Wado City Movement: No Retreat, No surrender

By Annabel Ogheneganre

On Saturday, December 4, 2021, Urhobos of all land and clime will file out to make a strong statement on the novel Wado City Movement through the peaceful one million man march in support of the movement to rename Urhobo territory in the Warri area as Wado City. The beautiful idea has received more of commendation from Urhobo people than condemnation. This has embodied the advocates of this idea to fight even more. The one million man march will no doubt further reinforce the new wave of Urhobo nationalism which has risen beyond imagination since the launch of the Wado movement. The enthusiasm with which our people have identified with the movement signposts or points to the resilience, doggedness and toughness of spirit of the average Urhobo man.
One thing about a popular mass movement of this nature is that many unpredictable occurrences may erupt to test the currency of the genuineness of the struggle and will power of the proponents. The end result of a mass movement cannot be accurately predicted. But what cannot be taken away is the enthusiasm of the average Urhobo man to connect with the struggle and get Urhobo territory fenced off the strange dance of pernicious neighbours in the land. While for instance, the Mau Mau movement advocated violent resistance to British rule in Kenya, the Wado City movement is purely advocacy-based because there is no enemy to fight in this struggle. Urhobo has no reason to fight with anybody because, if for instance, you wish to change the name of your daughter as I highlighted in an earlier piece, you do not need to seek the consent of your neighbor.

I do not know how the organizers will go about the one million man march which I promise myself to be part of but with my little understanding of the matter, I would have loved that the march commences from the Mukoro Mowoe House in Okere road in the heart of Warri and let the procession terminate at Uvwiamuge-Agbarho. That day, Urhobo must shut down Warri for a few hours to drive home the message that the owners of the land have arrived. The procession should be entirely peaceful and the UPU leadership duly informed and the police notified. Beautifully designed T-shirts, placards and other instruments of peaceful procession for the Wado consciousness must be deployed generously. Nobody can stop the process because it would be part of the 90th anniversary of the founding of UPU. Nothing will drive home the message of the true owners of Warri than such a procession. I must commend the organizers for the wisdom of adjusting the date from Friday to Saturday so it does not clash with the coming of Governor Okowa to Uvwiamuge on Friday as the procession could cause heavier gridlock, be chaotic and send wrong signals that could affect attendance of the Friday event.

Another thing the proponents of the Wado City Movement must be aware of is that not all battles end the way it was envisaged from the beginning. The name change which is the ultimate aim of the movement may not come immediately or even at all. But the victory which the proponents have gotten so far is the new consciousness, the revival of Urhobo nationalism and even latent support from many of our elites who may not be inclined to speak out, at least not yet. A revival is sweeping across the Urhoboland and that is one victory that cannot be swept under any form of diplomacy or ethical mannerism. The new Urhobo nationalism is bringing into light hidden truths and invaluable literature on the subject matter as well as uncommon display of courage, guts and audacity amongst our people. The Wado city movement is a mass movement that is re-enacting Urhobo spirit of innocuous invincibility which saw the UPU surviving many administrations and military regimes since 1931.

The Wado City Movement has brought into vivid focus the attitude of some of our neighbours to issues of Urhobo welfare and dignity over the years. Those who saw Urhobo as slaves in time past now see Urhobo as lords and threats because of our past heroes’ resilience in the face of intimidation, an invaluable characteristic now on display once again by the present generation. Dr Ejiro Imuero and his co-patriots have a date with history and they cannot afford to disappoint this generation. Let me drop this bomb shell arising from my strong conviction, whether the name is changed or not, Urhobo has everything to gain from this struggle and it must not be discouraged even if some Agbarha, Okumagba, Ogunu and Okere indigenes are seen to be lukewarm, perhaps because of some form of links to Itsekiri.

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Dr Ejiro Imuero should be prepared for discouraging remarks and attitudes from some of those who may benefit most from the struggle. That is the way of life and this must be properly placed and understood so that nothing, and I mean nothing should stop this initiative on account of such tendencies and behavior from those in the heart of the matter. If there are no such tendencies in a struggle of this dimension, then one should even be worried. Imuero and other Urhobo nationalists should expect betrayals but the struggle continues. As highlighted earlier, no bullet shall be fired because this is ideological and intellectual warfare. When the Black Uhuru movement started in Kenya, it was purely ideological but because it was meant to fight for independence of that country, it later turned violent. The Wado city movement is only contending for ideological independence of our people to free them from the weight of nebulous tag of a conquered, weak and unthinking people in the hands of a few, arrogant and insensitive neighbours. The contention here is in the realm of ideological propriety without any reason to take up arms. Changing the name of Nigeria for instance should not be the business of Cameroun or Ghana. On Wado City we stand!

May I drop a note of caution as we progress with this struggle. Dr Ejiro Imuero and other Urhobo nationalists in the struggle should resist the temptation of wearing a messiah mentality in pursuing the goal of this enterprise. They should resist being compromised by elements that may be planted by envious or threatened neighbours in the struggle. Some may come with huge donations to plant a seed of discord and thereafter discredit the movement as a self-serving one. These are pitfalls and banana peels that could erode the integrity of the struggle. Nobody has anything personal to gain from the struggle but restoring the dignity of Urhobo and taming the malicious tendencies of a neighbor who has chosen to dump refuse in ones compound should be enough satisfaction from the struggle. Urhobo must prove a point with the 1 million man march. The Wado City movement is a beautiful idea that should be supported by all Urhobo patriots for a new consciousness and a rebirth of the unwavering spirit of Urhobo nationalism in modern time.

Annabel Ogheneganre writes from Garki, Abuja. (09030558731 SMS only or [email protected])