By Mary Omokhagbor
……….Land belongs to Kindred not quarters, says, Dr Ayuba Giwa has he reacts to the marginalization protest by some concerned Ogriga community people………….
Following a recent protest by a group of concerned members of Ogriga community from Okpella, Edo State, October 20, 2023, the protesters who expressed their displeasure on the farmland Enumeration by BUA cement factory in Okpella that was supposed to be carried out that morning in their farmlands, connecting their agitation to the oppression and marginalization by the Ukhiomioyo Community, and also opined that the land Afokpella are inhabited today belongs to the Ogiriga People, Dr. Ayuba Giwa has contrarily reacted to the issue raised by the protesters, said, all their contentions are far from the truth.
Okpella TV gathered this information, during an interview session with Dr Ayuba Giwa, on October 29, 2023, regarding the Ogiriga recent protest held on marginalization and operation
Dr. Ayuba Giwa, a high Chief of Okpella, from Afokpella, the Community that combined with Ogiriga to make up the Ukhomioyio ruling house in Okpella, Edo State, highlighted the contentions projected by the protesters that they are different from Ukhiomiyio ruling house, he said, those contentions are not true, He first of all, he said lands belong to the kindreds, not quarters and Ogiriga is a quater in Ukhomiyio, Imioko, Imireke, Ekpema, and Imigba are the four kindred in kimono and Afokpella carries the lager inhabitation.
“These kindred are found in the larger population of the kindred residing in Afokpella and part of Okugbe well as the smaller number of them are left in Ogiriga. This is known to any normal Okpella person”
For the contention raised by the protesters that the Ogiriga are not part of Ukhiomio, Dr. Ayuba Giwa reacted to it, citing an example backing up his assertion with the event that happened in March 1953, when the issue of the appointment of Ukhumiyio village head came up during the colonial rule in Nigeria, the then Ogienene of Uzaire, Late Chief Kadiri Omogbai wanted to mislead the Colonial masters that it is only Afokpella that is Ukhomoyio or separate Afokpella from the rest of Kunmnio, the Ogiriga people and the rest of Ukhomioyio kicked against the Ogienene of Uzairue and affirmed that both Afokpella and Ogiriga are Ukhmioyo.
He also added that Ogiriga and Afokpella Co-signed as Komunio, all documents in Ogie-Oze’s Village Headship papers in 1952 and 1953.
Dr. Giwa also brings back the memory lane of history, by stating a scenario that happened in 1996 when the Ukhomoyio people filed a case at the Auchi High Court, High Chief Ederefo Asholele, was the number seven plaintiff with Ukhiomiyo people, the father of one of the leaders of the recent Ogiriga protest against ukhomoyioh and said the son cannot know Okpella more than his father and ancestors.
Regarding the oppression and marginalization agitated by the protesters, Dr. Giwa said that cannot be true, he mentioned some projects done in the community and Ogiriga was not left out,t such as Afokpella Secondary school, cited near Ogiriga, Ogiriga Electricity that was launched at Afokpella, which he made the largest individual donation, Uhkiomuyio Town hall that is cited near Ogiriga, the borehole was sunk both at Afokpella and Ogiriga, scholarships were awarded to both children, Blocks of classrooms was constructed at ogiriga he kicked against is that the People of Ogiriga are being oppressed, he said that cannot be true.
in 1979, said Dr. Ayuba, the Bendel state government made a gazette on how to choose an Okuokullagbe of Okpella, it was said and made a law that Okpella has two (2) ruling houses Ogute and Oteku ruling houses, the law also states that Oteku ruling house has two branches; Kuminio corrupted to Ukhumioyio and Iddo, no nation was made of Ogiriga as the third country of Oteku ruling house because Ogiriga and Afokpella combined to be known as Ukhomioyio.
He said the people protesting are a faction of the Ogiriga Community, and they are just looking for a way to change or alter the history, he added, that the faction of Ogiriga that didn’t join the protest are working ukhiomo people, he mentioned that Ogriga traditional leaders and prominent indigenes like Barnabas Agbeugba, Chief Lawrence Adejumo, the late who are still strongly upholding the unity of Kominio.
The question of Ogiriga and Afokpella is the same as long be settled by our ancestors, the truth therefore the land belongs to Ukhiomioyio which is made of Afokpella and Ogiriga
He further said, that if Ogrigriga wanted to stand alone as a community it would require government intervention by amending customary law, kingship gazette, and so on, with the consent of the entire Okpella.
He concluded that, whosoever raised a narrative contrary to the law that bound the Afokpella and Ogiriga together, was an illegal act.