Oil was at the heart of the struggle that led to the bitter 30-month civil war in which about two million people died, more than half of them innocent infants who knew nothing about crude oil.
It also influenced Britain’s refusal to allow Biafra to secede.
Beyond the war, oil has distorted identities, boundaries and relationships in the Niger Delta. Communities that historically shared ancestry, language, traditions, markets and traditional institutions suddenly found themselves separated by state boundaries drawn around oil interests.
The President General of the Orashi National Congress, ONC, Amb. Comrade Emeni Ibe, JP, AP, said he saw an example of this firsthand while working as a consultant on a road project in Mgbede-Aggah, Egbema, a traditional Igbo entity.
According to him, the road is over 10 kilometres long, but the project covered only 3.2 kilometres. About 0.2 kilometres lies in Imo State and the remaining 3 kilometres in Rivers State.
“Yet these are the same people — same community, same ancestry, same traditions, and same ancient clan,” Ibe noted.
“The curious part is that the boundary follows the presence of oil. Those with oil wells are classified as Rivers State, while those beyond the oil-bearing area are classified as Imo State. Over time, some on the oil-producing side have even come to deny their Igbo identity.”
He added: “But ask their masquerades where they came from, and they will tell you: Amaraku. Amaraku is in Imo State. Their gods don’t lie; oil politicians do.”
Ibe observed that today, Imo has significant natural gas reserves, raising a thought-provoking question about identity and resource politics.
“One cannot help wondering: if that gas had been discovered before 1967, would Owerri today be called Rumuowerri and Akabo, Rumuakabo? Perhaps that is the greatest irony of our oil story: something that should have brought prosperity has instead shaped our wars, boundaries, identities, and divisions.”