By Favour Bibaikefie

WARRI — The enduring legacy of Ernest Sisei Ikoli took centre stage last Thursday in Warri as prominent Ijaw leader, Prince Collins Eselemo, a politician, foremost Ijaw nationalist and an advocate for Resource Control, declared that Nigerian journalism was built on foundations laid by Ijaw pioneers.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new National Executive Council of the Ijaw Publishers’ Forum (IPF), Eselemo asserted that the history of journalism in Nigeria cannot be told without acknowledging Ikoli’s towering contributions.

Ikoli, born in 1893 in Twon-Brass, present-day Bayelsa State, is widely recognised as one of the founding figures of modern Nigerian journalism. He became the first editor of the Daily Times of Nigeria in 1926, shaping public discourse during the colonial era through bold editorials and nationalist advocacy.

At the IPF second inauguration ceremony held last week at Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri, Eselemo maintained that Ikoli’s role in the nationalist struggle and media development underscores what he described as the intellectual heritage of the Ijaw people. He noted that Ikoli’s early association with John Payne Jacksonat the Lagos Weekly Record helped sharpen a nationalist press culture that later influenced a generation of political leaders.

Historical records show that Ikoli founded The African Messenger in 1921 before later editing The Daily Service, the mouthpiece of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM), which he co-founded alongside Hezekiah Oladipo Davies and J.C. Vaughan. The NYM later attracted nationalist figures including including Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo.

As president of the NYM, Ikoli was elected into the Legislative Council in 1942 and 1946, where he advocated educational reforms and greater Nigerian representation in governance. His philosophy of “one Nigeria, one Africa, one destiny” reflected a pan-African outlook that transcended ethnic lines.

Eselemo’s remarks at the IPF ceremony come amid renewed conversations about the contributions of minority ethnic groups to Nigeria’s political and media history. He urged contemporary publishers to emulate Ikoli’s courage, professionalism and commitment to truth.

Ikoli was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1954 and lived to witness Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, before passing away weeks later on October 21.

Today, his memory is preserved through scholarly works, the Bayelsa State “Earnest Ikoli Press Centre, and the Ernest Sisei Ikoli Foundation in Lagos, reinforcing Eselemor’s argument advanced in Ogbe-Ijoh, Warri — that the story of Nigerian journalism remains incomplete without acknowledging its Ijaw pioneers.

By Charity Ebi

OGULAGHA, DELTA STATE — Nearly two decades after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Britannia-U Nigeria Limited and Ogulagha Kingdom in Burutu Local Government Area, stakeholders in the oil-bearing community are calling for a comprehensive review of the agreement to reflect present-day economic and industry realities.

The 2007 MOU, tied to operations at the Ajapa Marginal Field, was introduced as a framework for peace, development and mutual benefit. However, community representatives say that while the agreement may have appeared workable at inception, its fixed financial structure has been overtaken by inflation, rising oil revenues and evolving governance standards within Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

Addressing journalists on behalf of stakeholders, Mr. Jude Iyelagha stressed that the concerns being raised should not be misconstrued as an attack on the integrity of Ogulagha’s traditional or political leadership.

“This is not an attempt to indict or insult the credibility of our revered leaders,” Iyelagha clarified. “Rather, it is an encouragement for leaders to revisit the well-documented terms, review them in line with current realities, and ensure they are fully implemented for the benefit of our people.”

Modest Provisions, Expanding Industry

Under the MOU, provisions reportedly included annual allocations for community drugs, scholarships for secondary and tertiary students, training slots at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), allowances for trainees, incentives for science teachers and sitting allowances for kingdom committee meetings.

While these figures may have been considered reasonable in 2007, stakeholders argue that their real value has significantly diminished over time due to inflation. Crucially, the sums were fixed and not indexed to oil prices, production output or inflationary trends.

Using conservative production estimates common to marginal fields in the Niger Delta, observers note that annual gross revenues from such operations could run into tens of billions of naira. When juxtaposed with community allocations that reportedly totalled only a few million naira annually at inception, the proportional disparity becomes a central point of concern.

