Fist North
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How the 2010 Anioma World Economic Conference (AWEC) will Impact on the Anioma People
It is no longer news that the Anioma people of Delta North in present Delta State are fast re-discovering their socio-economic identity. The Anioma arguably described as one big region with great contributions to the human development of the nation is moving on the fast track towards gaining economic independence and sustaining it with all it might require. Prior to this period of economic re-discovery, the once economic thriving region before the coming of the British had been abandoned in decay chiefly as a result of lack of knowledge of the ethnic-identity of the people and the Ekumukwu wars which the people fought to liberate the region from the economic fisted hands of the imperial British.
Economically, the Anioma is a region that proudly fed its teeming inhabitants and carried on trades with neighbouring towns and communities and it is for this reason that the highly contiguous region flanking many communities witnessed progress economically. The success in the trade with neighbouring communities such as the Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw, Iduu (Benin) Yoruba, Igala, Igbo etc guaranteed peace for the region. Access to the River-Niger also in many ways helped the people to earn a living not depending on other regions tofeed themselves. From time immemorial, the Anioma people have commercially related with their neighbours. The Kwale, a large number of people forming the indivisible part of Anioma have had a long history of commercial relationship which quite pre-dates the coming of the Europeans.
They were known to have traded in same markets which socially and positively impacted on both ethnic groups. On the other hand, the Ika people which also form a large chunk of Anioma have also been known to commercially relate with the Iduu (Benin) almost in a commercial situation that the Ika carried out series of resistances against the Obas of the Benin empire that attempted to impose much of the conditions that never favoured them (Ika) The Enuani people comprising of Ibusa, Asaba, Ubulu-Ukwu, Onicha-Ugbo, Ubulu-Unor, Ogwashi-Ukwu, Onitsha-Mmili (present Onitsha in Anambra State) etc have also traded together with their neighbouring Igbo counterparts to the east. Onitsha since from time until it was almalgamated with present Southeastern region where it presently remained a commercial melting pot that linked the Anioma with the Igbo, accomodating the two regions. This is what the Asaba city of Delta State is going through today, commercially having influence over the Anioma and Igbo.
It is important to note here that all the peoples comprising of the Anioma region have been relating and the lgbo has been a language that bound them thus an Ika or even Kwale can effectively move to Ogbeogonogo market in Asaba and carry out transactions without the necessity of an interpreter. This is one inimitable feature that helped to cement the ever social affinity of the people of Anioma.
With the coming of the British, the relevance of the Anioma region to the economic growth of what became Nigeria clearly began to manifest economically. Resources naturally deposited in the region proved significant to the wants of the European. Rubber, timber, palm-oil, and other resources which the European must trade on became major sources of economic benefit to the European thus the Europeans having realized the importance of the region with its strategic natural location imperialistically and forcefully began to make moves to unsettle and relegate the Anioma people to the background in a bid to have unhindered access to the “gold” of the region. This led to the series of wars that began in the 19th century often refereed to as the “Ekumekwu Wars” in which almost every single community of the region was affected one way or the other leading to the loss of Anioma territories in what has been historically referred as the balkanization of the Anioma region. All of such territories were lost to the Igbo and never recovered. One good example of such territory is Onitsha now located in Anambra State. Many of the Ukwani (Kwale) territories lost to the Urhobo region were later recovered with the creation of Delta State in 1991.
The Anioma region is today a promising region economically and the pivotal roles it is playing in the growth and advancement of the nation human and resource wise cannot be over-emphasized. Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of World Bank and an Anioma extraction is a typical testimony of the contribution of the Anioma people towards global growth to world economic order. Again, the region is one that posses all the mineral resources that the nation, Nigeria can boast of including oil. A lot more are also abundantly deposited in Ubulu-Uku, Ibusa, Oko-Ogbole, Oko-Amakom, Oko-Anala etc which the government has not explores.
The July 2009 Anioma World Economic Conference (AWEC) the first of such for the Anioma people being put together by the Anioma indigenes in USA is indeed a welcome idea for the people of the region because it will re-waken the economic prospects of the region and expose to global needs. This will prove to be a watershed in the economic height of the region and teach the local Anioma politicians in the country that good intentions owe people growth as the region is about to witness. At least what cannot be achieved from home country can be done all the way in Diaspora.
The conference will draw from the globe all well-meaning and respected sons and daughters of the region and friends of the Anioma who will contribute ideas, policies and recommendations that will lead to the economic rediscovery of the region. And if these policies are well implemented, the region will bounce back to economic light and become much more relevant to the nation with state of poverty of the people reduced.
There is no doubt that the Anioma region remains a natural part of the wealthy Niger Delta, and only ignorance and sheer neglect have caused the region not to be seen as one in spite of the abundant wealth available to the region. The closeness of Asaba, Ibusa, Oko, Ukwani communities to the Delta of the River Niger only helps to authenticate it.
Already, back home, the people of Delta North have become quite expectant and waiting to embrace the economic dawn which have been denied them over time. Uche Honnah, the man at the scene of it all, has promised to make it a feasible one that will accommodate ideas that will lead to the economic development of the region. This is believed will place the Anioma region alongside other major ethnic-groups in the country as it will take its rightful place. This is what the 2010 Anioma World Economic Conference (AWEC) will do for the people of Anioma and once more, the people will be proud they are illustrious Anioma sons and daughters.
About the Author
Emeka Esogbue hails from Ibusa, Delta State.
emekaesogbue@yahoo.com
Should I continue to watch fist of the north star?
I am not sure if I like this show yet and I am wondering if its worth watching. I have been watching it on crunchyroll on episode 14
I wouldn’t advise to continue watching it… but hey, that’s just me.
This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.