Ohaneze

Ohaneze's Committee For Another State In The Southeast And The Legacy Of States In Nigeria

Nduka Uzukwu

There are these two news items that appeared a few days ago on the subject of States in Nigeria. One was from Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, a former adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari and the other was from Dr.Dozie Ikedife, the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo.

In the Vanguard of September 3, Yakasai said that the balkanisation of the North into states was the major factor that destroyed the region's economic base. He queried why a man from the now Zamfara State would demand a new state from the old Sokoto state when in fact the people of the two states have everything in common. Yakasai dismissed the current agitation for new states as lacking in merit.

Ikedife told newsmen that Ohaneze recently set up a committee on state creation led by him to gather and harmonise divergent views in the Southeast on the choice of an additional state for the zone (Daily Independent Newspaper, September 5). His committee would go for the Equalisation State to bring the Southeast at par with the other zones even though the Northwest zone has seven states.

Ikedife stated that his committee would look at the proposals from the various demands for states in the Southeast and eventually come up with one state that would be acceptable to all the Igbo.

The new leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo wants to engage full blast in the choice of the area where the Equalisation State shall be located. In Igbo land today few may be willing to obstruct the Ohaneze leadership from mediating in any event that may generate bad belle among the Igbo if not carefully followed. Since the birth of Ohaneze, the Igbo had always looked upon the organisation for direction at any cross-roads.

However, there is no iota of doubt that the new leadership of Ohaneze knows very well that the diversity of views on the choice of an additional state for the Southeast could not have been there in the first place but for the personal tussles between some politicians based in Igbo land and some of those based in Abuja. It also knows that the masses are supposed to be the beneficiaries of the states and not just the politicians. And finally, Ohaneze leadership knows that since this is a democracy hence every group of persons has an unbridled right to demand for a state, and that individuals even within the most favoured group may for some mundane reasons want to rock the popular demand, therefore, pursuance of consensus inclusive of the last person among the deserving group before it is conferred with a state status is utopian.

For the benefit of those not conversant with the past state creation exercises in the Southeast: the Southeast zone (the former East Central State) was once made up of Imo and Anambra states. Anambra was latter divided into Enugu and Anambra states when Imo was divided into Abia and Imo states. In 1996, Enugu state was divided into two and one part had the old Afikpo and Ohaozara Local Government areas from the old Imo state joined to it to form the fifth state, Ebonyi.

At the moment, the present Imo state has 27 LGA’s, Anambra 21, Enugu 17, Abia 17 and Ebonyi 13.

From the foregoing statistics and in tune with other natural factors such as population density, affinity or linkages between peoples, well defined boundaries, and above all, viability, the most favoured for the Equalisation State is unarguably a creation from the present Anambra and Imo states which together are holding 48 LGA’s. Credible sources also have it that when Ebonyi State was created, towing the same line, the late Sani Abacha was about to put stamp on paper for a sixth state for the Southeast on the Anambra - Imo axis but for some last minute lobbyists who hijacked it to another area. Thereafter, the need to have an even number of 36 states put the Southeast’s sixth state in limbo.

If the new leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo deems it absolutely necessary to revisit an issue on which its organisation had already taken a stand, we implore it to take the route of justice. We may have to recall that prominent Igbo leaders including the former vice-president of Nigeria, Alex Ekwueme, had earlier appeared and made submissions before the Ohaneze Committee on state creation. Their submissions including that of the former vice-president was for a sixth state derived from the present Anambra and Imo states. The then forum of elected Governors of the five Southeast states like the Ohaneze Committee on state creation prescribed a creation from the present Anambra and Imo States for the new state.

From the pool of 48 LGA’s in the present Imo and Anambra States a collection of 14 or so LGA’s was and is still demanding for Njaba State.

Then came the snag. At a point in 2006, a Senator and gubernatorial aspirant from Imo State was literally having no body to beat in the up-coming gubernatorial elections. And naturally, no heir would like to have his future kingdom divided. He then took all practical steps to forestall the division of the state. That act had the strong effect of reinvigorating other state agitation groups hitherto waiting in the wings all over Igboland. There were demands for Aba and Adada States. To realise Aba State the present Abia State’s 17 LGA’s must be reconstituted into 2 states namely: Abia with 8 LGA’s and Aba with 9 LGA’s. To realise Adada State, the present Enugu State’s 17 LGA’s must be reconstituted into 2 states namely: Adada with 7 LGA’s and Enugu with 10 LGA’s. There was demand for Anioma State for the Igbos across the Niger. There was the demand for Ekiti or Equity State to be realised by an unprecedented jumbling up of unspecified diverse groups from each of the five states of the Southeast. Analysts killed this demand on inception by describing it as impracticable, aside their seeing it as originated from just one person whose sole objective was cornering the headquarters of a state like that to his village.

Thus the singular act of this gubernatorial aspirant from Imo State precipitated the difficulty that latter surrounded the choice of the sixth state.

However, there are these salient points we deem fit to bring before the new leadership of Ohaneze: (i) Ohaneze may have to devote more time and energy to making the case for the Equalisation State before the rest of Nigeria, especially, before theYakasais. (ii) Perhaps, to maintain its neutrality, the new Ohaneze leadership may want to leave the various state agitation groups to present their cases before the National Assembly as they have been doing lately. (iii) Time is supposed to be the healer of wounds, therefore the snag and the subsequent artificial obstacles that then weighed against the popular wish of Ohaneze Ndigbo and the Southeast Governors Forum must have taken the back stage today.

Nigerians are of the belief that the state governments have done relatively better than any other level of government in bringing development and dividends of democracy to the people. To most Nigerians, the federal government is seen as a distant level of government. On the other level, the comparatively high level of corruption associated with the local government system has greatly diminished its relevance and has since rendered it an appendage of the executive arm of state governments in many states. The fact is that more and more Nigerians are now looking forward to the state governments for their development aspirations.

Perhaps, without creation of states all we could have been left with today as lively cities may be Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Portharcourt, Benin, and Ibadan.

Or do we need to remind the Alhaji Yakasais that the division of Nigeria into numerous states had gone a long way to water down the evil effects of ethnicity in the country and enhanced the nation’s unity?

Since the federal government is not seen by many to be fast discharging its expected obligations to the governed and the states are fast evolving as the discernible agents of relative development, demands for more states may take long to subside.