Curiosity is one of the driving instincts of the journalist. Once something of significance erupts within their area of coverage, the hairs on their skin jut out like antennas. They want to know where the place is, how to get there and who to guide them. The purpose is to get to the root of the story and if possible, dig out as many scoops that they can with the originality that come with them. It is indeed a life of adventure, the sweetness of which is savoured when they sit back to write about their experiences.
So, when the story of the killing of some officers and men of the Nigerian Army at Okuama, a community located on the Forcados River in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State broke in March, the question was, “How do we get there?” We were still contemplating that when the military moved in and occupied the community.
Our MD, Ms. Ibiba Don Pedro, a veteran of reporting the Niger Delta called us together. We must get to Okuama and Okoloba, the neighbouring community of Okuama whose boundary rifts led to the latest news focus in the region.
She knows the terrain better. Her incisive and far-reaching reports on the Niger Delta and its crises, made her an authority on the region and won her the CNN African Journalist of the year award over 20 years ago. She has a rich reservoir of contacts in the region and she was ready to make them available to us. We must get the true story of Okuama and Okoloba, and nothing will be spared to do so, including getting to the communities.
So, we set out from Port Harcourt. Our aim was to get to Okoloba, Okuama, Ughelli and Warri, which seems to be the converging city for all the groups in the Delta State part of the Niger Delta.
On the way, we found out that the shortest route to Okoloba and Okuama was through Bomadi, the biggest town on the Forcados River. Forcados is one of the two major distributaries that drain River Niger into the Atlantic Ocean, the other being the River Nun.
To get to Bomadi, we had to alight at Ohoror Junction (also known as Bomadi Junction), about 20 kilometres after Patani. There were several taxis and buses waiting at the junction to take passengers to Bomadi and other communities along that route.
While waiting at Ohoror, we saw convoys of military vehicles drive in towards Bomadi and drive out. Something told us we are close to our destination. Eventually, we began the journey to Bomadi. It was our first time and curiosity guided our eyes along the road. The area on the sides of the road, fell on a plain of rich alluvial soil, which was well utilized by the locals for farming. The main tree crop is the oil palm, while lush green vegetables and cassava are grown on the entire stretch. From time to time, we cross small rivers and streams. Interestingly, the road cuts through Ijaw and Urhobo communities. You get to know this by the names of the communities and then the language of the locals.
After about an hour , we got to Bomadi where a huge bridge curves over the Forcados River. It is small but busy town. There were no massive buildings around but the noise from small shops and commercial motorcycles created a din.
Time was running out for us and we needed to get to either Okuama or Okoloba. The fastest way to get the the towns was by boat. But, we were told that the waterway to the communities has been closed by the military, which was in occupation of Okuama.
So, how else do we get there?. One commercial motorcyclist suggested that we get to Gbaregolor by road, and then take a boat from there to any of the communities. Could he take us? He agreed and we got another of his colleagues to join us. As we journeyed on the motorcycles to Gbaregolor, we come across communities in Burutu Local Government Area. Our minds flash on their most prominent son, Chief Edwin Clark. Is it here that he has his university?
We eventually got to Gbaregolor waterside where we saw a number of people joining speed boats going to Okwagbe. When we asked for how to get to Okuama and Okoloba, the boatmen, look at us with some surprise. Nobody goes by river to any of those places. The army have closed the river. No boat driver would embark on such a trip they told us flatly.
We talked further and we were told that we could cross the river at that point to the other side, and then take commercial motorcycles to Akugbene, from where we could access Okuama because they are neighbouring communities. We scratched our heads and decided to try it. Anything that could take us to have a view and a shot of any of the communities was okay. It was getting to 5pm and there were dugout canoes paddled only by women at the waterside to take us across. We chose the canoe of a young woman, who was also pregnant. The massive bridge built across the river had collapsed at the other end and had become more of an obstacle and an eyesore, than a utility. Upriver, were two big oil storage barges with a number of gunboats floating around them. After rowing for about 7 minutes we get to the other side of the river and join waiting commercial motorcycles to Akugbene.
