Why Senator Ned Nwoko’s Bill On Anioma State Creation Should Be Supported

By Barth Ozah

Anioma – meaning the ‘fertile and prosperous land’ is a modern coinage, adopted by Ndoshimili and the Enu-ani leaders of thought in the 1970s to designate a place known as Delta North Senatorial District.

Anioma is an acronym of Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika and Oshimili with MA added to form a complete word. This coinage was made by the founding father of “Anioma State Movement,” the Late Chief Dennis Osadebay of blessed memory. Osadebay (29 June 1911 — 26 December 1994) was a Nigerian politician, poet, journalist and former premier of the defunct Mid-Western Region of Nigeria.

The struggle is said to have began in the 1950 when the people of Aboh and Asaba divisions in the defunct Western Region House of Assembly demanded for the creation of Western Niger Province from the colonial government. It gained momentum when the entire zone spoke in one voice and made a presentation through an application to the Justice Ayo Irikefe’s States Creation Committee in 1975.

Incontrovertibly, the struggle for the creation of Anioma State is one that predates Delta as a state and more importantly, it has been a collective quest by the three blocs of Aniocha/Oshimili, Ndokwa and Ika with a collective destiny, ordained by God.

For several times, the apex body of Anioma socio-cultural organisations, the Izu-Anioma and other stakeholders like Anioma Traditional Rulers Council made up of all the traditional rulers in the zone and youth bodies had paid visits to all successive president and the National Assembly for the agitation for the creation  of Anioma State.

However, despite the aged-long agitation for the creation of Anioma State, it has never gain much attention until an illustrious son of Anioma and Senator representing Delta North Senatorial District presented a bill to alter the 1999 Constitution as amended to create Anioma State from the present Delta State was read the first time in the Senate.

Senator Nwoko’s bill seeks to alter three sections of the 1999 constitution, to delete the word 36 and replacing it with the word 37 to accommodate the new state and to insert the word Anioma immediately after Delta in the list of states contained in the constitution.

The bill is pushing for the creation of Anioma State, aimed at reorganising the nine local government areas currently in Delta North – Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North-East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South and Ukwuani.

The bill equally seeks to include the Anioma State in the South East zone of the country against its present zone in the South South.

Recall that Nwoko had said that the South East geopolitical zone currently has five states, unlike its counterparts, except for the North West, which has seven states.

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According to him, “This disparity results in an imbalance of representation and resources, with the South East having only 15 lawmakers, compared to the 18 lawmakers of other zones in the Senate.

“This affects legislative representation and the distribution of national resources, perpetuating a longstanding injustice. I am presenting a bill for the creation of Anioma State to correct this historical oversight. Anioma is composed of nine local government areas, six of which are rich in oil and gas resources.

“The region also boasts significant human capital, making it a viable and sustainable candidate for statehood. Creating Anioma State is not just about increasing the number of states; it is about ensuring fair representation and resource allocation for the South East.”

Undoubtedly, this milestone by Senator Nwoko deserves not just the prayers of every sons and daughters of Anioma, but collective efforts towards the realisation of the aged-long quest. This is because the benefits of Anioma State in the South East geopolitical zone would be enormous.

Apart from the political balancing it seeks to achieve as clearly spelt out in the proposed bill, the economic implications will be far-reaching, considering the fact that the business ingenuity and prowess which characterised the lifestyle of the South Easterners will be transferred to their kith and kin in Anioma State. They will also have unfettered access to contribute to the development of Anioma to the South East.

Therefore, the people of Anioma should own this struggle to see that Anioma State comes to fruition. The discordant tones that characterised the ceeding of Anioma State to the South East zone as contained in Senator Nwoko’s bill are unnecessary, considering the homogenous nature of the Anioma people and their brothers in the South East.

Apart from the temporary security challenges confronting the region now, it is still the best zone in the country as virtually every citizen is empowered. In South East you will see a generational business. The Anioma people should take the advantage of the economic potentials of the zone to embrace self reliance.

By joining the South East zone, the people of Anioma would have contributed to fairness and equity by ensuring that the zone has six state like many other zones in the country. Most importantly, they have linguistics and cultural affinities.

Like the Anioma people, the South Easterners always persever in any  struggle to make ends meet. They have  extra resilient to retrogressive factors of life. No matter the ups and downs in their struggle to survival, they believe that giving up is not the best. This is a reflection of Ikenga symbolism.

With this spirit, coupled with the abundant human and natural resources, the people of the soon to be created Anioma State will be marching to a new era of prosperity.