History of Ohafia People and Culture

Ohafia is a town and local government area in abia state, Nigeria. It is an igbo speaking region. The ancestral capital of Ohafia is located in the village of Elu. The Ohafia Local Government Area also includes the towns of Abiriba and Nkporo.

Historcally, Ohafia people left Andoli and settled in Isi-Eke, from
where they ran away one night, when they heard the rattling
sound of calabashes. The sound was interpreted to mean that they were being
invaded which lead to a commotion, as some of them escaped toward Ngodo and others went towards Isuochi. At one point, some of them headed towards Abam leading the group heading to Abam, was a man known as Ezeama Atita, and two
sons called Uduma Ezeama and Onyereobi Ezeama. When they got to Abam,
Onyereobi's wife, who was heavy with pregnancy, could no longer walk. He,
therefore, remained in Abam with his pregnant wife, while the group
continued on the journey. In the present location of Ohafia, at a place
called Ugwumgbo, Ezeama Atita, and his second son, Uduma, settled. After
many years, their offspring established the 26 villages that make up today's
Ohafia. The ancestral headquarters of Ohafia is in Elu Ohafia. Each village is
governed by an eze ogo. All the eze ogo's come together to form the Eze
Ogo-in-Council, which, with the amala, decide how the community is to be
governed. The overall traditional ruler, Udumeze, who lives in Elu Ohafia,
intervenes only when there is a matter between an eze ogo and a subject.
THE HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF WAR DANCE
In the past, the culture of Ohafia was hinged around one's prowess in war.
They were constantly on the lookout for wars in which to take part. They
became something like mercenaries and the people of Arochukwu, who were all
over Igboland 'hunting' for slaves, harnessed this warlike spirit in Ohafia 
people to their own advantage.
The ancestors of the Ohafia people were renowned as mighty warriors.  
This aspect of the Ohafia peoples history remains fundamental to the Ohafia people's sense of identity.
The warrior's cap or "leopard cap" (Igbo: Okpu agu)is well known and is an associated product of Ohafia.
The Ohafia warrior tradition is embodied in the performance of iri agha The practise of beheading a fallen foe was a favourite pastime. A human
skull was valued as a souvenir, and it was a proof of a man's courage, which
brought to the Ohafia man different types of honour. Only those who brought
home a human head could join the Ogbu-Isi society and wear the eagle plume
of courage. The love of military glory became a consuming passion and the
focus of all social values.
The Ohafia people, whose warlike exploits made
peaceful travel impossible, were now able to work abroad. By 1913, most of
them were trading at Itu, in Akwa Ibom State, and Calabar, in Cross River
State.
THE EARLY LEGENDERIES OF OHAFIA AND THE INITIATION OF EDUCATION
Before now, the Ohafia man, with his entire war prowess, went through a
 ritual, to purge him of his war-like traits. Perhaps, he needed to be told
by no less a force than the colonial might the old order had passed away.
And it came about in 1901, when a unit of the Royal West African Frontier
Force (RWAFF) based in Calabar laid a siege on Ohafia and Ebem. It was in
response to the destruction of Obegu, in today's Abia south, by fighters
from the two communities.
The Ohafia people had looked forward to that encounter. The people were in
high spirit, sharpening their machetes and loading their dane guns with
gun-powder. As usual, it was another opportunity for them to cut human
heads. But, in their ignorance, they failed to realise that the firepower of
the white man was far and above their crude weapons.
Enter Eke Kalu, the former slave. He had since returned from Opobo and was
now visiting Calabar as a businessman, when preparations to raid Ohafia and
Ebem were in high gear. The sight of RWAFF soldiers marching in Calabar,
coupled with his experience in Eket when he was a gun carrier, compelled him
to seek a way of saving his people.
Eke Kalu knew from experience that his people, the famous and dreaded
warriors of ancient Ohafia, the lions of the jungle, the proud and gallant
sons of Uduma Ezema, would challenge the soldiers. He realised also that
though the military tactics of the Ohafia warriors might surpass that of the
RWAFF, yet their weapons were crude and nowhere near the firepower of the

