My wartime experience with Anioma -Rev. Fr. Dr Kunirum Osia

Rev. Fr. Dr. Kunirum Osia, an Anioma leader, Scholar, Adjunct Professor, Linguist, Administrator, Anthropologist, Rehabilitation Officer and Journalist was the Parish Priest of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, Ibusa during the Nigerian Civil War. In this interview with EMEKA ESOGBUE of Ndi Anioma, he relieves memory on how Asaba, Ibusa, Ogwashi-Uku, Isheagu and other major towns of Anioma were affected by the war. He also bares his mind on other problems troubling the region. These and more he shares in this interview.

Excerpts.         

Emeka Esogbue:  A number of people accord you with being an enigma of some sort; can you let us into the personality of Rev. Fr. Dr. Kunirum Osia?

Osia: An enigma? Not at all. I am a simple individual who is not given to too much talking unless it is necessary. By natural disposition, I am quiet but very observant and I internalize much of my encounters. If you describe me as brave that I might not contend at least in the context of the Nigeria-Biafra war as it affected our Anioma people.

Emeka Esogbue: As a prominent Anioma patriot and one of the most respected Anioma fighters, who really are the Anioma people?

Osia: This is an interesting question because it involves defining who the Anioma people are not just saying who they are. I can remember with minimal exactitude an article I wrote which was published in “The Anioma” newsletter in November 1990 titled “Defining Anioma”. I gave a geopolitical as well as a socio-cultural definition of Anioma. Geopolitically, Anioma people are Nigerians who inhabit areas west of the lower Niger River, in today’s constituted Delta State. From the perspectives of Nigeria’s geopolitical matrix, Anioma is squarely within the south-south zone. In today’s political dispensation, Anioma is designated as Delta North Senatorial District. To the east, Anioma is bounded by Anambra State; to the southeast by Imo and Rivers States; to the south by Bayelsa State; to the southwest by Isoko ethnic group; to the west, by Urhobo ethnic group; to the northwest by Edo State and to the north by Kogi State. There are very few Nigerian communities that are so contiguous to so many immediate neighbours as Anioma.

Socio-culturally, and in spite of these contiguities to so many states and ethnic groups,  Anioma is an ethnic group in any of the following: a group of people who claim a specific ancestry, tracing their own clans and lineage to various parts of Nigeria; a nation of people who are united by cultural homogeneity and value consensus about their universe of experience and who have the same traditions that distinguish them from others; a group of people who live in the same delimited physical geography, that is, having more or less the same environmental conditions to which they have adjusted their lives for millennia. It is a people who wish to uphold and elicit from other Nigerians deference and devotion to the claims of their culture. It is a people who are members of a linguistic group who do not need interpreters to relay their communications. To this powerful bond is added an occupational solidarity, the unity of a people engaged in joint enterprises of great pith and moment, for their wellbeing and for the extended wellbeing of their people. Not only is this relationship familial and affective in the socio-cultural context, in a philosophical context it is an affirmation of the self-determination of the people within the matrix of Nigerian state. Anioma is not a subset of another ethnic group.

Emeka Esogbue: Pundits allege that Anioma people are continually facing ethnic identity crisis in the country, as an authority in Anioma issues, what is the ethnic classification of the people of this region?

Osia: This question seems to be a reframing of the one you just asked me. Nonetheless I will give you an elaborate exposition on Anioma identity. It is really very unfortunate that history is replete with people being imposed an identity that does not belong to them. Because our people struggle daily against the triumvirate problems of poverty, ignorance and disease they are easily taken advantage of and it becomes easy to impose faulty identity on them. They are not equipped to fight back. Anioma people were variously and erroneously classified as “Igbo.” By intentional denigration and provocation, Igbo people publicly and privately call us “Hausa-Igbo” which we regard as utmost insult. From colonial times in particular Anioma people were classified as “Western Igbo.” As the equations of politics began to shift Anioma people were renamed “Midwest Igbo.” During the heat of the Nigeria-Biafra war we began to hear, listening to the Biafran radio, “Ika Igbo” used again and again to designate Anioma people and our people were baffled and indeed angered by such a designation coming from the Igbo. There are Ika people. We do not know who the “Ika Igbo” are. After the war Anioma people were called “Bendel Igbo.” Since 1991 with the creation of Delta State, Anioma people are now called ‘Delta Igbo’ by people who are either ignorant of our history or simply resort to stereotypical designation for political purposes. All these appellations are not just meaningless, nonsensical, pejorative but outrightly offensive and condescending. A people are defined by their culture, history and geography. More importantly, a people are defined by how they perceive themselves. In effect, a people are who they say they are. History notes that Anioma people comprise individuals of diverse origins, who over centuries and due to culture contact or cultural cross-pollination, have developed a unique culture quite distinct from those of their immediate surrounding neighbours.

Located at the crossroads of very diverse influences, Anioma has developed a syncretic culture rich in varied contributions. Before all the imposed designations, our people were ‘Enuani’, ‘Oluku mi,’ ‘Ika’ Ukwuani and ‘Ndosimili or Aboh.’ The modern “Anioma” derives its name from the four geopolitical and cultural quadrants of Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika and Oshimili. This coinage was made by no other than the founding father of “Anioma State Movement”, the late Chief Dennis Osadebay of blessed memory. This was how Chief Osadebay solved the seeming ethnic identity crisis that is the import of your question. He simply took the “A” in Aniocha, the “N” in Ndokwa, the “I” in Ika , the “O” in Oshimili, the “M” in Oshimili and the last “A” in Aniocha, Ndokwa and Ika to complete the acronym ANIOMA. What a genius Osadebay was! The parts have resulted in the whole. Since this creation we have been happy to be called Anioma. It is a unifying name and it creates a linkage of all the segments of our people into an organic whole. We now have an ethnic identity which must be guarded and defended. What is particularly offensive is that Igbo people are hesitant accepting us as Anioma, rather they would refer to us as Anioma Igbo as if we are a property belonging to them. You may ask me how do I know that we have formed an ethnic identity?

It is simple. Identity formation is gradual. It is neither intermittent nor sporadic. It is incremental in its gestation and manifestation. To some extent, groups provide people with their sense of individual identity, with an awareness of who they are and how they fit into the world around them.  Anioma people are defined not only by their history and geography, but also by their culture. A visible homogeneity of Anioma culture is cemented by linguistic ethos that markedly differs from those of its surrounding and immediate neighbours. Simply defined, culture is the sum total of a people’s way of life. Certainly, culture is not an easy concept, because so many institutions, rituals, and practices contribute to its shaping. Its ramifications are sweeping, subtle, and often unarticulated. Its effect upon us often lies below the threshold of words or even of consciousness. Serious effort must therefore be made if we, Anioma people, intend to appropriate our culture wholly, to go to its depths and to master its multiple possibilities. Cultures are freely elaborated. Many strands have woven the texture of today’s Anioma culture, namely, the Ekumeku wars, colonialism, Christianity, westernization and the Nigeria-Biafra war. These encounters have not diminished Anioma people’s culture of respect for elders, ancestors, mothers and holders of genuine traditional titles.

Ethnic identity exists because individuals include among their repertoire of social roles one or more culturally defined uniqueness. The conscious sense on the part of an individual that he/she belongs to a given collectivity is the basic building block of identity. Anioma does not seek to define its personality or identity simply as an antithesis of everything around it. However, one point must be made immutably clear to any questioner: no Anioma person wishes to be recast in a mould that is not Anioma. We must emphasize unequivocally, that only Anioma can provide us an essential part of our historical consciousness, and also an index to the universal psychic character of our identity. Only Anioma can communicate a sense of history to us. Granted that legend, folklore and history point to our diverse origin, over time our forbears were able to create a culture that is uniquely Anioma, hence no Aniocha person, Ndokwa person, Ika person nor Oshimili person, sees one another as strangers. Anioma people do not need to look elsewhere for inspiration and identity. Anioma is not and can never be an extension of another group. This is why for several decades its people have attempted to rid themselves of their psychic frustrations of marginality and neglect by clamouring for the creation of Anioma State. There is a strong sense of community and communality between and among our people. There is shared neglect by the powers that be. There is shared suffering. There is shared poverty. Who can forget the torture and torments experienced by our people during the Nigeria-Biafra war? Our people still suffer from the haunting memories of that war. During that war, our people experienced macabre brutality delivered with breathless vapidity. Who can forget the Asaba massacre? Who can forget the Isheagu massacre? We shall not forget. Our children shall not forget. Nigeria must not forget.

