obaataaokpaewu:
The new palace is directly opposite my former parish.

My question for the Urhobos here: Among all the Urhobo kings: Ovie of Uvwie, Ovie of Ughelli, Oroseun of Okere Urhobo, Orodje of Okpe, King of Agbon clan etc, which of them is the most popular or should I say commands the most respect?
Frathermathy, Efewestern

fratermathy:
Ovie r'Uvwie, wo su ntor!

He is one of the most important kings in Urhoboland and he controls one of the largest kingdoms. Most of what we know as present day Warri is under his domain. His kingdom is also 100% urbanised, making Uvwie a center of Urhobo civilisation.

He is royalty personified! A true scion and advocate of Urhobo!

Umogu! Umogu! Wo sun tor, Wo rhie tor!

Happy 10th anniversary! Your reign has been peaceful and impactful.

Uvwie wadoo!


Lko
Opharhe
Onosprince
DBriteLitehouse
Scionofurhobo
Caringguy

clefstone:
I grew up in Uvwie but I'm surprised that the Uvwie and indeed the Urhobo people do not talk about their history to as far back as 200yrs ago. Since u r a proud Urhobo son, my question to u is, do the Urhobo people have a long history, why don't we have an urhobo kingdom(exception is Okpe kingdom) with up to 10 kings in their history

Nowenuse:


@the bolded. There are some communities along Effurun-Sapele road before you get to the boundary between Uvwie and Okpe if you are going from Effurun R/about to Sapele ...Those communities are not urbanized... Are they not Uvwie communities?
Cc Efewestern

Nowenuse:


@the bolded. There are some communities along Effurun-Sapele road before you get to the boundary between Uvwie and Okpe if you are going from Effurun R/about to Sapele ...Those communities are not urbanized... Are they not Uvwie communities?
Cc Efewestern

Efewestern:


* Orodje of okpe ( Since okpe is the biggest kingdom in Urhoboland)

mathy001:


They are not Uvwie communities. They are Okpe communities. Uvwie terminates at Effurun at the Effurun-Sapele Road axis. Any community you encountered after Uvwie would most likely be those in the Mereje dukedom of Okpe. The only area in Uvwie that used to be semi-urban was the Ugbomro axis but the federal university has changed that too. Uvwie is 100% urban.

Nowenuse:


I thougt Ughelli is bigger than Okpe? Is Ughelli kingdom not Ughelli north and south combined?

Also, Ughelli seems to have a larger population than Okpe. Ughelli natives are extremely many.

obaataaokpaewu:
The new palace is directly opposite my former parish.

My question for the Urhobos here: Among all the Urhobo kings: Ovie of Uvwie, Ovie of Ughelli, Oroseun of Okere-Urhobo , Orodje of Okpe, King of Agbon clan etc, which of them is the most popular or should I say commands the most respect?
Frathermathy, Efewestern

mathy001:


They are not Uvwie communities. They are Okpe communities. Uvwie terminates at Effurun at the Effurun-Sapele Road axis. Any community you encountered after Uvwie would most likely be those in the Mereje dukedom of Okpe. The only area in Uvwie that used to be semi-urban was the Ugbomro axis but the federal university has changed that too. Uvwie is 100% urban.

Nowenuse:


I thougt Ughelli is bigger than Okpe? Is Ughelli kingdom not Ughelli north and south combined?

Also, Ughelli seems to have a larger population than Okpe. Ughelli natives are extremely many.

obaataaokpaewu:
But that place(Aziza junction, Ohore) Nowenuse is saying, there is a signpost of the Ovie's 10th anniversary mounted there. Will Okpe allow such to be mounted in their land?

Nowenuse:


Wow, Ok, thanks. I always thought they were Uvwie. They are so close to Uvwie.

Pls what about that famous army checkpoint close to effurun R/about? Is it under Okpe or Uvwie? Is that the exact boundary btw Uvwie and Okpe?

obaataaokpaewu:
Agbarha, Agbarha-otor and some other kingdoms are in Ughelli North LGA. Okpe kingdom extends upto Sapele

mathy001:


Ughelli Kingdom is just a minute part of Ughelli North and South LGAs. More than 10 kingdoms inhabit the 2 LGAs. Okpe is the largest, followed by Agbon, and this is both in population and landmass.

mathy001:


That is more like a buffer zone. But there are Okpe villages in the interior of that area so it's more of Okpe than Uvwie. Infact, Okpe people claim that some of their communities are administratively grouped with Uvwie.

Efewestern:
Uvwie is one of the major kingdom in Urhoboland, It is bounded by Okpe Kingdom (Urhobo) in the North and Udu and Ughiẹvwen in the North-West, Agbarho kingdom in the North East, Agbarho-Ame in the East, Okere kingdom in the South and Itsekiri in the South West.

Uvwie Kingdom just like most Urhobo kingdoms in Warri, Udu, okpe etc is 100% urban and a centre of civilization for the Urhobo people.

The kingdom is home to Nigeria's major Companies and facilities, such as Federal University of Petroleum Resource Effurun (Best petroleum University in West Africa), Petroleum Training Institute Effurun (Best Petroleum institute in West Africa), Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (Warri Refinery).

Emmanuel Ekemejewan Sideso (JP), Abe 1, the Ovie of
Uvwie Kingdom last month celebrated his 10th year anniversary as the ovie of Uvwie, below are some photos from the event.



Umogu! Umogu!
Wo su tor!

Uvwie' wa boma ru'fe
Good bless Uvwie Kingdom
God bless Urhobo land
God bless Nigeria

Nowenuse:



Wow, Ok, I never knew. I always thought all Ughelli people were under one kingdom. I only thought Ughievwen to be seperate. Now I know better.

