FOR THE RECORDS : RE: DAVID WEST: JONATHAN A SERIAL LIAR- THE NEWS: DEMAND FOR A RETRACTION OF YOUR LIBELOUS INTERVIEW AGAINST CHIEF (DR.) SENATOR EDWIN CLARK, OFR, CON Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2013 ADVERTORIAL on Page 20 KAYODE AJULO & CO. CASTLE OF LAW Barrister & Solicitors 2nd August, 2013 Prof. Tam David-West, No. 9, Kankore Street, Off Pepple Street, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State. Dear Sir, RE: DAVID WEST: JONATHAN A SERIAL LIAR- THE NEWS: DEMAND FOR A RETRACTION OF YOUR LIBELOUS INTERVIEW AGAINST CHIEF (DR.) SENATOR EDWIN CLARK, OFR, CON We are the Solicitors to Chief (Dr.) Senator Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON (hereinafter referred to as “our Client”), on whose behalf we write to you. We write with respect to your interview granted to “The News Magazine” which is being circulated by every major media platform (including some online media) across the world. Our client, a Nigerian elder statesman of high repute and integrity is very reluctant to join issues with your good self over the latent matters raised in the interview, referred to above, in spite of the fact that on several other occasions you have without any provocation, maliciously and mischievously attacked our client on the pages of newspapers. Although our client has restrained himself each time you have carried out such attacks, our client now considers it more compelling and needful, for purposes of clarity, to in this instance, quickly set the records straight, particularly, when you have deliberately distorted facts based on apparent envy and malice, which was presented in the second paragraph of your interview where you erroneously said that:” Even Edwin Clark abused me that I have been a Minister of this and that and I don’t have a house” Let it be known to you that our client did not at any time utter the above statement you credited to him. Even at that, our client has no regret if he ever said so as he considered it reprehensible and disgraceful that a fellow Ijaw man of about 80 years and at retirement, will still be living in a University’s quarters at No 9, Kankore Street, University of Ibadan and sharing University’s facilities with lecturers of his children’s age and presenting to the world that being an honest man is sine qua non to poverty. Our client also believes that your celebrated mentor, General Buhari (Rtd), whom you regard as very honest man has his own house over his head. Sir, it is noteworthy that the interview you granted was essentially premised upon spite, prejudice and that the same is highly scandalous as it did not bear any iota of truth and sincerity but was specifically presented to disparage our client, to bring him to public opprobrium and loss of goodwill and to expose our client to business, social and political misfortune. Our client particularly and vehemently contests your obviously spurious allegations in the said interview under reference, where you stated to the effect that our client: 1. Is not an Ijaw Man thereby impugning the good name of his illustrious family. 2. That while studying Law in Britain, he was secretary of Urhobo Progressive (sic) Union. 3. Identified more with Urhobo than Ijaw in London. In response to your above highlighted allegations, we wish to unequivocally state that our Client, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, OFR, CON, the patriarch of Clark-Bekederemo Dynasty is a full blooded Ijaw man both on his Father’s and Mother’s lineage. It is quite worrisome that while you at a point agreed that our client’s father is an Ijaw man, you, at another point mocked our client by calling him a “patch patch Ijaw” which shows your malicious eccentric contempt against our client. Our Client’s father Late Chief Clark Fuludu-Bekederemo was the father of several illustrious sons and daughters of Ijaw extraction which include our Client, a Lawyer, who was called to the British and Nigerian Bar about 50 years ago and who is a former Commissioner for Education and Finance of the erstwhile Mid-West State and a Federal Commissioner for Information of Nigeria in the General Gowon’s Administration. He was the sole Chairman of Council in the founding of University of Benin under the Ogbemudia administration and was 1st Pro-Chancellor of University of Benin and Federal University of Technology, Minna. He was also a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Leader of the South South delegates to the National Political Reform Conference, among others. The other children of Chief Clark Fuludu include Ambassador B.A. Clark, CON (Former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations) Emeritus Professor J. P. Clark, retired Don at the University of Benin, C.I.D. Clark, Major General H.U. Clark, (Rtd), Dr. C. Clark (Principal Medical Officer in South Africa), Dr. S. A. Clark (Senior Lecturer, DELSU), Col. P.O. Clark (Rtd). Col. B. Clark, (Rtd), Barr. Alhaji