02/08/2025
WE THANK PROF. KENNETH ENI FOR THIS REJOINDER BELOW AGAINST THE POLITICAL STUFF CHIEF ROBERT ONOME AND TWO OTHERS PUBLISHED AGAINST OKPE.
*RE: “Enough Is Enough — Okpe Is Urhobo”: A Misguided Press Release*
The recent press briefing attempting to define Okpe identity as Urhobo is not only deeply misguided but dangerously dismissive of generations of recorded history and lived experience. Politics has clearly overstepped its bounds here. The notion that a people’s heritage and existence can be redefined through a press statement is both laughable and insulting.
Initially, I intended to stay silent and observe, but the consequences of this poorly thought-out statement have begun to ripple across communities. The National Association of Okpe Students is now facing backlash and hostility from proponents of Urhobo assimilation — a disturbing development on university campuses nationwide.
A closer look at those behind the briefing reveals a coalition of political affiliates seemingly eager to please their benefactors. When did political office holders become the custodians of ethnic identity? What gives them the authority to speak on behalf of the entire Okpe Kingdom?
These maneuvers, driven by political self-interest rather than genuine concern, do far more harm than good. There are pressing developmental issues that deserve attention — misrepresenting Okpe identity is not one of them.
The Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), once an ethnic organization, now functions more as a political pressure group. Many of those pushing this narrative have Urhobo matrilineage, raising questions about their objectivity. Attempting to co-opt the Okpe identity into a fabricated linguistic and historical context is not only ill-advised — it is dishonest.
The lack of intellectual depth in the briefing is disappointing. It inadvertently portrays the entire Okpe Kingdom as ignorant, which we categorically reject.
We call for an end to this reckless politicization of Okpe identity. This misrepresentation has placed Okpe students at risk, as tensions rise on university campuses.
The Okpe Kingdom deserves respect, clarity, and truth and not manipulative media narratives.
*Prof. Kenneth Efakponana Eni*
*31-07-2025*
