A constitutional lawyer and facilitator of the Niger Delta Democratic Union, NDDU, Dr Akpo Mudiaga-Odje, has called on the National Boundary Commission, NBC, to come out with a map and survey plans, which the Federal Government should gazette, designating well-identified and settled boundaries of communities in Nigeria.

Mudiaga-Odje, reacting to the March 14 killing of 17 soldiers, who went on a peace mission at Okuama, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, told Sunday Vanguard, “This is the gravamen of the matter, which is our collective quest and aspiration to forestall future recurrence of this kind of avoidable trajectory of tragedy.

“The National Boundary Commission is a body established by law and vested with the exclusive authority to demarcate territories or communities within Nigeria.

“Accordingly, we now expect a more proactive approach from the commission to establish with even arithmetic certainty, all lands and boundaries of every community in Nigeria.

“It should come out with a map and survey plans, which should be gazette by the Federal Government, reflecting such well cut out and negotiated boundaries of our communities in Nigeria.

“This will go a long way to avert future community clashes as in the Okuama/Okoloba debacle.

“Indeed, most communal crises are because of land and boundary claims. Contending communities lay claim to each other’s enclaves, especially where there is a mineral and/or natural resource of economic value on the land.

“These contending communities, in a bid to outwit each other, usually draw up shylock boundaries that go beyond their real territorial boundaries.

“Equitable demarcation and/or accurate boundary adjustments through negotiable settlements will forestall future communal crisis in Nigeria.”

Fact of the Matter

“Okuoma community is an Urhobo community in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State situated along the historic Forcados River and shares boundaries with Akugbene and Okoloba communities, located in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, and both communities have lived together peacefully for centuries now.

“Okuoma community is in Ewu-urphie clan of the Urhobo tribe of Delta State. Their major occupation is farming and fishing. There are other Urhobo communities along the Forcados River, which all share a boundary with the Izon-speaking communities. Some include Gbaregolor, Okuoma, Olota, Alagbabiri communities, etc.

“These communities have lived with their Izon-speaking communities for several centuries. In other words, the Okuoma and Okoloba communities have intermingled in nearly all aspects of human life. Put succinctly, they are all related in one way or the other.

“The story as distilled from the trending literature is that the military was on a peace mission to resolve issues between the two communities, and it is shown that these frictions have had a historical background relating to ownership claims and/or boundary disputes between these contending Communities.

“Indeed, in February, this year, the Delta State Government had had cause to again hold meetings with representatives and leaders of these communities on these disputes raging.

“Another version of the story is from the side of the Okuoma community to the effect that there was not a peace mission, but the military instead was accusing them of causing the conflict.

Issues

“The Chief of Defence Staff shortly before the Army declared eight persons wanted spoke about narrowing down operations to persons of interest as regards illegal oil bunkering in Okuama community axis.

“The youths countered that the conflict because of illegal oil bunkering must be independently investigated and verified by the Federal and State Governments to permanently restore peace to that sacked community and contiguous communities too.

The exemplary and Spartan former Editor of the Guardian and Urhoho leader, Mr. Abraham Ogbodo, had hitherto, in this reputable newspaper, and elsewhere, accentuated that there was an undercurrent of illegal bunkering beneath this Okuama heist.

“The Federal Government has to beam its searchlight in that direction, rather than bombarding innocent citizens of our country living in that axis

No to reprisal attacks

“It is our plea to the wounded military to temper justice with mercy, and mercy with justice in these circumstances. Two wrongs as the cliché accentuates, cannot make a right! It should discount any reprisal attack.

“For every orphan we create from this tragedy, the government will have to build more prisons to accommodate them in the future, when they turn their vengeance against society.

Oborevwori’s steps

“As a father of all tribes in Delta State, the governor, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, must be seen to be very neutral in handling cases of this nature, as this will make the warring Communities freely surrender to him their disputes for adjudication and mediation.

“Truly, it is a difficult one, but it has to be so, to ensure that the entire tribes belong to the Governor of the State and command their trust on this issue.

“We, therefore, join him in his courageous admonition to our traditional rulers not to shield any murderer in their communities.

“The boundary dispute, therefore, has to be urgently looked into by the State and the Federal Governments to search for a compromise of both claims and interests to forestall future violent conflicts of this nature.

“And we strongly believe also, that both governments should also use this opportunity to address similar agitations within the state to foster collective integrations.

Killing of soldiers unfortunate

“It is severely disheartening for anyone to be killed in communal clashes, how much more almost battalion of our own trained soldiers.

“Our soldiers have sacrificed their lives for this country both during and after our fratricidal war of the 60s/70s, in search of peace and defense of our unification.

“It is, therefore, important for things of this nature not to happen as we join well-meaning Nigerians to condemn this callous killing in all ramifications.” (Sunday Vanguard)