Isoko South is a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria.
With its headquarters at Oleh, Nigeria, it is one of the two local governments that make up the Isoko region. The other is Isoko North, which has its headquarters at Ozoro.
The Isoko people migrated historically from the Benin Kingdom in nearby Edo State, and therefore share some cultural similarities with this state. The area later formed part of Bendel State, before Bendel State was split to form Edo and Delta states.
The Isoko South Local Government Area was established on 23 September 1991, when the former Isoko Local Government Area was subdivided. The area produces a large component of the oil and gas resources of Delta State.
Geography
The Isoko South Local Government Area covers a low-lying section of the larger Niger Delta Basin, interspersed with streams, canals and rivers. It is located in a region of deciduous and evergreen forests, with patches of mangrove forest, as well as a forest reserve along the Aviara clan area.
Demographics
The local population are primarily of the Isoko people, which is subdivided into several clans. Clans inhabiting Isoko South include the Aviara, Emede, Enhwe, Erohwah, Igbide, Irri, Okpolo, Oleh, Umeh and Uzere. The Isoko language is predominant in much of the area.
The traditional occupation of the people of Isoko South is fishing and agriculture.
Current population centres include Oleh town - the seat of the Isoko South government - as well as the Olomoro urban community.
Landmarks and attractions
Of the tourist areas, the Araya Bible Tourist Center, the Eni of Uzere and the sandbeaches of Ivrogbo are popular.
The cultural attractions of the area include a range of traditional festivals, crafts (such as the distinctive pottery made from the local kaolin clays), the traditional clothing and a strong culture of hospitality.
The area's festivals include the Oliho Festival of the Oleh kingdom, the Omode festival of Iri, the Ivri of Olomoro, the Idhu and Abarne of Igbide, the Osia of Umeh, the Ogwa-Enwhe of the Enwhe kingdom, the Oniowise of Emede, the Ovore of Erowha, the Uloho of Orie and the popular Eni of the Uzere Kingdom.
Environmental challenges and projects
Local tree planting in Isoko South LGA.
Oil and gas exploration activities began in the area in the early 1950s, and the second oil well in Nigeria was discovered in Uzere, Isoko South, in 1958. The massive growth of the oil and gas industries has created significant environmental challenges, and have been a source of much concern for the local government.
Challenges such as gas flaring, oil spills from pipelines, deforestation and waste miss-management have been made more serious by federal laws which centralise control of the oil rich land and allow local government relatively little control over activities. Due to such concerns, in 2001, the Isoko South Local Government joined ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the first local government in Nigeria to do so.
The local government has since engaged in extensive project work to combat the effects of oil and gas pollution. It has promulgated a law that makes Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) compulsory for all developmental and industrial projects, and has also carried out environmental auditing with environmental regulators and NGOs in the local government area. Large tree planting projects have also been launched in collaboration with community-based organisations and with UNDP GEF/SGP support.
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EDO TRIBE by Prince Ademola Iyi-Eweka
This piece is dedicated to all those
people who have lost their lives in the unfortunate, tragic killings
and destruction of valauble properties in Warri and its environs. MAY
THEIR SOULS REST IN PEACE. AMEN
People tend to put the blame of Warri
crisis on the various Fed Govt's neglect of that part of Delta State,
in terrms of development. While it is true that, that part of Nigeria
was neglected in view of the revenue Nigeria is getting from the
natural resources harvested there, part of the blame goes to one
basic statement---" If you do not know where you are coming
from, you may never know where you are going." This translates
to the inability of the Izons/Ijaw, Urhobos and the itsekiris to
define who they are. If they had taken the trouble to look back at
their shared ancestory and history, there would have been no need for
them to be killing themselves. They would have directed their anger
at the Fed Govt of Nigeria. The seed of the present crisis in Warri,
could be traced the administrative arrangement , put in place by the
British Agents after the fall of Benin in 1897. To punish Benin and
curtail the power of the Oba of Benin, Warri Province was created out
of the remnant of the ancient Empire. Dore/DOGHO NUMA became a
defacto ruler of the pronvince. He was given the power to create
"warrant chiefs" in Urhoboland, a power formerly exercised
by the Oba of Benin. He was ruthless in the way he dealt with issues
regarding land belonging to the Urhobos. When the monarchy was
restored in Benin in 1914, these newly created warrant chiefs came to
Oba Eweka II for their traditional staff of office. Dore Numa stopped
those who have not gone to Benin and told those who have gone, that
Urhoboland was now under his jurisdiction. The Urhobos got the chance
to fight for what they have been looking for all their lives-FREEDOM.
They knew that Dogho was not a
traditional ruler. While they were fighting for freedom from Dogho,
the Itsekiris were also fighting for the restoration of the Oluship
of Itsekiri which Dore( Dogho) Numa has almost converted to his own.