For residents, the issue is less about confrontation and more about fairness.

Development Expectations in a Resource-Rich Area

Ogulagha Kingdom remains one of the oil-producing hubs in Delta State. Yet stakeholders point to ongoing challenges including limited healthcare facilities, youth unemployment, fragile road networks, environmental vulnerability and constrained access to higher education funding.

Community leaders argue that development in oil-bearing areas should translate into tangible infrastructure such as modern health centres, shoreline protection projects, potable water systems, vocational training hubs and structured employment pipelines.

“The frustration is not hostility towards investment,” a stakeholder noted. “It is about proportionality and visible impact.”

Shareholding Claims and Transparency Concerns

Beyond the MOU, a more complex issue has emerged. Leaders within the kingdom assert that Ogulagha may not only be a host community but also a registered shareholder in the Ajapa Marginal Field structure, allegedly documented with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

If such shareholding exists, corporate law provides for certain rights, including access to audited financial statements, notice of Annual General Meetings and entitlement to dividends where declared.

Stakeholders claim that consistent access to production data, audited accounts and dividend clarity has not been fully established, raising questions about governance participation.

Again, Iyelagha emphasised that the intention is not to cast aspersions.

“We believe in dialogue and institutional engagement. What we are asking for is clarity, transparency and alignment with statutory expectations where applicable,” he said.

Petroleum Industry Act and Changing Standards

Analysts observe that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has introduced more structured host community frameworks and governance mechanisms. Agreements executed before the reform era, they argue, may require review to align with contemporary standards of transparency and proportionality.

Stakeholders maintain that revisiting the 2007 framework would not only protect the long-term interests of the kingdom but also strengthen investor-community relations.

Company Response Awaited

Efforts to obtain official comments from Britannia-U Nigeria Limited were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report. The company’s response, when received, will be reflected in subsequent updates.

For now, the central appeal from Ogulagha stakeholders is measured and deliberate: a call for leaders to examine documented agreements, align them with present realities, and ensure that promises made translate into visible, sustainable benefits for the kingdom.

As one community voice put it, “Oil is finite, but our people and our future must endure.”

By Favour Bibaikefie

Historical medical records have revealed that indigenous surgeons in the Buganda Kingdom of present-day Uganda were successfully carrying out cesarean sections as early as 1879 — a period when the procedure was still considered highly risky in many parts of Europe.

The account was documented by British medical practitioner and explorer Robert William Felkin, who witnessed and later published details of the operation in the Edinburgh Medical Journal in 1884 under the title “Notes on Labour in Central Africa.”

According to Felkin’s observations, the procedure involved the use of banana wine as a cleansing agent, herbal preparations to manage pain, and cauterization with heated metal to control bleeding. Both mother and child reportedly survived the surgery — an outcome that drew significant attention from European medical circles at the time.

Felkin described the process as orderly and deliberate, noting that the practitioners demonstrated familiarity with anatomy, sterilization methods available to them, and post-operative care. The documentation challenged prevailing 19th-century assumptions that advanced surgical knowledge was absent in African societies before colonial contact.

Medical historians note that cesarean sections in Europe during the mid-1800s were often fatal due to infection and limited antiseptic knowledge. Antiseptic surgical techniques only became widely accepted in Europe toward the late 19th century following developments associated with figures such as Joseph Lister.

Scholars argue that the Buganda example illustrates a broader pattern of indigenous scientific knowledge that predated colonial rule. In his work, historian highlighted the complexity of African societies prior to European intervention, disputing narratives that framed the continent as lacking innovation or structured knowledge systems.

Experts say the 1879 account underscores the need for a more balanced historical perspective — one that acknowledges Africa’s contributions to medicine, technology, and empirical science long before formal Western medical institutions expanded into the continent.

The rediscovery and renewed discussion of such records continue to prompt debates about how global scientific history is written — and whose knowledge systems are recognized.

Source: African Echo