Emeka Esogbue

 The Towns the Soldiers Could Not Reach? Memory, Legend, and History in Anioma Civil War Narratives – Part One ​By Emeka Esogbue ​In the historical record of the Nigerian Civil War, few Anioma experiences are as thoroughly documented as the tragedy that befell Asaba in October 1967. Yet, beyond official archives, military reports, and survivor testimonies lies another vast body of knowledge—one preserved in family stories, community traditions, and local memory. Across Anioma, elders have long recounted narratives of towns that were uniquely spared from devastation: places protected by wise leadership, concealed by geography, or shielded by powerful spiritual forces. ​Communities such as Ubulu-Uku, Issele-Uku, Idumuje-Ugboko, Okpanam, Onicha-Olona, Ogwashi-Uku, and Ibusa occupy a distinctive place in these recollections.  They are remembered not necessarily as towns that soldiers never entered, but as sanctuaries that escaped the catastrophic scale of destruction witnessed els...

  PRESS RELEASE FROM THE PALACE OF HRM OBI (PROF) L.C. NWOBOSHI, THE OBUZOR OF IBUSA KINGDOM RIGHT OF REPLY Our attention has been drawn to a press statement  purportedly emanating from the Palace of the Obi of Ogwashi-Uku, titled; "RE: INCIDENT OF THURSDAY, 19TH MARCH 2026 AT ABOH OGWASHI-UKU" where the authors claimed that they were  responding "to the unprovoked acts of aggression, criminality, threats to life, and wanton destruction of property allegedly perpetrated by certain individuals from the Ibusa community on Thursday, 19th March 2026, at Aboh Ogwashi-Uku." Ordinarily, we would have loved to completely ignore the said statement and brush it aside as a piece of trash, especially as we would neither have loved to glorify the authors, nor aggravate whatever situation it seems to highlight, but, on a second thought, and most especially,  to set the records straight - if only for the benefit of many who may be gullible to assume that the statement holds any wa...

 Enuani Identity: Understanding Aniocha and Oshimili in Context By Emeka Esogbue Abstract This paper examines the meanings, origins, and proper usage of the terms Enuani, Aniocha, and Oshimili within the Anioma area of present-day Delta State, Nigeria. Drawing on oral traditions, communal memory, geographical analysis, and selected historical sources, it argues that Enuani rather than Aniocha-Oshimili constitutes the authentic collective cultural identity of the people occupying the Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Oshimili North, and Oshimili South local government areas. The study demonstrates that Aniocha and Oshimili emerged primarily as administrative designations whose boundaries and meanings have shifted over time due to colonial and post-colonial governance structures. In contrast, Enuani predates these administrative frameworks and derives from the region’s upland geography, serving as a stable marker of peoplehood rooted in land, settlement patterns, and oral historical cons...

 Hold Fast to Your Dreams, Pastor Augustina Joseph Tells Nsukka Worshippers By Emeka Esogbue Young outreach minister, Pastor Augustina Anwulila Joseph, has urged her congregation to hold firmly to their dreams and never allow them to fade. “Hold fast to your dreams, for if your dreams die, it is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly,” Pastor Augustina told the worshippers. She gave the advice on Sunday while addressing youths mainly students at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), House of Glory Parish, Hilltop, Nsukka, Enugu State. In her sermon titled “You Are Not Hopeless,” the evangelist encouraged the congregation not to lose faith, stressing that “where there is hope, the invisible becomes visible, the intangible becomes real, and the impossible becomes achievable.” She reminded the worshippers that “Christ in you remains the glory of your glory,” urging them to persevere and trust in God’s timing. Born to Ogwashi-Ukwu father, her mother hails from Umuozoma in Ogb...

 Anioma State Debate: Prince Onyema and Dr. Nwaezeigwe's Historical Perspectives  By Emeka Esogbue Not a few Anioma indigenes took the recent warning from the revered Asagba of Asaba, HRM Obi Prof Epiphany Azinge against the location of the proposed Anioma State in the Southeast likely. The Asagba had advised against the relocation of the proposed Anioma State to the southeast, warning that the people have their historical and geographical place in the South-South where they have always existed. However, what tended to make more interest to students and enthusiasts of the Anioma history was the recent debate between Prince Onyema Okonjo from Ogwashi-Uku and renowned Nigerian historian and scholarly giant, Dr. Ntony Nwaezeigwe.  The debate was revealing to enthusiasts of Enuani history in particular with Dr. Nwaezeigwe towering with some historical establishments on the making of Ogwashi-Uku, Ibusa and a few other Enuani communities in a single argument.  As a referen...

 The Iwu Festival: Leveraging Satire, Sarcasm, and Social Commentary to Address Societal Challenges in Anioma By Emeka Esogbue Beyond its vibrant dance and music, the Iwu Festival, celebrated by the Anioma communities of Ogwashi-Uku, Ibusa, Ubulu-Uku, Ubulu-Unor, and Illah, employs satire, mockery, and social commentary to confront societal ills and promote positive change. This unique approach is not isolated to the Iwu Festival, as various African festivals, such as the Akan Festival of Ghana, Egungun Festival of the Yorubas, Kwagh-hir Festival of the Tiv, and Ovia Osese Festival of the neighbouring Urhobo in Delta State, Nigeria, also utilize satire, sarcasm, and mockery to address evil doers and societal ills. During the Iwu Festival, celebrants dance to traditional rhythms infused with satirical messages, using gestures, movements, and facial expressions to convey their message. The festival serves as a platform for community participation, encouraging individuals to join in r...

  The Ibusa Sense of Republicanism is in the Extreme - Kizito Ijeh, Politician and Initiator of People of Oshimili North Chief Kizito Ijeh, the Dike Di Oha Nma of Ute Ogbeje is a household name in Ibusa community. The ace politician, one of the founders of the APC in Delta State recently marked his birthday in the community and amid the friends and well-wishers that came to celebrate with him; PEN MASTER (EMEKA ESOGBUE) found the opportunity to engage him in a media chat. In this interview, Chief Kizito Osadebe Ijeh makes mind-boggling revelations on his personality, upbringing, political gains and losses by the Ibusa community, why he decamped from APC to join PDP, the state of NGOS on youth development and the current Uwolo tussle. He identifies disunity as the major factor standing between the Ibusa community and its development and thinks that the pursuit of Anioma State in the Southeast is not only unnecessary but an impossible task in the present Nigerian composition. E...

Ibusa: The Multiplicity of Names, Identity Crisis Creation and the Way Forward     - Emeka Esogbue As I write this article, my community does not only remain colonially tied to the British administration but suffers a terrible 'identity sickness.' No one has seen any community with as many conflicting pronunciations, claims, facts, and spellings of its name as my community and a rise by the leadership to invoke a symmetric correspondence among these constituent components and immediately involve the government of the day-to-gazette it seems more difficult a feat to achieve in the present era. It stands to the truth that a name is the first characteristic by which a person, thing, or place is known, and where a name carries crisis, everything soon goes wrong. The identity of a people begins with the name that they bear. Ibusa is located in Delta State and is one of the important communities in the state due to its human resources, population, and strategic location...