For decades Anioma people have been buffeted back and forth by people attempting to impose a persona on them. Some have even described Anioma people as being neither here nor there. Others do not even give them chance to define and describe who they are as a people. Anioma identity has been called into question by outsiders. We know exactly who we are. We know that identity is like gold. As in banking or economics, just as the gold bar stands behind a currency as a guarantee of its legal tender, not a counterfeit, so also is identity to an individual or a group. The analogy is only partial, of course, the price of gold may rise and fall, but we tend to pride ourselves on the stability of our identity.

Actually, it is amazing how much people are willing to pay for what would seem at first sight to be junk. Items of the past, unusual objects and rare things command bidding wars and high prices. It raises the question: what makes something worth the price? How do we determine its value? A short answer might be that value is determined by what people are willing to pay for something. A better answer might be that value is determined by what people are willing to sacrifice. Identity is a value for which people are willing to make sacrifices. Wars have been fought and are continuing to be fought to preserve the identity of a people. Anioma ethnic identity is a value highly priced and nonnegotiable because it defines who Anioma people are and what else they cannot be.

Anioma consciousness has blossomed beyond expectation, as exemplified by the formation of many groupings: Izu Anioma, Oganihu Anioma, Anioma Group, Anioma Foundation, Anioma Youth Assembly, Onu Anioma, Odu Oma, Ndi Anioma, Organization for the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC), Anioma Elders Forum and Anioma Associations in many cities in Nigeria and in the diaspora.

Because of all of these manifest self-consciousness of Anioma people, efforts at interpreting who they are using Igbocentric paradigm is not only disingenuous at best but at worst a transposition of an identity that does not reflect nor remotely resemble who they are. We have been viewed erroneously and ambiguously for too long through the prism of Igbocentrism. The concept of Igbocentrism, I would suggest, should be understood as an existential point of view that puts Igbo at the center of Igbo people’s cosmology. The central theme of Igbocentrism is the idea that people believed or assumed to be Igbo must acknowledge, understand and love their “Igboness” in order to understand and deal effectively with non-Igbo within the Nigerian context. It attempts to reframe many concepts into notions for people of Igbo descent. It is a conceptual tendency in approaching the world of human relations from the Igbo point of view. In short, it is an Igbo-centeredness of interpretation of such relations.

Different presuppositions inform these different tendencies. Because the majority of Anioma people speak dialects which sound like or are considered derivative of the Igbo language, it is assumed that they are “Igbo” regardless of the historic fact that Anioma comprises individuals from diverse origins. For example, there are many communities in Anioma that are called “Oluku mi”. The language that the “Oluku mi” people speak is a form of Yoruba spoken in and around Owo in Ondo State. This point was confirmed by Banji Aluko, a journalist, who visited Ugbodu, one of the Oluku mi-speaking villages in Anioma. Mr. Aluko published his findings in Sunday Tribune of 24 October 2010. He felt as though he was in a Yoruba enclave because he understood the language that the people of Ugbodu spoke, although the intonation was slightly different. You can read the full details of Mr. Aluko’s encounter in the book I launched in March 22, 2012. I have that encounter as appendix 2 in the book. Similarly the people of Ebu in Anioma speak Igala pure and simple and not anything sounding like Igbo.

While language is important in delimiting cultural fields, it is not necessarily permanent because people can and have been able to master more than one language. Language is just one of many indices of a culture. Language is not enough to define who a people are. There are people who speak the same language but have totally different identities. For example, because Americans speak English does not make them English; because Australians speak English does not make them English; because New Zealanders speak English does not make them English. Because various peoples of Latin America and South America: Mexico, Costo Rica, Cuba, Argentina et cetera speak Spanish does not make them Spaniards. Because Brazilians speak Portuguese does not make them Portuguese. None of the nationals of these countries will introduce themselves as “English” simply because they speak English nor as Spaniards because they speak Spanish nor as Portuguese just because they speak Portuguese. Even those of them who can easily trace their origin to England or Spain or Portugal, know that over time they have formed a new identity called “American”, “Australian,”  “New Zealander,”  “Mexican,” “Costo Rican,” “Cuban,” “Argentinean” or “Brazilian” as the case may be. Why must Anioma ethnic identity be viewed differently where the majority of Anioma people trace their origins to elsewhere in Nigeria other than to Igboland? How does one become an Igbo whose parents, grandparents and great grandparents et cetera were never Igbo? Is it by naturalization? Or is it by being appropriated? It appears to us Anioma people, that the Igbos have been maneuvering to do just the latter.

Our Anioma ethnic identity derives from our common set of symbols and cognition shared by our people: Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika and Oshimili share the same cultural space and delimited physical geography. They dress alike. They dance alike. They use the same musical instruments. They speak the same or similar languages. They show the same deference to their elders and women. They respect character, honesty and integrity. In short they have the same worldview. The Anioma not only exist, but are a Nigerian people in terms of their geographical location and ancestral pedigree; in terms of the criteria and categories that are applicable in defining other Nigerian groups, and in terms of their cultural forms and institutions which they have evolved for themselves and which, to a large extent, are comparable to those of other ethnic groups, however, with a specificity that is syncretic in its manifestations. Anioma people recognize a geographical contiguity, a clearly defined historicity and cultural commonality, that in their consciousness they easily define their collective identity. We are Anioma.

       Emeka Esogbue:  Are Anioma people marginalized in the affairs of the nation?

 Osia: Of course yes. Even until now. I can just smack out of my finger five categories of marginalization of Anioma. First, there is political marginalization: this is brought about by the non-creation of Anioma State. Thus, our people do not have the legitimacy or power to demand what is necessary for the area. The search for parity and equity which consumed the energy of Anioma State Movement vanguards has remained elusive. To this day not a single Anioma man nor woman has ever been elected or selected governor in the Nigerian federation since the end of the civil war.

I want to make this point clear, that it is important to note that in Nigeria, representativeness is measured ethnically rather than electorally, to borrow the phraseology of Professor Ali Mazrui. Ethnic arithmetic helps to reassure different groups whether or not they are truly part of the machinery and among beneficiaries of government largesse. Second, Economic marginalization is self-evident. There is no substantial income generating facility or factories in the Anioma areas, to the extent that Anioma sons and daughters have moved out of the area in search of greener pastures, thus denying Anioma of their God-givcn talents for development of their area. Third, cultural marginalization: this is self-evident. Anioma people are caught in the fad and fashion of “modernization” to the extent that they would rather converse in non-Anioma languages in a uniquely Anioma occasion than speak Anioma. One would hear some of them conversing, for example, in Yoruba or Hausa, to let everyone know that they were “omo eko’ or have lived in the north. They would also wear agbada or Hausa dress to an Anioma function. I have seen a few of our state representatives dress like Urhobos rather than put on our simple but unique two-piece Anioma regalia. This is inexcusable.

We are doing nothing to arrest our culture that is fast eroding in our presence. Take for example, the blowing of ‘akpele.’ This is one musical instrument that sets us apart from our immediate neighbours, indeed from the rest of Nigeria. There is nowhere in the world where ‘akpele’ is blown except in Anioma. There are very few Anioma men alive that can blow the ‘akpele.’ If the few remaining should die, there would be no others taught who could blow the ‘akpele.’ When I launched a book in March in Lagos, I gave a specific instruction that I did not want to hear any highlife music. The Anioma Group that assisted me went all the way to my village to get the only surviving young man in the whole area to come and blow the ‘akpele.’ Intermittently he would blow the ‘akpele’ and one could see people’s faces brighten up and one almost felt the presence of the ancestors coming to join the celebration. It was marvelous. It was majestic, especially when His Royal Majesty Efeizemor II, the Obi of Owa Kingdom was walking into the venue to preside over the launching, the young man started blowing the akpele to usher in His Royal Majesty. It was solemn. It was dignifying. It was Anioma. Anioma musicians were also in the hallway welcoming guests with measured cadence flowing out of their multifunctional instruments.

