To the Distinguished Legislators and Local Government Chairmen of Delta North
My name is Agbeze Ireke Kalu Onuma—AI-KO. I come to you not as a stranger, but as your brother from the ancient Enuda kingdom of Abiriba, and as a dedicated servant of the Igbo cause.
For twenty-five years, I have been woven into the fabric of Ndigbo leadership and the Ohanaeze structure—evolving through the crucible of service from a silent observer to a diligent apprentice, then an administrator, and now an opinion moulder and an intentionally interested stakeholder.
I did not stumble upon this path; I was groomed by giants. I served as the Personal Assistant to the sage, Justice Ezebuilo Ozobu, the inaugural President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, drinking directly from his fountain of wisdom.
I stood in the engine room of service under the diplomat-scholar Ambassador Ralph Uwechue and the formidable Dr. Dozie Ikedife, serving in various capacities that revealed to me the intricate architecture of our nation. My bond with Anioma is not theoretical; it is personal and profound.
I have sat in counsel with the late Asagba of Asaba, and I made several pilgrimages to Ogwashi-Uku to commune with Prof. Chuka Okonjo alongside Ambassador Uwechue. Over the decades, I have rubbed minds with great intellectuals like Pat Utomi and engaged deeply with compatriots like Emma Okocha, whose seminal work Blood on the Niger immortalized our collective pain. I speak, therefore, with the voice of one who knows the road because I have walked it with the fathers who built it.
And their informed position has always been: ANIOMA BỤ IGBO! I read your recent position paper regarding the geopolitical alignment of the proposed Anioma State with great interest. I acknowledge the pragmatism inherent in your stance; the desire to anchor Anioma within the South-South is born of a protective instinct, a wish to maintain existing alliances, and perhaps a caution regarding the unknown.
As leaders, it is your duty to safeguard the status quo until a better future is guaranteed. However, writing this not merely as an observer, but as someone deeply embedded in the strategic engine room of Igbo leadership—having engaged extensively with the Council of Elders, the hierarchy of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the strategic committees of Ndigbo Lagos—I am compelled to offer a different vista.
My interactions within these circles have shown me that the “Anioma Question” is not just about state creation; it is about the spiritual and structural rebalancing of Nigeria. While the South-South offers the comfort of geography, the South-East offers the power of destiny. I invite you to look beyond the political expedience of today and consider the generational legacy of tomorrow.
The argument for Anioma joining the South-East is not merely sentimental; it is historically non-negotiable, economically superior, and constitutionally pragmatic.
I. The Historical Imperative: Correcting the Colonial Distortion We must first address the historical fallacy that Anioma is “drifting” toward the South-East. One cannot drift toward a place from which one originates.
In my years analyzing our history for strategic frameworks, one truth stands tall: The River Niger was never a wall; it was a highway. Before the British drew their administrative lines, the people of Asaba, Igbuzo, Ogwashi-Uku, and Illah were part of a seamless civilization that spanned both banks of the river.
We must recall the Ekumeku Movement (1883–1914). This was not a “South-South” resistance; it was arguably the most organized, intellectual, and fierce Igbo resistance against British colonialism in history.
It was led by the Anioma people to protect a civilization and a worldview that is quintessentially Igbo. When we align with the South-East, we are not joining a new bloc; we are honoring the blood of the Ekumeku warriors who fought for that identity.
Furthermore, the creation of the Midwest Region in 1963, led by our great patriarch Chief Dennis Osadebe, was a strategic masterstroke to free our people from the hegemony of the Western Region. It was never intended to severe our kinship with the East.
Osadebe himself, a Titan of Igbo identity, understood that administrative partitioning does not dissolve bloodlines. To argue today that Anioma is “South-South” in spirit is to mistake the administrative map of 1963 for the anthropological map of the last 500 years.
II. The Constitutional Pragmatism: The “Sixth State” Reality From my vantage point working on constitutional review committees and engaging with the highest levels of Nigerian political thought, I must speak to the hard mathematics of the National Assembly.
The South-East is the only geopolitical zone with five states. Every other zone has six, and the North-West has seven. This imbalance is not just a statistical anomaly; it is a structural injustice that limits the political equity of the Igbo people—fewer senators, fewer representatives, fewer revenue streams.
The agitation for an additional state for the South-East is at a fever pitch. The Senate and the Presidency are arguably more amenable to balancing the federation by granting the South-East its sixth state than they are to adding a seventh state to the South-South.
If Anioma insists on remaining in the South-South, you risk two outcomes: Stagnation: The request may be denied because the South-South is not the zone suffering from the structural deficit. Dilution: Even if granted, Anioma becomes one of seven or eight states in a zone with diverse, non-homogenous ethnic interests (Ijaw, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Edo, etc.).
However, by stepping into the South-East, Anioma becomes the “Golden Sixth.” You solve a national constitutional crisis. You become the hero of the zone. In the South-East, Anioma does not join as a “minority” or an appendage; it joins as a savior—the state that completes the circle. This affords Anioma immense political leverage within the zone, far greater than it would ever possess in the crowded South-South.
