Respectfully, I extend my love and good wishes to you all out there in the USA and elsewhere. Regretably we okpofe sons and daughters has not ultilized this great medium provided for us free by our good son Innocent to discuss some issues.
As the topic suggests, DO WE REALLY NEED TWO AUTONOMOUS community in OKPOFE. The debate is on and some group has gone ahead to apply to Imo State government for another autonomous community. I believe this is a serious issues that needs but collective and individual contributions.
For me, I LOVE US TO REMAIN AS ONE.
Let us here you guys out there.
LONG LIVE OKPOFE, LONG LIVE OKPOFE CITIZENS HOME AND ABROAD
I think this is a very potent issue and to get the best out of it, well informed individuals should take a critical look at it and make their unreserved contributions - without fear or favour.
This is a very emotional topic in my opinion, and infact, a tough one to debate. There may be some type of political gain in the proposed division, but it needs to be carefully weighed along with what Okpofe could lose from such action.
It will be interesting to read the reaction and opinion of the elite and politically diverse Okpofe sons and daughters in this forum.
And by the way- Jude, thanks again for your effort (and Cajy) to make this forum useful to us. However, it is unfortunate that it has failed to add the type of value I thought it would, to our community. I'm therefore sorry to let you (and other contributors) know that I have planned to let the forum expire by December. It hasn't turned out to be a good use of my resources as you can tell.
A very interesting topic indeed. The following issues should be addressed before the thinkering of dividing Okpofe comes to mind: (1) Along what line are we going to divide Okpofe? (2) What will happen to the facilities in Okpofe? (3) What will be the economic benefit(s) in duplicating those facilities? (4) If those facilities are duplicated, will each division have the population to fully utilize the duplicated facities? (5) If we decide not duplicate the facilities, will the two divisions amicably use them without resorting to violence? (6) Who will answer the name Okpofe?
The list to be resolved goes on and on... To help some of us make a meaning contibution, the sponsor(s) should pencil down the benefits and drawback. They must tell us what will happen to our Ekiri. Come up with conflict resolution strategies....
By the way, how long have this been on the table? Someone or group could not just wakeup overnight and say, yo!!! lets divide Okpofe. This is something that should take years of planning..
This is a very interesting topic. To be frank, my major interest is on the last writer's questions and/or concerns. Let me address them immediately.
(1) Along what line are we going to divide Okpofe?
Very easy. The very straight road from Aboh to Itu takes care of it. While facing Itu, if you fall to the left, your are now in Okpofe x, if you fall to the right, you are now in Okpofe y. Case close.
(2) What will happen to the facilities in Okpofe?
Which facilities are you referring to and how many do you have? Some of them don't work anyway, so they will remain as it is. Let me guess some of the facilities that you might be thinking....
Elementary Schools - Luckily, the two elementary schools fall in the two areas - left and right; one goes to Okpofe x, the other to Okpofe y.
Churches - All the churches fall on the left, advantage Okpofe x.
Secondary School - Oh! It also falls on the left, another advantage Okpofe x.
Markets - No problem, one falls on the left and the other on the right.
Water Reservoir - not working, advantage Okpofe y.
Hall - this falls to the right, advantage Okpofe y
Clinic - this falls to the right, advantage Okpofe y
Bank - this falls to the right, advantage Okpofe y
Post office - this falls to the right, advantage Okpofe y
What else am I missing - transformers? NEPA will claim them.
For those families that want to cross over, the choice is theirs. A better arrangement will be made to relocate them like what we did in Bakassi.
(3) What will be the economic benefit(s) in duplicating those facilities? Very easy, they will act as a backup to each other. If one system fails, the other will take over. Hail no. Economic impact - another Bank, another Post Office, another Clinic, and newer Churches. This will no doubt creat employment. How about the contracts these new facilities will generate? Enormous.
(4) If those facilities are duplicated, will each division have the population to fully utilize the duplicated faculties?
This question sounds like you know something that we don't know or you must be fully aware how they are going to divide the town. What makes you think that one side will be bigger in population than the other? Again, we can move people around after all Bakassi was once in Nigeria and now it belongs to Cameroon. Personally, I have interest to move if given a good land and a good proposition.