rifles and machine guns of the RWAFF soldiers.
He, therefore, hurried out of Calabar in a canoe and, passing through Ikun,
arrived Ohafia. It was an eke day and, on arrival, he went through the area,
warning the people against challenging the soldiers. Four days after his
return, the British soldiers were on their way to Ohafia, taking the Akoli
Adda route. Passing through Elu, they arrived in Ebem, where they pitched
their tents at Ifi Iri-opu. Captain Mowatt commanded the soldiers.
No sooner did the soldiers arrive than an Ebem warrior, Idika Echeme, was
said to have charged at them. Thereafter, the order to open fire was given
on the other side of the line. Soon, trees and human beings began to fall.
Each time cannon balls went off, trees and charging Ebem warriors were cut
down. The pillar of Ikoro Nde Anaga also came down. When they saw what was
happening, the surviving Ebem warriors panicked and took to the forests for
refuge.
After Ebem was reduced to rubbles, the British soldiers turned their
attention to Ohafia. As they approached, Eke Kalu was waiting for them, not
with machetes or dane guns. He had a long bamboo, at the top of which he
tied a white handkerchief, which he waved frantically in the air, saying to
the hearing of the approaching soldiers: "Ayi kwere na ndi beke", meaning:
"We surrender to the British".
Given his exceptional courage, Captain Mowatt was said to have demanded to                                                 
know Eke Kalu's identity. Coming close to the captain was an opportunity the
former slave needed to demonstrate, before his people, his ability to speak
English language. To the captain's question, he proudly replied: "I from Elu
Ohafia; my fadda, Imaga Agwunsi, say he no wan war". The captain was pleased                            

                                          LATE LEGENDARY EKE KALU'S HOUSE                                  and to another question, he replied: "I is de onle man for Ohafia hear
English". When the British soldiers left Ohafia, the profile of the ex-slave
rose among his people. The fact that he could engage a white man in a conversation earned him respect and honour. Consequently, they appointed him their adviser. The event that changed the course of Ohafia people forever occurred shortly after, and Eke Kalu was, again, at the centre of it. There was, in Ohafia, a                                                                                                         

Ohafia people". The day came when he locked some men in the prison for what
was described as a trivial offence. The men broke out of the prison and were
intent on beating him up, when he reported the matter to one Major Cobham,
who despatched some policemen to his rescue. The prisoners were promptly
rearrested and fines were imposed on them.
After this event, Ohafia people started looking for a way out of what had
become regular persecutions in the hands of the Sierra Leonean. As the
solution to their problem, Eke Kalu, advised them to build schools and
educate their children who, knowing what the clerk knew, would better
challenge him and his successors in future. The first school was opened at
Ndi Imaga Shed. From now on, the desire for education swept through Ohafia
like a bush fire.
Ohafia is home to the third largest military base in Nigeria, named Goodluck Jonathan Barracks. It houses the headquarters of the newly established 14 Brigade and 145 Battalion office complex.
OHAFIA CULTURAL HOSPITALITY
The first thing an Akanu Ohafia man offers their visitors is Nzu (Kaolin), a native white chalk. This the visitor (if male) rubs on his hand, and (if female) rubs on either the neck or the tommy. This act is in no way fetish. It is done to prove that the visitor is welcome, and if accepted by the visitor proves the visitor has come in peace. After nzu has been given, the next thing offered is Kolanut. The oldest man in the house says prayers first before the kolanut is broken by the youngest male in the house. When sharing, the man of the house is served first, next is the visitor, then every other male from oldest to youngest before women. After the kolanut has been given, drink is brought (usually locally brewed gin), and it is shared in the same order the kolanut was shared. Everybody drinks from one cup!

26 OHAFIA VILLAGES AND THEIR FOUNDERS 1 Abia Onu Arunsi 2 Akanu Nna Uka 3 Amaekpu Ofali Agwu 4 Amangwu Uduma Nnagu 5 Amankwu Essien Aru 6 Amuke Ama Ezema 7 Amuma Uka Etim 8 Asaga Ukpai Ezema Atita [Okwara] 9 Ebem Kpoke + Mgbo Enine. 10 Elu Uduma Ezema 11 Ezi Afor Afo Okwara 12 Ihenta Eke Uma 13 Isi-ugwu Uduma Ali 14 Nde Anyaorie Anyaorie Uka 15 Nde Anku Iroha Ogwu 16 Nde Amogu Amogu Egbuta 17 Nde Ibe Ibe Okwara 18 Nde Okala Okala Iro 19 Nde Orieke Orieke Okwara 20 Nde Uduma Awoke Uduma Awoke Mbila 21 Nde Uduma Ukwu Uduma Ukwu 22 Nkwebi Ibe 23 Oboro Awa Okoro 24 Okagwe Dibia Ete 25 Okon Uma Elem 26 Ufiele Ukpai Uma

