BY: SAM. ONWUEMEODO
The creation of lmo State on February 3, 1976, by the administration of Murtala Mohammed was not a case of happenstance. It didn’t just happen. It was not an accident of history. It didn’t happen by omission. It was as a result of high level patriotism,commitment, dedication, astuteness, oneness and concerted efforts of four great men of history . I had called them, four wisemen from the East.
Like in every venture, the revelation or the dream must be given to someone to unveil or drive or superintend. And the way the person handles the revelation or the dream, would ultimately determine whether the dream would translate into reality or not. Whether it would bear the expected fruit or not. To fly or not.
The revelation or the dream of having lmo State created out of East Central State was given to Hon. Ambrose Olumba Onyewuchi. An Orji man. A renowned educationist and then member of Eastern House of Assembly. He was also a Commissioner in the then Sam. Mbakwe administration.
Hon. Onyewuchi didn’t allow the dream to die in him. He shared it with Justice Duke Njiribeako, an astute lawyer and Jurist. A prominent Owerri man with much oil in his head. Highly influential and he bought into the idea. They agreed to bring Chief RBK Okafor from Oguta and Chief Stephen E. Onukogu, from Ngwoma also in today’s Owerri North Local Government. Both of them, also highly respected and extremely influential. RBK Okafor was a member of the House of Representatives.
He later became the Deputy National Chairman of the Nigeria Peoples Party, NPP and also its State Chairman respectively. He was too dogged. Chief Stephen .E. Onukogu, an outstanding leader, with far-reaching influence. He was the Chairman of Nzuko Umu Owerri and also Chairman, Eastern Conference of Chiefs.
These positions made him a sine qua non in the project of having a new State created out of East Central State. He later became the monarch or King of his Ngwoma Community. He reaped where he had sown. These were the four founding fathers of lmo State. Onyewuchi, Njiribeako, Okafor and Onukogu. May their great souls continue to rest in the bossom of the LORD, Amen.
These four great men had their first meeting at the residence of Njiribeako, at No. 85 Tetlow Road Owerri. After the first meeting, they continued to meet and most of the times, at the residence of Onukogu at Ngwoma. They were meeting once a month, but later, very often.
In one of their meetings, they agreed to have a body under which to pursue their dream. And on February 17, 1970 they came up with, IMO STATE CREATION MOVEMENT.
At this stage, having kept the ball rolling, these great men decided to enlarge the membership of the MOVEMENT. They began to invite or recruit men with capacity. Men with the needed clout and candour from Okigwe, Owerri, Orlu, Umuahia, Ngwa, and Aba provinces.
They were able to bring in Chief Sam. Mbakwe, Chief Elijah Ekezie, Barr. Ferdinand Ukatta, Chief H.P Udom, Chief Jaja Nwachukwu, Chief Cosmas Egole, Hon. Zacheus Nwosu, Dr. B. U Nzeribe, Eze Dennis Abii, Eze Egole, Eze Obiefule, Chief Amaefula Ikoro, Barr. Adighije, Chief Moses Onwumah, Chief Onwudiwe, Chief Nzerem, Chief Elijah Okezie, Chief Aguguo and others.
Two men, George Wigwe and Bernard Amalaha, lecturers at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, were mentioned in one of their meetings. Wigwe was a Geography lecturer at the University and Amalaha, a Cartographer. Chief Onukogu suggested that Onyewuchi and Njiribeako should travel to Nsukka to meet with Wigwe and Amalaha and brief them on what was at stake. At the end of the parley, the two Scholars agreed to join the moving train. Agreed to join the laudable project.
They were coming from Nsukka for the meetings of the Movement until 1974 when the duo, in the glaring spirit of patriotism and the burning urge or desire to be part of history left UNN together to pick appointments at Alvan lkoku College of Education, Owerri. And the reason was to enable them be closer to where the action was.
