• ‘Release of Nnamdi Kanu something that has to be done’

Ned Nwoko is the senator representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly. In this interview monitored on Channels Television, he speaks on his push for the creation of Anioma State and other issues. FELIX NWANERI reports

You are in the vanguard for the creation of Anioma State; what is the motivation behind this?

Well, almost just over a year ago, I had a meeting with President Bola Tinubu where we discussed about the problems of the South-East, the insecurity in the zone and what do we do to address it? And he knows the problems and also has an idea.

The whole idea is that there should be some level of equity extended to the Igbos of South-East by having an additional state. It wasn’t going to be an easy task, you know, to create one, but it is doable. And I’m happy that we have come this far.

The point is this; even at that time, it was understood that the problems of the South-East, the agitations of the youths, the killings there, referring to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network groups and the rest of them. These are young people who have come up to say that they are fighting for freedom because they are marginalised and one of the areas that they’ve all spoken about and against is the fact that the South-East is the only zo

ne in Nigeria that has five states. Why is that? Was it done intentionally to undermine them? Of course, yes. And from engaging those youths it became so obvious that if a step is taken to create one state, just one state to bring it at par with the other five zones apart from the North-West, there will be peace in the zone. You know that they are clamouring for different things, the release of Nnamdi Kanu inclusive and we know that that it is something that has to be done.

Why do you think so?

He has been in custody for some time now, and I believe that he has been held unjustly. Many also feel that way. There has also been delay in the judicial process, when it comes to his prosecution.

If you want to get him tried and convicted, get on with it. This is a guy who has been held unjustly for so many months. I’m not talking about this government. I’m talking about the previous government under President Muhammadu Buhari.

Some are saying that there should be a political solution to Nnamdi Kanu’s issue, while others believe that he should have his day in court. What do you make of these positions?

But as you know, there were some pronouncements by the courts which have not been respected. So, his incarceration is the main reason for the crisis in the SouthEast.

But the crisis in the South-Eat started before he was even arrested…

The problem in the SouthEast is very different from what is happening in the North-East or North-West. The problem in South-East has to do with the perceived injustice by successive governments. So, what needs to be done is why I’m here today, talking about the creation of additional state for the zone to take up the number to six states and release of Nnamdi Kanu.

Anioma is historically an Igbo enclave and there’s no doubt about that… and we have always identified ourselves as Igbos

By time you do this two things; I am almost certain that peace will return to the South-East I have spoken to so many youths in the South-East and they assured me that they are prepared to be engaged by the leadership. The youths don’t want to die; they want to go back to school, they want to go back to their jobs but all they want is some level of respect and acknowledgement by the nation and by the government of Nigeria.

Are there Igbos outside of the five states of the SouthEast of Nigeria today? I’m surprised that you’re asking this question but let me say this. When we had Western Nigeria, I’m sure you heard of some people being described as western Igbos. Subsequently, we had midwest Igbos when Midwest Region was created by a referendum.

Then the name changed to Bendel and we were called Bendel Igbos. And of course Delta came up from Edo State and now we are called the Delta Igbos. That is our people; the nine local government areas. That’s Delta North; the senatorial district which I represent and we are completely Igbos.

Of course, there are arguments about some areas, where some people have come from Igala or come from Benin, but the fact is that according to Delta State gazetted laws, there are only five ethnic groups in Delta – the Urhobos, the Igbos, the Ijaws, the Itsekiris and the Isokos. There was no mention of Benin or the Yorubas.

Is the proposed Anioma State going to be comprised solely of the nine local government areas of Delta North?

Initially, my bill was c e n t e r e d around the nine local government areas of Delta North. However, a lot has happened since then but if you look at the explanatory note to my bill, it talks about Anioma becoming the sixth state of the South-East and the 37th state of the country.

Do people from the five states of the South-East see you as Igbo?

Of course, yes. The Igbo language like every other language has dialects but the fact remains that we are all Igbos. Anioma is historically an Igbo enclave and there’s no doubt about that. From our names to our language, our culture, our tradition, our food, everything is Igbo and we have always identified ourselves as Igbos.

Of course, there were two reasons why for almost like a century we were kind of confined to Western Nigeria and why some people from my area seem to have gotten to the point where they were not sure whether they were Igbos or not. But majority of us understand who we are and understand where we’ve come from. Let me explain what I mean.

During the civil war, we had the Asaba massacre, and after the Asaba massacre and the rest of the killings within our area, we were told as kids that if you see Nigerian soldiers, you must not admit that you are Igbo. You must tell them that you’re from Benin or that you are Yoruba. These are the kind of things that we had to do to survive the ethnic cleansing that happened at that time.

Of course, there was also this issue of the Benin Empire. You know that there was a Benin Empire which at its height, extended its tentacles to our area and which made some people began to think that they were Binis but we are not Binis. We are Igbos and there’s nothing Benin about us.

But the Ukwuani people are opposed to the creation of Anioma State…

Let me say this straight away. I don’t know any Anioma person, man or woman, who is opposed to the creation of Anioma State. Some of them say they don’t want to be part of SouthEast because they are not Igbos but they are just few.

Out of the nine local government areas of Delta North; how many of them are Igbo speaking?

All of them are Igbo speaking. We all speak Igbo. The Ukwuani people speak Igbo; the Ikas people also speak Igbo. They call it Ika Igbo. There is no Anioma son or daughter without an Igbo name.

Is there a general consensus of all the nine local government areas to create Anioma State?