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN OHAFIA
OBU-NKWA-ASAGA
The Obu-Nkwa of Nde-Ezera in Asaga Ohafia is a national monument in Nigeria. It has certain unique function for the Ohafia people and for tourist purposes. In ancient times, this was the only one (Nkwa) in Ohafia to which anyone in danger could be assured Nkwuzi (shelter-seeking). It has carvings of massive male and female figures; male figures in sitting posture, resting their hands on their knees, their feet upon the figures of slaves. The females also are on a sitting position, carrying babes in their arms. The Obu Nkwa is barred from unauthorized entry. Picture clips of this wonderful edifice have not been authorized to feature on this website.  
EZIE-OFRI-CAVE—IN--AMAEKPU 
The Ezie Ofri cave is one of the great wonders of the land. Unconfirmed reports have it that the length and breath of the cave covers a large expense of hollow underneath that extends to several kilometers afar. Some say the length extends up to certain places in Elu, over 8 kilometers away from Amaekpu. An unempirical and unintended research pointing to this fact was the incident that a hunter's dog, missing his way, slipped into this cave, which is located 5 kilometers away from residential quarters but afterwards reappeared somewhere in Amaoba compound in Amaekpu. While these reports are subject to exploration and confirmation, it is obvious the Ezie ofri cave harbors many interesting facts or at least is a great tourist site to behold, perhaps a better site than the celebrated Ogbunike cave in Anambra state. 
NKPOGOLO-FOREST-RESERVE-EBEM 
If there is a place where virgin and unperturbed vegetation still exist in Ohafia, it is a place called Nkpogolo in Ebem. Nkpogolo has been preserved in the original habitat for as long as Ohafia has existed. Farming activities, hunting, bush burning or any form of deforestation activities are forbidden here. The choice to keep this bush as it is arose out of the fact that both during the British Colonial military invasion of Ohafia (1905) and the Nigeria civil war, Nkpogolo served the people, especially the Ebem community, as a hide-out zone. Subsequently, the usefulness of Nkpogolo extended to a free-food harvest zone for the less privileged members of the clan. This is because no one lays claim of ownership of any fruit/ food crops found there. It is still believed that some animals which may have gone into extinction in Ohafia may still be found in this location. Similar vegetations like Nkpogolo could be found in certain parts of Ohafia like Offia Isha used for Uzo-iyi.

                                                   hill top over view of ohafia village

THE ACHICHI SQUARE.

The traditional capital of Ohafia, Elu has a prominent spot most sacred and respected by the Ohafia people. This place is called the "Achichi". It is the place in Ohafia where Uduma Ezema, the founding father of Ohafia was believed to have been buried. This place has stood over the years as a spot of monumental sacredness. All words spoken in Achichi are believed to be nothing but the truth as the contrary is believed to be fraught with plague. The coronation of any Udumeze takes place here. Inter-village misunderstandings are also settled here. In ancient times, war between Ohafia and any group was declared at Achichi. In the olden days too, any hunter from any part of Ohafia who succeeded in killing a lion, leopard or tiger, normally presented the skin to the Achichi square.  
IFUTITI WATER FALL IN AMAEKPU 
Perhaps one of the greatest wonders of the land is the Ifutititi Waterfall. Hidden kilometers away from the residential axis of Amaekpu, Ifutititi Waterfall exudes great power and noisy vibration that may scare any first visitor to the site. It has over 300ff deep which was noted to have potentials for a hydro-electric power waiting to be developed either by private or government bodies. Another of such Waterfall exists in Uzoasuga in Akanu Ohafia.      
UGWU-AABA-ASAGA
A steep and hilly elevation situated along the road that ushers people to the Asaga community is the Ugwu Aaba Asaga. The beauty of Asaga could be better appreciated when view from the steep of this mountainous hill. But there is more to it! Preliminary survey done by certain indigenous geologists reveals there abound vast mineral deposits on this hill. It may interest any ceramics industry to know that clay deposits are very visible on this hill.     