Fourth, psychological marginalization is internally and externally generated. Internally, our people seem to suffer from what I may call akam adina syndrome (i.e. non-involvement syndrome). The aggressiveness for which our forbears were known and dreaded does not seem to be manifested nowadays. Externally, the cause for which our people fought for decades does not get any support from our immediate neighbours nor from the wider Nigerian polity. I refer here specifically to the fight for the creation of Anioma State. It can be psychologically debilitating to be faced with failures no matter how often one tries. Fifth, there is educational marginalization, an aspect of which I alluded to earlier. Many of our elementary and secondary schools lack basic materials requisite for learning. There are no science laboratories and books in these schools. How do we train and develop our scientists of tomorrow without these invaluable necessities for learning? How will our children compete in this millennium? The schools are dilapidated to the extent that some of them provide habitation to goats and lizards at night and pupils at dawn. Teachers are reading out notes they copied from somewhere. In 1991 I did a study of some secondary schools in Anioma. I found that they lacked books to a point that I was so sad. In 1992 I and two Anioma sons in Washington got together and tried to make small contributions to a few schools. I flew to Lagos and set up a small committee headed by Mr. Nwokolo of UNIC insurance. We were able to obtain and ship 30,000 (thirty thousand) books to Mr. Nwokolo who shipped the books to Anioma. I instructed him to distribute the books equally to four secondary schools geopolitically: St. Michael’s Secondary School, Ogwashiuku, St. Patrick’s College, Asaba, Marymount Secondary School, Boji, Boji, Owa and Ndemili Grammar School, Ndemili. Few months later I went back to Anioma to see these books. I was glad and so were the principals of these schools.

Emeka Esogbue: In the early 60s, you depicted a “young Rev Father” with spiritual responsibilities towards Catholic adherents. Can you share this fine moment with us?

 Osia: Oh yes indeed. This may sound like memoir which I never liked. However, if talking about myself would in any way benefit Anioma, then I can pour out my soul. I was ordained in June 1966. In August of that year I was seconded to Warri diocese from my diocese of Benin to help the late Bishop Lucas Nwaezeapu of Warri diocese who had much less number of native priests than Benin. Bishop Nwaezeapu was from Ibusa, Anioma. Typically I carried out ministerial duties quite familiar to Catholics: saying Mass, conducting catechism classes, baptizing individuals and converts to Catholicism, conducting marriage ceremonies, anointing the sick, burying the dead et cetera. I also taught at the minor seminary established in Warri, located in Effurun. I taught English Language and Literature, Latin and music. I was quite good at playing the organ and singing. In the Major Seminary at Ibadan, I was the sole organist during the last year of my training. I could accompany the choir at Mass while it sang the Gregorian chant or classical music, like Handel’s Messiah. Once in a while I played football with Warri club and Christians seemed fascinated seeing a young priest playing football. At the Major Seminary at Ibadan, I used to play outside left because I had a lot of speed. So, I brought to Warri a few of these skills that I learned in the seminary. I was in Warri for ten months before being transferred back to my original diocese of Benin.

I left Warri on May 30, 1967. This was the same day Eastern Region seceded and declared itself the “Republic of Biafra.” I learnt about this while I was crossing the Sapele River on a ferry boat on my way to Agenebode having been transferred back to my home diocese of Benin as I said earlier. I heard from the radio a rather beautiful and melodious music at the end of which there was a statement that ‘a Republic of Biafra’ was born. I exclaimed, oh my God, trouble, trouble, trouble. Apparently what I heard was the Biafran anthem which sounded exactly like the tune of ‘Finlandia’. I recognized the tune of ‘Finlandia’ because I have played the tune when I was the organist in the Major Seminary at Ibadan. His Lordship Bishop Lucas Nwaezeapu of Warri diocese was away in America shortly before the outbreak of war between Biafra and Nigeria, so I could not now vouchsafe with certainty whether he was privy to or approved my transfer back to Benin diocese. It was the then Bishop Nwaezeapu’s Vicar General Right Reverend Fr. O’Driscoll who effected my transfer to Agenebode, with the following words, “Father, your services are needed in Benin diocese. You are to report at Agenebode parish and thanks for your services to Warri diocese. You can leave as soon as possible, God bless.” We do not ask questions. We simply obey. I packed my small belonging and left Warri a few days later.

Shortly after I arrived at Agenebode, I encountered a very serious problem that would test any skill that I might have. It was August 10, 1967, that is a day after the ‘Biafran Expeditionary Force ‘ overran the Midwest Region, seven girls were going home after their secondary school had closed for a break. The school was St. Monica’s Catholic Secondary School, Kabba. The girls rode in their school’s small bus driven by a Reverend Sister. These girls were from the then Northern Nigeria. Driving from Kabba to Okene, the journey was smooth and unmolested. However, when the girls reached the Midwestern boundary they were accosted by soldiers who came out of the bush and introduced themselves as Biafran soldiers.  The girls were searched and asked to introduce themselves. After interrogations, the girls were warned to go back because if they insisted on continuing they were certain to reach a point of no return. This warning or advice was unheeded. The girls chose to continue on their journey. When they reached Agenebode, the Biafran soldiers stationed there would not allow them to disembark and cross the River Niger to Idah, the area from where most of the girls came.

It was about 5:30 PM when I was just coming out of the church after benediction and was walking to the Reverend Father’s residence, I saw a small bus drove into the church premises. It pulled right in front of me. I stopped. The Reverend Sister who was driving the bus greeted, “Good evening Father” and I responded accordingly. She asked, “are you the parish priest’? Before I could respond, the Reverend Father sitting in front of the small bus with her interjected, saying, “no sister he is too young” and I smiled and responded, “no I am not the parish priest went to the out station.” I could see the young girls in this small bus from where I stood as I listened to the Reverend Sister.

The Reverend Sister said “We have a pretty serious problem. We have intermittently encountered soldiers we passed on our way from Kabba to Agenebode. It has not been easy since we entered the Midwest for we found out the soldiers we were dealing with were not Nigerian soldiers. When we arrived here the soldiers by the river bank would not allow the girls to cross to Idah. These soldiers threatened to detain them, so we decided to come to the Catholic mission for help. The parents of the girls know that they are on their way home for the holidays and St. Monica is closed. The rest of the students are gone. The soldiers told us that it was not safe for the girls to attempt to cross because the vandals were on the other side of the river and they could be shot into the river.” Without much thought I just responded to the Reverend Sister, “you can leave them with us and we’ll see what we can do to get them across the river.” Indeed, I was not thinking for three reasons: first, the parish priest was not at home. He was gone to out station.  Second, the Reverend Father’s residence was very small, a house of two small rooms and a small storage. I was hoping that this was going to be a one day or at the most two days undertaking. Third, I was quite new to the parish having been transferred from Warri in barely two and half months, so I had neither become fully acquainted with the parish, the parishioners nor with the environment. As I walked to the house the Reverend Sister drove slowly behind me. The Reverend Father’s residence was only a stone throw from the church. The girls disembarked and we moved their luggage into our small residence. I will stop here because I have recently completed writing about this incident which lasted for approximately twelve days. It was a high stake drama between me, the seven girls and the Biafran soldiers. This would be the first time in four decades that this incident would be made public.

Two attempts were made by the Biafran soldiers to snatch the girls from me but they failed. I finally was able to out-manoeuvre the Biafran soldiers and hid the girls in Sacred Heart College Ubiaja. All the girls are alive with the exception of one who the rest of the girls told me died in 1968. It is the photograph I took with them in August 1967 two days before I was able to hide them in Ubiaja that I used to connect with them after several decades. They all ended up doing quite well in life. I reconnected with them after 34 years. They are all grandmothers now and are in regular communication with me. Their children are equally prosperous as: lawyers, engineers, vice president of prominent bank and business tycoon. One of the girls was the First Lady of Kogi State. Another is a lawyer now in Zaria and married to a professor at Ahmadu Bello University. One is a recently retired permanent secretary in Makurdi. Another is a retired registered nurse now living at Ibadan. One is a recent retiree director of a federal ministry in Abuja. She was the youngest. Another just retired this year as a teacher in a very remote village in Kogi State. I took picture with her in March this year when I finally could see her face to face after 45 years. She was the last one that I reached after many failed attempts because of the remoteness of her station. It is indeed a fascinating story when I get it published sooner or later. I am waiting for the preface to be written by His Grace Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja who assisted me in locating the girls. It was my good friend Major Gen. David Jemibewon (rtd) who I gave the photograph to give to the Archbishop. The retired general was then the Federal Commissioner of Police.

Little did I foresee that after my encounter with Biafran soldiers at Agenebode that I would meet a greater challenge at Ibusa. I was at Agenebode for just four months and was later transferred to Ibusa. Why and how I was transferred to Ibusa is the epilogue of my write-up on how I saved seven northern girls during the Nigeria-Biafra war. It is amazing how God kept putting me at trouble spots in those days. For all my years at Ibusa, I never mentioned a word about the incident until now that I am responding to you.

