Against public assertions by many Anioma people claiming not to have any ethnic affinity with the people of the South East of Nigeria, former Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has proved them wrong.
In an interview on Arise TV during the campaigns for the 2023 presidential elections, Okowa who was then vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) told Arise TV crew that he is an Igbo man.
Okowa’s acceptance of his Igbo identity has reportedly dwarfed the views of some Anioma people who have vigorously campaigned against creating Anioma state as the 6th state of the South East of Nigeria.
These individuals have written multiple articles denouncing their Igbo identity but the words of former Governor Okowa, a stakeholder in Delta state, have put to silence the views of those standing against Anioma state being the 6th state of the Igbo nation.
In the interview with Arise Television which held in 2022, Okowa, who hails from Owa Alero in Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, insisted that his roots and heritage place him firmly within the Igbo fold.
While some voices from the proposed state have rejected being classified as Igbo, arguing against Anioma’s inclusion in the South East, Okowa has emphatically reaffirmed his Igbo identity.
“For me, yes, I’m from Delta state but I’m definitely an Ibo man, there’s no doubt about that,” Okowa declared.
“I’m from Delta state in the South-South but if you are looking at Ibos across the country, I’m an Ibo man, I can’t be counted out and that is the true situation.
“Being from the South-South I’m also an Ibo man, and to that extent I fit into all the divides because my brothers in the South East, I’m part of them and also part of the South-South.”
Okowa, an Ika man, traces his ancestry to the Owa Alero community of Delta State. The Ika people are widely recognized as a subgroup of the Igbo ethnic nationality, predominantly found in Delta State, reinforcing the position that Anioma shares deep historical and cultural ties with the Igbo.
His comments sharply contrast with sentiments from some Anioma voices who insist they are culturally distinct and reject being subsumed under the Igbo identity.
The debate touches on broader questions of identity, political representation, and ethnic self-definition in Nigeria, a reminder that state creation is not just about boundaries, but also about belonging.
