We Are Not Against the Proposed Anioma State, Majority Only Want it in South-South ~~Nnamdi Ofonye, National President, Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide AYF-W

We Are Not Against the Proposed Anioma State, Majority Only Want it in South-South

~~Nnamdi Ofonye, National President, Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide AYF-W

Comrade Nnamdi Ofonye hails from Ezi in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. The National President of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide, in this interview, opens up to Anioma Media Influencer, *PEN MASTER (EMEKA ESOGBUE)* on issues of Anioma He speaks about the prospects and potentials of the Anioma youths and the challenges faced by them, the proposed Anioma State and why many are opposed to the Southeast Region and many more. Excerpts:   

*Pen Master: Comrade, it’s indeed my pleasure to have you. Welcome to this interview session. Well, our teeming readers will like to know you*

Ofonye: Good morning, Pen Master, and thank you for this opportunity. I am Comrade Nnamdi Okwufulueze Ofonye. I am from Ezi in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. I am the National President of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide. 

*Pen Master: Comrade Nnamdi Ofonye, I understand that you have an upcoming Youth Conference. Now, as the National President of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide, what can you particularly tell us about this summit?*

Ofonye: Well, the Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide has fixed September 13, 2025 for its maiden Anioma edition of the Anioma Youth Summit. It is a summit we have waited for long. It is a capacity-building summit. We intend to bring guest speakers from Anioma to speak to our youths on various areas that will impact knowledge to them. The theme of this summit is “Awakening the Consciousness of Anioma Youths Towards Nation-Building.” You know, our youths have not actually had anything like this. It is a case of our youths being used only during elections for rigging, thuggery and the rest of them but we are looking at something different for our youths to contribute meaningfully to national development to see themselves as critical stakeholders in the peace and stability of not just Anioma but in Delta State and Nigeria who can always take up leadership positions. It will take their minds away from rigging and thuggery. We need to get ourselves to realize who are. We want to take this opportunity to call on our Anioma leaders to support this planned summit with financial support to enable us have this summit. Other ethnic groups have had this summit. It will be disappointing at the end of the day if our leaders fail to lend their support to this summit because of partisanship.  

*Pen Master: So, are you also a politician?*

Ofonye: Yes, …I am a full-fledged politician. I have been in politics all along. I am a member of the All Progressives Congress. I am a founding leader of this great party and when you put it side by side with my leadership of the Anioma Youth Forum, it is in our constitution that every member of the forum should be an active member of any political party of his choice because over time, we developed this mentality that when you lead a youth group, you cannot belong to any political party. That was designed to sway us from leadership. 

*Pen Master: What is the benefit of partisanship to Anioma Youth Forum? Can you share it with us please?*

Ofonye: How can we achieve the rise to become leaders in our society if we do not belong to any political party? It is constitutional for Anioma Youth Forum members not only to belong to a political party but to be active members and leaders of political parties of their choice. That is why when we meet, we don’t discuss parties, we only discuss Anioma and its development. We discuss governance and government but we don’t discuss political parties. Yes, I am member of a political party and even aspiring to a political office as far as Aniocha North Local Government Area is concerned. We want to encourage every youth to come out of their shell to become politically active by joining any political party of their choice and push to rise through the ranks because if you don’t belong to any political party, there is no way you can access political power. This is what we need as youths to rewrite and correct the failures of most political leaders in the past and present. This is what makes our Anioma Youth Forum different. If the governors, presidents, senators, and House of Representatives belong to political parties, why won’t an ethnic youth leader belong to a political party? But the good thing is that this does not change anything because the Anioma Youth Forum is a disciplined organization. We know what we do, we know who we are and we know the idea behind this Forum so we align ourselves hundred percent to the dictates of our constitution. 

*Pen Master: Candidly speaking, are you all politicians?*

Ofonye: Yes, we are all politicians. We have the Labour Party; we have the PDP; we now have the new ADC as members. Even in our executive line up, we are all members of different political parties but because of the way the organization is structured, we do our things freely without any partisan division among us. So, I am a member of a political party so, are other members of the Forum.  