I guess the size of Okpe might be the reason why some Okpes claim to be a distinct group.
In my secondary school in Warri. Some Okpe people claimed that they were not urhobos and I never understood why.

One last question, don't most Ughelli people speak the same dialects?

Nowenuse:


Damn. That means Okpe is very huge. But how come with the very large Okpe population and landmass, yet most of them now seem to be switching to Ughelli urhobo dialect or general urhobo?

I had a very close friend in Uniben from Sapele and he told me this. I also ask other Okpe people this, it seems like it's mostly only the elderly people who speak the original okpe dialect, or not?

mathy001:


Ughelli dialect is basically central Urhobo dialect. All Urhobos can understand it. However, those in Ughelli South speak various dialects that may or may not be understandable to some Urhobos from other clans.

Regarding Okpe, the truth is that many of them mistake the unintelligibility of their dialect to other Urhobos as a form of ethnic uniqueness. Okpe, Isoko and Urhobo have always been together from time immemorial. At a point, we were all called Sobo people by the colonial masters. Unfortunately, Isoko people opted out of the union due to politics of bad blood.

Quite interesting is that fact that there is no group known as "Urhobo". Urhobo describes the land we occupy more than the language we speak. So all who identify as Urhobos do so only by affiliation with their respective clans. I.e. I am an Urhobo because I am from Agbon. So you can't claim to be Urhobo without coming from a specific clan. This is the logic that many Okpe claimants fail to get. They think there is a group of people who are purely Urhobos are opposed to those who are purely Okpes. This idea is totally false. Okpe people are Urhobos by virtue of Okpe's classification as an Urhobo clan. Yes, they are Okpe but by being Okpe, they automatically assume Urhobo identity.

If and when the Orodje of Okpe or the Udogun Okpe, as the final authorities in Okpe matters, declares Okpe as an independent ethnic group from the Urhobos, then their affiliation would cease to exist. Until then, Okpe is Urhobo and no matter what a few may say, that stand will never change.

Furthermore, it is interesting to know that Okpe is mutually intelligible with Uvwie yet Uvwie people are not in doubts of their identity. It is also interesting to note that Urhobo Progress Union, the mother union of the Urhobo people, was formed in Orerokpe, the headquarters of Okpe Kingdom. It was this union that fought for the reinstatement of the Orodje of Okpe in the 1930s. They also fought against the Itsekiri's claim that Sapele is their land; a legal battle which Okpe won fair and square at all levels. It is also interesting to know that all Okpe people can understand Urhobo and infact, in Orerokpe, the headquarters of Okpe, Urhobo is the lingua franca!

Efewestern:


We shouldn't copy the white always, even the Nigeria constitution recognizes customary law provided it doesn't infringe on anyone's right.

So nothing backward about the celebration.

mathy001:


Okpe is quite a difficult dialect and that is why many of the youths fancy Urhobo far more than Okpe. Urhobos also saturate the entire Okpe kingdom and as such, Urhobo language became the default mode of communication. Furthermore, Urhobo language is the only indigenous language taught at the secondary school level and it is compulsory for all Junior Secondary School students in the entire Delta Central Senatorial District.

The pristine form of Okpe is spoken more in Mereje and environs than anywhere else in Okpe. That area is virtually untouched by Urhobo incursion.

Efewestern:


Orimi're mavor, wo mor'uvwie?

Efewestern:


We shouldn't copy the white always, even the Nigeria constitution recognizes customary law provided it doesn't infringe on anyone's right.

So nothing backward about the celebration.

ibotic:
Uvwie....is part of Biafra..

Nowenuse:


I thougt Ughelli is bigger than Okpe? Is Ughelli kingdom not Ughelli north and south combined?

Also, Ughelli seems to have a larger population than Okpe. Ughelli natives are extremely many.

Nowenuse:


@the bolded. There are some communities along Effurun-Sapele road before you get to the boundary between Uvwie and Okpe if you are going from Effurun R/about to Sapele ...Those communities are not urbanized... Are they not Uvwie communities?
Cc Efewestern

Akpowene:


Orimire rere not mavo

mathy001:


You seem to have problems understanding simple English. It was clearly stated that most of what we "know" as present day Warri is under the Ovie's domain. Many people regard Effurun, Enerhen, Ekpan, etc as part of the cosmopolitan Warri which has grown large via conurbation.

Stop ruffling your frail feathers.

Burgerlomo:


So are you trying to say that forcefully closing peeps shops because of celebration doesn't infringe on their rights

coputa:
Uvwie is synonymous with civil disturbances.The indigenous youths are epitome of trouble and intimidation,this attitude lead to the avalanche of oil firms from uvwie to port Harcourt.This level of roguery,and youths restiveness has lead to a high decline in development and economic activities.
Uvwie is reputed as the most dirtiest local government in the state considering its huge internally generated revenue which goes into private pockets.

clefstone:
I grew up in Uvwie but I'm surprised that the Uvwie and indeed the Urhobo people do not talk about their history to as far back as 200yrs ago. Since u r a proud Urhobo son, my question to u is, do the Urhobo people have a long history, why don't we have an urhobo kingdom(exception is Okpe kingdom) with up to 10 kings in their history

Nowenuse:


Damn. That means Okpe is very huge. But how come with the very large Okpe population and landmass, yet most of them now seem to be switching to Ughelli urhobo dialect or general urhobo?

I had a very close friend in Uniben from Sapele and he told me this. I also ask other Okpe people this, it seems like it's mostly only the elderly people who speak the original okpe dialect, or not?