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• Prologue
• Chapter 1 & 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4

Chapter 5

I remember the first time white men came to Oride. Oride was on the northern-most fringes of the Iju free states (Orile-Iju). We were directly bounded to the north by the cursed Ijuri forest through which no one had dared to wander into for more than a hundred years.

Our location had made it difficult for us to get direct access to the white man and his ways. So, while other Iju states had almost immediate contact and visits by white people; it took about twenty five years after they first arrived on our shores for them to finally come and visit Oride.

The white men who came were actually just about five but they brought with them a large retinue of servants who bore large boxes which were said to be gifts of inestimable value. The town was giddy for the visit and  agog with jubilation.

Everywhere the white-man went experienced almost immediate prosperity. Oride had almost inexhaustable plantations for palm oil, coconuts, rubber and cashew. Crops very valuable for trade with the white man.   

I still clearly remember that back then, I had just recently gotten married to my Ashti and she was with my first child. 

The Iju were indeed blessed. We had Oloa-Iju which is a large bay at the southern tip of the Orile-Iju. Oloa-Iju was one of the very few places in the Delta that was not subject to constant rising and falling of the tides. This meant that it made an excellent port for the white man and his ships that come to trade in the delta.

Other tribes (Iju clans exempted) that come to trade in Oloa-Iju had to pay large fees to Irijun for the priviledge of trading and security. It could be said that these excessive taxes had led to a level of resentment for the Irijun and the Ijus in general amongst the other tribes of the Delta. 

Before the enlightenment, Oloa-Iju was a mere a fishing settlement of Irijun but had since grown into one of the largest trading settlements in the whole delta.

The white men spent about four days in Oride. But unexpectedly, they did not seem to show any interests in seeing our plantations. They were lodged in a quaters inside the place of the Beaded Chief and were hardly seen outside during the day. It is said that they had endless private meetings with the Chief, but no-one knows what exactly they discussed. All we know is that our lives never remained the same after they left.