The creation of Anioma State is a much welcome development by the vast majority of Anioma people. What we do not want and reject in its entirety is to be part of the South East. In fact, instead of being zoned to the South East, we would rather remain in Delta State where there is mutual respect and political understanding between the different ethnic groups
By Dr Chris Obanya, PharmD.
The Aniomas are a conglomeration of peoples historically and politically positioned in the Delta North Senatorial zone. The term ‘Anioma’ was coined by the then Ojiba Ahaba, Chief Dennis Osadebay, Esq, who was the first and only Premier of the defunct Midwestern Region of Nigeria. A standing for Aniocha, N standing for Ndokwa, I standing for Ika and O standing for Oshimili. The M and A at the end are for syntactic correctness.
The Anioma people are not a tribe or an ethnic group. While we share a lot of similarities, the different groups that make up Anioma differ quite significantly in our history, ancestry and even linguistically. Let me talk about language. I am an Asaba man currently based in the ancient Ika Kingdom of Agbor. While I pride myself in my ability to speak and understand the Asaba dialect, understanding the Ika dialect has been incredibly onerous for me. If an Ika man says 10 things, I can only understand 3 or 4. By virtue of my profession, I do a lot of interactions with people every day, so I can tell you for free that the linguistic dissimilarity between Enuani, Ika and Ndokwa dialects are very significant. For most Igbos East of the Niger, their idea of an Anioma person are the communities closest to them, which are the Asaba, Igbuzor, Okpanam and Umu Ezechime communities who they share linguistic similarities with. Because of this, they erroneously believe that the entirety of Anioma speak the same dialect. That is untrue. In fact, there are some Isoko communities in Anioma who are not igboid at all and do not speak Igbo or anything close to it. That’s for linguistics.
About history and ancestry; the Anioma people of modern day Delta State are people of very differing history and ancestry. I’ll explain. The Igbuzor people (Igbuzor Isu) and the Ogwashi people (Ogwashi Adaigbo) are of Igbo ancestry as both their oral and documented history points to the fact that their founders and progenitors migrated from the Igbo heartland of Eastern Nigeria to where they currently are. There are also a lot of communities across Anioma (including Ika and Ndokwa) whose ancestry points to the East of the Niger. That is undeniably true. However, there are also a lot of communities in Anioma who do not exactly share the same Igbo ancestry. The history of the Asaba people (Ahaba Ujom) is built largely around Kanebisi who was the son of Onaja Oboli, an Igala prince from Idah, and Diaba, a maiden from Nteje in modern day Anambra State. In Asaba, you cannot become the Diokpa of any of the Ebos (quarters) of Asaba or become the Asagba of Asaba if you’re not descendant of Kanebisi or cannot correctly trace your genealogy to him. If you did not know this, now you do. This is our history and this is our culture as handed down by our fathers and their fathers before them. No person or group of persons especially the ones from unmarked villages that cannot be found on any map, can tell us or teach us otherwise. We also have communities like Illah and Ebu with similar Igala ancestry. And then there are others like Agbor, Ozanogo, Issele-Uku, Onicha-Olona, Aboh, who have Benin ancestry. I am being very careful to only mention communities I am sure of, so as not to make the same mistake that Igbos of the East are notoriously known for, where they know how to tell the history of other people’s communities more than they know how to tell of theirs.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that the people of Anioma are not exactly one and the same people. While we share a lot of similarities, we also share a lot of dissimilarities. But all the same, one thing is common among Anioma people and that is the fact that we are very proud people. We are proud of our dialects and we’re proud of our history and cultural heritage. We are opposed to joining ourselves in unholy matrimony with people who are overly domineering, people who force their our version of our history down our throats, people who do not exactly love us but are just looking to expand their territory in order to earn bragging rights for their rivalry with other ethnic groups. We will oppose any such attempt with every fibre of our being.
…nothing arouses Eastern Igbos more than lies and false hope. As I have said a million times, this is just a perfect topic to distract Aniomas from the fact that Ned Nwoko is a terribly incompetent Senator. By 2027 when he is permanently retired from politics, everybody will rest
The Anioma State creation movement has been alive for as long as anyone can remember. The problem with this current movement as being championed by Sen Alhaji Ned Nwoko is that it is being pursued on the basis of a so called ‘Igbo reunification’ project. Why are you forcing everyone in Anioma to identify as Igbo, including those who are not Igbos and do not want to identify as one? Why are you pushing to include us in a region we have never been historically part of because of your own personal convictions? How can the entire focus of a State creation movement be built on tribal and ethnic basis? Are you creating Anioma State to make Anioma people happy or to make Igbos of the East happy? Why are Igbos of the East pushing for Anioma State more than Aniomas themselves? With this whole ‘we’re Igbos and we must all be igbos’ thing, doesn’t it give off the red flags that other non-igbo groups in Anioma will be seriously subjugated and sidelined if and when the State comes to fruition? If they are not after territorial expansion, why can’t the Igbos of the East create their own state from within the five states they have, if they are now tired of agitating for Biafra and are now looking for a 37th Nigerian State?
