By Chief Jackson Ndubuisi Omenazu
There comes a defining moment in the journey of a people when silence becomes complicity and history demands courage. For Ndigbo, that moment has come. The voice of our western kinsmen the Anioma people, is rising from the banks of the River Niger, calling for recognition, unity, and love. It is not a cry of strangers; it is the awakening of a living soul long entombed by the politics of geography.
It is time, therefore, to roll away the veil that covers our collective face, and to behold the truth: the glory of Anioma is the glory of us all.
A Shared History Written in the Same Blood
Before the creation of Nigeria and the drawing of artificial colonial boundaries, the Igbo nation existed as a cultural and linguistic civilization stretching from the present-day Ebonyi hills to the banks of the River Niger and beyond. The Anioma people, comprising communities such as Asaba, Ibusa, Agbor, Ogwashi-Uku, Ika, Ukwuani, Nsukwa, and others, were part of this ancient civilization.
Historical records trace the origin of several Anioma clans to the Nri-Awka civilization, the Eri lineage, and the Igbo-Ukwu cultural orbit, recognized as one of West Africa’s earliest centers of bronze craftsmanship and human organization. The oral traditions of migration from Nri, Oguta, and other eastern Igbo communities to the present-day Delta North reinforce a shared ancestral heritage that no political map can erase.
The colonial creation of provinces and later states merely split this organic nation into administrative units not spiritual or cultural ones. The Anioma people, though placed within the Western Region and later Mid-Western and Delta States, never ceased to affirm their Igbo identity. Their names, language, traditional institutions, and festivals remain distinctively Igbo.
The Political Misreading of Geography
The tragedy of our time is that political cartography was mistaken for identity. In the attempt to balance administrative convenience, the heart of Anioma was severed from the body of the Igbo nation. What was meant to be a simple political arrangement became a source of emotional isolation.
But the spirit of a people cannot be legislated out of existence. The Anioma man speaks the same Igbo tongue, shares the same proverbs, reveres the same ancestral values, and celebrates the same essence of life as any other Igbo. The truth remains eternal, what God and ancestry have joined together, colonial ink cannot separate.
Love, Brotherhood, and the Moral Duty of Reunion
As a people, we must understand that no segment of Ndigbo can rise fully while another remains underrepresented or misunderstood. The call for Anioma State is, therefore, not merely a political agitation; it is a moral obligation, a redemptive act of justice and love.
Love must become our greatest strategy. For decades, Anioma has borne the pain of misplacement with dignity, contributing immensely to national progress while quietly longing for full inclusion in the Igbo renaissance. We must respond now, not with pity, but with pride and fraternity.
The reunion of Anioma with the broader Igbo vision will bring healing to old wounds and complete the circle of our shared destiny.
The Benefits of the Reunion
A united Igbo front, inclusive of Anioma, will redefine the Southeast and South-South political landscape. It will open new corridors of economic integration, linking the industrial vigor of Aba, Nnewi, and Onitsha with the agricultural wealth and commercial prospects of Anioma.
This synergy will create a more formidable zone of trade, technology, and human development. It will enhance our bargaining power in the Nigerian federation, giving Ndigbo a stronger, more coherent voice in national decision-making.
Culturally, the recognition of Anioma as a core Igbo sub-group will preserve a heritage threatened by external dilution. It will inspire a new wave of inter-Igbo cooperation in education, media, infrastructure, and social development. Our unity will not only strengthen us politically but will also reaffirm our moral identity before the world, as a people who understand the power of brotherhood.
Anioma State: The Symbol of Restoration
The proposed Anioma State stands as a symbolic bridge, not a wall. It represents the final chapter in the incomplete story of Igbo unity since independence. It is a bridge between East and West, a reminder that the Igbo spirit transcends boundaries.
When Anioma is given her rightful statehood, it will serve not only the Anioma people but all Ndigbo, for it restores balance, equity, and representation. It ensures that no part of the Igbo nation remains stranded outside the political equation of their ancestral kinship.
The creation of Anioma State will also mark a victory for justice, proving that Nigeria can correct historical wrongs peacefully and constructively.
An Appeal to the Igbo Conscience
Let every Igbo man and woman, at home and in the diaspora, rise in one spirit. Let our voices unite across borders, religious divides, and political differences. Let Ohanaeze Ndigbo, cultural unions, traditional institutions, and youth movements take up this sacred cause as a national project.
Let us roll away the veil, open our eyes, and behold the truth: Anioma is not lost, she is alive, vibrant, and waiting to rejoin her brothers and sisters in the great rebirth of Igbo civilization as the sixth state of South East geographical zone.
This is our moment. History will not forgive our silence.
Let love lead. Let justice guide. Let unity prevail.
Chief Jackson Ndubuisi Omenazu
email, omenazujackson@gmail.com
