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Warri: The oil city, Wither the Dream? By Sokore Collins Erebi
Warri is a serene city that shoulders the tributaries of the Niger at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. It is historically a melting pot of the ethnic groups domiciled across the south and central senatorial districts of Delta State. Due to its cosmopolitan nature, Warri used to be known as a ‘no man’s’ land but that has changed in recent times. For an ‘original warfarian’ there is an old Warri which is different from Warri. The old Warri refers to the inner city that is the nucleus of the modern Warri and where every person used to be a ‘warfarian’ irrespective of tribe in the early 90’s. It is instructive to highlight the features that make Warri a primus inter pares and inarguably the most socially conscious city that is not a state capital in Nigeria. Economically’ Warri is the nerve center of Delta state and the oil city of Nigeria. It is the logistics and administrative hub of the multinational oil and gas companies that exploits and produces oil from the giant reserves that straddle Delta, Edo, Bayelsa and Ondo states. In Warri of yore, it was uncommon to see residential buildings (locally called compounds) that were fenced because it was needless. Accordingly, it was easy for youths in one street to ‘write’ those of other streets for football matches. Such football arena was the crucible where the adroitness in the average Warri child is moulded. Other games that instilled the spirit of competitiveness are naily, koto, siwa, oko and table tennis. During such activities, tribe was not important. Tribes of individuals only manifest during traditional marriages. People seldom speak Ijaw, Urhobo, and Itsekiri in everyday life. Pidgin English was the lingua franca and one is hailed as ‘original’ based on proficiency in the usage of the slang. I guess this is the singular reason why ‘warfarians’ dominate the comedy and Pidgin English genre music sectors of the entertainment industry. Even the elders were partakers. Thus it was common to hear an elderly woman ‘stroke’ the bus conductor of an intra-city shuttle bus popularly called ‘along’. The average parents would stop at nothing to sponsor their children to sound educational institutions. And probably because of the prevalence of polygamous marriages, children struggle to get quality education up to University level so that they can get those dream jobs in Lagos. Politically, Warri is a hot bed of tribal politics and interest which has torn the city apart resulting in the fading dreams of the once burstling city. While it is needless to apportion blames, it is pertinent to state that the federal government of Nigeria midwifed the crisis ad nauseam. Though not peculiar to Warri, the military interregnum in the socio political arena led to the struggle by interest group to retain vantage hegemonic positions for selfish reasons. This obviously deprived Warri the opportunity of being selected the capital of Delta state. Warri, because of its strategic location as an oil city became a fertile ground for war merchants, oppressive dictators and tribal warlords to unleash all manner of crimes under the cover of ethnic determination. The resultant effect of the reoccurring crisis in the oil rich area is as disastrous as the crisis itself. Warri became a byword for belligerency and the allure it enjoys as the socio-economic pivot of the remote oil-bearing communities of Ogulagha, Ogbotobo, Egbema-Angalabiri, Afiesere, Escravos, Ogidigben, Ojobo, Olomoro and Aboh disappeared into thing air. Warri became encumbered with censorious ethnic sloganeering. This greatly envenomed the polity such that everything is now tied to the tribe of an individual. Even buildings now bear the tribe of their owners – Ijaw house, Urhobo house, Ishan house etc. This took away the soul of Warri leaving behind a caricature of unfulfilled dreams and misplaced priorities. Negative identities, which were alien to the city, are now readily manifested. The term ‘warfi boy’ was replaced with tribal tag. Also, it became a standard practice for rampaging youths to ‘gbage’ companies for ‘deve’. Though villified by the press, the politicians patronize and glorify such youths for electoral gains. Due to political pressure on the surrogates by the ruling cabal, the crisis was branded as a struggle by oil thieves and this led to the militarization of the city which in recent times include communities in Uvwie, Udu, Ughelli south, Okpe, Burutu, Warri South West, Warri North and Warri South local government areas. Expectedly, some multinational companies relocated to Rivers state but I strongly believe that most relocation were purely cost reduction policies for such organizations and not because of the senseless crisis. Hostage taking and kidnapping of expatriate workers berthed as a lucrative business. Pipeline vandalization that was unheard off became a daily exercise and the poor ‘warfarian’ who had always tolerated all forms of marginalization became too overcharged in confronting any system or group. For Warri to rise again, a lot of efforts must be channeled into issues that gave rise to the crisis. Chiefly, is the reckless creation of entities in the area to suit selfish political goals. The onus is on the government at all levels to objectively integrate the people into the decision making process. The ultimate solution is the rapid development of the riverine communities. While the ongoing construction of dual carriage roads in Warri metropolis is applauded, the same should be done to the riverine areas. Again, tertiary educational institutions must be established in such areas to further serve as springboard for the reorientation of the youths. The non-existence of public institutions such as police stations, courts, recreation parks, prisons, broadcasting stations etc is the reason why the people take laws in their hands. The multinational Companies should strategically move their operations to the oil-bearing communities to forestall the congruency of interest in the polarized Warri city. Also, skill acquisition programmes should be restructured to meet the demands of reality. The present policy of ‘crumbs for the children’ cannot work in this era when the average youth is angling for the spoils of war. A more pragmatic approach should be devised to attenuate the bolshy atmosphere prevalent in the Niger Delta. The settlement of the avant-garde is not an optimal solution. As presently being implemented, the interventionist military strategy would fail unless plans are made to permanently secure the coastline of the country. The ethnic groups in Warri must resist the temptations from extraneous quarters and collectively work together to make Warri a true oil city. Again, the traditional rulers and tribal chiefs must desist from flagrant abuse of positions of authority. Ethnocentrism should be de-emphasized and transparency enshrined in the control of communities. Peace is a panacea for development. Individuals and groups should not allow their state of ennui to destroy the solid foundations on which Warri was proudly built. Come to think it. Would the future generations be proud to boast of the ‘kpangolo warfi’? Lets us live the dream. For according to Aristotle “ happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole end and aim of human existence” Sokore Collins Erebi Warri, Nigeria.
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