By Our Correspondent
Veteran columnist and political analyst, Amanze Obi, has urged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to focus on achieving balance in the number of states across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, describing many of the ongoing agitations for state creation as frivolous and divisive.
In his column Broken Tongues, Obi argued that only a few of the current demands for new states deserve serious attention, stressing that many are being pushed without proper consultation, delineation, or consideration for the interests of affected communities.
He particularly faulted promoters of the proposed Orlu, later renamed Anim State, which is to be carved out of parts of Imo, Anambra, and Abia States. Obi said while the idea had been in public discourse for years, its proponents had failed to clearly define boundaries and consult affected communities.
“The canvassers for the new state should focus on the ten local government areas of Orlu zone and leave Ohaji/Egbema and parts of Oguta LGAs out of it. These communities have long disassociated themselves from the proposal and should not be coerced,” he wrote, noting that several communities have already petitioned the National Assembly to reject their inclusion.
Obi maintained that willingness, not force, should guide any state creation exercise, warning that attempts to annex unwilling communities would weaken genuine agitations.
As a way forward, he urged President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly to treat the imbalance in the South East as a matter of urgent national importance by creating Anioma State and grouping it with the South East, which currently has only five states compared to six in most other zones.
“Anioma merits this treatment because those behind it have done a good job of their agitation, including its grouping as a South East state. If the presidency and the legislature give Anioma this deserving treatment, they would have succeeded in righting the wrongs of the past,” Obi said.
He added that such a move would help heal political wounds, calm frayed nerves, and set a standard for serious and well-prepared state creation demands.
Obi dismissed several other agitations as being driven by “expansionists” seeking to annex territories rather than integrate communities, cautioning that state creation should not be about impunity or coercion but about unity and collective progress.
