Ariani:
INDIGENOUS People of Biafra, IPOB and its twin organisation in the struggle, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have been at the forefront of the agitation for an independent state of Biafra in recent times. They have as a result come up with a proposed map of Biafra territory wherein Anioma land of Delta State is included.
But Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who hails from Owa- Oyibu in Ika North-East council area within Anioma land, disowned the purported map, insisting that no part of the state was in Biafra territory ab-initio.
“We have criticized Biafran agitation. Anioma land, as it is, from here we are part of old Bendel State, we are part of the Mid-west State, we have not been part of the South-East, so obviously, we cannot be said to be part of them.
“We may speak a similar language but we are not part of the South-East. We were part of the Mid-west which was later Bendel State. We are now Delta State and we are Deltans,” Okowa told journalists in Asaba.
Buttressing the governor’s point, Ogbueshi Paul Oliko of Umuagu quarters of Asaba told Saturday Sun that Biafran agitators who are claiming that their territory extends to Anioma land were misinformed by their leaders.
Oliko whose father was killed during the civil war, explained that during the war “what was declared as Biafra was the current South-East region. And when the war got to a particular level, our area here from Asaba to Benin to Ore was declared as Republic of Benin (ROB), we were young men at that time. There was no time Anioma was part of Biafra.
“There were two republics that were declared, Ojukwu was in charge of Biafra and when they declared ROB, it was Col. Nwawor who was the head with Benin City as headquarter. All Anioma including Warri were all involved at that time before the federal troops drove them away from Ore, Benin, Warri and pushed them to Asaba. We had the Asaba massacre before they ran across to the original Biafra.”
Oliko while applauding Governor Okowa for dissociating Anioma land from Biafra however, noted that the governor should have done more to prohibit pro-Biafra demonstration in Asaba, which has been a hotbed for the protesters in recent times, just as the governors of Rivers, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom did for the cities of Port Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo.
According to Oliko, “I think it is the weakness of our government that is making them to be using here for demonstrations. Our government is trying to play safe and it does not help anybody. Our governor was not bold enough to ban such demonstrations.
“The governors of Rivers, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom have made pronouncements prohibiting such protests. There are no more demonstrations in Port Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo because the governors are no longer tolerating the agitators.
“The towns may be in their (Biafra) map when they were still a small community, now they are all enlightened. Before, Effiong used to be Ojukwu’s deputy but the people of Calabar where Effiong came from dissociated themselves from the agitation.

Ariani:
Funny enough, the writer of that article Paul Osuyi, is an Edo. What exactly is Edo's interest in Anioma?

Whatever Dr Okowa said about Anioma should not be deemed as binding. He is the Gov of the entire Delta State. Therefore, whatever he said or suggested that Aniomas do not belong to the SE but are Deltans should be seen as a reasonable response or comment by someone elected to govern a state which includes other people besides Anioma people. And who is interested in his re-election in 2019. His statements therefore cannot be the position of the Anioma people.-Osita Mordi an Anioma writer

Ariani:
Funny enough, the writer of that article Paul Osuyi, is an Edo. What exactly is Edo's interest in Anioma?