Where it was happening. They were assigned a specific role. The role of coming up with a graph of the areas that would form or make up the proposed lmo State. The population, the boundaries, the economic considerations and so on. It should also be recalled that this Dr. Amalaha was later elected with Chief Sam. Mbakwe in 1979 as Deputy Governor. But the Court later removed him on the ground that he didn’t resign when he was supposed to resign.
These men wrote and sent a letter to the then administrator of East Central State, Mr. Ukpabi Asika, informing him about the birth of the MOVEMENT FOR THE CREATION OF IMO STATE. Asika was not pleased with the development. And he gave his reason which could also be considered reasonable. He didn’t want a split of the East Central State. He argued that the lgbo just came out of the Civil war and should avoid any move that would create further reservation against them.
With Asika’s response, these apostles behind the Movement for the creation of lmo State began to have their meetings and activities underground. Behind closed doors.
They had agreed that the new State should include, Owerri, Okigwe, Orlu, Umuahia, Bende and Aba divisions. They also agreed that the Capital should be Owerri. A formal application or letter for the creation of lmo State out of the East Central State, with Owerri as the Capital was drafted by Njiribeako, Wigwe and Amalaha and submitted to General Yakubu Gowon’s administration.
Unfortunately, on July 29, 1975, Gowon was overthrown as the Head of State. Murtala Mohammed was named his successor or replacement. These great men remained stoic and undeterred. They remained resolute. They kept both faith and fate alive. And with GOD on their side, in his first broadcast, the new Head of State, Mohammed announced that those wishing to have new States should submit their documents to that effect. These men of idea jumped into action with renewed zeal. They began from where they had stopped under Gowon.
There was no point talking about the minor agitation by those from Aba province. That was expected in a movement or project of that nature. Law of self preservation. It was about the Capital of the expected new State. The agitation was not disruptive. It was not damaging. It didn’t stop the moving train.
The new Head of State, Mohammed, had set up the Justice Ayo lrikefe led Panel to look into applications for the creation of new States and also hear from those who had applied.
These men of immense courage appeared before Justice lrikefe Panel and made their submissions. Sam. Mbakwe made the presentation and he was at his best. He had spoken under annointing so much so that, nobody was in doubt that lmo State was to be created. It was a superb outing. And GOD took his GLORY.
To cut the long story short, on February 3, 1976, Murtala Mohammed, in a national broadcast, announced the creation of seven new States and lmo was among them. With Owerri as the Capital and with nineteen local Governments. The local Governments were; Afikpo, Oguta, Nkwerre, Mbano, Mbaise, Bende, Aro-Chuku, Umuahia, Okigwe, Orlu, Oru, Mbaitoli/lkeduru, Etiti,Ohafia, Northern Ngwa, Owerri, Aba, and Ukwa. Lt. Commander Ndubuisi Kanu was announced the pioneer administrator of the new State. In all, It was a celebration galore in the respective homes of all the great men involved and in all the areas that were parts of the brand new lmo State. Men with capacity. Men with vision, passion, mission and compassion for their people. Blessed assurance.
Ten days after the creation of lmo State, to be precise, on February 13, 1976, Murtala Mohammed was assassinated in a bloody coup led by Lt. Col. B.S Dimka. Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo replaced him. And to the Glory of GOD, Obasanjo didn’t cancel or annul the new States created by Mohammed. He sustained them.
On tuesday, February 3, 2026, the lmo State that was created in 1976 would be fifty years. And with the joy of the LORD in our hearts, it is advisable that the kind of Spirit with which Ambrose Olumba Onyewuchi, Duke Njiribeako, Stephen .E Onukogu, RBK Okafor, Sam. Mbakwe, Eze Dennis Abii, Bernard Amalaha, George Wigwe, Dr. B.U Nzeribe, Amaefula lkoro, Barr. F.E Ukatta, Eze Ugochukwu, Chief Nzerem, Barr. Adighije, Chief Moses Onwumah and others, pursued and achieved this awesome feat, would remain in all the indigenes of the State who are alive today to witness or partake in the 50th Year anniversary of this great achievement. While we shall continue to clap for Jesus.