MMORI-RIVER-EBEM 
Along the Federal road linking Ohafia to the Abam community is situated river called Mmori. The river is fed by streams of water flowing in from Onu- Uduma, the longest River in Ohafia. Mmori serves different purposes to the Ohafia community: clean and safe source of drinking water, laundry & washing purposes, good swimming experience and comfortable resting atmosphere. Above all, the route is motor-able and very accessible. Imagine a cool evening bath here!
OHAFIA TRADITIONAL GOVERNMENT
The traditional political system of governance in Ohafia could best be described as an organized group of responsibilities, with the Ezie Ogo at the peak of the strata. There is interplay of responsibilities shared between the many groups that constitute arms of this traditional government. This group of individual(s) includes the Ezie Ogo, Nde-umuaka, Nde-Akpan, Nde-Ikpirikpe and the various age groups [Uke]

ADVENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN OHAFIA LAND
Ezie Onuoha recounts that two native doctors from Asaga Ohafia, namely Agwu Dibia and Onugu igbeke were responsible. The two native doctors had traveled to Ikorona in Cross River State in the interest of their profession as native doctors. While at Ikorona, the two men attended Christian church service. They were apparently intrigued by their new found "cult'' that on their return to Asaga they reported to Ezie Ajadu Uma and the elders of Asaga Ohafia about the new cult. Unknown to them this new cult was one that preached against their practices instead of enhance them. However, the Asaga people embraced the new experience by spending 30 brass rods to invite Rev. Uwa Akpan Essien. Unfortunately, the military expedition of the British colonial Administration in 1905 put a temporary stop to this evangelist work.
Later in 1905 when Rev. J.K. Macgregor made an attempt to revive this work, the Asaga people rejected the offer. The Presbyterian Church however succeeded in Elu in 1910.
Prof. E.U.L.Imaga's work on the same issue recounts that Christianity first took roots in Ohafia at Amankwu and Ndi-Uduma Awoke. This was as a result of an evangelization outreach from a church which was already established at Iheochiowa (Arochukwu L.G.A.).
 Prof. Imaga also recounts that at same time, due to unfriendly activities of the court clerks, the Elu community invited the Church of Scotland mission to establish a church and school. Hence, an indigenous missionary teacher, Onuoha Kalu was sent to start a mission centre in Elu. Onuoha Kalu was in the Rev. Macgregor's party that visited Asaga in 1908. They used the Obu Nde Imaga as church and school. This agrees with the Presbyterian Church's account that Nde Imaga compound is the cradle of Christianity in Ohafia.
In 1911, however, a mission house was built around the Ukaka and Ifu-Orie forests (where the Presbyterian Church, Isiama manse stands). Rev. Robert Collins was posted to Ohafia after the completion of this manse. The first church built in Ohafia is the one we know today as Ohafia Presbyterian Central Church, Isiama. Other Protestant and Pentecostal churches have taken toll and set up their congregations in various parts of Ohafia. Its attendant blessing is the developmental projects undertaken by these churches, such as schools, hospitals etc.
Ohafia people today are a people of brave achievement, erudite scholars, great business entrepreneurs and professionals in many fields of human endeavours. They could be found virtually anywhere and everywhere human life exists. At home, many are hardworking and successful subsistent farmers and traders. Education is one of the most cherished industries in Ohafia. Eminent Ohafia sons ad daughters within and without the Ohafia community occupy great strides of accomplishment. Ohafia is a land of Optimistic, Hospitable, Admirable, Famous, Illustrious and Accommodating people.

History and culture of ogoni people

The true origin of the Ogoni people are not very well-known,research has it that they migrated into the area from across the Imo River while  other  research says that the Ogoni people came in boats from Ghana and settled in the southern part of the area. Believers in this theory point to the name by which most of the Ogoni peoples call themselves (Khana) as a pointer to the Ghana origins of the Ogoni people.
Ogoniland is situated in an area of about 100,000 sq km, east of Port Harcourt in Rivers State. Because of their agricultural economy and an increasing population, most of the rain forest that once covered the area has been cleared for farming. The area forms part of the coastal plains, featuring terraces with gentle slopes intersected by deep valleys that carry water intermittently.

