WAKE UP CALL!!!!

Ndi Ahaba Be Vigilant

Ahaba Can't Be A Battlefield Again


History has a pattern of repeating it self and that same old pattern is about to play out, but this time, we saw it earlier and we must mitigate and nip the bud where it rightly matters.

Since known and recorded histories and as treasured in the various archives of the old western states holds them sacrosanct and holy, one particular pattern keeps repeating itself.

The question seeking an answer is "why is it that each time Ndi Ahaba makes progress as a people and unveils their natural divinely and blessed leadership prowess within the old southern protectorate, old western region, old mid western states or within Delta state and Anioma Nation, our enemies, restlessly manipulate ways to introduce war from the backyard.

And if we can not but want to help out, we become the grand enemy and our land becomes battle field, our best before you say jack Robinson are all flushed away.

This had being an existing pattern.

At the wake of the Ekumeku war days as well as during the horrible days of Lord Lugard's imperial conquest to finish the Queen's assignment, Asaba had already had far more progressive social cultural plus, that even swept the feet of the sojourning missionaries and the imperial commercial reps alike.

At this same era, our Ahaba people's easy embrace of the western civilization was most wonderful and seamless that our Ahaba fore fathers took both the Christian Religion and western education to both the present south west, south south, south east and the whole of what you can call Northern Nigeria and they did that because they are naturally blessed.

Also about this era and time, Ahaba was at her best Economically, Social culturally and our political hold on politics was wonderful, to the point that it is recorded and our oral histories implanted it into our psyche, that at these era, one of the greatest warrior empire near us never defeated Ahaba, that is "Aya idue e li hu Ahaba" meaning the Binis never conquered us in any engaged battle.

But at these same era, we lost a lot, even at an era when we were at the zenith of our economical, social cultural and political greatness.

Our neighboring communities dealt wrongly in their day to day business with the imperialists and as Lords over them, the imperialists lashed some strokes, instead of learning their lessons and making required corrections, they began to plot against their Lords, their plots licked, the colonial masters tripled the lashes, when they could not bear it anymore that was when they remembered that there was a big brother some where and ran down to Ndi Ahaba for help.

You know what, listening to them, giving them counseling and some intelligence advice, was the beginning of our people's loss of the sweet relationships enjoyed from the colonial powers, but somehow we scaled through and continued till after the political marriage of the Southern and Northern protectorates.

From 1915 down to the era of the struggle for independence, Ndi Ahaba managed to sustain their strong hold on political, economical and social cultural stakes.

Again, shortly after the nation's independence was won, Ahaba again demonstrated her collective leadership and visionary positioning to lead as some Ndi Ahaba Political elites set in motion to bring about the best and transparent plebiscite ever recorded in Nigerian's political history, which was driven by our people's foresight of the economical endowment within the Mid western states, a fast move that the core Yoruba elites never were aware of then, even the Britons too, our fathers reached this Golan heights because their grip on social trends around them was near perfect.

Again within these period Ahaba was at its peak, politically, socially and economically, as our fortunes were scaling up, it was again a reason for massive hatred from our close door neighbors from the right and left sides.

The roles played at that time by both Major Nzeogwu and Col Ojukwu, one must reason and come to terms that their actions were completely ill adviced and 100% unnecessary, one because they started some mission they could not finish.

Ask me, who within that era suffered it the most, whose homeland became battlefield, who lost their best the most, who doesn't know that it was Ndi Ahaba, what we lost in Ahaba, was never lost at Nnewi nor at Okpanam, home lands of these two war time foundation moulders and engineers.

All done to reduce us and halt our naturally occurring progressive blessings, somehow too after the Nigerian civil war, Ahaba survived, started rebuilding from the scratch with only N20 refunded to our fathers as well as the many cases of abandoned properties and lost career, they came back to their former jobs only to see their gatemen, cooks, drivers Automatically made their boss, where did these folks within the space of thirty months and during war time gained all the expertise to become bosses over those who painstakingly built themselves and career, this was where everything in this nation started to collapse till date, but that is a gist for another essay.

Again, providence smiled at us, this time, we became Delta State's seat of power, everything was going on well for Ndi Ahaba, our landlords smiled broader, business owners in town thanked their stars they invested in Ahaba and our people prepared to receive the new military administrations, our people quickly forgot the losses of the civil war era and the military administrators had some good and swell time leading the young state from Ahaba, it was so good for the khaki boys then that one of their bosses, a sole administrator,  named on of his  new born baby "Ahaba Amaka" meaning Ahaba is beautiful, those were some wonderful days but soon we lost it all again.

This time, it was during the early days of civilian rule in the young state, this is how it all started, again other small neighboring towns around Asaba started with their crocodile tears and cries of being marginalized by other Deltans, and as it was getting clear to them that Ahaba is set to mind her business, only heaven knows from where under the sun, they coined out the info that the governor at that time said "Ahaba go be capital for mouth" this really set the warrior DNA in our people restless, together with some visible mistakes the then governor made before our elites that to some extent gave flesh to the well cooked and served rumour that "Ahaba go be capital for mouth" in pains and anguish, our people embarked upon their first fourth republic protest, a protest that consumed one of our finest young lad from a royal home, again and after that ill fated protest Ahaba lost everything within this fourth republic, name it or be it political, social and economic stronghold, we practically lost them all, since those days of protest.

Thanks to goodness, our case as a people recently got some revival and within the last couple of years it seems our fortune as a people is beginning to see the bright light at the end of a long tunnel, through the leadership of our town union, Ahaba is on the verge of reclaiming all our lost glories and we are grateful to our Lord that hope is certain.

But before, we sing hallelujah, we need to be more vigilant as history is about to be repeated, but our Lord forbid!!!!

We call upon all opinion shapers of our land to wake up and keep Virgil, hold more air tight security meeting and do all in their powers to see that the recent madness of Okpanam youths as well as its potential response from the Fulani's who they went to their camp for reasons best known to them, chased them away, burned up their homestead, that such madness does not spill over to our Ahaba nation.

We refuse to have Ahaba become nor see another war, our fathers had seen enough back stabs and betrayals in attempts to play the big brother roles, we the new generation are not and will never support any such roles, especially, from those who unwisely attract war and battle songs their ways.

We believe that Okpanam youths acted grossly in error and the fact that they video their engagement and shared same on Social media platforms kept us wondering, in whose interest are they about with these recordings.

The fact that they have a first class commissioner from their town beats our collective imagination as to why their brother can't be seen as a more and better rallying point towards addressing whatever was the gap between them and the Fulani's within their domains, than sparking off embers of war their might to sustain we doubt.

To this end, we call on them, especially their youth leaders to swing into action as to make peace with their tenants, as we at Asaba are not ready to entertain any spill over of their carelessness into Ahaba, we can't afford to have Ahaba in our time become another battlefield, please, go back to your drawing boards and seek out more progressive ways of handling your issues with your tenants as not to cause unnecessary spill over into Ahaba.

Thanks as we believe you will in the interest of peace and progressive co-existence find far better ways to live with your tenants as to have us enjoy better peace in Ahaba.

Thanks and regards

Yours truly

Comrade Okonta Emeka Okelum
Founder
Save Asaba Group (SAG)