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Is Ebonyi South Part Of Ebonyi State? – By Emma Igwe

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Historians and archaeologists have presented to us what is today

regarded as part of the story of origin and existence of the area

called Ebonyi State and its people. In the Memorandum for the creation

of EBONYI STATE, submitted by the People of Old Abakaliki Province to

the State Creation, Local Government and Boundary Adjustment

Committee” in January 1996, the history of how Ebonyi people came to

live in the present area called Ebonyi state was vividly stated in the

document to convince the Committee and the then Military government,

why it was imperative to create the state. It is important we

reproduce the paper as presented to enable us present our argument

properly in this piece. The document reads in part:

 

“EBONYI area, comprising the entire people of the old Abakaliki

Province in the Old Abakaliki and Afikpo Divisions, is inhabited by an

ethnic group of people with common cultural heritage and affinity.

They are agrarian in nature and have been known for their age long

struggle for survival as one political entity. Historical antecedents

and archaeological discoveries reveal that Afikpo was occupied by the

pre-historic ‘Egu’ and ‘Nkalu’ Igbo groups who merged and got

assimilated by other immigrant Igbo groups from the South Eastern

Cross River Basin. Some of these groups moved northwards to parts of

Abakaliki area. One of the early settlers in Ezza area was Ekuma Enyi,

who hailed from the Northern Afikpo village of Ibii. Legend has it

that he married Ezekuna and the couple had two off-springs Noyo and

Nodo. Noyo founded Ikwo and Nodo founded Izzi. Some Ezza groups moved

eastward to Ngbo and found Ezza Ngbo, while the population pressure

and adventure led to some of the pre-historic natives of Afikpo to

settle and found Nkalagu.

 

The creation of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria led to the

emergence of a 24 Provincial Administration structure for Nigeria in

  1. One of those Provinces in the defunct Eastern Nigeria was the

Old Ogoja Province, and then made up of:

Ogoja Division, Obudu Division, Ikom Division, Obubra Division,

Abakaliki Division and

Afikpo Division with its Administration Headquarter in Ogoja.

 

Following a new administrative arrangement that came into being in

1959, the last three divisions, i.e. Obubra, Abakaliki and Afikpo were

constituted into a new province, known as Abakaliki province with its

administrative headquarter at Abakaliki. The new Abakaliki provincial

administration spanned from 1959 to 1967 when the 12 States structure

replaced the old regional and provincial systems in Nigeria. Under the

new arrangement, Obubra division was annexed to then South Eastern

State (now Cross River and Akwa Ibom States) while Abakaliki and

Afikpo Divisions became part of East Central State, an amalgamation of

the Old Onitsha, Enugu, Owerri and Umuahia Provinces.

 

It is essential to observe that with subsequent State creation

exercises in 1975 and 1991; Owerri Province became Imo State, Umuahia

Province became Abia State, Onitsha Province became Anambra State,

Enugu Province became Enugu State, while Abakaliki Province was split

into three parts.Thus, Obubra Division was joined to Cross River

State. Abakaliki Division was joined to Enugu State, Afikpo Division

was joined to Abia State

 

The petition for a State, not necessarily Ebonyi as is constituted and

called today, in the area started in 1957 after our leaders and

representations to the Wilink’s Commission that was appointed by the

Colonial Administration to enquire into the fears of minorities and

the means of allaying them. The request for the creation of Ebonyi

State is revulsion towards felt neglect in the provision of basic

social and infrastructural facilities within the existing political

structure. The first symptoms of such a reaction are traceable to

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1957, when the people of Abakaliki and Afikpo Divisions, now Ebonyi

State, presented a written memorandum and gave oral evidence before

the Wilink’s Commission. That Commission noted on page 47 in chapter 7

of its report that;

“We are left however with no doubt that in this corner of the region;

there is a feeling of neglect and wish for a greater share in roads,

schools, hospitals and water supplies.”

 

While it cannot be argued that the subsequent establishment of the new

provincial structure throughout Nigeria was an attempt to assuage the

fears of minorities, the emergent political structure appeared to have

satisfied the yearnings of not only the minority groups but of most

Nigerians. It is on record that the Former Divisions of Abakaliki and

Afikpo, that had been clamouring to be re-constituted into Ebonyi

State, made its greatest stride in education, agricultural production,

and healthcare delivery and in all aspects of development during the

era of provincial administration, until the creation of the 12 States

in 1967. The subsequent political arrangements had the effect of

disintegrating a culturally homogenous people, marginalizing their

numerical strength in their new-found alignments and reducing them to

insignificant minorities.