(5) If we decide not duplicate the facilities, will the two divisions amicably use them without resorting to violence?
Very simple answer, NO. You cannot eat your cake and have it. Okpofe cannot go to Eziagbogu Autonomous community to fetch water because we wanted our own water independence but we failed. Therefore, we will do nothing. If you cross the other side to tap their resources, there will be violence, period.
(6) Who will answer the name Okpofe?
Very very easy. Just flip a coin, the head goes to Okpofe and the tail goes to new Okpofe. If the new Okpofe don't know what to answer, they can flip Okpofe backwards to Efopko. What's the big deal in the name anyway.
Well, let me address the benefits of having two Okpofe(s)
- Two Eze(s)
- More Chieftaincy titles
- More Schools
- More Churches
- More Post Office
- More Town Halls
- More Clinics
- More non-working water Reservoir
- More Contracts
- More Employment
- More Electoral wards
- More rivalry and competition
- No more OIU
- No more ODA, hence less headache in Okpofe
- No more squabble on which village is the first
- Need gas station on the side to avoid sabotage
Again, the benefits are enormous.
I was just wondering why you are concern on how long this plan has been in the making. It took one day for an illustrious son of Lorji to divide a town of 4 villages into two autonomous communities. The beauty about the Lorji divide was, 1 village is now answering an autonomous community while the other 3 claim the other autonomous community. Power is good all the time. So, what the heck, divide Okpofe into 4 or 5 if you have the power. Chukwuoma can answer one autonomous community, Umuotirikpo can answer another, the remainder towards the left will assume one autonomous community and of course, to the right, will become another. Men! Think about it, if we get this, the benefits listed above will double four fold. At least my kindred will get about 10 chiefs. What a development? Let's go for it.
I am beginning to have fun again in this Okpofe business. Please do not misconstrue my ideas. It is plain and it does not mean any harm. Please remember one thing, do not use this forum in any negative way. Avoid mentioning names and have an open mind in our discussions.
Let's have fun once more with our ideas, no matter how bad or good it could be, they are all ideas. Mine is a good though if you really come to think about it. Obviously, there is nothing to loose. A friend of mine got married to his wife from Imo State. Six year later he visited home and his wife's place was no longer Imo State rather Abia. He said ok. Another Six year later, he visited home again, and his wife's state was no longer Abia rather Ebonyi and he said ok. Who knows what his wife's state will be the next six years he plans to visit Nigeria. State creation, Local Government creation and Autonomous Community divide are all part of development in Nigerian context. So, I am all for it, after all no one has been paid for answering one Okpofe.
Re: is it necessary to divide Okpofe into two - Yes!
June 13 2007, 4:15 AM
Dear brethren,
I bring greetings to you all in Jesus Name.
my option is to back POL on what he had just said. I felt and i know that states creation is part of development in this our era.
by the time there will be creation of autonomous communities, that will double what Okpofe use to get from the government. Dividing Okpofe does not mean we do not know where we starts or where we come out from. it does not mean we are no longer brothers and sisters.
in the other hand, i will say let us work as brothers any where we find ourselves but have at the back of our mind what we want to achieve from the government or what the government will do for us as autonomous.
yes, the question stand, who will answer "okpofe". i tell you any autonomy can bear that name. it does not make any difference. then what about the facilities as earlier mentioned by some of us. in this case, dividing the facilities accordingly will be meaningful. we can share the facilities by lotting. having in mind that we are not doing it to undo anybody. sharing it as per where three brothers are sharing their father's lands with peace and harmony.
this is my suggestion liable for acceptance or not.
I have to apologize for my inability to make ontributions in this forum due to time constrains and other conflicts in life. All the contributors thus far have made very good points both for and against. However, the benefits of remaining united, peaceful, progressive and strong Okpofe, by far, out weighs the benefits of dividing Okpofe. To me the question of dividing Okpofe is not only interesting, but also a fantasy. It is not in any way realistic because Okpofe people are very, very unique set people. Okpofe does not rank on top of the richest communities around, yet she has continued to be a model town setting good examples all over the globe that have been the envy of the surrounding communities both at home and abroad.