Ariani:
INDIGENOUS People of Biafra, IPOB and its twin organisation in the struggle, Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have been at the forefront of the agitation for an independent state of Biafra in recent times. They have as a result come up with a proposed map of Biafra territory wherein Anioma land of Delta State is included.
But Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who hails from Owa- Oyibu in Ika North-East council area within Anioma land, disowned the purported map, insisting that no part of the state was in Biafra territory ab-initio.
“We have criticized Biafran agitation. Anioma land, as it is, from here we are part of old Bendel State, we are part of the Mid-west State, we have not been part of the South-East, so obviously, we cannot be said to be part of them.
“We may speak a similar language but we are not part of the South-East. We were part of the Mid-west which was later Bendel State. We are now Delta State and we are Deltans,” Okowa told journalists in Asaba.
Buttressing the governor’s point, Ogbueshi Paul Oliko of Umuagu quarters of Asaba told Saturday Sun that Biafran agitators who are claiming that their territory extends to Anioma land were misinformed by their leaders.
Oliko whose father was killed during the civil war, explained that during the war “what was declared as Biafra was the current South-East region. And when the war got to a particular level, our area here from Asaba to Benin to Ore was declared as Republic of Benin (ROB), we were young men at that time. There was no time Anioma was part of Biafra.
“There were two republics that were declared, Ojukwu was in charge of Biafra and when they declared ROB, it was Col. Nwawor who was the head with Benin City as headquarter. All Anioma including Warri were all involved at that time before the federal troops drove them away from Ore, Benin, Warri and pushed them to Asaba. We had the Asaba massacre before they ran across to the original Biafra.”
Oliko while applauding Governor Okowa for dissociating Anioma land from Biafra however, noted that the governor should have done more to prohibit pro-Biafra demonstration in Asaba, which has been a hotbed for the protesters in recent times, just as the governors of Rivers, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom did for the cities of Port Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo.
According to Oliko, “I think it is the weakness of our government that is making them to be using here for demonstrations. Our government is trying to play safe and it does not help anybody. Our governor was not bold enough to ban such demonstrations.
“The governors of Rivers, Cross River and Akwa-Ibom have made pronouncements prohibiting such protests. There are no more demonstrations in Port Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo because the governors are no longer tolerating the agitators.
“The towns may be in their (Biafra) map when they were still a small community, now they are all enlightened. Before, Effiong used to be Ojukwu’s deputy but the people of Calabar where Effiong came from dissociated themselves from the agitation.

