RECLAIMING OUR PLACE IN HISTORY: A CALL FOR NDOKWA UNITY, IDENTITY, AND POLITICAL AWAKENING

Throughout the long and turbulent history of Nigeria, from colonial amalgamation, through independence, military regimes, civil war, and the present democratic dispensation, the Ndokwa Nation has remained a paradox: a people endowed with cultural richness, strategic geographical importance, and undeniable human capacity, yet persistently unable to convert these assets into political relevance at the national stage.

This consistent underperformance is neither accidental nor mysterious. It is deeply connected to decades of political naivety, internal divisions, historical amnesia, and the failure to build a united front capable of negotiating power in a country where only strategic alliances and collective identity guarantee survival.

THE BURDEN OF POLITICAL NAIVETY AND DISUNITY

Since the creation of Nigeria, the Ndokwa people have allowed fragmentation to define their political behaviour. Instead of unity, we embraced internal rivalries. Instead of collective bargaining, we tolerated factions. Our inability to clearly articulate who we are and what we stand for has repeatedly placed us at a disadvantage in a geopolitical environment where every group fights consciously for its space.

While other ethnic nationalities aggressively mobilized for recognition, state creation, infrastructural allocation, and national appointments, Ndokwa people were busy struggling with ideological contradictions planted by external forces who benefited from keeping us divided and politically weak.

A PEOPLE CUT OFF FROM THEIR OWN HISTORY

One of the most damaging consequences of the post-civil-war era was the erosion of Ndokwa historical consciousness. The trauma of the 1967–70 Biafra–Nigeria conflict left many Ndokwa families confused about their identity. Children inherited distorted narratives, silences, and fears from parents who themselves were victims of a violently altered political landscape.

This identity dislocation has today birthed a generation of self-proclaimed historians, especially on social media, who possess neither scholarly grounding nor cultural inheritance. Instead of building unity, they propagate confusion. Instead of enlightening the youths, they spread half-truths and historical inaccuracies that drag Ndokwa further backward.

THE CONSEQUENCE: LACK OF POLITICAL FRONTIERS

Today, the Ndokwa Nation stands without a single political voice of significant national weight, no leader who can speak and command the attention of Aso Rock.

This is not because we lack capable men and women. No.

It is because we lack a united platform, a collective identity, and a strategic political agenda.

During the critical periods of state creation under the military governments, Ndokwa had no strong mouthpiece. No coalition. No political machinery. While we debated among ourselves, others negotiated and secured their future. As a result, despite being one of the most resource-rich and demographically significant groups in Southern Nigeria, Ndokwa continues to remain politically underrepresented and economically shortchanged.

THE FUTURE CALLS: A NEW DAWN WITH ANIOMA STATE

In the present quest for the creation of Anioma State and its proposed inclusion into the South East geopolitical zone, Ndokwa cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past. The forces that once suppressed our growth are still active, but so is the opportunity to break free.

Anioma State, firmly anchored within the South East geopolitical region, offers Ndokwa people a historic chance to:

 • Restore our true Igbo-rooted identity (Ndoshimili, Enuani, Ika).

 • Reclaim political relevance within a zone culturally connected to us.

 • Escape the structural disadvantages we currently face in Delta State.

 • Strengthen our voice in national appointments and resource allocation.

 • Achieve autonomy, unity, and the dignity we have long been denied.

To oppose Anioma State based on ignorance, inherited prejudice, or historical confusion is to repeat the same costly errors that have kept Ndokwa politically irrelevant for decades.

LET US NOT BECOME ENEMIES OF OUR OWN NATION

No Ndokwa person should allow personal sentiments or self-denial to make them an enemy of their own identity. You may deny your roots, but you cannot remove your shadow. The truth remains:

NDOKWA IS IGBO. NDOSHIMILI IS ANIOMA. ANIOMA IS IGBO.

Those who fuel division, through ignorance or selfish motives, are not helping Ndokwa; they are holding us hostage in a geopolitical arrangement that has offered us little but marginalisation.

THE TIME TO RISE IS NOW

For the first time in decades, Ndokwa has an opportunity to reposition itself strategically within Nigeria’s power structure. This opportunity must not be wasted. Ndi Ndokwa must rise above fear, above confusion, above the propaganda of those who do not wish us to prosper.

We must defend our future with clarity.

We must embrace our identity with courage.

We must support Anioma State with unity and conviction.

Only then can we reclaim our rightful place, as a proud, united, politically empowered people capable of shaping our destiny.

Uzor King Solomon

A True Son of Ndoshimili

In Anioma State