III. The Economic Argument: The “Niger Economic Corridor” Moving beyond politics, let us look at the economy.
My work with the economic advisory councils and sectoral committees has highlighted a glaring reality: The future of the Nigerian economy is regional integration. The South-South economy is largely extractive (oil and gas).
The South-East economy is largely productive (manufacturing, commerce, and trade). Anioma sits at the confluence of these two worlds. If Anioma aligns with the South-East, it triggers the creation of what I call the Niger Economic Corridor. Asaba and Onitsha are already one city.
The borders exist only on paper. The economic heartbeat of Asaba is powered by the commercial lungs of Onitsha. By formalizing this through state alignment, we can create a Free Trade Zone spanning the bridge, integrated not just by proximity but by policy. Anioma becomes the Logistics Gateway.
The South-East is landlocked; Anioma is the access to the river and the sea. An Anioma state within the SE becomes the undisputed logistics hub for the entire Igbo manufacturing bloc. In the South-South, Anioma is competing with Warri and Port Harcourt for maritime relevance. In the South-East, Anioma has no competitor; it is the sole gateway. This monopoly of position is where true economic power lies.
IV. Confronting the “Domination” Myth: A View from the Inside I am aware of the whispers that drive the hesitation—the fear of “Mainland Igbo” domination.
The fear that the aggressive mercantilism of the South-East will swallow the refined, diplomatic culture of the Anioma people. Let me speak to this from my direct experience within the highest councils of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Ndigbo Lagos.
The mood in the South-East leadership is not one of conquest; it is one of yearning. The South-East misses the intellectual nuance, the diplomatic finesse, and the administrative excellence that the Anioma people possess.
We look at the legacy of Nzeogwu, of Osadebe, of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and we do not see “outsiders”—we see the best of us. The South-East is tired of the rugged individualism that sometimes hampers collective progress.
There is a strong desire within the Council of Elders to have the Anioma spirit infuse the South-East polity—to bring balance. Anioma will not be dominated; Anioma will lead. As they’ve led before. Historically, when the Igbo nation needed direction, they often looked West.
The first Governor of the Eastern Region was an indigenous son, but the intellectual framing often came from the West of the Niger. In a six-state South-East structure, Anioma will likely produce the Senate Presidency or Vice Presidency zoned to the region more often than any other state, precisely because of its bridge-building capacity.
V. The Shared Trauma and the Bond of Blood We cannot discuss this without touching the scar tissue of our history. The tragedy of the Civil War did not stop at the Niger Bridge. The Asaba Massacre is not a “Delta” tragedy; it is an Igbo tragedy. When the federal troops entered Asaba, they did not separate the “Delta Igbos” from the “South-East Igbos.” They saw one people.
They visited violence upon Anioma because of its identity. To align with the South-South—a zone that, in many historical contexts, was pitted against the Igbo interest during the war—is to politically dissociate from the very kin who mourn the Asaba martyrs as their own. In the South-East, the Asaba Massacre is a sacred memorial. In the South-South, it is merely a historical footnote in a region dominated by other narratives. “Coming home” to the South-East is the ultimate validation of that sacrifice. It is a statement that says: “We suffered together, and we will rise together.”
VI. New Ideas for a Transitional Framework I understand that a sudden geopolitical shift can be jarring. Therefore, based on the strategic frameworks I have developed for other bodies, I propose the following “Soft-Landing” mechanisms to accompany this alignment: The Anioma Cultural Charter: A binding clause in the state creation bill that protects the specific chieftancy institutions and land tenure systems of Anioma, ensuring they are not overridden by general South-East practices.
The West-Niger Development Commission: A special economic vehicle, funded by the South-East Governors Forum, dedicated solely to the rapid infrastructure integration of Anioma into the SE grid (rail and gas). The Dual-Citizenship Transition: A 10-year period where Anioma retains observer status in the South-South Governors Forum while being a full member of the South-East, allowing for a gradual decoupling of existing assets and liabilities. Conclusion: The Verdict of Ancestry Honorable Legislators, the decision you face is binary.
You can choose the South-South, preserving the comfort of the last 30 years—a minority state in a heterogeneous zone, fighting for crumbs of the oil derivation, and culturally distinct from your neighbors. Or, you can choose the South-East, and embrace the destiny of the next 300 years. You can be the state that heals the Igbo nation. You can be the economic gateway of the most enterprising race in Africa.
You can be the political bride of the region. From my seat at the table with the elders and strategists of our people, I tell you this: The door is not just open; the feast is set. The South-East does not want to annex Anioma; it wants it to be completed by Anioma. The spirit of Dennis Osadebe, the courage of the Ekumeku, and the blood of the Asaba martyrs all point in one direction. It is time to cross the bridge, not as guests, but as owners. It is time to bring Anioma home.