Emeka Esogbue: In the years of the Nigerian Civil War, you were the Parish Priest of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church, Ibusa, credited with saving many lives please share this war time Ibusa experience with us.

Osia: Oh heavens! Where do I begin? That war time experience would fill a very large volume of book. It would be what in Latin we call a magnus opus – big work. Even to give you a synopsis would be tedious for your readers. I will try if I may provide just the highlights that could be expounded later or that could help the youth undertake research into what happened to our people during that tragic civil war. The war time experience covered when I encountered the Biafran soldiers at Agenebode months before I arrived at Ibusa in October 1967 to when I left Ibusa in June 1971. Even though the war ended in January of 1970, more work had to be done for over one year to help stabilize the situation of and the environment in which the Ibusa people in particular lived. It was indeed a herculean and challenging task. Because of the war, the traditional political system of governance diminished in importance and emphasis. Native judiciary and administrative apparatus were not operative. The gerontocratic system of governance of the community could not function since it was prohibited to conduct any semblance of ‘political assembly’ in the country generally. More importantly, the second invasion on Easter Monday of the Midwest Region through Asaba, Ibusa and Ogwashiuku generated a lot of suspicion. The Nigerian soldiers who ultimately prevailed in fire fight distrusted us so much for they believed that like the first invasion, we aided the Biafrans. With the situation such as thus enunciated, no one had the courage to come forward and organize the people. A vacuum was thus created in the administrative structure of the Ibusa community. From then on, anyone asking for anything or looking for anything would come to the Catholic mission. Relief materials were left in the mission to be distributed to the people. So, slowly and slowly, the Catholic mission became the focal point of activity.

The pervasiveness of fear, the charged military atmosphere and suspicion, rendered futile any attempt of the elders to organize and govern Ibusa as they used to do. They were apprehensive, panicky and could not do anything that might offend the sensitivity and sensibility of the Nigerian soldiers. Fresh in their minds was, of course, the massacre of our people at Asaba in October 1967 by soldiers of 2 Division of the Nigerian army. By this time we had not heard of similar massacre at Isheagu. These facts neutralized the importance of the gerontocratic system of government. Nonetheless, the elders clung with dogged tenacity to their fading authority, believing that infidelity to it was profanation.

The situation being as it may, there was still fear in a town that at one time was bustling with life which had become a ghost town. Even though thousands had taken to the bush for immediate safety, several thousands were still around and caged in their houses. These were mostly the infirm, old and women. Able-bodied men had taken off into the bush or neighbouring towns. There was dusk-to-dawn curfew which in of itself created more problems for people. It meant that to go to Oboshi or Atakpo streams to fetch water one would need military escort. Because we were not trusted by the Nigerian soldiers and because the soldiers noticed that the Catholic Church was one institution that many came to, I was directed to gather all those who did not run into the bush into a camp. I drove around summoning all those east of the Catholic mission to move to Sacred Heart Elementary School; and all those who lived west of the Catholic mission to move to St Thomas’s College. This was how I started two refugee camps in the town. We depended on the Red Cross, the Catholic Relief Services, the Midwest Government for food and clothing. It was a painful way to live as a refugee in one’s own town. The commander of the 73rd battalion told me that getting the people in refugee camps was the sure way to protect them and ascertain that the rebels did not infiltrate into the town and cause havoc. Biafran soldiers or rebels were the kings of the Ibusa jungle, the Nigerian soldiers were masters of the town and we were at their mercy.

My position was indeed precarious because I had to go into the bush on a regular basis to say Mass and minister to the faithful who were then comically called ‘bush men and women.’ Majority of the Catholics were in the bush. I stopped going into the bush when I was informed that the rebels in the bush had planned to kidnap me because they feared that one day Nigerian soldiers might accompany me to attack them. I did not want to take chances so I stopped going into the bush. The person that gave me the information was someone whose words I could not discount. I then concentrated my efforts on helping the refugees in both Sacred Heart Elementary School and St. Thomas’s College. The task was herculean and tedious for me. I had to set up an Advisory Council headed by the Iyase of Ibusa, Chief Adigwe of Ogbeowele. We created different departments to take care of various aspects of the governance of the community: Security, Education, Transportation, Relief etc. The Advisory Council did quite well in helping me to handle all sorts of issues that arose from several thousands of people who returned from the camp and others from the bush. I had to send an “SOS” to General Gowon, Governor Ogbemudia, Bishop Kelly and Archbishop Aggey of Lagos to help me after a military operation in the Ibusa bush brought out several thousands of people. I have copies of the response from Gowon and Ogbemudia to this day. I cannot locate that of Bishop Kelly.

The Catholic mission was a mini post office. People brought and also collected their mails. I became an uncertified post master for a while. This part of my activity continued even while we were at Asaba as refugees for nine months. When we returned it continued for some months until the Ibusa post office became functional. It was a big day at Ibusa when the post office was reopened. I have record of communications, including telegrams between me and Mr. Omoregie, the Comptroller of Posts and Telegraphs, Midwest requesting that our post office be reopened. I still have the photograph of the event marking the official opening of the Ibusa post office. Similarly, it was a big day when the Commissioner of Health, Mr. O.U.C. Mokwunye laid the foundation of the present Ibusa General Hospital. Also later in 1970 General Gowon visited us at Ibusa and we received him and his entourage at the site of the hospital. I asked him to plant a tree to commemorate his visit and Ibusa people’s support for “One Nigeria”. He acceded to my request and planted the tree that you see today in front of the hospital. I recall as he shook my hand he said, “don’t be tired, don’t be tired, we have heard a lot about your good work and efforts to help our people.” When the tree was a year old, I took a photograph of it and sent him and Governor Ogbemudia copies. The history of that hospital has a long and lasting pedigree. I do not have the time to go into details. However, I view the presence of that hospital as one of the major things I accomplished for our people after we returned from the refugee camp. I must stop answering now because your question would require a full-blown book or even more to adequately satisfy your readers on this score.

Emeka Esogbue: We were particularly told that Ibusa was a fierce battlefield, which led to the evacuation of thousands of its inhabitants to refugee camps in hundreds. As one of the living witnesses, what really happened?

Osia: When the 2 Division of the Nigerian army pushed the Biafran soldiers out of Midwest Region, Ibusa was not adversely affected as Asaba was. However, when the Biafrans several months later, on Easter Monday 1968, as mentioned earlier, attacked Nigerian soldiers at Asaba, Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku simultaneously things began to fall apart. While Ogwashiuku and Asaba attacks were quickly contained by the federal soldiers, fighting in and around Ibusa continued for a few more days. As would be expected people ran into the bush for cover. My cook and stewards ran away. People who had come to morning Mass took to their heels. I was in the sacristy just about to come out and begin Mass. I had to pull off my vestments quickly and ran into the rectory. The whole town was deserted. I would say that fierce fighting continued for about three days. I thought I was the only person left in the town who did not run away. However, one morning there was a knock on the door. I peeped and it was Major (Rev. Fr.) Joseph Ohieku, a Catholic chaplain in the Nigerian Army. I opened and he said “Fr. Gbuji and I have been very worried about you so I have come to check.” He advised that I should leave the rectory and go and stay with Fr. Gbuji in St. Thomas’s college. I refused. I told him unhesitatingly that I was posted to Ibusa parish not St. Thomas’s college. Nigerian soldiers were able to clear the Biafran soldiers out of the town. However, the Biafran soldiers only retreated into the thick bush. The Ibusa battle had turned into guerrilla warfare and from recollection four decades later, that was the worst that could befall any place. The pervasive uncertainty gave rise to a sense of inevitability of death as we did not know when and where the rebels would attack.

This point was brought home to Mr. Mkwuka who I refused to leave St. Thomas’s refugee camp to go to his house to bring what he termed an important object. I told him that I sited two rebels behind Mr. Ugoji’s house. I told him I pretended as though I did not see them lest they start to shoot at me. Mr. Mkwuka was determined to go. In less than thirty minutes afer he left the camp, I heard someone yelling loud, fada weliemu mgbo, fada weliemu mgbo, fada weliemu mgbo (this is an enuani slang meaning father they shot me , father they shot me). Mkwuka appeared holding his stomach. He had been shot in the stomach. I had to rush him to Asaba hospital. He was bleeding seriously. There was nothing like ambulance in those critical times. It was a very risky drive to Asaba from Ibusa because of the tendency of the guerrillas shooting at any moving object especially automobiles... Had I not rushed him to the hospital he would have bled to death.

