Is the Niger Delta truly a Northern liberated zone?

You often hear Northerners talk glibly about Niger Delta or South South as their liberated part of Nigeria. They use this refrain to justify their control of 90 per cent of oil blocs, high revenue allocation through greater number of states and local governments, control of the armed forces and bureaucratic apparati of govt.

Check Paul Unongo interview in Sunday Trust Oct 27, 2013 page 58. Late Muhammed Shuwa interview Daily Trust Nov. 5, 2012.

On this premise, Northerners virulently resist any constitutional change in the status quo. They always remind Niger Deltans, who question the lopsided and exploited federalism, that they should be grateful having been liberated from the Igbo. I am Igbo-speaking Niger Deltan and the truth is a lie told frequently unassailed assumes truism. So many Niger Deltans, before the advent President Goodluck Jonathan and out of psychological insecurity,began to believe that "the 'Hausa' were our messiah." The North was thought to have 'saved' our lands from the Biafrans and helped us fight them from our 'resources'. During this period the North reaped bountifully from the region politically with glee and without any recompense.

Now the chickens have come home to roost. And the North are no more seen as genuine allies. The North simply sees the region, lumped with the Igbo, as conquered peoples, their resources as spoils and booties of war. They still cannot reconcile that the "junior partners" can produce a President over and above the deft, rampaging, manouvering and strategic Muslim Fulani. And they have responded violently and legally as is their nature.

Back in the old east, besides the suspicion bred by the Aro-led slave dealings, are there major highlights of majority-minority killings? Are there cases of political marginalisation or developmental seclusion? With near homogeneity factor in old East accentuated by high inter-marriages, historical, cultural, religious, economic, geographical and perhaps, political ties, can we correctly say the Igbo are at war with their neighbours?

Why did Eyo Ita, from present Akwa Ibom become first premier of Eastern Region? Why did Igbo back Philip Effiong as new leader of Biafra after Ojukwu's departure for peace talks in Ivory Coast? Why did several non-Igbo Easterners make so much impact politically and militarily like Margaret Ekpo, W.U. Bassey? Why did the Igbo ban their members from contesting the 2011 Presidential elections for the first time post Nnammdi Azikiwe for a near hundred per cent support for a Goodluck Jonathan, an Ogbia minority in Bayelsa State and in the process, lose over 3000 souls and goods and properties destroyed in North? Why did Michael Okpara replicate the Enugu Presidential Hotel in P/Harcourt and Metropolitan in Calabar? What foresight informed the setting up of University of Calabar and University of PH as satellites of UNN? Why did Okpara build the Obudu Cattle Ranch? Why were there Nkalagau Cement Factory Enugu, Trans Amadi Industrial Zone, Onne Free Zone all in PH and severla rice and palm produce industries all over the East under Okpara?

Against this background, the question remains is the South South a liberated zone of the North? Is it a case of soured grapes or cheap blackmail? Or is it a case of divide and rule?

Is this paternalistic claim of the North that they liberated Niger Deltans from some other humans, who are not even superior to them, not a tool to destroy southern solidarity and degrade the dignity of the Niger Deltan? Is it not really baseless upon an objective overview of the east before the civil war and oil?

What do you say about this?

It's always been their agenda (them and their helpers in the south) to try and sustain this lie these past decades........and some gullible peeps actually believe them as can be seen with some of the exchanges on this forum.

As long as it looks like there is division and bickering in the old Eastern Region, some people can sleep well at night! Don't you notice how some posters only work on this website seems to be sustaining these age old lies and trying to cause enmity between Ndigbo and other ethnicities in the Niger Delta.

Them parts,east of the niger are conquered territories.
Or should I say,the estate of uthman da fodio.
Right from the days when they made azikwe to wait under the sun in a silly uniform.
anambra where soludo was schemed out all the way from aso rock,despite being the overwhelming choice .the current president ,ibori and many of the current leaders were also abacha boys.
A large chunk of the oil bunkering and stealing being carried out in the ND is being done on behalf of northerners who are the puppet masters.
The militant character of the areas which emphasizes violence first before dialogue also ensures that the bromance is not ending anytime soon

bloggernaija: The SS apart from Edo and the SE are conquered territories.
Or should I say,the estate of uthman da fodio.
Right from the days they made azikwe to wait under the sun in a silly uniform.
Another case in point is anambra where soludo was schemed out all the way from aso rock,despite being the overwhelming choice . current president ,ibori and many of the current leaders are also abacha boys.
A large chunk of the oil bunkering and stealing being carried out in the ND is being done on behalf of northerners who are the puppet masters.
The militant character of the areas which emphasizes violence first before dialogue also ensures that the bromance is not ending anytime soon

A mind is a terrible thing to waste

Na because of the oil them de carry claim niger delta. @simple@

@poster
Good points you made out there!
The former eastern region, just like north and west was not perfect. They(easterners) tried to empower minorities in the north--TIVs and Idomas, etc, and of course helped break up the west by creating midwest as an attempt to secure the minorities of the region. In return Awo (wisely) tried to break through the Ikokus of Owerri, Diette-Spiffs of Rivers division, and the Esuenes of Calabar. That was the game.

Today, the issue is miseducation, misinformation, and miscommunication.

You rightly said that "a lie told frequently unassailed assumes truism"
Unfortunately, very few eastern minority know that situation today. Many people didn't know the many of the points you made. Others didn't even know that poor Ijaw, Ogoni, Igbo, and Efik communities depended on the goverment at Enugu for almost everything. Even Adaka Boro benefitted from a strong eastern education, and majority Igbos students even elected him student union president at UNN.
Who would have thought

Those who claimed to be “niger deltans” are imbecilic dimwits that have allowed strangers to give them identity as jokers, informed them who they were not and fed them with inferior mentality. It has become so fundamentally bad that a hint about disintegration of Nigeria sends the inveterate liars and the people that consumed the lies into a motional spin.

I keep watching and keeping quiet, Nigeria doesn't want to learn, Nigeria is following sudan foot to foot, in sudan they had a muslim north and a secular south, just as we have in Nigeria, in sudan d north was trying to islamise there country just as we have in Nigeria,in sudan d capital was once n d south, but one day it was moved up north, in sudan the oil was located in d south but the north went and built refinery in d north, just as we have in Nigeria(kaduna), in sudan they fought d 1st civil war for 7years, then d south was conquered then 40years later another one erupted, that was when Foreign powers had to step in and held a referendum in d south if they shud secceed and they gote 99.9percent vote, when the country divided there was mass protest in the north, while there was jubilation in d south. That's y we in the eastern region re begging the north don't repeat a 1966 we won't go to war witout weapons dz time, 2015 is not 1966 things have changed, the world has advanced more tribes have joined d cause, if we can't leave in peace then we wud leave in pieces, in sudan to show u how much d south had hated d north d north had d sea access, but d south said instead of d oil to be exported 2ru the north coast, they built a pipeline tru uganda, but in Nigeria d opposite is d case, d oil is in d south, d sea access is in the south. NORTHERNERS u ppl have everything to loose in Nigeria's breakup, get wise. Go and look at d economy of north sudan as at now u wud know that u ppl re playing with ur destiny, never bite d finger dat feeds u.
Yoruba's Nigeria wud break one day I can tell u ppl dat as at now and forever d north can NEVER let go of u, by d time u ppl wud have known what u did to urself it wud have been too late.