The governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has spoken out against those who say the Opobo people are not Ijaw.
Friday at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Fubara said, “Ijaw is not complete without Opobo” in response to a question from Charles Princewill, the Regent of Kalabari and other delegates of the Kalabari Kingdom.
At a book lunch in Port Harcourt, former Rivers State governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike implied that certain people had declared Opobo people were not Ijaw.
The animosity between the two factions in the State House of Assembly and the attempted impeachment of the governor, which many people blame on the FCT Minister, prompted Wike’s remarks.
Fubara, an Ijaw of Opobo descent, dispelled rumors about his non-Ijaw heritage in a meeting with the Regent of Kalabari and other representatives of the Kalabari realm.
The governor said such folks are uninformed of the history of the Ijaw struggle in the Niger Delta.
He insisted that his family and the people of Opobo were genuine Ijaw because of their participation in the Ijaw resistance.
“There is this speculation everywhere; Fubara is not a core Ijaw, Fubara is a half-baked Ijaw,” Fubara stated.
Without Opobo, Ijaw would be incomplete. If someone is giving you false information about the past, they need to review their textbooks.
The Opobo, the Bonny, and the Kalabaris are essential to any discussion of the Ijaw fight. At the time, we even had our own dedicated trade line.
“And for you to occupy a trade line, that signifies you are a true Ijaw man.
So, let the record show that I am an Ijaw to the core.
