By Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe, PhD
Odogwu of Ibusa, Delta State
I have just read another cacophony of Prof Obasi Igwe’s impudent request to have Anioma people annexed to Southeast by every means, both possible and impossible, and I live to state with characteristic historical pride that Izu-Anioma and whatever Elders Forum they attach to themselves do not represent the collective opinion of Anioma people. So their statement, to wit, that:
“Izu Anioma belongs to all sons and daughters of Anioma land, and every true Anioma son or daughter is a member of Izu-Anioma as a right . . .” is as mendacious as it is fabricated with impudent ignorance of not just the origin of the said Izu-Aniom but the historical struggles of Anioma people from time immemorial.
I want to further inform Prof Obasi Igwe that even his now celebrated Izu-Anioma does not know the history of Anioma State agitation. Saying that the demand for Anioma State is dated to 1953 is simply a display of pitiable ignorance by a political club claiming to have every son and daughter of Anioma as their member. September 18, 1953, was the date the Asaba-born J. I. G. Onyia moved the first motion demanding the creation of Midwest Region and not Anioma State during the Conference of Traditional and Political leaders of Benin and Delta Provinces held in Benin City. How does that translate to Anioma State Movement as claimed by Izu-Anioma. Those who claim to lead their people must be conversant with the history of what they are leading them for. To quote Obi J. I. G. Onyia once again:
“Be it resolved, and it is hereby resolved that: We the peoples of Benin-Delta Province in a conference holding at Benin City this 18th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty three, demand as of right an immediate creation of a separate State for the peoples of Benin-Delta Province.”
Furthermore, the Midwest State Movement was inaugurated on May 5, 1956 with two prominent Anioma leaders as the leading figures. Obi of Agbor, Dein Obika, the grandfather of the present Kiagboekuzi I was the patron; while Chief Dennis Osadebay was the leader; with Chief H. Omo-Osagie as Deputy Leader, and Chief J. E. Otobo as Secretary. How did Anioma State Movement which started in 1982 come into the matter of Midwest State Movement? Or Izu-Anioma wants to speak because others are speaking.
Izu-Anioma is an ordinary political club founded on 6 January, 2002 by one local petrol dealer from Ogwashi-Ukwu named Chief Patrick Ozeah, then popularly known by his Petrol Filling Station trade mark—Poco. Indeed, it was its formation that prompted Chief Fred Ajudua from my town to form a counter political club named Onu-Anioma.
That was during my stint as Personal Assistant to Senator Peter Nwoboshi when he was Delta State Honorable Commissioner of Agriculture. Indeed I was in the forefront of those opposed to Fred Ajudua’s Onu-Anioma and in support of Izu-Anioma. When did such a political club which was dead for a long time until resurrected recently by Ned Nwoko become a collective political organization for all sons and daughters? Ironically, none of the people parading as leaders of Izu-Anioma today knows how the organization was conceived and started at Ogwashi-Uku by Poco.
For the information of such mercenary political ignoramuses like Prof Obasi Igwe who are not ready to squarely and patriotically face the intractable political and security problems of their Southeast but rather chose to present themselves as uninvited intellectual mercenaries for Ned Nwoko’s obnoxious political ambition, Anioma people have no apex socio-cultural or socio-political organization collectively representing them as their mouth-piece, if that is what Izu-Anioma claims to be.
If Prof Obasi Igwe in his now infamous mercenary adventure in Anioma cares to know, the only apex authority that can voice collective Anioma position on such sensitive issue as Anioma State and its annexation to Southeast are the Anioma Council of Traditional rulers; and they have spoken. In their golden customary words, “Ned Nwoko and other people representing us should consult the people and not to engage on selfish decisions.” Unless Izu-Anioma is saying they are above Anioma Kings.
Prof Obasi Igwe should be clearly informed that Anioma traditional rulers like other Delta and Edo State traditional are not political hand-bags of town development unions and their State Governments as it is found in Southeast. If that is so, by now Ned Nwoko would have bought a section of them to sing his leprous praise. I hope Prof Obasi Igwe read me very well.