The Ogoni are a distinct people numbering more than 500,000, who have lived in the Niger Delta for more than 500 years. The Ogoni are an agricultural and fishing society, living in close-knit rural communities in one of the most densely populated areas of Africa.
THE ERA OF SLAVE TRADE
Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests the Ogoni have inhabited the Niger Delta for up to 500 years. They established an organized social system which worked under a monarchy and under which men and women of courage and ability enjoyed a special status. During the slave trade, Ogoniland lay on the slave route from the hinterland to the coastal slave markets. However, no Ogoni man or woman was taken as a slave. Marriage with a neighbor, except the Ibibio, was forbidden by Ogoni customs and tradition. This way, the Ogoni people were able to live in relative isolation during the era of the slave trade. When other forms of trade were introduced into the region in the second half of the 19th century, weapons were purchased and wars became the order of the day. After the Berlin Treaty of 1885, Nigeria came under British colonial rule, but it was not until 1901 that British forces arrived in Ogoniland. The cultural differences led to resistance on the side of the Ogoni people, but as they were not strong enough to resist the British patrols the Ogoni people were finally subjugated in 1914. The British saw Nigeria in terms of three major ethnic groups: the Hausa-Fulani, the Yoruba and the Igbo, thereby ignoring more than 250 smaller peoples, including the Ogoni. The Ogoni were regarded with contempt by all other groups in the Delta region and were often positioned at the bottom of the social ladder.
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN OGONI PEOPLE AND THE VOLTA PEOPLE OF GHANA
The Ogoni people obviously had elements of other tribes in their culture as a result of interaction and that does not change the fact that they migrated from Ghana.
Comparing the customs and ways of life in the Volta Region of Ghana to those of the Ogoni people, it has been discovered that:
The method of farming in the Volta Region of Ghana and that of the Ogoni people are almost the same. The Volta Region of Ghana farms cassava and yams as their chief crops and so does the Ogoni people. And these two crops are planted in the same ways in the Volta Region of Ghana and in Ogoniland.
There are several villages and communities, whose names are the same as common names, villages and communities in the Ogoniland e.g. (Eleme, Kpone and Bakpo)
The alphabets and pronunciation of some Volta peoples and those of the Ogoni people are the same.
The method and style of building native huts with mud and thatches are the same.
The first village that was formed by the Ogoni people is called Nama in Keh Khana Kingdom.
 
The Ogoni people occupy a geographical area measuring about 400 square miles and numbering about 500,000. The population density in Ogoniland as at 1993 was 1,250 persons per square mile, which is almost five times the Nigerian average number of persons per square mile. Hence, the Ogoni people are the smallest ethnic group in the Nigerian geo-political configuration, and the most condensed people living in Nigeria. The Ogoni people are already in short supply of land for both habitation and economic activity .It therefore behooves the Ogoni people to fight for the protection of their land against the mechanization by the government to completely dispossess the Ogonis of their heritage. It appears that the wars that were waged against the Ogoni people for their lands in those days is being re-enacted through modern methods, politics and globalization facilitated by Western nations and their Transnational companies.
POLITICAL SET UP OF OGONI KINGDOM
Ogoniland consists of six kingdoms: Babbe, Eleme, Gokana, Ken-Khana, Nyo-Khana, and Tai. Within Ogoniland four main languages are spoken, which, although related, are mutually unintelligible. Linguistic experts classify the Ogoni languages of Khana, Gokana, and Eleme as a distinct group within the Beneu-Congo branch of African languages or, more particularly, as a branch in the New Beneu-Congo family.

Despite the introduction of Christianity, many aspects of the indigenous Ogoni culture and religion are still evident. The land on which they live and the rivers that surround them are very important to the Ogoni people. They not only provided enough food, they are also believed to be a god and are worshiped as such.

This explains why the Ogoni people have so many difficulties with the degradation of the environment as a result of oil pollution.
CUSTOMS AND TRADITION
The fruit of the land, especially yams, are honored in festivals. The annual festival of the Ogoni people is held during the period of the yam harvest.




  