I. Clark, Barr. R. Clark, Mr. P. Clark, Mr. G. Clark and many other sons and daughters. Please be informed that our client’s Ijaw lineage cuts across four major distinguished Ijaw sources, namely, Kiagbodo in Ngbilebiri Mein, Okpokunu in Seimbiri Kingdom, Tuomo and Tebegbe of the Tuomo Clan and Ogbe-Ijoh. His home town Kiagbodo, (where he derives his name, KIAGBODO like that of President Shehu Shagari from Shagari Town in Sokoto State) was founded by Ngbile, a direct son of Mein himself the founder of Ogibiri, now in Bayelsa State (Southern Ijaw) formerly part of the old Rivers State until 1996. Our client’s parents are both of Kiagbodo families, and are also Ijaw and his mother is not an Itsekiri woman as alleged by you. As a matter of fact and interest to the general public, it is our client’s great-grandfather, Bekederemo, whose mother Koko was of Itsekiri lineage from Ogbokoto, her Father being Ofiagbere of the Otsoron family. As with men of name and means of their time, these true Ijaw men from whom our client descends, took wives from the neighbouring ethnic groups of Urhobo, Isoko and Itsekiri. Thus, Chief E. K. Clark’s father has his mother Emayadue-Umukoko, Ikogba of Ogon. Furthermore, our client’s mother, Poro Amakashe Adami has her mother Konono Ufo from Erhuwaren. Both towns are now in Ughelli local government areas of Delta State. These are blood lines of which our client is very proud, and therefore has been continuously interested in their affairs in the context of Nigeria. It is also an uncontradicted historic fact, as narrated with a well detailed, graphic illustrated family tree of thirteen generations from this paternal line by the renowned playwright and scholar Prof. Femi Osofisan in the book “JP Clark, A Voyage”, particularly at page 49-67, that our client and his siblings are all true Ijaw. For clarify, our client is proud to trace his 15 generations as follows: Koo begat Mein of Ogobiri, Rivers State, now in Bayelsa State, and Mein begat Ngbile who founded Kiagbodo in the 15th Century, and Ngbile begat Ogbenikiri, and Ogbenikiri begat Ogbein and Ogbein begat Ayagha, and Ayagha begat Akpolo, and Akpolo begat Bado who went to Okpokunou in Seimbiri Clan, Delta State and Bado begat Ogein, and Ogein began Bekederemo and Bekederemo began Fuludu, and Fuludu begat Clark, and Clark begat our client (Edwin Kiagbodo Clark) and his siblings, our client begat Rebecca Okorodudu and her siblings, and Rebecca Okorodudu begat Barrister Isio Okorodudu and her siblings. Our client therefore challenges you to name your generation including your children instead of distorting our client’s lineage in bad faith. Contrary to your spurious allegation that our client was the secretary of Urhobo Progressive (sic) Union, we wish to note that our client left the shores of Nigeria in September 1961 to study in England and registered as a member of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. During his stay in London, contrary to your malicious assertion, he was never the Secretary of Urhobo Progress Union. For avoidance of doubt, our client was the Secretary of Mid-West Students Union which encompassed Edo, Ijaw, Urhobo, Ika, Itsekiri, Isoko, Aniocha etc, students in the then Western Region of Nigeria. The late Frank Mowoe, an Urhobo Law Student, was the Chairman of the Mid-West Students Union. Our client was also an active member of the Ijaw Peoples Association, the only organization founded by the Ijaw indigenes most of whom were SEAMEN. When it was later realized that there was a need to have an Ijaw Students Union like other ethnic nationalities in Great Britain, our client played a prominent role in the founding of an Ijaw Students Union of which he became the Chairman. Having stated the foregoing, our client, who is today regarded as the leader and father of the Ijaws, believes that for you to assert the very unfortunate allegations in the publication under reference (especially in the face of these age-long incontrovertible facts) and also for you to cast aspersions on the personality of our client, which he has painstakingly built for the past 86 years show that your interview falls far below par and expectation from a person of your claimed standing. It is also apparent that you are not abreast with the custom, traditions and native law of the Ijaw people as no Ijaw man or woman will believe that you are more of an Ijaw man than our client who also doubles as the Nation’s leader of the Ijaw people in Nigeria. Please note that as far back as 1975 our client was honoured at Bomadi, now in Delta State, with the significant Izon Chieftaincy title of IZON EBE KEKEREOWEI” (the man who cares for the Ijaw Land). As at today, our client has over ten Izon chieftaincy titles; the most recent is the TONKEPA of OGBEH IJOH KINGDOM. Our client challenges you to trace your Ijaw lineage with and outside Kalabari which you have been known to solely identify yourself with, until of recent. It is