*Pen Master: Anyway, you have described yourself as a politician, a constitutional requirement of your membership. You have also argued that partisanship is the right step to rising to achieve leadership prowess in any society. Now, doesn’t this make your organization a group of aspiring political youths who strive for offices?*

Ofonye: (Surprised) Pen Master, there is no need to run away from the obvious. Every human being is a political animal by nature. In Anioma Youth Forum, the idea is for members to use the forum to drive themselves to positions of authority in the country where they can impact on the society. You will agree with me that since the inception of this Forum, we have remained the strongest advocate group in Anioma as a whole. We have risen above partisanship, culture and sentiments to state the obvious at any situation and this does not reflect partisanship. As a member, you have a right to choose your political party. For instance, I belong to the All Progressive Party. I said this earlier. Some other members belong to the People’s Democratic Party. Until the defection of some members of the People’s Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress APC, our National Secretary, was a staunch member of the People’s Democratic Party. We have the ADC members in our executive positions. We also have Labour Party members. All political parties are well represented. We are youths who must show some of all these political leaders how to work together despite partisan differences. We don’t allow our partisanship to affect our coloration and activities. We have done the right thing and have taken steps to do the right things. We are not running away from that notion. Yes, we are all politicians. The group is a socio political group.  Anioma Youth Forum is a socio-political group. That is what we are. 

*Pen Master: Okay, tell us about your community*

Ofonye: Yes, as I said earlier, I am from Ezi in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. Ezi is an agrarian community. It is a peaceful community. There is nowhere you will read of Ezi being an aggressive or hostile community. We have conducted ourselves in line with the encouragement of peace and mutual respect for humanity. We love and welcome people. We are rich in culture. We are traditionalists. We are great farmers because when you go to Ezi, you don’t look for what to eat because our land is fertile and we take advantage of it. The only thing is that our people are suffering from government negligence. 

*Pen Master: Alright, thank you, Ofonye, but how organized are the youths of this Ezi community considering that you are the leader of Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide?*

Ofonye: Yes, when I said we are youth-loving people, it tells you that the youths are well-coordinated. If they are not conducted, you should have a hostile community as seen in some other communities. Our youths are well-conducted. We have a national youth body that coordinates the activities of youths just as we also have the home branch. Every youth of the community falls within these two organs, the national body and the home branch. With this, all our activities are well conducted and coordinated. When you say a people are industrious, peaceful, and hardworking, it tells you about everybody, the men, the women, and the youths. Ezi people are industrious, men, women, and youths. They are accommodating. 

*Pen Master: Do they suffer…?*

Ofonye: …that is what I can say about the Ezi youths, but like every other Nigerians, the youths suffer neglect from the government. This is where we need the government to look into. Ezi youths need the intervention of the government to empower them to put up basic amenities to enable them to pursue their individual capabilities on what they can do to harness their potential. I am calling on the government to intensify efforts in empowering the youths across the country because by doing so, Ezi youths will also benefit from it. 

*Pen Master: What is the Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide view of state creation in the country?*

Ofonye: The Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide is totally in support of the agitation for the creation of Anioma State. Anioma State creation is one major stand that all Anioma sons and daughters are unanimous in support of. I have not seen anybody who is against the creation of Anioma State. The only area that has caused some kind of division is the geographical location between the South-South and Southeast. Your simple question is Anioma Youth Forum’s thought about the creation of the state. Anioma Youth Forum is totally in support of the agitation for the creation of Anioma. It is also very important to state here that even at the public hearing at Uyo, the Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide submitted its memorandum supporting the creation of Anioma State.    

*Pen Master: Comrade Ofonye, let us critically look at the proposed Anioma State. As many have observed, the mere mention of the Southeast Region as the future location of the people causes division among the people. Do you think it could have been different?*

Ofonye: Yes, to the majority of the Anioma people, the mention of the creation of Anioma State in the Southeast has caused a lot of disaffection, disagreement, and pushback from stakeholders of Anioma. The reason is simple and not far-fetched. In looking at the insecurity ravaging the Southeast, looking at some other vices that are majorly associated with the Southeast, these have created fears in the minds of many people. The people believe that the reason why Asaba majorly, and several other parts of Anioma have not been invaded by these UGM, unknown gunmen and IPOB extremists is because we are not in the Southeast but if Anioma is located in the Southeast, it is very, very undeniable that some of the good, the bad and the ugly, associated with the Southeast will envelop Anioma and this is the reason everybody or many people are against the creation of Anioma State in the Southeast. That is the reason why there are some purported insinuations that some of the stakeholders are against the creation of the state. 