Biafran guerrillas were becoming very active and a menace to us in the town. There was dusk to dawn curfew. I was the only person allowed to move freely, understandably so. However, there was one evening I was detained in the guard room by a Nigerian officer for one hour who did not know me nor realized that I was exempt from the curfew. Actually this officer was not serving with the battalion stationed at Ibusa. He was passing by and he saw me near Ashia Okpulukpu around 6 pm. He ordered that I should be detained. Fortunately for me, Captain Mathias was passing by around 7:15 pm and stopped at the guard room when he saw my Peugeot 404 van. He asked what I was doing in the guard room. I narrated what happened. He inquired which officer ordered that I be detained. The soldiers said “Major Yar Adua.” He ordered that I be released immediately and apologized.

Now let me tell you what necessitated the evacuation of the people to the refugee camp at Asaba. Three incidents at Ibusa necessitated the forcible removal of the people: first, the kidnapping of many women in St. Thomas’s college refugee camp, who went to fetch water from the Oboshi stream by the Biafran soldiers, second, Biafran bombing of St. Thomas’s refugee camp killing a pregnant woman who was not a refugee but unfortunately had come to visit a relative of hers and third, a serious attack launched by the Biafrans few weeks later, which resulted in another kidnapping of nearly all the refugees in the Sacred Heart Elementary School Refugee Camp into the bush. The father of the Administrator of the so-called republic of Benin, Major (Dr.) Albert Okonkwo was killed during this attack. He was in the Sacred Heart Elementary School refugee camp. The wife of the Headmaster of L.A. elementary school was also killed. She also was in the same Sacred Heart elementary school refugee camp. It was a horrible day for us at Ibusa. With the help of some women, I buried these two individuals by the edge of the school premises. Till this moment I could not tell you whether those killed were killed by the attacking Biafrans or by the Nigerians or they were struck by stray bullets. Quite a number of the Nigerian soldiers guarding the camp were killed. Ibusa was retaken by the Nigerian soldiers under the command of Lt. Col. Godwin Ally after fierce fighting for about seven hours. It was clear that the Biafran soldiers or rebels were making our lives miserable in the town.

Two days later everybody was forcibly evacuated from Ibusa which had become de facto a battlefield. St. Thomas’s college moved to Isseleuku; St. Augustine’s college moved to Onicha Olona and St. Thomas’s college and Sacred Heart elementary school refugee camps that I was taking care of were moved to St. Patrick’s college Asaba where another refugee camp was started with approximately 1,500 Ibusa indigenes. In the first two instances I mentioned earlier, I refused for the military to move us to a refugee camp. I had argued with the brigade commander that if he moved us, then those thousands in the bush would not come out and that would reinforce the tales they were being told that if they left the bush they would be killed by the Nigerian soldiers. Actually I was going into the bush to say Mass as I stated earlier because 99% of my parishioners were in the bush. So when the third instance occurred, it was like this was the last straw and we were forcibly removed from Ibusa. The ‘Diokpa’ –the oldest ruler of Ibusa, bluntly refused to move to the refugee camp when the war at Ibusa sector had assumed momentum and dimension following the incidents I just narrated. The Diokpa, Obi Mordi, remarked in fearless and feisty voice, “I will prefer to die here, my friends, and be buried with my fathers than to go anywhere.” His exercise of authority as the traditional political ruler of the Ibusa community was coterminous with the Ibusa territory. After much persuasion the Diokpa had to move with everyone. Indeed it was dangerous to stay at Ibusa at the time. Ibusa bush was ideal for the guerrilla warfare and we suffered.

It was a very sad day indeed leaving the town not knowing when we would be brought back. At some point in the camp the number reached over 5,000 as other refugees from Ewulu, Oko Anala, Oko Ogbele, Oko Amakom, Okwe and Asaba were brought to the camp by the Nigerian soldiers following some operations against the Biafrans in the bush. Others came voluntarily when they had exhausted their food in the bush where they took refuge. By the time we left the camp in February 1969 the number had lessened following the granting of permissions to those who had relatives to live with in some parts of Nigeria. I had made three attempts to go to Onitsha to plead with Col. Ibrahim. B. M. Haruna, GOC. 2 Division Nigerian Army to allow us to go back to Ibusa. A number of people were dying in the camp. Actually 49 people died in the camp. I buried all of them in an unmarked grave on the premises of St. Patrick’s College. I have their names, how old they were and from what quarter at Ibusa they came. However, there was one Urhobo boy of 4 years old that I buried in the camp also. My first two attempts to request our repatriation failed because the GOC believed, as he put it bluntly to me, ‘your people are traitors.’ I guess he was testy having just come back from battle front operation against the Biafrans. I was successful on my third visit to see him at Onitsha. On my way to see him during this third attempt I narrowly escaped being killed while crossing the River Niger in a speed canoe. A Biafran shelling had dropped very close to the speeding canoe creating a high surge of water that nearly capsized the canoe. I thought that was my end finally, but God saved us. I got to the  2 division headquarters.  This time Col. Haruna was in a better mood. He indeed was a fine gentleman soldier. He was very respectful and gave me a date he would come to address us in the camp. He came on January 23, 1969 and addressed us and gave me a date to begin to move the people back to Ibusa. I believe Lt. Col. Frank Aisida must have helped to soften the mind of the GOC because he was constantly nodding in approval of the arguments I was making for the GOC to allow us to go back to Ibusa. The number that was moved from the camp back to Ibusa was 3,490. I was the last person to leave the camp. We spent nine months in the refugee camp. We arrived Ibusa under heavy military escort. Note that the war was still going on. The rebels were still in Ibusa bush but we felt that they had been contained. I specifically requested that the battalion guarding us in the camp be the same battalion that would move with us back to Ibusa to avoid harassment. The GOC obliged. Thus, Ibusa number 2 began on February 9, 1969.

Emeka Esogbue: The opinion you hold is that Anioma people were wrong targets of the war but the Ibos insist that Anioma people were responsible for the woes that befell them because of Nzeogwu’s coup. What possible explanation do you owe this people, sir?