The legacy our generation will leave behind is not dividing Okpofe rather, it will be to make Okpofe “A Little Italy”, make the best out Okpofe, looking at ways to improve the lots of the common man and woman, taking critical looks at the infrastructures we have and then come up with strategic ways of improving them. Look at our elementary and secondary schools, post office, the town hall, health centre and etc, they are all falling apart. How about our water project that we have sunk in millions of naira and yet it does not work and we kept quiet. Should I mention our community bank? We have to ask tough constructive and objective questions and also ask ourselves what we can do both collectively and individually to make Okpofe the best town. I agree with you all in this one, no negativity but positive.
To some people, the solution may seem very simple or easy, however, it would be practically difficult to attain. Our people say that “Oto akuilu dara n’onu awughi oto otoro n’okpo” To assume that if Okpofe is divided long the high way from Aboh to Itu that the people will just accept whichever side the fall into and maybe, shuffle some people around, would be equivalent to President Bush telling the American people that the Iraqis would welcome them with opens arm, roses and hugs as liberators, of course we now know that facts. Leaving dilapidated facilities to rust and allowing NEPA to reclaim their transformer is, in opinion not progressive rather retardation. We should, as a united Okpofe use all our resources and connections to modernize Okpofe. I do n’t understand how one would move people around in our dear Okpofe to make the population even. I also do n’t think that a community would want autonomy just to have more chiefs because nothing stops that community from having as many chiefs as they want. Do they ration the chieftaincy title now?
How far have the towns that have had more autonomous communities progressed except for having more chiefs and one more Eze? Eziudo is one of the earliest communities that subscribed to this notion, how far have they progressed? I was looking at the Lorji example, but I could not find any achievement other than one man getting power drunk and perhaps making more enemies out of brethren. I do n’t think that “Okpofe mara mma” needs that kind of headache. The Eze’s seat is vacant; if anyone is interested that person should go and apply, if it is their turn, otherwise wait for the next time around and leave Okpofe alone. What we need is a united, progressive, modern, strong and peaceful Okpofe that will be the envy of its neighbors. My brethren, the challenges ahead are numerous and hard, and the road is rough, let us remain focus and determined to lead Okpofe to the promise land. Please remember my comments are not personal.
As much as this is a very emotional issue to debate, it is one that okpofe citizens must try their best to engage in without the emotions attached. I understand the difficulty in doing that, but we as a people do not have a choice, if we want okpofe to come out as a winner at the end of it all.
One thing should be made clear; there is nothing wrong in having this debate or any debate on any other issues that affects our community as a whole. There is no one individual that is ‘Okpofe’ living today, hence people should not be afraid to speak their mind on all issues affecting our community. However, we should all have an open mind and restrain ourselves from making comments that would not be helpful.
Now, we need to ask the sponsors of this bill, honest questions and expect honest answers as well from them. The question simply put--- What do we stand to gain or loose as a community should we apply and get additional autonomous community. I would think that those championing this move must have done their homework well and should be ready to answer all our questions. The question of how the amenities of Okpofe will be divided should not be a concern to anybody, because I do not think that okpofe as community can be physically divided. Okpofe is a very unique community that I believe will remain same irrespective of how many paper communities we make out of it. It will be just like we Christians believe that there are 3 persons in one God. We all know we have one God.
We do not have to go too far to get the answers to most of our questions. All most all the communities around Okpofe have gone through this. We just have to ask them, how it has worked for them? What have they gained if any and what did the loose? We are in a better position to do this and do it right. I believe it is only when these questions are asked and answered can we honestly throw our support one-way or the other.
Good people of Okpofe, it is one thing to engage in this constructive discussion as we look for what is best for our community- Okpofe, but it is another thing for one or two individuals to take it further, by actually applying for another autonomous community for Okpofe before the issues are debated and accepted by majority of our people. This to me will amount to insubordination, which should not be encouraged. I have no personal knowledge one way or the other that this has happened; I am just reacting to a comment by one of the contributors to this topic
I want to thank Prince Jude Oguegbe for bringing this issue to light and also those who have contibuted so far.
