Anioma People: Origin and History Of Anioma people of the Igboid.
The Anioma people are a subgroup of the Igboid speaking people of Delta and Edo State, Nigeria 🇳🇬. Aniomas are made of communities which span across 9 Local government areas and speak different varieties of the Igbo language, including the Enuani language, Ukwuani language, and the Ika-Ibo language.
The farther you go from Onitsha after the Niger bridge and heading towards Agbor and Benin city, the deeper the dialect becomes.
The Anioma people of Delta North Senatorial District consists of the Enuani (Oshimili/Aniocha), Ika, and Ukwuani/Ndokwa linguistic zones of Delta State.
Anioma means “Good Land” and their population is estimated at 1.8 million people.
According to Elder Emeka Esoegbue, a historian, journalist, Anioma advocate and author, “the age long believe that the Aniomas principally has their historical Origin linked to Igbo Land, South Eastern Nigeria, no longer holds water as it currently faces embarrassing facts.”
‘Esoebue’s account proves beyond reasonable doubt that Anioma is not a ‘natural creation’ but an amalgamation of people from different tribes and location.
Before now, little did we know that; the people of Ebu are Igala. The people of Ugbodu, Ukwunzu, and Ogodor are Yoruba. The people of Ibrede are Isoko. The people of Amai are Igala.
The people of Asaba, Illah and Okpanam have populations of Igala. The people of Ozanogogo are Bini. The people of Ibusa, Akwukwu-Igbo, Ishiagu and Ewulu are the only people that trace their origin to the Igbos.’
From the above, it is evident that history does not obliterate the ancestry of anyone. It does not satisfy or dissatisfy people but gives account on the past.
Regardless of what others may say, this new awareness has the capacity to engineer disruptive as well as constructive ideas that will help shatter set patterns of thinking, threaten the status quo or at the very least raises peoples concern to further question time-honoured historical accounts.
Ichu Ulor Festival is a common festival celebrated by the communities, it is believed to ward-off evil spirits in communities where it is celebrated.
Anioma people traditional and ceremonial attire is the lovely Akwa Ocha and Coral Beads.
