The President of the Ijaw Nation Congress, Professor Benjamin Okaba, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as a careless speaker who could say anything under the influence of alcohol.
Prof Okaba said this in response to Wike’s claim that the Ijaws are a minority ethnic group in Nigeria.
Wike recently made a controversial comment while addressing journalists about the political crisis involving him and Siminalayi Fubara, an Ijaw man who succeeded him as governor of Rivers State.
Speaking on Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’ on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, the Professor of Sociology dismissed Wike’s remark as a careless comment.
Prof Okaba explained that the Ijaws are among the four largest ethnic groups in Nigeria and that their territories extend beyond the country’s land areas.
He said, “The person you’re talking about (Wike) could say anything under the influence of alcohol and later debunk it; he is a very careless speaker. These are basic demographics that are well-known. Ijaws are not the fourth largest; they are one of the four largest.
“Most times, we look at the land mass, the land mass in terms of space cannot exist outside a water space. So the boundaries of the Ijawland or may be Nigeria beyond land; it goes into the rivers. So from wherever that is a boundary of Nigeria, all that River spots belong to the Ijawland.”
Prof Okaba explained further that the Ijaws are the most populous ethnic group in the Niger Delta region, spreading across six states.
“We are not minorities, in fact, we are the most populous and most indigenous ethnic nationality in the Niger Delta, that’s a fact that is well known. Ijaws are in six states,” he maintained.
Apart from Bayelsa State, he stated that the Ijaws are indigenous to many communities in Abia, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers State, adding that Wike’s comment was a deliberate distortion of fact.
“They are in Abia. 26 communities in Abia State are indigenous Ijaw people. So we felt that was a deliberate distortion. In Delta State, we have more than four local government areas; even in Rivers State, we have 10 and a half local government areas, and Ikwerre has three. Forget about those who distorted political census figures; when the time comes for real counting, we shall know them. Ijaws are in Ondo State; they are in Edo State, he submitted.
The academic, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu not to allow one individual to destroy his efforts to ensure democracy in Nigeria, stating that Wike is nothing outside government.