I'm a long time reader and first time poster in this forum. This is a topic I couldn't just read and walk out without saying something.
Let me make this short, sweet and simple;
1. No one, I repeat, NO ONE or group of people applied for a creation of a new autonomous community out of Okpofe. This is all fantasy.
2. There will be no gain in dividing okpofe and it is geographically impossible to do so. How are you going to divide it, horizontal or vertical?. All the villages didn't meet at one point called Afor-Ekiri by mistake, it was planned.
3. It will be much easier for Biafra to become a country and Mbaise a state, than okpofe getting divided.
4. We are not talking about a Local Govt. creation here that gets an amount of money in every state budget allocated to them, nor are we talking about a state creation that gets money allocated to them from the Federal Govt. We are talking about a community that gets nothing from nowhere. Whats the advantage? Two Ezes and more Chiefs? Yea right. Like that's going to make NEPA steady and water running day and night.
5. Okpofe, Ihitte, Itu, Ezeagborgu and Amumara all used to be one parish, what happened when all these communities got there own parish?. It's true church became closer to people but each community that got there own parish had a big church to build for themselves, priests to feed, and a diocese to build. Okpofe is still trying to finish their own church building after how many years? Do you know how much the owe Ahiara Diocese?. Ever wondered why every christmas harvest, Okpofe Parish makes 1+ million naira but you still don't see it showing in the parish development?. It's not because they are stealing money, it's because the diocese takes 1/3 of every parish money.
6. Ihitte and Amumara has been divided and now the place has developed and it now looks like paradise. WRONG!!!. Did any good come out of it? NO. Did any bad come out of it? Definitely.
Evule-ako said he learns by other peoples mistake, he doesn't wait to make one before he learns his lesson.
7. Read my lips, OKPOFE WILL REMAIN ONE AND NO ONE OR GROUP IS PLANNING OR WILL SUCEED ON DIVIDING IT.
One of the few rules on this board is clear identification of posters.
The last poster has failed to do so. I have not deleted your post because you sounded informed and articulate. May I ask that you respond again and identify yourself.
I'm sorry for breaking the rules, I didn't know "anonymous" wasn't allowed. I wanted to remain anonymous so that the message remains louder than the messenger.
Well, it looks like you guys have read the lips of the last contributor as requested. Do we consider this issue dead? Does the last contributor have some information that the rest of us don't have?
Don't you wish that all Okpofe issues are resolved just as expeditiously as this one has been resolved in the forum? Or am I drumming too soon?
It was a great joy when my younger brother told me about this website.It is a very welcome develpment that has been recorded in the history of Okpofe.
The reasons postulated by those calling for the division of Okpofe may not be devoid of personal desires.We are Okpofe.We want to be Okpofe.Must we join the bandwagon of community division as it is reigning now?,it may not be attractive tomorrow.The political landscape of Nigeria is not yet stable and thus cannot be predicted,what is attractive today may be extremely disadvantageous tomorrow,namely,division of established autonomous communities.[personal opinion]
It's interesting to know that people are becoming interested in issues that concern them. And I want thank those people who have made this possible.
The idea of dividing okpofe into two is not totally a bad idea. One of the benefits is that it will bring government closer to the people, it will also bring some social, economic and political development to the people.
But my concern is that okpofe appears to be very small for a division. Its landmass is smaller than that of Ihitte, Amumara, Itu, even Ezeagbogu, and others. I will rather subscribe to the idea of remaining as we are now, and trying to consolidate on the peaceful co-existence that is available now.
Okpofe could be made the economic nerve center of Ezinihitte LGA. The problems inherent in dividing a community appear to be enormous, than the gains. Many of our people are are very mayopic. They tend to pursue shadows when importnat issues are brought out for consideration. If okpofe is divided into two, the sharing of assets and liabilities will so much drag that we will lose touch of the gains the division is suppossed to bring. And it will take such a long time.
I wish therefore, to submit that we should weigh the issue very well before we take decision. Let us not follow the bangwagon and use it to ruin ourselves.