Of course, yes. This has been a longstanding agitation as you know. It didn’t start with me. It started with the second Senate president of the Federal Nigeria, Sir Dennis Osadebey, over 70 years ago.

How do you defend creation of new states at a time people are complaining that we have an overloaded government?

We’ve gone beyond that. You know, Delta North is rich economically. Out of the nine local government areas, six are oil and gas producing areas.

Are you saying that Anioma can feed itself?

Of course yes. I’ve just told you that we have huge deposits of oil and gas. Ndokwa nation has the largest gas deposit in Africa. Then we have agricultural land. You also know that Delta North is the home of Nollywood and we have most of the big businesses in Nigeria, spanning across the media and the banking sectors. So, we are more than more than self-sustaining.

Are Delta people happy with this plan?

We’ve gone beyond that because at the retreat in Lagos, the consensus between the Senate and House of Representatives committees on constitution review is that there should be one state for the South-East to make it six, and after that, there will be one state for five of the zones to bring them at par with the North-West.

At some point, the states we have couldn’t cater for themselves. They couldn’t pay salaries and we’re going to be creating more states. How would you convince the average Nigerian that creation of more states is really necessary?

Are you aware that in Delta State, for example, we get the largest allocation every month from FAAC and this this comes from oil and gas resources.

Delta North has almost 40 per cent of that allocation and that 40 per cent is more than what you have, maybe, in Ebonyi, Enugu or Zanfara states. So, we are much more ready than most current states. We have the resources.

Will Anioma meet the criteria as stipulated by the constitution because there will be a referendum in all of the areas where this state creation proposition is coming from?

Of course, yes. The referendum will come in the next few weeks or months; almost certainly before the end of the year. We’ve gotten the guidelines and for this particular creation of Anioma State, the referendum will not be limited to just the nine local government areas of Delta North, it will extend to all the five south states because we are trying to take the slot that belongs to South-East.

Why are you so passionate about this?

I am passionate about it because it’s an agitation that has been there for over 70 years and started by our forefathers. If it doesn’t happen, well, it is life you know at least we would have tried our best but who would have thought that we would have gotten to where we are now. It’s something that our forefathers fought for.

They traveled and traversed across the country, trying to lobby, trying to ask others to support them. But now, we’re doing it from within the National Assembly through a bill as I said, and there is really nothing that will stop it.

In all of this, what gives you the optimism that this is going to be successful?

I am an optimist generally and there’s really nothing that I’ve put my mind to, that I’ve not achieved. I remember many years ago, I told people that I wanted to build a sports university and they asked: Why a sports university? I said there’s need for a sports university. Many people didn’t believe it will happen but now we are in our third year running.

I believe that he has been held unjustly. Many also feel that way. There has also been delay in the judicial process, when it comes to his prosecution

Also, many years ago I said I wanted to go to Antarctica, people said why do you want to go to Antarctica, nobody goes there but I did just to prove a point.

And of course, when I started to work on the Paris club refunds, people said it’s not possible to take the British government, American government or the French to court. I said it is doable and I did.

Speaking procedurally, creation of a new state is almost impossible. Don’t you think so?

No, it is not. What is impossible about it? I remember when I discussed it with the President as I said before, he assured me before I left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he will support it as long as we at the National Assembly are able to do our work and our work is almost done. By time we get to the third reading and then the referendum, the President will take it from there.

A referendum is an expensive task. It’s like an election and it will be conducted in Delta State and the five states of the South-East. Do you think that will happen?

Of course, it will happen. It’s a process.

Do you see the state Houses of Assembly buying into this?

That is the least of the problems because at the right time, Mr. President will call the governors and tell them to append it.

The last time new states were created was over 27 years ago and that was during the military era. And if you look at the sections of the constitution on states creation, local governments and boundary adjustment, it is extremely difficult to be able to add to what we have…

What the constitution has done is to provide for steps to be taken, provide for things to be done and you just have to follow them. President Tinubu is very strategic and he has done wonderful things and I know he will still do many wonderful things.

But the most important thing that he would have done for us; the Aniomas and the Igbos, generally, is to give them that one state, something that as you said rightly, no other civilian administration has done.

So, he will do it because he understands that there must be peace in South-East. Mr. President loves the Igbos, he loves the South-East. He knows that this has to be done to bring peace. He wants peace across Nigeria and he knows that that is one thing that is needed to bring peace and justice to the Igbos.

There are those who will argue that there is no link between the Anioma people and the South-East as the area is in the South-South. What so say to such people?

I just told you that the SouthSouth is just a recent creation. I just told you how we were described as Western Igbos, Midwestern Igbos and now Delta Igbos. And as I told you, we all have Igbo names. We all have Igbo culture.

My Igbo name is Chinedu but people call me Ned. And was there any time there was a war of conquest by Igbos across the Niger to conquer us and compel us to bear Igbo names?

Not at all! What we have are exactly what you have in the South-East; the history the same. Our market days are the same four market days and that is exactly what you have in the South-East.

When an Ndokwa speaks, I understand and he also understands me. We understand each other. I just told you there are different dialects. London, for example, has different dialects from east of London to west of London to south of London.

They all have different dialects but they all speak English. So, Anioma will be creates as a state in the South-East and that will bring peace to the zone because some of my people are worried about the unrest in South-East and I’m assuring them that there will be peace in the South-East once Anioma State is created as the choice of the Igbos.

Now what has happened is that the National Assembly committee has put together a committee to decide on which state to choose from. There are about seven states proposals from the South-East and we are one of those states because at the public hearing in Enugu, we also presented our case. So, I’m almost certain that we will be chosen.