Prof Igho Natufe urges Oborevwori to emulate Okowa

 

 

• Charges politicians to defend Okpe national interests, territorial integrity

 

• Says choice of first Orodje was a marked deviation from the Benin tradition

 

• Condemns blunder infused into the system by political leaders in 1963

 

• Intensifies advocacy for renaming of Okpe and Sapele LGAs

President General of Okpe Union Worldwide, Professor Igho Natufe, recently held an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos on a wide range of issues.

The illustrious son of Okpe Kingdom in Delta State, Nigerian-born Sovietologist, alumnus of the Peoples Friendship University, specialist in International Relations and Soviet/Russian Foreign Policy says he will not rest until he gets a distinct nationality for the Okpe Nation.

The former Professor of Political Science, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana (1978-1980), the University of Benin, Benin-City (1980-1989), and Senior Advisor to the Government of Canada (1970-1978, 1989-2011), knows where the problems of the Okpe Nation lie and how to keep solving them.

The Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences (2013-2015 and 2018-2025), Director, Ukraine-Africa Centre, Institute of World History, echoes the place of democratic tenets in Okpe Kingdom.

Currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Stratepol Consultants INC and author of Soviet Policy in Africa: From Lenin to Brezhnev and Russian Foreign Policy in Search of Influence, Natufe underscores the main thrust of Okpe Union’s ideological construct.

 

What does it feel like having a son of Okpe Kingdom as governor of Delta State, in the person of His Excellency Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori?

 

It is gratifying to have one of your own as the Governor of any state, especially for us in Okpe Nation. We are elated; and pray for his success. Fundamentally, we hope that he will uplift Okpe Nation and recognize Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality; just as his predecessor, H.E. Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa did for his Ika and Ndokwa people. By doing this, Okpe Nation will become an equal partner with other ethnic nationalities in Delta State to benefit from the Governor’s MORE/RENEWED HOPE agenda. A recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality will allow us to be included as a direct participant and stakeholder in DESOPADEC, for example. 

 

The Okpe Union talks of the defense of democratic tenets and good governance in Okpe Nation. Realizing that Okpe is a kingdom, with a Monarch, what is the place of democratic tenets in the kingdom? And what does Okpe Kingdom is not an absolute monarchy imply?

 

The first part of your question: “what is the place of democratic tenets in the Kingdom?” suggests that democracy is alien in a kingdom. We do not subscribe to this thinking. We firmly believe that the observance of democratic tenets is fundamental for the growth and development of any system, whether monarchical or otherwise. Our position that Okpe Kingdom is not an absolute monarchy derives from the founding principles of the Okpe Kingdom by the four princely brothers – Orhue, Orhorho, Evbreke, and Esezi. Even though they were the great grandchildren of Oba Ozolua of Benin Kingdom (reign: 1481 - 1504), they established a democratic principle of electing an Orodje of Okpe Kingdom. The choice of the first Orodje of Okpe Kingdom was a marked deviation from the Benin tradition where the first son is crown king. In choosing the first Orodje of Okpe, the four Brothers settled on the youngest via a unique democratic formula. The eldest, Prince Orhue was too old and proposed that the youngest, Esezi ascend the Throne. This was because the two middle brothers, Orhorho and Evbreke were too quarrelsome. In a unique display of a novel democratic practice, the brothers decided to crown their youngest brother, who ascended the Throne as Esezi I, the first Orodje of Okpe Kingdom. It was a democratic experiment in contradiction to the absolute monarchical system of the Benin Kingdom. The four princely Brothers all agreed that the Orodjeship would rotate among the four Ruling Houses. The election of an Orodje is undertaken in two stages. Firstly, delegates from the particular Ruling House whose turn it is to produce an Orodje will vote for their candidates. The second stage is at the Udogun Okpe (Okpe Traditional Council) to ratify the election. On the other hand, it is incongruous to have an “absolute monarchy” in a democratic republican polity. It is contradictory for a monarchy to coexist with a republican system in the bowel of the same polity. This contradiction is exacerbated when a monarch attempts to rule a polity in which he possesses no defined constitutional authority to rule. When Nigeria became a Republic on October 1, 1963 it retained a House of Chiefs in each of the then four federating regions, in an attempt to replicate the British House of Lords, as the upper house in each of the regions. This gave the chiefs, who were traditional rulers in their respective domains, a constitutional role as parliamentarians. Thus, they saw themselves as both parliamentarians in the House of Chiefs and as monarchs in their respective kingdoms. This admixture was a conceptual blunder infused into the political system by the Nigerian political leaders in 1963. This blunder has been aggravated by the continuous failures of succeeding political leaders to resolve the contradiction resolutely by deciding on this crucial issue: Remain a Federal Republic of Nigeria and abolish traditional rulership OR declare the country a United Kingdoms of Nigeria. In the former, traditional rulers will be extinguished as their existence contravenes the diktat of a Republic, while the latter recognizes their constitutional role as heads of states of their respective kingdoms. Even as a head of state of a given kingdom, if we were in a United Kingdoms of Nigeria, the role of a Monarch, like the Orodje of Okpe, will be defined by whether the system is a constitutional monarchy (like the United Kingdom) or an absolute monarchy (like Saudi Arabia). If Okpe Nation were a constitutional monarchy the Orodje would reign but cannot rule. Conversely, if Okpe Nation were an absolute monarchy the Orodje will possess and exercise an unquestioned political and legislative power and authority to reign and rule as he pleases in accordance to the mediaeval concept of the divine right of kings, whose pronouncements are considered law, final and binding on all citizens. Constitutionally speaking, Nigeria is not a monarchy. Therefore, it is severely injurious to the political system to speak of monarchies in the polity. This injury is exemplified by the way several political leaders have used and abused traditional rulers across the country since 1960.

