propaganda.
Legal Boundaries Are Clear: The Olu Has No Jurisdiction Outside Itsekiri Land
As codified in the Delta State Traditional Rulers Council and Chiefs Edict (1979), Section 6:
“The jurisdiction of any recognized traditional ruler shall be limited to the ethnic community from which he derives title and authority.”
We reject:
. The Itsekiri campaign to overwrite the multi-ethnic truth of Warri with a mono-ethnic monarchy. . The continued use of colonial titles as political weapons.
. The ethnic gerrymandering of wards by manipulating INEC. . Any suggestion that the Olu of Itsekiri is a king over Ijaw and Urhobo lands.
WE DEMAND:
1. The immediate correction of the title from Olu of Warri to Olu of Itsekiri, in all government documents, gazettes and records.
2. That INEC immediately publishes the final and fair ward delineation outcome for Warri South, Warri South-West and Warri North LGAs, without caving to threats.
3. That the Federal Government inaugurates a Truth and Peace Commission on the true history of Warri to end this colonial-era distortion.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
We are not tenants. We are not strangers.
We are the Ijaw and Urhobo peoples, the ancestral landowners of Warri.
We will not bow to a political title.
We will not be erased.
We will not be silenced.
Warri is not a fiefdom. Warri is not for sale. Warri is not Iwere. Let history speak. Let justice reign. Let truth be heard.
Yours sincerely
Signed;
Ebiowei kuro
President
Rukevwe Ovo
Secretary
Concerned Citizens of Warri and Environs.
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