The agitation for the creation of Anioma State which ordinarily should receive the approval and support of the generality of the indigenes of Delta state, particularly the inhabitants of Delta North comprising the good people of Anioma nation is surprisingly enmeshed in controversy and unnecessary opposition by the same people who should be supportive and positively anxious for a fresh breath and potential benefits.
Rather than galvanizing support and appreciating the distinguished Senator Ned Nwoko in the struggle, we are regrettably pushing very myopic narratives and avoidable distractions. This is even when it’s obvious that carving out another state from Delta will further deepen equal stakes and participation, equal opportunities and bringing developments to the communities that have suffered neglect on either side of the divide [Delta North, South and Central]
What I see from these dissenting antagonists is a total distraction and complex expression of inferiority, presenting a very low self-esteem from the fear of our Igbo brothers and the Igbo nation, not only perceived but adjudged to be domineering and usurpers in nature and character. While this assumption could be right or wrong, it is taken too far.
But supposing it turns out true of their nature, are these purveyors of the fear forgetting that state geographical boundaries will be maintained and the indegenes of a state usually keep and retain their identity and only such indegenes in the states geographical space are considered for power distribution and equitable sharing of resources?
What exactly is wrong with us?
Is it not a common knowledge that even the union that bound us with the tribes and people of South South region of the old Midwestern and later, Bendel state geographic divide have not been in any way favorable and so yielded little or not much dividend in our many decades of coexistence in terms of progress and infrastructural development?
Apart from the flashes of strides in the Okowa administration [the only governorship opportunity presented to a Delta North indigenous extraction since the creation of Delta state], many communities making up Anioma nation are living in denial and currently either in total darkness without electricity all through the decades of existence; some with bad roads, others without. So they lack access to good life as a result of neglect and absence of infrastructural development.
This is very evident and typical of communities in Ndokwa/Ukwani, Aniocha South, Aniocha North, Oshimili Local Govt Areas, and some communities in Ika that the Okowa administration could not touch before the end of the tenure of his administration.
Yes we could obviously have a thing or two against our brothers from across the Niger especially as we have enjoyed a good relationship with the tribes and people of Delta state and the old Bendel state but we are definitely not the same in culture and in language but merely bound by a geographic arrangement for administrative governance.
Otherwise, we are proudly Igbo. We may have different dialects, but we speak the same language, common names, and common cultural identity. So we can’t run away from our identity because that’s who we are.
We may have within us communities who trace their origins from different ethnic groups like our brothers from the Benin kingdom, the Igalas and the Olukumis who trace theirs to the West [Yorubas] but that the origin of many of us is across the Niger and Igbos [including my community for instance] isn’t controvertible.
The concern should be whether or not any part of the existing South Eastern states [particularly the neighboring Anambra] will be carved out and added to us rather than outright rejection of the creation of Anioma State as an addition to the South Eastern geo-political zone.
My thought!
Chief AUSTIN MODEBE
The OZOMA ONYA OF ISHEAGU KINGDOM
