Recently, the statement by the Senate President, Sen Godswill Akpabio during the South/South APC zonal Congress in Delta state that the proposed Anioma state would be the ideal new state that would be created appear to have put spanners on the wheels of the hitherto smooth sailing of Anim State. In any case, many people may not understand why Akpabio chose such an inauspicious gathering, basically meant for the election of party officials to make such a weighty speech. He was quoted to have given certain spurious reasons to back up his argument on the propriety or otherwise of his vague speech and promise.
Sadly, Akpabio appeared like a man on a journey to deceive the people. He did not bother to tell his ignorant audience what actually gave rise to the seeming approval by the Presidevt for the creation of just one more state from the South East only. Rather, he chose to play politics of.mind game. His innocent audience, who apparently were already settled in their minds that Anim State is, and correctly too, the approved state to be created went home disappointed, confused and bewildered. They never knew that Akpabio was just fighting an imaginary enemy over his 2027 senate President seat.
To cure the confusion and ignorance of those making noise about Anioma state creation, it is importantt to emphasize the fact that the creation for one more state from the South East was not a luxury but rather part of the frantic search for a sustainable panacea to the lingering marginalization of the South East which has 5 states as against other zones including Anioma South/South that has 6 states.
The Nigeria/Biafran War and the incessant agitation by Nnamdi Kanu and his likes who seek for Igbo secession has its root in the marginalization of the Igbos by the Nigerian state and therefore, there is need to look for ways to calm the Igbos down by first, leveling up the obvious lopsidedness in the number of states in the country. The new state is not to be created from South/South but from South/East only.
The argument that Anioma people are Igbos speaking tribe in South South does not matter. After all, in Kwara state, they speak Yoruba but they are in the North. There are Igbo speaking tribes in Edo like the Igbanka people. There are also Yoruba Speaking people in Kogi and Nasarawa but they are in North East. . So people should understand this. However, Anim State has gone far as major staekeholders have all agreed already and are meeting before Akpabio came with his bulshit speech.
And in Anim State, the lot falls on Imo and Anambra states. Don’t forget that originally,, South East had two states- Anambra and Imo states in 1976. Later, Enugu state was created out of old Anambra State while Abia state was carved out from old Imo state. Thereafter, Ebony state was created partly from Enugu and partly from Abia, leaving Imo and Anambra States as the two states requiring further touching in an eventuality of another state to be created from the South East . Incidentally, Imo has the highest number of LGAs, 27 while Anambra has 21 LGAs as against other three South East States that have lesser number of LGAs.
These arguments were put forward and major stakeholders including the current Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, Sen Orji Uzor Kanu etc understood the rightness of carving out the new state from the two states of Imo and Anambra, thereby dropping their own earlier agitation of Aba, Adada, Etiti , etc proposed states.
This is to fumigate the minds of the ignoramuses who always comment on this issues without adequate information. Anim State is the way to go.
Truthfully Yours, Nwamkpa Modestus is my name and I approve of this piece.