Tantita And The Shame Poverty Has Brought To Urhobo Honour

By Annabel Ogheneganre

That gathering at Oteri Ughelli summed it up. Urhobo people have no sense of shame at all. The fact that a bunch of contractors and beneficiaries of the Tantita Security Company owned by Ijaw-born Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo, congregated to deride Urhobo and the entire Urhobo Progress Union over the statement calling on Mr President to consider an Urhobo security outfit to guard oil facilities in Urhoboland, speaks volumes about the fact that very many Urhobo people have a price. The kind of money that exchanged hands to bankroll the meeting to pour ash in the face of UPU over who should secure oil facilities is a despicable and disgraceful humiliation of one’s own father in public to serve the interest of a stranger. Shame!

In the biblical narrative of Genesis 9, Noah’s son Ham saw his father’s nakedness while Noah was drunk and asleep. Instead of covering his father, as his brothers Shem and Japheth did, Ham told his brothers, seemingly with a tone of mockery or disrespect. For this, Noah cursed Canaan, Ham’s son, to be a servant to his brothers and their descendants. This is the crab-like attribute that defines Urhobo people in many respects. What matters is personal interest. Indeed, there is no honour among thieves. Everybody is scrambling for the peanut Tantita is throwing at our people over this security matter.

The narrative being pushed by supporters of Tantita Security Company is that the company has employed 3,500 Urhobo Youths from 88 communities across 16 Kingdoms as claimed yet, many people don’t feel the impact. There is no guarantee that an Urhobo company in charge of the security of the so-called oil facilities may not do any better. But that is not enough justification for the vituperation and insult the UPU has suffered at the hands of these Urhobo people.

For many years, a lot of us have criticised the docility of the UPU leadership. When they eventually found their voice, our people will not allow the message to simmer down before the attack from left, right and centre. How many times have community presidents from such a number of Urhobo communities gathered to discuss the way forward for Urhoboland? Aside from politics, has it ever been heard that Ijaw communities have ever gathered to discuss the interests of any Urhobo man or company?

The furore and excitement generated amongst Urhobo youths and communities over the letter written by the Urhobo Progress Union has unveiled a new chapter in the difficulties of serving Urhobo interests in the affairs of our people. I took my time to review the entire episode, the handclapping to shame the UPU, the obvious ‘stripping of our elders naked’ in the marketplace to serve the pecuniary interests of external forces, whom our people considered better because they brought some security jobs to the table. The gaslighting of UPU finally made the apex Urhobo socio-cultural organization to bow in shame, withdraw the well-intentioned letter and withdraw into its shell like the head of a tortoise in the face of danger. This obviously does not serve Urhobo honour.

What our youths and community leaders did was nothing short of uncovering the nakedness of UPU and bringing the organization to public ridicule. That was what our people did with all the posts, statements and position papers all meant to shame UPU for daring to stand up to defend Urhobo interest in the juicy security contracts that have made Ijaw boys super-rich kids overnight.

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The peanuts they throw at Urhobo youths are what they decided to shame UPU over. So many Urhobo communities’ leaders were summoned for the meeting in Ughelli, money exchanged hands and there and then, they poured ash in the face of UPU, cursing them as Urhobo problem. The mock news sensation, Pararan came into the picture later to deride and denounce Urhobo leaders, decorating Tompolo as the savior. In the end, UPU did another letter withdrawing the first letter. Pity! It is so, so unfortunate that Urhobo could go this far to shame our elders and leaders, all because of peanuts.

Government Ekpemupolo, aka Tompolo was an ordinary citizen when he found fortune on the wings of his fellow Ijaw man, Goodluck Jonathan’s rise to fame, first as Vice President and later President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Despite the intense search for Tompolo in the heat of the crisis that rocked the Niger Delta, the Ijaws shielded their own until he rose to be a national force. Today, many Urhobo youths attribute their livelihood to him. But should that be enough reason to disown and shame your own father, clapping hands on his face in total dishonour in favour of a stranger?

When Pararan raised questions about Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief James Onanefe Ibori a couple of weeks ago in the name of fighting for Urhobo youths, I was not amused. He was behaving to type, pulling down your own to serve extraneous interests. Tompolo is super-rich and can dispense so much, NOT because of the oil surveillance contract alone. He is empowered by the Nigeria state to chase away all those involved in bunkering or illegal oil theft and deals. He is the last and only man standing in the business today. The so-called N4billion naira monthly oil surveillance contract deals with Tantita Security Services is NOTHING compared to state-backed dirty deals by the Tompolo gang. Ignorant and uninformed boys and girls are jumping up and down, stripping their parents naked because they are unable to dispense as much funds as Tompolo could. It is so shameful that Urhobo people dishonoured their leaders so cruelly because of dirty oil deals that have been ceded to Tompolo for many years running.

UPU has been inactive for many years. They found their voice for once and all we did was to strip them naked in the market square because of oil surveillance jobs. I do not see anything wrong with the first letter. What I do not support is the rebuttal. That was not necessary. Men of honour speak once and say no more. They should have simply refrained from taking any further action. Our people should be properly guided.

I can see the politics of 2031 already playing out. Money will talk, and our youths will spit on grey hairs and the wisdom of the age because of filthy lucre. Some of our elders will simply walk naked in the streets to satisfy the desire of their paymasters. It is so, so unfortunate that we have descended so low to worship money instead of bringing honour to the table. Somebody sold a dummy, denigrating Ibori and Omo-Agege, and all we did was to jump on their heads without fact-checking the timing of the so-called information and the purpose it was meant to serve.

Before 2031, Ijaws will open wide their vaults to neutralise all shades of resistance. The Isoko, famous for being tight-fisted, may not be able to match Ijaw naira for naira. They will not be able to make the necessary sacrifice to be taken seriously. While the Isoko people are waiting for 2030 to plan for 2031, Ijaws have started investing heavily in the media and Urhobo youths to neutralise any resistance.

The Ijaw nation is well-equipped and has infiltrated Urhobo so deeply. The surveillance contract job is simply the Appian way into the hearts of Urhobo youths. Our people have swallowed the bait, things have fallen apart, and the centre cannot hold. I love the Ijaw people for how well they are using what they have to get what they want. Kestin Pondi, Julius Pondi, Emomotimi Guwor, Nicholas Mutu, Funfei Manager etc are being prepared for post-2027 politics. I will not be surprised if one of these becomes governor in 2031.

Annabel Ogheneganre writes from Abuja. (08074542421 SMS Only or Whatsapp messages)