Osia: I owe them no explanation. Their assertion is better described as arrant nonsense. It was not Nzeogwu’s coup nor was it any action on the part of Anioma people that led to what you describe as the woes that befell Ndi Igbo. Frankly it is very nauseating to hear and read what some Igbo write not just about the civil war but about what in their imagination Anioma people were alleged to have done that caused problems for the Igbo. In May 2011, I can recall an article someone forwarded to me which was supposedly published in one of the Nigerian dailies. The title of the article is “Anioma Igbos and Yorubas staged 1966 Coup that started the Civil War” written by an Igbo. Well, we are Anioma. We are not Anioma Igbo. This article was not only grotesque in its falsehood but also expansive in its ignorance. It is a height of mischief to attribute what happened to Ndi Igbo as being caused by the so-called Nzogwu’s coup and Anioma people’s alleged complicity with the Yoruba. The Igbo were the architects of their own misfortune. First, by the botched operation of the southern zone, commanded by Emmanuel Ifeajuna, an Igbo man from Onitsha in the Eastern Region. When his command began to falter, he escaped to Ghana. He was brought back to face the music. Had that operation succeeded in the South, as it succeeded in the North under Nzeogwu’s command, we would not have seen the progression from the pogrom to a civil war. One could aver that the botched operation was a betrayal of the plan of the coup plotters. Second, the subsequent tactless and unconcealed utterances, actions and apparent display of victory particularly in Kaduna shortly after the coup by the Igbo led to the war. In a book published in 1985 by Major Gen. J.J.Oluleye  (rtd) this behavior of the Igbo after the coup was described thus: Every Ibo person paraded himself as Ironsi. Unwittingly, the Ibos displayed the photograph of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, in a prone position with his head under the jungle boot of Major Nzeogwu. It was displayed in homes and shops of the Ibos. Where people did not notice the photograph, they would invite their attention to it. To the Northerners they usually said, ‘You see your papa under the foot of Major Nzeogwu.’ Such insensitivity, provocative utterances and behaviours were enough to cause a war. Third, it was the act of secession of Eastern Region to become a new country of Biafra was the last straw and ultimate cause of the war. These are instances that need no further elaboration because Nigerians know the truth. If there was no secession, there would have been no war, and consequently there would have been no woes to which you referred. Igbo people are adept at shifting blames and they often fail to look at themselves to see what they have done to themselves and to other people. Fourth, the Biafran invasion of the Midwest Region, was the beginning of the end of Biafra. It infuriated Nigeria to the extent that it galvanized even the neutral Midwest to join in the war which intensified the fight to liquidated Biafra. That invasion was a self-inflicted wound and a self-arrogated woes on the Igbo. Have I given enough of explanation? Listen to the names of the eight majors, five captains, four lieutenants and seven second lieutenants that were documented as being involved in the coup and tell me why one would call it Nzeogwu’s coup.  These statistics were compiled by one of the coup plotters who is Igbo. The majors: Emmanuel Ifeajuna (Igbo, from Onitsha in Eastern Region),  Adewale Ademoyega (Yoruba, from Western Region), Humphrey Chukwuka (Igbo, from Nnobi in Eastern Region), Don Okafor (Igbo from Eastern Region), Tim C. Onwuatuegwu (Igbo, from Nnewi in Eastern Region) John Obienu (Igbo, from Eastern Region), Chris Anuforo (Igbo, from Eastern Region) and Patrick Kaduna Nzeogwu (Anioma, from Okpanam, Midwest Region). The captains:  Emmanuel Nwora Nwobosi (Igbo, from Obosi in Eastern Region), Ogbo Oji (Igbo, from Eastern Region), Goddy Ude (Igbo, from Eastern Region) Gani Adeleke (Yoruba, from Western Region) and Ben N. Gbulie (Igbo, from Eastern Region). The Lieutenants: Geoffrey Ezedigbo (Igbo, from Eastern Region), Amechi Okaka (Igbo, from Eastern Region), Fola Oyewole (Yoruba, from Western Region) and Jerome Oguchi (Igbo, from Eastern Region). The Second Lieutenants: Ozoemena Igweze (Igbo, from Eastern Region), B. Ikejiofor (Igbo, from Eastern Region) O. Olafemihon (Yoruba, from Western Region), C. Azubuogo (Anioma, from Okpanam, Midwest Region), Sonny Nweke (Igbo, from Eastern Region) Emeka Amuchienwa (Igbo, from Eastern Region) and Kuku Wokocha (Igbo, from Eastern Region). Of the thirty-one coup plotters who were documented as detained, 22 (twenty two) were Igbo, 5 (five) Yoruba, I (one) Hausa, 2 (two) Anioma and 1(one) Edo. That so-called coup, with accurate analysis was a putsch. A coup begins and ends with some measure of finality. This was not successful. However, everyone calls the January 15, 1966 incident a coup. For purposes of your question I’ll stay with the description of that incident as a coup. One person does not make or carryout a coup. From the names I mentioned earlier and from their regions of origin, the majority of the participants were Igbo. From the writings about the war and indeed about the coup hardly does anyone state that the coup was Nzeogwu’s idea. Read the publications of three of the coup plotters and see if any mentioned that Nzeogwu initiated the idea of a coup. All of them would describe him as a leader. He was mostly described as a gallant, principled and fearless soldier. A no nonsense individual, rigid and unwavering, therefore a trustworthy leader. Emmanuel Ifeajuna, an Igbo from Onitsha had been fingered as the one who was the linchpin of operations, the intellectual, the orator and the one whose idea it was to do something about the terrible unfolding political situation in the country. May we ask at this juncture, why did Ojukwu execute Ifeajuna shortly after the Biafran invasion of the Midwest failed? He was executed because he was accused of trying to organize a coup against Ojukwu in Biafra. Why do these Igbo detractors of Anioma not blame their people for their woes? We Anioma people have suffered much too much as a result of our mistaken identity as Igbo. So we were always found guilty by association by the rest of Nigerians. Anioma people must wake up, speak up, speak out and stop Igbo people from using them as their door mat.

Emeka Esogbue: In general terms, how did this war affect the Anioma people?

Osia: It affected us politically and psychologically especially after the Biafran failed invasions of the Midwest Region. Politically, we lost the premiership of the Midwest Region. We lost all the senior civil service positions our people occupied. We lost the Midwest Area command of the Nigerian army that was headed by Col. C.D.Nwawo from Onicha Olona. All our many high level military officers vanished and later were fighting on the Biafran side. It was a pitiful sight when one came to the Asaba urban council after the Biafrans had been pushed out of the Midwest to see our former mighty permanent secretaries milling around and looking dejected and depressed. You could see them staring into endless space of uncertainty. There was nowhere to go. There was nothing to do. Our people were literally in charge in the Midwest Region in many spheres. All these were lost and when the dust briefly settled all the positions formerly occupied by our people had been reassigned to members of other ethnic groups who were waiting in the wings. When Governor Ogbemudia assumed power some of our people got a few positions back. Psychologically, our people remained suspects. We were no longer trusted. The general belief in the then Midwest was that we invited the invading Biafran army. Our people were slaughtered in many cities of the then Midwest Region. My dad’s younger brother, my uncle, who was a staff of the ministry of education, was slaughtered in Benin by Benin mobs on his way to work not aware that Biafrans had invaded the Midwest. This was a man who escaped the pogrom in the North where he had worked in the same ministry in Kaduna for many years. The psychological feeling of our family for not being in a position to help him nor give him decent burial remains tormenting to this day. Like many other Anioma that suffered similar fate, his body has never been found to this day. This adds to so many relations we lost in Zaria and Kaduna to the pogrom unleashed against the Igbo by the Hausa-Fulani. Of course the Asaba and Isheagu massacres have been well document that would forever be a blot on Nigeria’s escutcheon as it relates to the conduct of wars. To this day our coheirs of Delta State do not trust us. Such experiences as we enumerate here have serious psychological effect on our psyche. The easiest way that the non-Anioma Deltans try to put a wedge between us and them is to call us Igbo even though they know we resent being called Igbo. Why should we have suffered when we knew nothing about the cause of the war? We did not invite the Biafrans. We did not secede. We were integral part of the Midwest Region. Biafran’s invasion of the Midwest has remained our woes to this day.

Emeka Esogbue: Could the Anioma people have avoided the massacres that followed?

Osia: No. They were in no defensive position to help themselves. The Asaba-Onitsha bridge had been blown by the fleeing Biafran soldiers, thus leaving Anioma people to fend for themselves. We were left to the wolves, as it were, to be devoured. The rest of Midwest thought or believed that we colluded with the Biafrans and so we paid the ultimate price even though we had no hand in the invasion. In fact Col. Henry Igboba from Ibusa was said to have challenged the invading army for which Col. Banjo got him arrested and locked up. He was still in detention after the Biafrans were pushed out so he became an easy victim. He was slaughtered and story had it that he was decapitated. After all Anioma area was part and parcel of the Midwest and our people held high level positions which they lost as a result of the invasion.          

Emeka Esogbue: Would you agree with the assertion that the Anioma leaders left their Anioma people unprotected during the war?

Osia: I do not agree. Anioma area was not part of Biafra. It was an integral part of the Midwest Region as I stated earlier. No one anticipated that the war would reach Anioma. Midwest had adopted a posture of neutrality and we all felt safe. The speed with which the Biafrans invaded was the same speed with which they were pushed out of Midwest Region, so it gave no one time and opportunity to organize and try to do something. Moreover, the only outstanding leader who was Osadebay had lost his power because of the coup. People had to withdraw into their respective village cocoons and watch the events unfold. Anioma had no standing army to defend her and we were neither a separate entity from the Midwest Region nor from the rest of Nigeria.

Emeka Esogbue:   Anioma pundits seem to agree that as the founding President of Anioma Association USA, Inc, you recorded a lot of achievements. How were you able to do this?