*Pen Master: Can one really say they are against this longtime ambition of their people?*

Ofonye: In my understanding, I have never seen anybody who is against the creation of Anioma State. The only difference is that majority of the people do not want it created in the Southeast instead they prefer it remains in the South-South, using the River Niger as a common boundary which has naturally separated the people from the Southeast. The issue of being Igbos can not be the reason why we should be created in the Southeast. Even the Ijaws who are in faraway Yorubland in Ondo State know they are Ijaws. The same is applicable to the Yorubas in the North-Central of Kogi and Kwara States. They know that they are Yorubas but geographically in the Middlebelt. We, who are also Igbos, can also remain in the South-South because we know we are Igbos in the South-South          

*Pen Master: Away from the issue of state creation. Is your forum bothered about insecurity and bad roads in the Anioma region?*

Ofonye: Anioma Youth Forum has over time been bothered about the deplorable state across the major Anioma towns, especially Asaba, the state capital being the epicenter of the state. 

*Pen Master: Ofonye, let us know whether your organization has decried these issues of insecurity and state of roads as efforts from you. Do you feel concerned within you and remain silent?*

Ofonye: You will recall that sometime ago, when Asaba-Onitsha Road became very deplorable, it was this same organization that raised its voice, calling on the State Government to do something about it. It was this call that generated the debate. If you can also remember, some defenders of the government started attacking our forum, claiming that we were anti-government. They claimed that the road was a federal road. 

*Pen Master: Okay, thank you for raising your concern, but*…

Ofonye: Yes, we have been concerned about the state of roads and several others, including insecurity, ravaging our communities. If you talk about insecurity, our organization has been in the forefront, calling on the federal, state, and local government authorities to do more and make life more meaningful for our Anioma people. 

*Pen Master: You may consider this question strategic but it is necessary: Ofonye, does Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide as an apex organization follow up with the organizational activities of the youths of the various Anioma communities?*

Ofonye: Well, to this question, some of them are members of our forum. They participate in our activities, but wholistically, we have not really been able to record a breakthrough in the community youth organizations because the majority of the community-based youth groups are highly political. Our youths suffer from partisanship and political leaders in these various communities have succeeded in hijacking these groups so they lack the freedom to take decisions on their own or associate freely with other associations unless certain leaders give them the order to go ahead. Before now, the Anioma Youth Forum Worldwide erroneously seen by some as being an appendage of APC has not also helped matters despite the fact that this Forum has been run freely and outside partisanship and that there is no atom of partisanship in our activities. Overly, we have not actually been able to break into the community youth organizations across Anioma, but across the nine Local Government Areas of Anioma, we have a formidable structure on the ground. 

*Pen Master: Alright, it is good to see the reasons you have not been connected to the various community youth bodies of Anioma. Earlier, I was going to remind you that Ibusa Youth Council, the apex Ibusa youth body, had become stuck with the election of its new officers and now equally has a court case to that effect. I needed to know if there was any organizational consultation with you as an apex Anioma body*

Ofonye: The Anioma Youth Forum is not involved in the Ibusa Youth Council tussle, and we were never consulted. 

*Pen Master: …well, yes, but were you aware of this, and what is your take now?*

Ofonye: (Laughs) …personally, I am aware that there is a rough edge between the Ibusa youths, politicians and the traditional leaders but like I said earlier, communities’ youth bodies have become hijacked by leaders, politicians, traditional leaders and other powerful individuals in their various communities and this has impeded their freedom to associate with forums like our Anioma Youth Forum. 

*Pen Master: Okay, Ofonye, but not a few complain about the indiscriminate use of drugs and other crimes criminal perpetuations among the youths. Is your body concerned about this growing ugly situation? Tell us.*

Ofonye: The Anioma Youth Forum is doing so much in this regard, and this is one of the objectives of the upcoming September 13th, Youth Summit. We are making arrangements to bring in guest speakers to handle some of these issues such as drug abuse, active involvement of youths in crime, insecurity in Aniomaland, and other social vices. We are really concerned and seeing how to curb this menace by going into partnership with the relevant government agencies and organizations to see how to remedy this ugly situation. Anioma has remained a very peaceful and secure land until recently when the issue of insecurity pervaded our land. Anioma Youth Forum is very much concerned, and we are seeking partnership with the police, Nigerian Drug Law Agencies, and others to see how to curb this menace. 

*Pen Master: Comrade Nnamdi Ofonye, on a final note, what is your word for your fellow Anioma youths?*

Ofonye: My final word for Anioma youths is for them to identify who they are and also identify the potential in them. They should stop making themselves tools in the hands of politicians who, at the end of the day, abandon them.

*Pen Master: Comrade Nnamdi Ofonye, it was nice speaking with you*

Ofonye: Thank you very much, Pen Master.