There is an ongoing discussion at the National Assembly for the creation of Anioma State out of Delta State. Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta North in the Senate, is behind the demand. He does not just want an Anioma state created, he wants it to be grouped among the South East States. The idea behind Nwoko’s push is to have Igbos of Delta extraction join their kith and kin east of the Niger.
Nwoko, like many others from the nine Igbo-speaking local government areas of Delta State, realises that his people are hanging loose in an omnibus territory peopled by disparate entities who do not share a common destiny. The thinking out there is that the time has come for Anioma people to formally forge a common cause as well as pursue a common destiny with Igbos of the East with whom they share not only linguistic affinity but have together borne the brunt of a hostile Nigeria that seeks to subjugate the Igbo.
A notable Nigerian recently likened the relationship between Igbos of the East and those of Delta extraction as that of the antelope and the anthill. Antelopes are social animals living in herds. They usually take refuge behind anthills when they are being pursued by the enemy. But because antelopes have well developed senses, which help them to detect predators from long distances, they usually escape from the anthill before the approach of the enemy who, in desperate search for the antelope destroys the anthill. Western Igbos, in the analogy, are the antelopes while their eastern brothers are the anthills.
The analogy draws attention to the 1966 coup d’etat where Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, a western Igbo, played a major role. The repercussions of the bloody coup were visited mainly on eastern Igbos.
Beyond all this, Anioma’s inclusion in the South East will be strategic especially now that regionalism is becoming a battle cry. Progressive-minded Nigerians are calling for a return to a regional arrangement. If the push succeeds, the people of Anioma will find a better accommodation in the South East both in linguistic harmony and geographical contiguity. Just as the South West is pushing to grab their brothers from Kogi and Kwara states, an Anioma State as a South East state will strengthen the bond of brotherhood that should and does exist between Igbos of the east and those of the west.
For me, it wouldn’t really matter if the ongoing discussions about state creation end up as a pipe dream. But the idea of an Anioma State as an integral part of the South East makes a lot of sense. It is progressive and unifying. It is much more so considering the fact that Igbos of the East feel at home with their brothers across the Niger. Igbos of Delta extraction are practical and down to earth. Unlike the case of Igbos of Rivers State extraction who suffer from stupefying identity crisis, our Delta Igbo brothers do not deny or repudiate their Igboness. That is why Igbos of the East are freely investing in Asaba, making it, perhaps, the fastest growing state capital in Nigeria of today. With Asaba, sprawling on daily basis as a destination of choice for investors, the natural nexus that exists between it and Onitsha, Nigeria’s seat of commerce, will become enhanced. In fact, Asaba and Onitsha working together in the area of economic integration will bring about accelerated development that will benefit both sides of the Niger. Already, Onitsha, the city that Chinua Achebe described as the gift of the Niger, is a preeminent economic hub for commerce and industry. Asaba is gradually tapping from the economic potential that Onitsha offers. Integrating Anioma into the South East will enhance the natural economic advantages that both cities are endowed with.
If any form of distance ever existed between Igbos of the East and their brothers across the Niger, it is the fact that the latter were goverened and administered from the western part of the country. Thus, rather than looking eastwards, they were forced by circumstances to look westwards. Over time, this has coloured and tainted their imagination. The unfortunate outcome is that the East, even as close as it is to them, sounds distant. Their inclusion in the South East will take care of this longstanding anomaly. I submit that, if Nigeria should decide to create only one additional state for the South East to bring it at par with the number obtainable in the other geopolitical zones (except the North West), that state should be Anioma State. The idea behind it will serve the interest of the larger Igbo more than that of any other state being canvassed by the South East. Agitations for Aba, Orlu (or Njaba), Adada or Etiti states are also in order. But Anioma should take precedence over them.
….And snippets on Orlu state
Like Anioma, there is also a case for the creation of Orlu State before the National Assembly. The demand was recently tabled in the House of Representatives by Ikenga Ugochinyere. The state is to be carved out of Imo, Anambra and Abia states.
As I have already conceded, agitation for Orlu State has its merits. The idea has been in the public domain for many years. But, unlike Anioma, whose territory is very well defined, those behind Orlu, or Njaba state, have not taken time to delineate properly the territory that the proposed state should cover. That explains why there have been pockets of disclaimers about the idea of the state. Those who sent the proposal to the National Assembly need to return to the drawing board. This should be an urgent assignment for Ugochinyere and other co-sponsors of the Bill. It should also be a job for stakeholders in Orlu zone of Imo State and its adjoining territories.
But let me help Ugochinyere and his team a little. The 12 local government areas of Orlu zone, excluding Oguta and Ohaji/Egbema, are large enough to form a new state. In other words, the canvassers for the new state should focus on 10 local government areas of Orlu zone and leave Ohaji/ Egbema and parts of Oguta LGAs out of it. I am aware that Ohaji/Egbema and one-half of Oguta local government areas (particularly Agwa clan of Oguta LGA) have long disassociated themselves from the proposed state. They should be allowed to be. Insisting on their inclusion in the proposed state will weaken, rather than strengthen, the agitation. A people must take their destiny in their own hands.
Ihiala LGA of Anambra State is good to join Orlu State. And I guess they are comfortable with it. But we can hardly say the same thing of the people of Orumba South of Anambra State. The drafters of the Orlu State creation Bill should take a second look at the document. They should be less ambitious in their pursuit lest they reduce what is supposed to be a serious agitation to a child’s play.