 

Our people protected and demanded their own State before the Justice

Irikefe Panel on the creation of new States in 1975. The 1975 State

Creation exercise failed to address our problem and rather proceeded

to balkanize and split Abakaliki Province, where our total identity as

a people and our self-determination and progress were completely

submerged in the Old Onitsha and Owerri Provinces. This development

did not dampen our people’s resolve. Hence in November 1980, another

memorandum for the creation of Ebonyi State was presented to the

National Assembly of the defunct Second Republic. The Committees on

States creation of both the House of Representatives and the Senate

recommended independently the creation of Ebonyi State in the event of

future States in Nigeria.

 

During the 1981 States Creation exercise and despite our renewed

request and favourable reports by the Justice Irikefe Panel of 1976

exercise and approval for the creation of Ebonyi by the Federal House

of Representative and the Senate in 1981, Ebonyi State was not

created. The 1987 exercise failed also to create Ebonyi State.

 

In 1991, the erstwhile Babangida Administration appreciated the case

for the creation of Ebonyi State as being over due. Practical steps

were, indeed taken towards its actualization. But the request had to

be stepped down at the last minute to enable the Igbos have not one

but two State, namely, Enugu and Abia. It was then the consensus of

the Igbo people that in any subsequent State creation exercise, the

Igbos would lend total support to the creation of Ebonyi State.

 

The 1991 exercise saw the eventual metamorphosis of the Old Onitsha

and Owerri Provinces into four States, with Enugu and Anambra States

from Old Anambra State; and Imo and Abia States from Old Imo State,

with the Old Abakaliki Province still without its own corporate

identify.

 

The justification and demand for Ebonyi State continued with renewed

vigour and intensity through the 1994/95 National Constitutional

Conference and subsequent 1995/96 Chief Arthur Mbanefo led State

Creation, Local Government and Boundary Adjustment Committee. During

this period, the last phase of the struggle for the creation of Ebonyi

State, our leaders, despite the odds but with the goodwill left behind

by H.R.H. Ezeogo (Elder) Dr. Akanu Ibiam Grand Patron of Ebonyi State

Movement, laboured assiduously with commitment and determination until

the birth of Ebonyi State was proclaimed by the Head of State and

Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of

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Nigeria, Late General Sani Abacha, on October 1st, 1996.

 

Now that the objective and prize of this long struggle has been

achieved, the future orderly and sustainable development of the State

remains primarily a challenge they must accept willingly, having

happily come to the Promised Land, end of the journey and with their

destiny firmly in their palms”.

 

This short history is a testimony to the fact that Abakaliki bloc

alone cannot make up Ebonyi state. Afikpo bloc is principal part of

the state and citizens of the state from the zone played very vital

role in the creation of Ebonyi and have been playing key role in the

development of the state. If the Abakaliki bloc had produced the

governor of the state for the past 16 years, is it not natural that

the South should have the opportunity to produce the governor of the

state in 2015. If the Labour party could pick both Governorship

candidate and running mate from Abakaliki bloc without consideration

to the south, is it not a sign that if the party wins the election,

the people from Ebonyi South should forget about their wellbeing in

Ebonyi state or be ready to be pushed out by the Labour government.

How else would one explain that a party that is genuinely seeking

office in a state like Ebonyi will totally remove the Southern zone

from its political equation and power balance. The document quoted

above clearly stated that Ebonyi was created out of “the goodwill left

behind by H.R.H. Ezeogo (Elder) Dr. Akanu Ibiam Grand Patron of Ebonyi

State Movement, who laboured assiduously with commitment and

determination until the birth of Ebonyi State was proclaimed by the

Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria, Late General Sani Abacha, on October 1st,

1996”.

In this era when the world is preaching peaceful co-existence of

people, the Labour party in Ebonyi is creating division and

disharmony. It is noteworthy that all the political parties (PDP,

APGA. APC) that have governorship candidates for the forthcoming

elections in the state have their governorship and running mates from

either Abakaliki bloc or Afikpo area except Labour Party which

portends great danger to the peaceful co-existence of Ebonyi people

and the future of the State.

 

As argued elsewhere, the question of Ebonyi South producing the next

governor has nothing to do with Dave Umahi. Engr Umahi who is the

current deputy governor of Ebonyi state may be a “Devil or Saint”, but

the issue at stake is equity, justice, sense of belonging and

fairness. Democracy is no doubt a game of number, but if there is no

understanding, consensus, political party participation and

compromises as part of the variables that determine power equation and

balance of power in a democratic system, people like Goodluck Jonathan

from his small Otuoke village would never have dreamt of being

Prsident of Nigeria. Ebonyi is too small to be torn apart by politics

of acrimony and division, those who are fanning the embers of disunity

today may not be there tomorrow to reap the disastrous consequence. We

must act right and protect the future of our dear state. It is

encouraging and gratifying that majority of the political stakeholders

in Ebonyi cut across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state have

embraced the need for peaceful co-existence and given their support to

the flag bearer of the PDP in the governorship election of 11th April,

2015, Engr. Dave Umahi. It shows that the true Ebonyians recognize

that indeed it is On EQUITY we stand.

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