As Odogwu of Ibusa and first-class traditional Chief of Aniomaland, it is against our customs and tradition for me to join words with any Anioma social or political club such as Izu-Anioma because as a club because whatever they say in respect of the creation of Anioma State ends in the trash-cans of social media gossips and disused pages of newspapers. They fully understand the hierarchical flow of authority in respect of such sensitive issues as the creation of Anioma State and its planned obnoxious intent to be annexed to the Southeast.
So far the most responsible and customarily supported Anioma sub-sociocultural groups who speak with the collective consents of their people under the supervision of their respective traditional rulers have spoken and their positions are clear to the so-called Izu-Anioma. Onu Ika has spoken; Ikoro Agbor has spoken; and Ndokwa N’ Eku has spoken. Where is Izu-Anioma among the comity of these groups? Or has Izu-Anioma the legal or representative capacity to confront them?
Izu-Anioma only represents another set of Ned Nwoko’s Anioma and southeast political gangsters paid to lick the ass of his self-conceited political ambition for re-election to Senate under Labour Party in the name working for the creation of Anioma State, like Prof Obasi Igwe and his United Igbo Elders Council are doing today. Prof Obasi Igwe with his deep knowledge of political organizations should have known that the term ‘Elders Forum” is nothing but a spineless social organization working for the narrow interests of its members. Or does Prof Obasi Igwe think that Anioma people look like the kind of people such spineless forums and political clubs like Izu-Anioma can dictate their political direction?
I had expected Obasi Igwe to secure a responsible political or academic engagement after his retirement but not a beggarly intellectual mercenary role for such a political renegade as Senator Ned Nwoko. Indeed seeing this dejected role of my once admired revolutionary scholar in the face of prevalent poverty in Nigeria, it obviously dawned on me how catastrophic the current economic situation in Nigeria has destroyed the moral dexterity of Nigeria’s cerebral tradition.
The other time, it was one unknown political gangster called “Nzuko Anioma” reeling out incongruous propaganda on the pages of Nigerian newspapers in support of Ned Nwoko’s Anioma-Southeast annexation project. Indeed Nzuko Anioma was the most unintelligent and ignorant of all mercenary propaganda machines employed by Senator Nwoko. This was proven by the fact that they forgot to understand that the term “Nzuko” is traditionally applied to Aro people and as such it is strange to Anioma people.
We have also had one “Odo Oma Club” resurrecting from nowhere, claiming also to speak on behalf of Anioma people like Izu-Anioma. Soon the already dead and buried Fred Ajudua’s Onu-Anioma will resurrect from death to propagate the same obnoxious annexation project as the mouth-piece of Anioma people.
It is unfortunate that some of our short-sighted kinsmen from Southeast believe that Anioma people are uncivilized the same way they consider Abakiliki people. They believe that they can just walk over the River Niger and impose their political whims and caprices on Anioma people with the support of one man. Unfortunately for them, Anioma people saw the Whiteman before every part of what is considered the Southeast today. So it is reckless for anybody to think Anioma are the kind of people they can easily put in their political bags through a quisling like Ned Nwoko.
The Lander brothers—Richard and John Lander first set their feet on Asaba in 1830 and were rescued by the Anioma supreme power on the Niger, Aboh Kingdom. The British Government-sponsored Anglican Missionary expeditions up River Niger first anchored at Aboh before proceeding to Onitsha. When the European era of scramble and partition emerged after the Berlin Conference of 1885/6, Asaba became the Capital of Niger Protectorate.
When the need to resist the European scramble and partition arose, Anioma people under the aegis of Otu-Ochichi popularly known as Ekumeku resistance movement took up the responsibility. Did our forefathers invite our Southeast kinsmen to support them? Why then do they think they have the political edge over us this time to speak on our behalf for Anioma State?
It was this Ekumeku spirit that propelled our people to dominate the officer corps of the Nigerian army before 1966. Did our people attend such feat through the help of our Southeast kinsmen? Why do they think they can drag us around like their little kids at this point in time because of one political Judas Iscariot called Ned Nwoko among our people?