When the Oluship of Itsekiri was later converted to WARRI, Urhobos
were already on the war path, demanding back their lands, which Dore
NUma has illegally acquired and given to the British authorities.
Can you imagine an Urhobo man speaking
a variant of Edo language and at the same time saying he his not Edo?
It is like a human being running away from his shadow. That shadow
will always follow until he/she dies. The Urhobos and many of the
Izons/Ijaws on the western side of Niger, speak a dialect of the Edo
language. The Itsekiris speak a mixture of Ijebu-Anago version of the
now standardized yoruba and Edo language.
In short they are Edos, not necessarily
modern "BINIS." Their traditional histories point to a
common heritage-Igodomogodo. Urhobo traditional history, point to a
wave of migration from Benin City, some time in the distant past,
settled first at a place they named ABRAKA , in remembrance of when
and how they migrated from Benin City and from there dispersed to the
various communties where they are at now. The Urhobos call Benin
City, AKA and the king, OBARAKA. We also know that , the oldest
dukedom in Urhobo areas was UGHELLI, from Benin/Edo historians. The
BINIS call the Urhobos, UHOBO. They are best remebered for their
success in harvesting and processing palm oil. There is a category of
oil any Bini man would quickly identify as OFINGBON UHOBO-Uhobo
(Urhobo oil) . Sometime derogatorily, the BINIS call them UHOBO
OMEN-Uhobo of the palm fronds, an inference to their main profession
. Many Ijaws/Izons communities on the western side of the Niger, are
an extension of that wave of migration towards the east and then
swinging southwards at Abraka.
While the Iteskiris claim in one breath
that they are yorubas, who inter married with the Urhobos and
Izons/Ijaws, two Edo-speaking clans they met at Warri to survive,
they lay claim to Benin/Edo heritage only when it is convenient. If
the Itsekiris are yoruba migrants to where they are right now, then
they are aliens and therefore settlers with no right of ownership to
the land on which they settled. This is the claim Urhobos have been
making since the beginning of this century. The Izons/Ijaws say as
much. The truth of the matter is that the itsekiris are not yorubas.
It is true that the itsekiris migrated from ODE, a community at Ijebu
waterside. They call themselves the CHILDREN OF LENUWA OF ODE. It is
also on record that " a LENUWA of ODE," in an interview it
was reported he granted in the late 1950's, said that everybody in
ODE migrated from Benin to that place at a point in time. But that a
group decided to return home. It was that group that finally made it
to Warri and its environs. They are the ancestors of the present day
Itsekiris of Warri. Then about six hundred years ago, the Oba of
Benin, Oba Olua sent them their own duke in GINUA I with the title
ODIHI NAMEN/ OGIAMEN-DUKE OF THE WATERS. In his entourage, were an
influx of new group of Edo-speaking people from Benin City. The
Urhobos already had their Duke in UGHELLI. It is significant to note
that , the present Olu of Warri want to be addressed as simply
OGIAME, which was the original title his father gave him.
The importance of this history is that,
while the ancestors of the modern Urhobos moved eastward and then
swung southwards at Abraka, those of the Itsekiris headed west to ODE
only to return through the creeks to Warri. Sometime ago, a rampant
called EREDO was found in the Ijebu-Ode area. People were already
linking it to the Queen of Sheba. It will not surprise me if an
archeaologist , links it to that movement, west into Ijebu territory,
by the Edo-speaking people. In fact, one has already hinted that it
might be so . Chief Egharevba, though not necessarily pre-occupied
with writing Ijebu history, stated as a matter of fact that, Ijebu
was conqured by Benin under by Oba Ozolua, c1473, the war lord, who
spent most of his life in Akoko and Owan areas. Could the settlement
at ODE be a remant of a military post by Oba Ozolua fighters? No one
can tell for now. But we are waiting. It is doubtful that, if the
Federal Govt of Nigeria were to give the whole revenue accruing from
oil to Urhobos, Ijaws and Itsekiris, that they will not continue to
fight until they all understand one thing-" they are all Edos.
There are no squatters and no tenants in that area." This is was
what some people had in mind when a peace conference was conveyed in
Benin City recently. TAKE EVERYBODY BACK TO THEIR ROOTS. HOPEFULLY
COMMON SENSE AND PEACE WILL PREVAIL. The things that bind them
together are more than what separates them. Everybody has a stake in
the development and peace in that area. There can be no development
without peace. They should stop destroying the few properties they
have, while the rest of country is swimming in their oil
I hope the organisers of the Peace
Conference in Washington are listening. The Urhobos/Ijaws,Itsekiri
need a common front to get what is rightfulLY theirs from the
Nigerian Govt. They do not have to be at each other's throat.
SOURCE:
http://www.waado.org/Organizations/UHS/Debates/UrhoboBeninRelations/PrinceEweka.html
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