Two Ebas, one truth: Why facts must anchor the Ogun–Ondo boundary debate — by Segun Showunmi

At a time when public discourse is already strained by misinformation and political opportunism, it is deeply troubling to watch a straightforward geographical reality twisted into a contested narrative. The matter of “Eba” should not be complicated. It has only been made so by those who find ambiguity more useful than truth.

Let us be clear from the outset: there are two distinct places known as Eba. They are not interchangeable. They are not proximate duplicates. And they certainly are not grounds for the kind of deliberate confusion now being injected into public consciousness.

The first and most consequential is Eba Island, located in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area. This is not a speculative location or a recently invented claim. It is a clearly mapped, historically acknowledged coastal settlement within Ogun State. Its coordinates are known. Its administrative identity is established. Its place within Nigeria’s territorial framework has long been recognized by the National Boundary Commission.

This is the Eba that matters in the current conversation. This is the Eba tied to economic significance, including oil exploration. And this is the Eba that, by every credible administrative and cartographic standard, lies within Ogun State.

Then there is the second reference an entirely different “Eba” associated with the Ilaje axis of Ondo State, often linked to forest settlements and inland communities. This location exists. No one disputes that. But what must be resisted firmly and unequivocally is the attempt to conflate this inland reference with Eba Island.

They are not the same.

What we are witnessing is not a misunderstanding; it is a narrative strategy. By blurring distinctions between two separate places that happen to share a name, a false equivalence is being constructed. And from that false equivalence, a claim is being advanced.

This is how misinformation operates not always through outright fabrication, but through the manipulation of context.

The danger here extends beyond a boundary dispute. When facts as basic as geography can be bent to suit political or economic objectives, the implications are far-reaching. It erodes institutional credibility. It confuses citizens. It weaponizes ignorance. And ultimately, it undermines the very basis on which rational public discourse should stand.

The responsibility, therefore, lies with all serious stakeholders government institutions, political actors, media platforms, and informed citizens to insist on precision. Names matter. Locations matter. Evidence matters.

Eba Island is in Ogun State. That is not an opinion. It is not a negotiation. It is a matter of record.

To suggest otherwise is to deliberately mislead.

Nigeria cannot afford a political culture where even the most verifiable facts are subjected to distortion. If we allow that standard to take hold, then every boundary becomes negotiable, every truth becomes contestable, and every citizen becomes vulnerable to manipulation.

This is not just about Eba. It is about whether we are still capable of agreeing on what is real.

And on this matter, reality is not in dispute only the willingness to acknowledge it.

Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan, the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom in Ondo State, Nigeria. Must be guided appropriately.

Showunmi is a Peoples Democratic Party Governorship aspirant in Ogun State