 

As the President - General, Okpe Union that is the mouthpiece of Okpe Nation, what is the ideological construct of the Union?

 

The main thrust of Okpe Union’s ideological construct is to promote, propagate, and defend the interests of the Okpe Nation in a multi-ethnic Delta State and in Nigeria. Towards this end, we consider it existential for the Government of Delta State to recognize Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality, a distinction which was extinguished by the British Colonial Government by wrongly classifying Okpe as Urhobo. Phrased differently, we are demanding the rights of Okpe Nation to self-determination. Fighting for freedom, the liberation of a people, a Nation, is a noble but risky venture which only a conscious minority is called upon by History to undertake. Historically, not all enslaved peoples want or understand freedom. Harriet Tubman, one of America’s most revered abolitionists of the 19th and early 20th centuries risked her life so that Black Americans can be free. Her “underground railway” project led to the freedom of millions of Black Americans, and defined the self-determination movement of Black Americans in the 20th century. The Okpe Union is playing a similar role in Okpe Nation.

 

2025 is said to be a landmark year for the Okpe Nation, with the commemoration of the 95th Anniversary of the Union on May 16. What does it portend to you as President- General?

It gave me great joy to preside over the 95th Anniversary Celebrations of the Okpe Union on May 15 – 16, 2025, at Obalende, Lagos. For those who may not know, Okpe Union is the oldest ethnic organization in Nigeria. We paid tribute to the following founding fathers who had the foresight to establish Okpe Union and served in the first National Executive Council of the Union: Thomas O. Ake of Mereje Town: President. M. A. Ero of Ughoton: Vice President. Inspector Odeghe (later known as Chief Odeghe) of Oha: General Secretary. J. K. Ogodo of Sapele: Auditor. Uweriavwe Ake of Mereje Town: Treasurer. J. U. Igberiewe of Okuokpokpor: Assistant Treasurer. J. E. Uwerhievwe of Esubi: Member. Uko of Jeddo: Member and J. E. Ewhiewhie: Member.

What is our message to those who made the anniversary a successful one?

 I do not have sufficient words to thank all our members across Nigeria and in the Diaspora who made the 95th Anniversary a huge success, considering that they graciously provided the resources as their altruistic contributions to the growth and development of the Okpe Nation. Members of the National Planning Committee and the Local Planning Committee were marvelous. They are the pillars of the Okpe Union that did the heavy lifting.

 

In your capacity as PG of the Okpe Union (Worldwide), what would you say were the landmark achievements of the Union in 2025, and what are your projections, and expectations in 2026?

 

Keeping the Union focused on our goals and objectives. The celebration of the 95th Anniversary of the Founding of the Okpe Union definitely was the highlight of 2025. We registered new branches and members across Nigeria and the Diaspora. In 2026, we shall intensify our sensitization and outreach programme to various Okpe organizations and leaders (traditional and political) in pursuit of the recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality. We shall, simultaneously, intensify our advocacy for the renaming of Okpe LGA and Sapele LGA to Okpe East LGA and Okpe West LGA, respectively.

 

On the issue of political restructuring of Nigeria, what is the position of the Okpe Union, and what measures is the Union putting in place to firm up its position in 2026.

 

Okpe Union strongly supports the restructuring of Nigeria’s federalism. We are working collaboratively with other ethnic nationalities in different national organizations across Nigeria to affect this restructuring. For example, we actively participated in the drafting of an Executive Bill on the subject which was submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as well as a submission to the Federal House of Representatives Constitution Review Committee. We are working with other ethnic nationalities and national organizations to ensure the success of these initiatives in 2026.

 

On the issue of Okpe identity and visibility, what measures do you have in place to consolidate on what the Union had achieved in 2025?

 

As stated above, we shall intensify our sensitization and outreach programme to various Okpe organizations and leaders (traditional and political) in pursuit of the recognition of Okpe as a distinct ethnic nationality.

 

The Okpe Union floated a bursary programme for Okpe students in higher institutions. What is the motive behind this, and what has been the size of the beneficiaries?

 

The motive is simple: we initiated a bursary programme for Okpe students in higher institutions as part of our efforts to actualize the vision of the Founding Fathers of the Okpe Union and to provide less privileged but talented Okpe nationals with higher education. The 2025 Bursary was awarded to 12 (twelve) Okpe sons and daughters, in line with the vision of the Founding Fathers of the Okpe Union to establish a base for human capital and economic development of the Okpe Nation. Recall that the Founding Fathers offered scholarships to FOUR Okpe sons to study overseas in their individual field of endeavor. This laudable policy initiative of our Founding Fathers should not and must not be allowed to die due mainly to the present economic hardship in pervading in Nigeria today. Hence, for the past three years, the Okpe Union has limited the award to Bursary in the meantime.

 

What is the relationship between the Okpe Union and the Media? There was once an allegation that some media organizations were engaged in deliberate distortion of facts regarding Okpe identity. What is your view about this?

 

We do not want to recast any distortion of facts regarding Okpe Identity that emanated from some media houses in the past year. We have moved forward beyond that. We are in a democratic political system where freedom of speech is highly recognized. But be rest assured that we are vigilant in reviewing all publications regarding Okpe Nation and we remain resolute in defending Okpe national interests and territorial integrity.