Ariani:
we ran independent na­tionhood, they did not meet us as Igbo nation, they met us as different groups of Anioma Kingdoms running their own independent affairs and dealing with their neighbors both culturally and in trade and commerce as they deemed fit. So you cannot wake today now that you are creating Biafra and incorporating Anioma into it, that is not correct.
“During the war, there were families that got caught up, one brother wearing Nigerian army uniform, another brother wearing Biafran army uniform and they all met in the war front. This happened, unfortunately, mostly to Anioma people. So you could say that there has never been that unanimity of opinion about our identity but a number of people having studied what is in our best political interest have come to the realisation that our interests are best protected as Anioma nation and not another definition that anybody may seek to impose on us. We are Anioma people and we will relate with any other ethnic group in the way that we consider it of interest to us as Anioma people whether it is the South-East, or South-West or the North.” ple having studied what is in our best political interest have
Besides, a socio-cultural group for Anioma sons and daughters at home and in the diaspora, Ndi Anioma of Nigeria warned pro-Biafra agitators to desist from including Anioma in their territory.
Ndi Anioma of Nigeria, in a statement jointly signed on behalf of Anioma nation by Lauretta Onochie, Emeka Esogbue, Gloria Adagbon, Emmanuel Nwaokolo, Smart Ajaja, Frank Ofili, Benson Ozour, Harris Pen Ogbolu, Lawrence Egwali, Gregory Ogbolu, Ifeanyi Onwuli and Fidelis Chimokwu, noted that Biafra died permanently in 1970.
“Like most observers who followed the nature of Biafra in 1967, Ndi Anioma is of the view that Biafra died permanently in 1970 with the surrender speech made by Philip Effiong in which he emphatically stated: ‘Biafra ceases to exist’, following Col. Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu’s escape to Ivory Coast.
“In spite of this circumstance, a few resentful people of South-East origin are attempting to exploit a non-existent opportunity to make the present democratic dispensation ungovernable.
“But for posterity, Ndi-Anioma must make its position clear thus: Anioma has never been part of Biafra in history or administration. For record purposes, Anioma was first situated in the Western Region, then Midwestern Region, Bendel State, and now Delta State in the South-South. We cannot for any reason afford to be forcefully strong-armed into any region, outside the region within the South-South geographical zone.
“Henceforward, the representation of Anioma in different maps of Biafra does not and cannot amount to Anioma being part of Biafra. That can only be in the figment of the imagination of desperate irredentist adventurers who creatively made such maps to satisfy their thirst for empire-building. They may make Anioma to exist in their maps, but the world must note that it does not have our consent as we reject that tag vehemently.
“Nnamdi Kanu is not familiar with Anioma region and we cannot remember any contribution he has rendered towards the growth and development of our region. We cannot also remember him attending a mere social function of Anioma people to warrant our people to die for him.
“Frequent announcement that Anioma is part of Biafra on Radio Biafra is far from being a favour because we are not prepared to be drawn into any situation that may threaten the territorial integrity of Nigeria, nor to prosecute any war. Anioma is Anioma, not Biafra,” Ndi Anioma stated.
Besides this stand, is the position of the traditional ruler of Asaba, Asagba (Prof.) Chike Edozien who insists that the unity of Nigeria is no longer negotiable after the fratricidal war that claimed several lives including Asaba na­tives.
“What is the greatness of Asaba? The greatness of Asaba is that it the beginning, the centre of a great country that houses more than one-third of black people in the world. So if you divide Nigeria, Asaba will become the centre of part of that great country, you have diminished Asaba, I don’t want Asaba to be diminished.
“The only issue is that in building this country, like that of Europe, how were the countries in Europe built, one great people are able to conquer the others and imposed their culture on them, and then they become a country.
“That was then, today we are trying to put together more than 200 ethnic groups to become one country, it is not easy, it cannot just happen over night but it does not have to take 60 years. You can shorten the period, but you need the desire to have a great country Nigeria set up the mechanism to study the issues and how to overcome so that everybody has a sense of belonging and there will be justice. As long as there is injustice, there will be agitation for people to get away.
“Nigeria, to the rest of the world is still a collection of 200 tribes, we want Nigeria to become a nation, the president should do something about it. We should try to turn from being 200 or more tribes living together to become a nation. It is not simply thing that one man can do, one military man cannot do it by military fiat, it needs investigation, it needs financial support,” the monarch said.
Meanwhile, in sympathy with his brothers, former Secretary General of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) Frank Kokori who hails from Delta central came hard on pro-Biafran groups, saying that they were trivializing a rather serious matter by including areas in the South-South as part of Biafra territory.
Kokori, said that MASSOB and other pro-Biafran agitators were jokers trying to exploit the oil-rich Niger Delta, explaining that during the “civil war, there was no South-South. There were the Eastern region, Midwest region and Western region. The Midwest region comprised Bendel people. The Eastern region extended to Cross River, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom of today but that was a long time ago.
“So, we in Delta State have never been part of Biafra. Anything that is Biafran today is purely in the South-East which does not include Rivers, Bayelsa, Cross River and Akwa Ibom

http://www.sunnewsonline.ng/stop-dragging-us-into-biafra-anioma-people-of-delta-tell-agitators/

Ariani:
Why does everybody think they are experts in telling us who is Igbo and who isn't.

Why won't the Bini man and Urhobo guy, face their front?

Ariani:
Funny enough, the writer of that article Paul Osuyi, is an Edo. What exactly is Edo's interest in Anioma?

Naija9090:
Yoruba propaganda, deceptive, divisive machine at work.Yoruba, we need you here now... https://www.nairaland.com/2985450/fulani-herdsmen-attack-polytechnic-ado-ekiti

tuale4u:


Paul Osuyi is not Edo. It is Anioma. Names like Uwadia are also Anioma name. Ogbemudia is Abioma name. What you failed to understand is dat Anima is also Edoid.

The problen with u IPOB tauts is that u guys have half baked knowledge of tins.

There are alot of Bini sounding names in Kwale, ndokwa, Agbor, etc.

walemoney007:
is the governor of delta state also an edo man