Osia: From the answers I provided earlier, it is clear that I was fully prepared and able to organize what seemingly was difficult. My war time experiences helped me tremendously to organize our people who as you know are not very easy to deal with. Everyone thinks he/she knows it all and remains unyielding to alternative perspectives. I found out that there were about seven or so Anioma Associations in various cities in the United States and that they had no observable or meaningful linkage. I was very reluctant to join the Washington, DC Anioma Association even though that was where I lived. My reason was that I loathed joining groups that are not serious-minded. I was never the type that joins groups purely for socialization and conviviality. You may not believe it but it was the late Obi Ofulue II of Ubuluku who advised me to join. I was quite friendly and close to him starting during the civil war. On few occasions he took chances to visit me at Ibusa. At one time he asked me to move to Ubuluku if the situation at Ibusa was becoming very precarious. I declined. He seemed to be impressed with what he was reading in the Nigerian newspapers about what I was doing at Ibusa during those trying times. I had visited him from the United States and gave him some copies of the THE ANIOMA, which was a newsletter published by the Anioma Association Washington DC. Even though I was not a member of the association I did write few articles for the newsletter. The Obi just casually asked me: “How is the association doing? I was silent. He asked again and I replied that I was not a member. He exclaimed, ekwuzie, you? I got the message immediately from what he uttered and his facial expression. As soon as I returned to America I joined in September 1991. In November of that year I was appointed the editor-in-chief of the newsletter by Emmanuel Obiarinze who was the president of Washington, DC Anioma association. I now had a weapon with which to communicate with other chapters arguing forcefully for the need to have one Anioma umbrella association. I made them realize that we would be operating from a point of weakness if we had so many Anioma associations attempting to deal with Delta State and Nigerian governments on Anioma issues. Speaking with one voice was stronger and much more credible than speaking with so many voices. Nobody would take us seriously if, for example, we were talking simply as Anioma association of Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Boston, Washington, DC et cetera. Furthermore we might be working at cross purposes thinking we were working for the good of our people in Anioma. Gradually I began to notice from the feedback I was getting from the newsletter that I was making some inroads. A number of the Anioma associations began to invite me each time they had important occasions. I became a sought-after keynote speaker. I was delighted for that was another medium through which I could argue for an umbrella association. From my writings and from my speeches our people realized that I not only knew quite a bit about Anioma but I was deeply involved in the civil war that affected our people. As I travelled around I noticed that each association had its own way of greeting. I brought this to the attention of Washington, DC Anioma association. I suggested that if we were going to succeed in establishing an umbrella association, all the branches as it were must have one standard mode of greeting. I argued that we should have a greeting that would gradually instill oneness and unity. At one of the meetings held at the residence of late Chief Ogbolu (from Ubuluku) of blessed memory, everyone present was asked to construct a greeting and we would select the one that best satisfied our plan for unity. Fortunately, out of many, mine won. Mine was Anioma Nu * Ofu Obi Bu Ike Anyi. This is our standard greeting in America to this day. So when you attend Anioma functions in America, make sure you say Anioma Nu and the audience would respond Ofu Obi Bu Ike Anyi if you have something to say.

Next was the issue of constitution. I read the constitution done by the Washington, DC Anioma association. I advised that we should use it as a template for future plan to have an umbrella association. We set up a constitution drafting committee. This committee began meeting once a week in my office right into the night. We sent copies of the draft to other Anioma associations and solicited their input. The final accepted product was splendid. So, with consensus on creating an umbrella association and a constitution to back it up a date was set for the official launching of the association. I made it known to our people that I would not like to be considered for executive office but would rather play a role as one of the advisers. Some that expressed interest to run for one position or the other told me bluntly that if I was not going to accept the presidency then they would not participate any longer. I quickly saw that indeed if I became a participant only in an advisory role the planned association might not be realized. By this time we were dealing and discussing with nine Anioma associations in various cities in the United States. On the day we decided to launch the association, Washington, DC chapter nominated me as president. I got a unanimous vote. Barrister Agustine Izuegbu from Ossisa, Ndokwa was the Vice President. Two major things were done on that day: we organized a symposium on Anioma. The following Anioma scholars made presentations: Professor Don C. Ohadike of Cornell University, Professor Ehiedu Iweriebor of City University of New York, Professor Tess Onwueme of University of Wisconsin, Dr. Patrick Utomi of Lagos Business School and Professor Michael Nwanze of Howard University, Washington, DC who chaired this eminent panel. It was great. Those in attendance loved it. Another activity was the swearing in of the officers at the gala night. We were sworn in by Justice Emmanuel Osadebay of the Bahamas Court of Appeal. In attendance at the festivity were Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, then Nigeria’s Representative at the United Nations, Representative of the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Justice Omo, a number of Ambassadors from a few countries and many more dignitaries. By the time I stepped down we had established 14 chapters all over the United States. After the consolidation of the association, I made sure we were registered in the United States and in Nigeria. In Nigeria I got a law firm in Abuja to help us with the registration. This was done without delay. I wanted us to have legitimacy not only in America but also in Nigeria.  Our people in America are very proud to be Anioma.

In 2000 I led a delegation to Anioma. First we saw and discussed with some of our representatives in Abuja. We saw Honourable Ned Nwoko, Honourable Chris Agbobu, Minister of State and two Anioma associations in Abuja. Chris Agbobu provided us a vehicle and driver to take us to Delta and around. In Delta we were received by Dr. Joshua Enueme, State Commisioner for trade and industry who quartered us at the Grand hotel for approximately ten days and also gave us transportation. We met with all our Anioma representatives in the Delta House of Assemble. We travelled to all the local governments with the exception of Ndokwa East. We were not able to go to Aboh because the bridge was flooded. We were, however received at Ashaka by our Ndokwa brothers and sisters. We requested to meet with all the chairmen of all the local governments. The meeting was held at Owa Oyibu, Ika Northeast. En route to Owa Oyibu we were stuck in a swamp for nearly one hour. Our car was just spinning and we could not move forward nor backward. A number of young men helped to extricate us from the slippery mud. We had good and fruitful discussion with the group. We concluded our delegation to Anioma with a reception presented by at least 14 traditional leaders from various areas of Anioma. We discussed with our Royal Fathers. We told them about our purpose of the visit and we thought we could accomplish if all the Anioma work together as one body. The Obuzor of Ibusa, His Royal Highness, Professor L.O. Nwoboshi publicly paid a glowing tribute to me for what he believed I did for Ibusa during the civil war. What was rather amusing all through our visit in Anioma was our observation that state security apparatus was monitoring our movement. To us it appeared Ibori government felt uncomfortable with our presence in Delta.

 Emeka Esogbue: Are you still passionate about the creation of Anioma State?

Osia: Very much so. As we say in Latin: dum spiro spero, while I breathe I hope. The struggle for the creation of Anioma state is the first, the oldest and the longest in the history of State creation in Nigeria. It is the one that has remained elusive due to the vagaries of politics in Nigeria. We were fortunate to have had a leader like late Chief Dennis Osadebay. Even before Nigeria became independent of the British administration, Osadedebay was asking for a separate province for our area. In 1951, due to observed neglect of the area, Honourable Chief Dennis Osadebay (Oshimili); Honourable F.H.Utomi (Aniocha); Honourable Obi of Akumazi (Ika); Honourable Frank Oputa Ututu (Ndokwa) and Honourable Oki (Ndokwa) jointly moved a motion in the then Western House of Assembly to seek “a separate province” for our people, who hitherto had been balkanized and merged with Benin and Warri provinces by the colonialists. This merger was neither by referendum, choice nor by consent but by force. Even though Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Action Group government had disallowed the creation of such a separate province, the movement for that self-determination has continued to this day.

The record will show that no segment of the Nigerian polity has had a longer demand for state creation than Anioma. In recent times, our people have continued to present request for the creation of Anioma State. On 20 March 2003, a delegation of IZU-ANIOMA led by late Chief P.O.C Ozieh presented an address to President Obasanjo in Aso Rock requesting his intervention in facilitating the creation of Anioma State. As recently as June 10, 2010 a delegation led by the Chairman of the Movement for the Creation of Anioma State’s Central Working Committee, His Royal Majesty Asagba (Prof) Chike Edozien of Asaba presented to the Honourable Senator David Mark, President of the Senate, National Assembly, Abuja the document titled “ The Proposal for the Creation of Anioma State.” This document argued, inter alia, the need for self-determination and concerted effort for the development of the area. In its preamble it pointed to the distinctness of Anioma from its surrounding neighbours. What is instructive about this document is that it was signed by 16 traditional leaders, all the state and federal house of representatives from Anioma, the senator representing the Anioma constituency in Abuja, all the chairmen of the 9 local governments. This document was soundly supported by elders, leaders of thought and community leaders in Aniocha North Local Government Area; Aniocha South Local Government Area;  Ndokwa East Local Government Area; Ndokwa West Local Government Area; Ukwuani Local Government Area; Ika Northeast Local Government Area; Ika South Local Government Area; Oshimili  North Local Government Area and Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Additionally there was declaration of support for the creation of Anioma State by the traditional rulers from each of the nine local government areas. What greater force could be brought to bear on such a document? What has happened since this document was handed to the Senate President? What follow-up has Anioma people made? Are issues about Anioma State hanging in abeyance as in the past? The struggle must continue. I have argued very cogently in a number of my writings why it is important that we have our state. I do not have to say too much here. You can read my chapter in the book I launched in Lagos on March 22, 2012. That chapter is titled “Anioma and the Unending Search for Statehood.” The title of the book is “Anioma in Contemporary Nigeria: Issues of Identity and Development.” When we have what is our own, we will know how to develop our place. We should clearly know what is involved in canvassing for state creation. Two thirds of the present 36 states must support it to pass. So, just presenting memoranda to the president of the nation or the president of the senate is just introductory. We must work hard on at least 24 states in the country to support our cause. This is where we had all expected our congressional representatives in both federal and state houses of assembly to step up the plate. Has any or group of them sponsored a bill or moved a motion for the creation of Anioma state that you know of?

