ITSEKIRI MAY FIGHT BACK , NEWUWUMI WARNS AVENGERS

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Itsekiri may fight back, Newuwumi warns Avengers



SAPELE- FORMER  Member of the Delta Waterways Security Committee, DWSC, Warri, Delta State and ex-Itsekiri warlord, Comrade Omolubi Newuwumi, aka ‘Gentle General,”    has warned that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality would defend itself if the Niger Delta Avengers, NDA, does not desist from the provocative bombing oil and gas installations in its (Itsekiri) territory.


Avengers & Newuwumi
Newuwumi, the Itsekiri equivalent of Ijaw‘s Tompolo and former Commissioner for Youths in the state , told Niger Delta Voice: “The bombing of oil and gas facilities in Itsekiri territory is  absurd; it is an act capable of provoking the Itsekiri nation and personalities like me.

I am categorically saying that if they continue, they may force us, Itsekiri, to protect our territory, especially if the present administration fails in their responsibilities to protect lives and properties. “

Bombings of oil installations

He said: “We will be prepared to assist the government to end the bombings of oil installations in our area just like the role of the civilian JTF in the north, which has yielded successful results. As I said before, the destruction caused us by the Ijaw, which wanted to wipe us (Itsekiri) from the earth’s surface is still there, years after the crisis ended.

“The memories are still fresh in our mind for those of us who lived to tell the sad tales of woes and wanton destruction and killings in our communities. We will not fold our hands this time to let them destroy us as they did before. “The then federal and state governments failed to protect us from the Ijaw until we decided to take our own destiny into our hands and defend ourselves. I just hope this present government will not abandon us to our fate,” he added.

Why Itsekiri youths are not throwing bombs: On why Itsekiri youths were not carrying arms and bombing pipelines in the creeks like their Ijaw counterparts, he said: “Itsekiri people are a group of intellectuals, peace -loving and law- abiding people, hence carrying guns is not a way of life for them. If you look at history, you will find out that it was an Itsekiri man, the late Justice Atake that first started the intellectual struggle for resource control even before Ken Saro Wiwa.

“So the struggle is not a new thing for us, it is just that we are not used to militancy, kidnapping and other forms of criminality in our fight for true federalism and equality for the region. Anyway, we are soon coming out with a formidable platform to tackle all these issues because the Itsekiri have kept silent for a while now.

New group: “Very soon, a new group, which is non-political called the Niger Delta Patriotic Front, NDPF, will emerge and come out with its agenda and demands. There will be no genuine negotiation without the full involvement of the Itsekiri ethnic nationality because in Delta for example, the numbers of oil wells in Itsekiri land is much more than that of any other tribe,” he asserted.

Encounters with Tompolo: On his attitude towards the struggle and what makes it different from Tompolo’s, ‘Gentle General’ said: “We share different ideologies. In the war (referring to Ijaw/Itsekiri war),    the Ijaw, which Tompolo led was more like the aggressor, but I only rose to lead my people in defense when the government of that time failed to defend us against our more formidable opponents for more than two years.”

Total annihilation

Newuwumi said he had met with Tompolo on two occasions in the Benin River and his defunct Camp 5. His words: “Yes, during the battle to save my people from total annihilation from the surface of the earth, we met during the Warri crisis. I remember an occasion in the Benin River when I was coming from rescuing my people stranded in Ogheye community. I will tell that story at a later date.

“However, beyond that, we both represent different things to different people. Ma