The planting season is not just a period of agricultural activity, but it is a spiritual, religious and social occasion. 'Tradition' in Ogoni means in the local tongue (doonu kuneke) the honoring of the land. The Ogoni people believe that the soul of every human being has the ability to leave its human form and enter into that of an animal, taking on the shape of that animal. These characteristics show that nature is very important for the Ogoni people.
The Ogoni are an agricultural and fishing society. Yam and cassava farming are important ways of making a living, although the revenues of these products are not very high. The most important export product of Nigeria is oil, but the Ogoni people have never profited from these exports. Once the 'food basket' for the Niger Delta and beyond, Ogoniland's agricultural production has now been severely reduced. This is partly due to loss of farmlands through oil polution and partly to soil fertility problems arising from acid/alkaline rain caused by gas flaring. Large areas of fresh and salt water resources as fishing grounds have also been rendered useless by oil spills. Food is becoming increasingly expensive and potential farmers are too poor to pay for seeds and labor. Poverty has worsened in the Ogoni areas during the last years. Nearly all oil workers are people coming from outside the area that the local people have had to compete with for basic commodities. Besides the oil installations and refineries there are no manufacturing industries in Ogoni to reduce unemployment. This situation increasingly results in psycho-social degradation.
There are no government projects to address the problems of development in Ogoni-land. Health facilities are almost non-existent and school buildings are collapsing with the classrooms and laboratories empty. Attracting foreign aid to Ogoni-land has been difficult and a couple of community self-help initiatives by the people were branded 'MOSOP-inspired' and stopped.
THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF NATIONAL DEVELOPOMENT TO THE OGONI PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIROMENT
Ogoni-land is in total economic isolation by the government and most roads have been left to wear, making transportation extremely difficult.
The environmental costs of the oil exploration have been and still are, very high. The agricultural and fishing communities experienced huge oil spills and pollution of drinking water, fishing grounds and farmlands. Large flares burnt gas from the oil extraction process, illuminating the sky day and night and polluting the air. The 1970's brought increasing activity from the oil companies, claiming more space in an already crowded territory, and resulting in a deteriorating environment and in decreasing crop yields and fish catches.
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People has struggled against the degradation of their lands by Shell in Nigeria. MOSOP was an offshoot of another Ogoni organization and only metamorphosed into MOSOP based upon a study of the republican struggle in Northern Ireland. Reference is made to this in a speech by Goodluck Diigbo, Ken Saro-Wiwa's confidant. Goodluck Diigbo, a journalist, was the National President of the National Youth Council of Ogoni People, NYCOP. Saro-Wiwa had charged him with the responsibility of establishing seven of the ten affiliates that made up MOSOP. Before the affiliates came into being, Ken Saro-Wiwa who initiated the idea of MOSOP had attracted a mix of educated Ogoni elites and chiefs, including its first presidentDr. Garrick Barile Leton, Chief E. N. Kobani became vice president of MOSOP.
MOSOP initiated its efforts with the 1990 Ogoni Bill of Rights, addressed to the federal government. The Bill reads like a model statement before a mediator. It lists their concerns: oil-related suffering of their people, governmental neglect, lack of social services, and political marginalization. These concerns were placed in the context of a self-definition: the Ogonis as "a separate and distinct ethnic nationality." On this basis they sought autonomy, environmental protection, control of a fair share of the revenues from their resources, and cultural rights, such as the use of their local languages.
Beginning December 1992, the conflict escalated to a level of greater seriousness and intensity on both sides. It was in this phase of the conflict that overt violence was applied on the large scale by the Nigerian government. Diigbo, who had survived seven attempts on his life as he administered day to day affairs of MOSOP said in February 2002 at the Indigenous Peoples Global Conference, IPGC held at the United Nations, New York that: "Ogoni was boxed in, stuck with nonviolence and had no resources to weather the violent storm instigated by Shell and the government. We risked instant extermination, if we, the Ogoni people had dared to resort to violence. We were barricaded by excessive violence. Violence tempted us to respond and watched over us to dare. Let me admit that we were incapable of violent self-defense, so we dared, but without recourse to violence." The collision course between the two parties was set with an ultimatum to the oil companies (Shell, Chevron, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company) which demanded some $10 billion in accumulated royalties, damages and compensation, and "immediate stoppage of environmental degradation," and negotiations for mutual agreement on all future drilling. If the companies failed to comply, the Ogonis threatened to embark on mass action to disrupt their operations. By this act, the Ogonis shifted the focus of their actions from an unresponsive federal government to oil companies actively engaged in their own region. The bases for this assignment of responsibility were the vast profits accrued by the oil companies from extracting the natural wealth of the Ogoni homeland, none of which were trickling down to the Ogoni.
The national government responded by banning public gatherings and declaring that disturbances of oil production were acts of treason. In spite of the ban, MOSOP went ahead with a massive public mobilization on January 4, 1993. The event, called the first Ogoni Day, attracted about 300,000 people in massive festivities, the largest mobilization of the Ogoni ever conducted. Over the next month as the mobilization continued, one Shell employee (out of thousands) was beaten by an Ogoni mob. As a security measure, Shell Petroleum Development Company withdrew its employees from Ogoniland. This action had very mixed consequences. Oil extraction from the territory has slowed to a trickle of 10,000 barrels per day (1,600 m³/d) (.5% of the national total). However, because the withdrawal was a temporary security measure, it provided the government with a compelling reason to "restore order": resume the flows of oil from Ogoniland and of oil money to national coffers.
On May 21, 1994, four Ogoni chiefs (all on the conservative side of a schism within MOSOP over strategy) were murdered. Saro-Wiwa, head of the opposing faction, had been denied entry to Ogoniland on the day of the murders, but was then detained in connection with the killings. Rivers State Military Administrator Lt. Col. Dauda Komo did not wait for a judicial investigation to blame the killings on "irresponsible and reckless thuggery of the MOSOP element
The occupying forces, led by Major Paul Okuntimo of  Rivers State Internal Security, claimed to be "searching for those directly responsible for the killings of the four Ogonis." However, witnesses say that they engaged in terror operations against the general Ogoni population. Amnesty International characterized the policy as deliberate terrorism. By mid-June, 30 villages had been completely destroyed, 600 people had been detained, and at least 40 had been killed. An eventual total of around 100,000 internal refugees and an estimated 2,000 civilian deaths were recorded.
On 10 November 1995 nine activists from the movement, among them the playwright Ken Saro-Wiwa, were hanged by the Nigerian government on charges of "incitement to murder". The Commonwealth, which had pled for clemency, suspended Nigeria's membership in response.
The Human Rights Watch published report: The Ogoni Crisis: A Case-Study of Military Repression in Southeastern Nigeria, 1 July 1995, contains further details of the repression against Ogoni People and MOSOP in the early nineties.
Ogoni Day observances and protests were held under military occupation on January 4, 1996. Five or six protesters were killed in the town of  Bori.
POPULATION
The population density in Ogoniland as at 1993 was 1,250 persons per square mile, which is almost five times the Nigerian average number of persons per square mile. Hence, the Ogoni people are the smallest ethnic group in the Nigerian geo-political configuration, and the most condensed people living in Nigeria. The Ogoni people are already in short supply of land for both habitation and economic activity .It therefore behooves the Ogoni people to fight for the protection of their land against the mechanization by the government to completely dispossess the Ogonis of their heritage. It appears that the wars that were waged against the Ogoni people for their lands in those days is being re-enacted through modern methods, politics and globalization facilitated by Western nations and their Transnational companies. 