Emeka Esogbue:  Igbanke, an Ika community with Anioma cultural heritage currently located in Edo State has signified the interest to join the proposed Anioma State. What is your opinion of this?

Osia: Igbanke community is Ika. So it is not a question of joining but rather it is a question of returning to where they belong. Ika blood flows in the veins of our people of Igbanke naturally and culturally. It is about time we stopped the balkanization of one people to satisfy the political expediencies of another group.I am sure no one sought their opinion before they were excised from Ika and attached to Edo. The colonialists used it to weaken us and we see the effect of it today especially all over Africa in general and in Nigeria in particular. However, in the final analysis, it is the Igbanke people who should decide their destiny. The rest of Anioma should help them because they are our brothers and sisters. They stand a better chance of returning to Anioma if and when Anioma State is created.

Emeka Esogbue: Several years after the war, Anioma people say their land is hardly developed; even then they are yet to produce an elected governor of the state. What is responsible for this problem?

      Osia: You have asked me a double-barreled question about development and production of governorship of Delta State. As far as development is concerned why not take a ride and traverse all the nooks and crannies of Anioma and come back to tell me what measure or nature of development you found. Nothing. Without delving into academics, development for me is basic: good roads that connect communities, electricity, pipe borne or potable water, functional hospitals, reliable transportation, good schools (elementary and secondary). I do not mean good schools with four walls and decorated fences only. I mean schools manned by well-trained teachers, fortified with useful books in all relevant subject areas, schools with adequate laboratories for scientific experimentation, certified tertiary institutions, good governance at local and state levels that is managed by accountable, transparent and selfless leaders. Each time I visit my village of Obomkpa I feel like crying. The road between Obomkpa and Onicha Olona has disappeared. Similarly the road between Obomkpa and Ezi has disappeared. These roads have become bush paths and farm roads. Prior to the creation of Delta State one could drive one’s car through them even though they were not tarred. They are no longer motorable in the 21st century. The road between Obomkpa and Idumuogo has remained un-tarred for decades. These areas seem to belong to another age. These concrete examples put to shame any notion of development. Delta State was created in 1991. What do we have to show for the development of our area? Giving a community a cassava mill that has never functioned? For heaven’s sake what are our elected officials doing all these years?

As for the issue of governorship of Delta, we can only state unequivocally that our people have for a long time exhibited political naivety. In politics, nobody hands you power. You go and take it. Politics is more than the structure and apparatus of power. It is a drama of individuals attempting to influence one another. It defines the distributive relationship between the political leader and his/her constituency. It is who gets what, when, and how. It involves negotiation, mediation and compromise.   From 1991 until now our people have been more active in their disunity than unity in their approach to the issue of governorship of Delta. We may not wrest power from the rest of Delta if we are unable to present a united front as Anioma. Right now there are many groups angling for the governorship in 2015 from Anioma. Our coheirs of Delta State will not take us seriously as long as they see that we are not united in our methodology to produce the next governor. If we are unable to bring the Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri and Urhobo squarely on our side we may as well resign ourselves to hoping against hope. In politics, there is nothing like: it is our turn. You have to canvass seriously for the governorship instead of assuming that the elusive rotation will rotate to your side on one indefinable moment. Personally, I think that this issue of governorship is certainly taking the wind out of our sail to statehood of Anioma. It distracts our focus and sends wrong message to Abuja that we are more interested in the governorship of Delta than in getting Anioma State. I know that there are arguments which state that both endeavours are not mutually exclusive. Logically I concur but practically I remind you of the age-old Anioma saying that you cannot kick with your two feet at the same time. We must endeavour to narrow the widening horizons of parochial loyalties that continue to undermine our unitedness, thus impeding our achievement of our goal whether it is the governorship of Delta or Anioma statehood.

    Emeka Esogbue:  Is the present generation of Anioma doing enough to properly situate the region in the multinational polity like Nigeria?

Osia: I do not know what the present generation has done to judge whether or not it has done enough. I come home quite regularly and I have not seen neither have I been shown what actually the present generation has done. I have been in Nigeria three times this year and typically I travel around and I am yet to see something which will make me to exclaim: finally! thank God!.

Emeka Esogbue:    Please leave your final word for the Anioma people 

Osia:  We have chosen to be Anioma. Let us proclaim Anioma from the rooftops, from our churches, from our offices at home and abroad, from all corridors of power in Nigeria. Let us proclaim Anioma from the federal and state houses of assembly. Let us proclaim Anioma by the clothes we wear. Let us proclaim Anioma by the dance we perform. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Enu Ani language that we speak. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Ika language that we speak. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Ukwuani language that we speak. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Oluku mi language that we speak. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Igala language that we speak. One point must be made immutably clear to anyone who is not conversant with the history, culture and identity of Anioma people: no Anioma person wishes to be recast in a mould that is not Anioma. We do not need to look elsewhere for inspiration and identity. Anioma is not and can never be an extension of another group. Anioma people should be very wary of and calculating in any endeavour that may create more problem than it solves. They should be extra vigilant entering into alliances that might end up subsuming their identity. They should disabuse themselves of the mindset of yesteryears because a new day has dawned. This is the 21^st century.

We should invest our time and effort in political education of our people. What is more, politics seems to have fallen at the outer fringes of our people’s life space. We should engage in activities which would facilitate the creation of Anioma state where our people are central characters rather than simple bit players; in which the importance of their history lies in its significance for them rather than for others. We do not want to be a pawn simply to checkmate the contending and competing interests of other nationalities in the larger Nigerian collectivity. Our journey involves more than navigating the geography of political boundaries it is a continuous mapping and remapping of the geography of our culture and identity. We no longer wish to be objects in the history of others rather we wish to be subjects of our own history. Where our people can use their God-given talents to develop this entity called ‘Anioma’ so that it lives up to its name – beautiful land inhabited by beautiful people. We cannot stand still waiting for history, we should make history. Anioma identity should not be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. Our Anioma ethnic identity is cultural self-definition and philosophical affirmation of our self-determination as a people who see themselves at the crossroads of the contemporary Nigerian state. It is a refusal to accept the transposition of other people’s interpretive categories on Anioma culture. We bear the name of Anioma with exalted pride, dignity and fidelity. We cherish our distinct identity and unique culture.  Let us take pride in our identity as Anioma.

Our identity shapes our destiny. Destiny, as used here, is not in the context of determinism, but in the context of intentional and conscious effort to chart a specific course for our survival as a people. We are and should be our brother’s and sister’s keepers. With identity and destiny comes the inevitability of progress. No people remain in a condition of immobility. They move. They advance. They develop. Development in Anioma is a far cry from the norm. It is slow and hesitant. Anioma has within its grasps, its sons and daughters who possess an incredible array of and depth of knowledge. Knowledge is meant to energize and not paralyze. Noone knows with some measure of specificity what the future holds for our people. What we know is that working together we can come up with far better ideas, easier to implement and less drastic in design. What is important is the general path we choose to travel. While we are delighted by the resurgence of Anioma nationalism and consciousness exemplified by the polyglot of Anioma groupings at home and abroad, we must take care not to work at cross purposes.

Ultimately, our collective and individual future will be shaped by us whether we choose inaction and passivity, regression and romanticism or action, imagination and resolve. We cannot escape our historical role by merely denying its existence. The question then is not whether the Anioma people will shape their future but how they will shape it. Anioma Nu * Ofu Obi Bu Ike Anyi.

                                               

Emeka Esogbue: We thank you very much for taking your time, sir.

Osia: My pleasure