During a recent exchange with a very respected kinsman in our foremost Asaba group on Facebook, he was asking another kinsman why he didn’t want Anioma State in the South East. The kinsman did not reply so I replied instead. But my reply to his question was more questions. At the end of the questions, as a wise person, he understood where I stood and my questions answered his questions. I asked him; Senior Bros, have you ever wondered why the whole IPOb/ESN nonsense didn’t find it’s way into Asaba and Anioma as a whole? Have you ever wondered why there’s still Monday sit at home in the East but could not be enforced in Asaba? Have you wondered why the general insecurity in the South East didn’t find its way to Asaba and in fact Asaba has served as a safe haven to many South Easterners running away from the insecurity in their region? Have you ever wondered why APGA is the ruling party in our neighboring Anambra State but is not in Anioma? Have you ever wondered why cult killings which is very rife in Anambra and Enugu especially is not so in Anioma? Have you ever tried to relate it to the fact that maybe it’s because of the geopolitical differences between us and them? And that maybe if we had been part of the East, the reality would have still been the same here? Have you ever given this deep logical thoughts? These and many more reasons are why the majority of Anioma people are seriously opposed to any idea that suggests the inclusion of the proposed State into the South East.
The creation of Anioma State is a much welcome development by the vast majority of Anioma people. What we do not want and reject in its entirety is to be part of the South East. In fact, instead of being zoned to the South East, we would rather remain in Delta State where there is mutual respect and political understanding between the different ethnic groups. The minority Aniomas who are championing for Anioma State creation and inclusion into the South East geopolitical zone are the ones who depend on the benevolence of Sen Ned Nwoko and are incapable of logical thinking as long as they are well fed. The second group are the ones in Diaspora, especially the UK, who have lost touch with the reality on ground in Nigeria.
I must commend the Lion King of Asaba Kingdom, Asagba (Prof) Epiphany Azinge, SAN, OON, Eze kasie Eze, for standing with the Anioma people, for being the Agu that he is and being unafraid to say the things other Monarchs want to say but are too reserved to do so. Nnam Agu! Agu n’eche Obodo, Agu!! Eze nwe Ani Ahaba, Agu!!!
In the same vein, I must commend all the Delta North Local government council chairmen and house of Assembly members for their unanimous decision in rejecting every plan to zone the proposed Anioma State to the South East and to relocate the capital from Asaba. Thank you all for speaking up for the Anioma people. Vox populi, Vox Dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God.
Lastly and ultimately, I still stand on business when I say that NO STATE WILL BE CREATED. This is just an interesting topic to engage in, nothing more. Anioma State o, Adada State o, Etiti State o, Akara State o, Akamu State oo, none will be created. Has the President ever mentioned or promised anybody State creation whether in writing, video or audio recording? In fact, the President who supposedly wants to create Anioma State for the South East has just appointed an Anioma man, former Governor Sen Ifeanyi Okowa, as the South South coordinator for the Renewed Hope Initiative (in preparation for the 2027 General Elections). Isn’t that interesting?
Nigeria cannot finance a State creation now or in the foreseeable future. Let’s not even talk about the innumerable political and constitutional bottlenecks that make the entire State creation process a near impossibility. In fact, the process of Anioma State creation is still in the very first stage. But of course, nothing arouses Eastern Igbos more than lies and false hope. As I have said a million times, this is just a perfect topic to distract Aniomas from the fact that Ned Nwoko is a terribly incompetent Senator. By 2027 when he is permanently retired from politics, everybody will rest. I have written on this space before and on this same topic that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has no plans whatsoever to create any additional State anywhere. As far as the President is concerned, stabilizing the country (economy and security-wise) and victory in the 2027 Presidential election is seemingly his only focus. But for those who strongly believe in the wild goose chase, good luck to you all. But one thing is for sure, as long as the sun remains in the sky, Anioma will never be part of the South East, and Asaba will remain the capital when and if it is ever created.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and do not represent the views of The Daily Crucible.