also most unfortunate that you allege that our client claim to be an Ijaw man because of money. While in your effort to disparage our client on this note, you deliberately showed off your pedigree, in the interview under reference. It is therefore not out of place to present our client’s own pedigree and to emphasize this even further by referring to articles on our client’s great-grandfather, Chief Bekederemo, son of the great warrior Ogein whose father Ndorowei was of Okpokunu and Tebegbe. Chief Bekederemo who died in 1926, is described by the British Government in Warri Province Annual Report (1923) Reference No. 0502616, File No. 11857 Vol.1 (64), as an “enterprising chief and trader, who owned a vessel that plied Warri and Lagos waterways.” Another British Government Intelligence Assessment now in the Nigerian National Archives at the University of Ibadan described him thus: “Bedekeremo, a court member who died in 1926 was perhaps the largest trader and middleman for the Niger Company at GanaGana in this part of the river. His compound, it is thought, equals in size to that of the Oba of Benin and is surrounded by substantial brick walls. There are two long barracks, wives houses, on either side of which is constructed in cement. The compound also contains Bekederemo’s own house, a well built and lofty building, and a rest house for Europeans, Niger Company agents. His sons in a minor way carry on his trade. Kiagbodo is known later as the village which has the biggest market.” Our client’s grandfather, Fuludu Bekederemo who died in 1963 was also a great chief in his time. In 1941, he was one of the paramount Ijaw chiefs from the then Western Ijaw Division to attend the Chief’s Conference, Ibadan, in Nigeria’s journey to independence. His son, Clark Fuludu (1904-1990), the father of our client, was no less a successful leader of his people in his time. Accordingly, our client, without sounding immodest, comes from an enviable line of influential, flourishing and determined ancestors of Ijaw land and has proved himself a very successful descendant of this great line. Our client would like to remind you that at the University College, Ibadan now known as University of Ibadan where you studied, you were a proud contemporary of our Client’s two younger brothers, Ambassador B. A. Clark and Emeritus Prof. J. P. Clark. The Ijaw students at the University College had a Students’ Union of which the late Chief Agiobu-Kemmer, (a former Federal Permanent Secretary and Head of Service) was the Chairman, while Ambassador B.A. Clark was the General Secretary. To mention a few of the illustrious Ijaw sons and daughters who were members of the then Ijaw Students’ Union, at University College, there were: Kalada Hart, Frank Opigo, emeritus Professor Kensley Harrison, Emeritus Professor E.J. Alagoa, Professor Tekena Tamuno (Former V.C. University of Ibadan) Professor Theo Francis, Chief S. J. Okudu, Hon. Chief Judge A. P. Oki and Ann and Rose Iyo and a daughter of the Amachree Clan. Earlier, of course, there was Ambassador J.F.T. Iyalla. It is our client’s advice to you as a statesman, and your leader, that you should stop all irresponsible, reckless and mischievous attacks on your perceived enemies, particularly, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, who you had started to attack since he became the Vice-President. You have called him and his family all sorts of names without any justification, partly out of envy and partly to satisfy your political pay masters. At this juncture, our client believes that if you are a better Ijaw man than he is, as you claim, it is then disgraceful and discreditable of you to abuse your own “son”, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan whom you ought to guide and advise. In a nutshell, our client finds your above referenced interview as nothing short of an attempt to dent his hard earned image and that of the entire Clark-Bekederemo family. To this end, we demand an apology and immediate retraction of the two obnoxious paragraphs of the interview gratuitously referring to our client within 7 (seven) days of your receipt of this letter. We also demand that you desist from maligning the person and personality of our client in totality. TAKE NOTE that we have the instruction of our client and we shall not hesitate to embrace the available legal measures necessary to protect our Client in the event that you fail, refuse and/or neglect to act as demanded above. Please accept the kind assurance of our esteemed regards. Yours truly, For: MESSRS KAYODE AJULO & CO. CASTLE OF LAW Kayode A. AJULO, ESQ Principal Partner ______________________________________________________ No 39, Durban Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, Nigeria +234(0) 8033154349, +234(0) 8035963634 Kayoed.ajulo.co@gmail, [email protected].
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 11:02:13 +0000
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