19/08/2026
As we posted some days ago, to truly understand Ijaw identity and history is to understand exactly why there is such strong, justified resistance to these recent moves.
Nobody is saying people shouldn't have a place to meet in Bayelsa. If a group wants to build a community hall, build it. But if it isn't an official government project of Anambra State, then name it appropriately. Yenagoa is not Abuja. This is our ancestral land, and we are not going to sit back and watch names, symbols, and structures being used to slowly chip away at our history to create a false sense of ownership or legitimacy.
We know the history, we see the agenda, and we have to stand firm in protecting our territory. Our ancestors didn't do enough to guard our borders, which is exactly why our narratives were infiltrated in places like Opobo, Bonny, and parts of Okrika, leading to outsiders claiming ownership today. Current political leaders won't be in power forever.
People love to throw around insults, calling Ijaws timid or saying we lack sense, but the truth is we don't hate anyone. The issue is the arrogant and completely unguided utterances from the other side. Before you know it, they will start chanting that they built Bayelsa, the exact same way they loudly claim they built Lagos.
Meanwhile, major industrialists like Dangote build actual refineries in Lagos and never claim they own the city. This is the exact playbook they used to try and install traditional rulers in Lagos, Ghana, and South Africa.
If we stay silent, in 50 years they will claim that Anambra House is an ancestral home and that they founded Bayelsa. This is how you wake up one day and find your state gone.
We also see through the political timing. With elections around the corner and certain factions looking to recover from past losses in the state, they are clearly trying to establish a political foothold. But you cannot blame our people for being suspicious when there are public commentators actively claiming that the Ijaw nation is just a political creation rather than a real ethnic identity, or falsely asserting that three out of our eight local government areas belong to them.
No other group constantly denies others their right to an identity or tries to claim their land outright. Know your boundaries and respect ours.
This project need only to be thoroughly scrutinized and shut down by the Ijaw National Congress (INC) before it is too late.
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