Concerned stakeholders from Amasiri have faulted a recent publication by Princess Onyeoma Kama, PhD, titled “Gov Nwifuru’s Resolve to Restore Peace in Amasiri,” describing it as misleading and historically inaccurate over claims surrounding the ownership of Oso and Okporojo land.
In a strongly worded response, the stakeholders said the article attempted to distort long-established historical and geographical realities by portraying Oso and Okporojo as territories exclusively belonging to Edda.
“Ordinarily, historical distortions and political propaganda would not deserve a response,” the statement said. “However, when falsehood is repeatedly presented as fact, it becomes necessary to set the record straight.”
The group maintained that Oso and Okporojo are historically and geographically integral parts of Amasiri, noting that attempts to rebrand them otherwise amount to deliberate revisionism.
“Oso and Okporojo are historically and geographically part of Amasiri. Any attempt to present them as belonging exclusively to Edda is not only inaccurate but a distortion of realities well known to elders, historians, and reflected in old boundary records,” the stakeholders stated.
They dismissed claims that Oso, Edda predates Amasiri’s presence in the area, describing such assertions as speculative and unsupported by credible documentation.
“Old signposts clearly read Oso–Amasiri. Selective interpretations of colonial reports cannot erase indigenous boundary realities that existed long before and beyond colonial administration,” the statement added.
Addressing references to the 1930 Waddington Report and other colonial arrangements, the stakeholders argued that colonial documentation did not nullify pre-existing ancestral boundaries defined by natural landmarks, customary agreements and settlement patterns.
The group also rejected portrayals of Amasiri as expansionist or violent, warning that such narratives were inflammatory and counterproductive to peace.
“Branding Amasiri as violent or expansionist is unfair and capable of escalating tension. Both communities have suffered painful episodes, and it is irresponsible to place blame on one side while ignoring the complexity of the dispute,” they said.
They further stressed that boundaries are shaped by historical coexistence, intermarriages, shared markets and cultural ties, not by rhetoric or administrative labels.
While acknowledging the presence of government projects such as schools and hospitals in Oso, the stakeholders insisted that infrastructure does not equate to ancestral ownership.
“Government projects are not instruments of land title,” the statement noted.
Reaffirming their commitment to peace, the people of Amasiri said they remain open to lawful and peaceful resolution through mechanisms established by the Ebonyi State Government, including ongoing peace committee efforts.
“The path to peace lies in objective boundary verification, credible documentation, stakeholder dialogue and impartial mediation—free from political coloration,” the stakeholders said.
They urged all parties to refrain from inflammatory statements capable of deepening divisions, stressing that “history should unite, not divide, and truth must never be sacrificed on the altar of sentiment or politics.”
