Anioma Indigenes: Economic Development

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

For decades, Anioma indigenes have not experienced meaningful economic development due principally to several factors highlighted in this book. It is ironic that a community which is richly blessed with abundant fertile land, agricultural establishments such as the Faculty of Agriculture, Delta State University, Anwai Asaba and agro service centers. Besides the agricultural resources, nine Local Government Areas have large deposits of crude oil including Ndokwa crude oil deposit which has been providing crude oil for about four decades. Most of the communities lack basic local infrastructures including health facilities, lack of access to outside markets, lack of clean drinking water, etc. All these deficiencies result

These fundamental problems are highlighted in virtually all the segments of this compendium. The first assault occurred in 1884 when the colonial administration diplomatically signed a Treaty of Friendship and Peace between the British monarch and community leaders of Asaba and Aboh. It was a Treaty of unequal partners. The second assault occurred in 1888 when the British administration bombarded Asaba and Aboh presumably to combat slavery, the genocidal attack which culminated into Ekumeku War. The Third assault was the British Governments agenda of “divide and rule”. On the altar of expediency the colonial administration sacrificed Anioma identity by splitting the Anioma community which was then known as West Bank of River Niger, into two different Divisions – Aboh and Asaba Divisions during the heat of the Ekumeku War. Instead of consolidating the community into a West Bank of River Niger Province, the colonial masters placed Aboh Division in Delta Province while Asaba was placed under the colonial Provincial Resident in Benin. Technically Asaba Division could neither claim to belong either to Delta because they never claimed to be Deltans. They equally could equally not claim to be Edos in Benin Province. When the Delta state was created in 1991 and Asaba became the capital, the Urhobos and other Delta areas, referred to the indigenes of Delta Province as core Deltans and refered to Anioma indigenes either as Anioma Deltans or Delta Ibos. Inspite of earlier assaults perpetuated on Anioma community by colonial officers or prejudiced comments by non-Anioma Nigerians, the historical and cultural relations of Anioma indigenes generally are not questionable. The anti-developmental environment in Anioma today can therefore be traced to the