The road to Akugbene is rough and bumpy. It looked like it was once motorable but with the collapse of the bridge at Gbaregolor, no motor goes there again. There are a number of wooden bridges on the way and places where erosion has cut off the road, a detour is made through the forest. We pass Esama and eventually arrive Akugbene.
Could we continue to Okuama, which shares a boundary with Akugbene? No. The cyclists said the military had warned people from visiting the city. What if we decide to go by foot? Well, they said we could but they would advise against it. The only way is to cross the thick forests from behind the town. Otherwise, no one can enter Okuama directly from the front.
At the tip of the forest, we asked them to wait for us that we would soon return. All we needed was to have a glimpse of Okuama.
“Is there still a town like Okuama?” one of them asked. “Everything has been demolished,” he added.
We still insisted and we entered the forest. About 200 metres into the thickets, we could not have a sight of any settlement and it was beginning to get dark. We looked at ourselves and said we have to get back. There was no point. If we were not afraid of the soldiers to whom we could explain ourselves, what about wild animals?
We turned backed at this point. On getting to the place where we left our guides and transporters, they had gone. So, we trekked all the way back to Akugbene town centre. There we found our the cyclists again. Why did you guys leave us now? They laughed and said they couldn’t risk it.
Anyway, we asked for the community chairman of Akugbene so that we could interview him about how they were coping with the crisis. We were led to the secretary, Mr. Larry Adagbabiri who said he could only talk if we got permission from the joint military task force. It was 7pm already and we had to get back to Bomadi. We thanked him and joined a commercial motorcycle back to Gbaregolor waterside in the dark.
At the waterside, the canoe women were still there. We crossed in one of the canoes to the other side where we boarded motorcycles back to Bomadi.
We found a place to sleep and the following morning, we visited the military base in Bomadi. We didn’t see the commanding officer but the officers we met warned us against attempting to go to Okuama. “When we finish what we are doing there, we can then allow people to enter,” one of them said.
After leaving the military base, we moved to Warri to meet people who we could interview on the crisis. After a few contacts we returned to Port Harcourt.
Six weeks later, the military withdrew from Okuama and we felt it was time to visit again. That was after the Governor of Delta State, Mr. Sheriff Obovrewori, had visited. We thought it would be safer and easier now, and that the waters would be open.
We moved straight to Bomadi, where, to our surprise, we were told that boats do not yet move to Okuama from Bomadi, that the interethnic animosity the crisis brought between the Ijaw and Urhobo along that route was still strong. The best bet was to go through Ughelli and connect Okwagbe waterside.
We got to Ughelli at 6pm and found our way to National, from where we boarded a tricycle that took us through Otu-Jeremi to Okwagbe. We passed the night at Okwagbe and went to the waterside to join a boat that would take us to Okuama.
Nothing at Okwagbe informed us that Okuama was a sensitive destination and that people were still avoiding the place. After about an hour’s drive on the Forcados, we began to approach Okuama waterfront. We noticed the unease among our fellow passengers, who protested that we should not berth at the jetty. Clifford attempted to take a picture of the jetty that had come into view from the boat and he was hushed down.
On the jetty, we saw a mob of angry people who were shouting at our boat driver to move on and not berth. But we insisted that we would berth there and explain ourselves.
As we arrived, we raised our hands which had also my writing pen and copies of newspapers. We quickly announced that we were journalists . But some of them didn’t want to know anything about that. They didn’t want any stranger there. They began to push towards us but we were saved by some well looking ones among them who seemed to be their leaders. They formed a ring around us and said we must leave with them immediately.
From our view there was only one structure standing, a church building. All the houses had been levelled. However, the situation did not allow us take any pictures. We have to be safe first before snapping. Our saviours shepherded us into their boat, which they had apparently chartered to the place. They too were concerned for their own safety even though they were from there.
Before long, the boat moved and cornered into the Ewu River cutting through several other creeks before we stopped somewhere at Iwhere, from where we boarded a bus to Ewu Grammar School where a camp was set up for Okuama displaced persons.
One of the community leaders, that helped us out of Okuama, said they had relaxed when they saw my face, because I looked like one of their leaders.