THE Ogoni occupy an alluvial plain bounded on the north by the Imo River and their Igbo neighbours, on the South, by the littoral flats inhabited by the Obolo (Andoni), on the east, by the Opobo River and the Ibibio, and on the west by the Ikwere which stretches into the large city of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Their occupation consists mainly of farming and fishing.
OGONI FESTIVALS
Socially, the Ogoni is endowed with a large variety of cultural practices. These include masks and masquerades, human figure representation of the ancestors, as maybe used in Ka-elu performances and the puppet shows which are performed exclusively by the Amanikpo Society. Majority of these cultural performances in this relatively small region are extraordinarily varied. Most if not all, Ogoni villages have their own festivals, some of long standing, others introduced within living memory. The festivals are mainly held to commemorate the founding of the villages, to pay allegiance to particular ancestral land or water spirits, to mark the planting and harvesting seasons, for the fertility deity, to recognize the taking of titles, to restore peace in troubled community, to maintain cohesion within social groupings and for general entertainment.
The Karikpo Mask/Masquerade








Of all their known festivals and masquerades, the mask style for which the Ogoni are probably most renowned is the one called Karikpo. The Marikpo mask represents animals and is worn on the front of the face by men and boys. It is used for vigorous acrobatic play, performed originally during planting and harvesting seasons for fertility, new yam festivals, and burial ceremonies of members and recently for Christmas and New year celebrations, including reception for a distinguished guest or an illustrious son. The masquerade
Performance is believed, especially in Khana to have originated in a certain community known as Bien-Gwara. Although there may not be substantial proof to this, but it is believed the community’s interaction with the Ibibios of Akwa Ibom State, where Ekpo mask has its provenance, may have influenced its adaptation and modification hence its name Kari (Carved) Kpo (Ekpo). Membership into the Karikpo Society does not require an elaborate ritual or initiation, but an intending member is made to provide items like a bottle of gin, palm wine, a plate of oiled fish.