The Nigerian civil war shouldn’t have lasted for more than a year after the lightening conquest of Nsukka and Enugu by Federal forces without the circumstantial intervention of gallant Anioma commanders and soldiers. So why do our Southeast kinsmen think Anioma people are so backward that they need to be reconquered in order to politically civilize them?
Anioma people led the movement for the creation of Midwest Region in the 1950s and 60s with the brotherly cooperation of our Edo, Urhobo, Istekiri, Isoko and Ijaw kinsmen. What makes Prof Obasi Igwe think that his loathsome mercenary activities in Anioma have any force except the money he is paid by Ned Nwoko? Is it not ridiculous that such a respectable organization as United Igbo Elders Council Worldwide should be engaging in mercenary political adventurism while their Southeast home base is on fire?
It must be pointed out that beyond the bond of common language on which short-sighted individuals like Prof Obasi Igwe are basing their detestable reason for annexation of Anioma people, there are fundamental insurmountable political differences that will not permit such annexation to work.
The first of such insurmountable political differences is the moral and political definition of Igbo heroes. While to the Southeast the likes of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Nnamdi Kanu, Ralph Uwazurike, Orji Uzor Kalu, Rochas Okorocha, and Hope Uzodinma are their Igbo heroes, among Anioma people, Only Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu are qualified as Anioma Igbo heroes.
The second is the blatant betrayal of Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu by his Southeast military kinsmen during the January 15, 1966 coup, in which they discussed one thing with Nzeogwu and went ahead to act another without his knowledge, thereby attempting to demonize him as the cause of the beginning of Nigeria’s problem; whereas it was his betrayal by his Igbo kinsmen that caused the Igbo and Nigerian problems.
The third is the heartless murder of Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu by Biafran leaders by recce team of Biafran soldiers who thereafter dumped left his body for the advancing Federal troops to reclaim and bury with full military honors. The fact that Major Nzeogwu’s orderly Reverend Emmanuel Oti from Nsukka and former Chairman of Nsukka Local Government Council refused to speak on the death of Major Nzeogwu proved the allegation that he was under oath not to reveal any information concerning Major Nzeogwu’s death.
The fourth borders on the Biafran invasion of Midwest. It is important to note that prior to that unfortunate invasion, Midwest Region was neutral in the civil war, preventing the Federal troops from invading Biafra through their Region. Those who opposed the Biafran invasion were either lucky to escape to the Federal side, like Majors Samuel Ogbemudia and Isama-Alabi, or were arrested on the orders of Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. For instance, Lt. Col Henry Igboba from Ibusa was arrested and clamped in Benin Prisons where he was discovered by Federal troops and consequently beheaded.
The Biafran invasion created enmity between Anioma people and their non-Igbo kinsmen of Midwest because of their collaboration with the invading Biafran troops. Today the same people who caused our enmity with our neighbors are telling us how close we are to them in language because of their hidden objective of creating a larger land mass for future Biafra.
When eventually the Biafran troops invaded Midwest and retreated after reaching Ore in Ondo State, they retreated into the Biafran enclave blowing up the only Niger Bridge linking us, thereby leaving our people at the mercy of the vicious Federal troops. This was indeed the reason for the massacre of our people that began from Benin-City under the command of Col Murtala Mohammed and consequently climaxed with the heinous Asaba pogrom.
Chief Ralph Uwechue, a former President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo died and no Southeast Governor attended his funeral. This was the same Ralph Uwechue who served Biafra as her Ambassador to France. The same Uwechue ran Ohaneze Ndigbo with his personal money because no Southeast Governor, political leader or businessman deemed it morally necessary to support an Anioma President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo.
The fifth is the unequivocal fact that the Igbo of Southeast consider Anioma people as second-class Igbo. We began in good fate with one accord as one undivided Igbo people to campaign for Igbo President of Federal Republic of Nigeria for 2023. However, when the chips were down Anioma people were told that they were not included among the Igbo. Are Anioma people so daft as to readily forget such humiliating act so soon? Who dey cry dey see road!
The Southeast is campaigning for the creation of Anioma State against their three State agitations for whose interest? When it suits Southeast they remind Anioma people that they speak the same language. But when it comes to Anioma interest they will tell them that Igbo interest means Southeast interest.