Alloy Ejimakor dismisses ‘landlocked’ claim, says southeast can have seaport

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ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — Special Counsel to the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Mr Alloy Ejimakor, has dismissed claims that the Southeast or Igboland is landlocked and therefore cannot have a seaport, describing the assertion as a “terrible lie.”

Ejimakor, in a statement issued on Wednesday titled “Landlocked or not, a seaport is possible in Southeast,” argued that several rivers and waterways in the region provide relatively short navigational routes to the Atlantic Ocean.

According to him, some waterways, particularly those connected to the Imo and Azumiri rivers, have routes terminating at the Atlantic coastline within about 30 nautical miles.

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He compared the distances with existing Nigerian seaports, arguing that the distance between a proposed Southeast port location and the Atlantic could be shorter than the dredged waterways linking some existing ports to the ocean.

Ejimakor cited the Port Harcourt, Onne, Calabar and Lagos ports, noting that they are connected to the Atlantic through navigational channels that require dredging.

“It’s often said that a lie told so many times, if unchallenged, may, in the course of time, begin to pass for the truth. One of such terrible lies, institutionally purveyed since the end of the Civil War, is that Southeast or Igboland is landlocked or has no access to the sea, and thus cannot have a seaport,” Ejimakor said.

He argued that the Southeast has numerous waterways and tributaries running through wetlands and connecting to the Atlantic waterfront.

“These rivers and their contiguous tributaries have varying lengths of short navigational paths to the Atlantic, and in some cases, are far shorter nautically than the dredged Lagos seaports are to their contact with the Atlantic,” he said.

Ejimakor specifically mentioned Obuaku in Abia State, which he said is about 25 nautical miles from the Atlantic through the confluence of the Imo and Azumiri rivers.

He also identified the Azumiri River and the Oseakwa, also known as the Urashi River, in Ihiala, Anambra State, as waterways that could potentially provide access towards the Atlantic.

The lawyer further argued that the geographical boundaries of what is historically regarded as Igboland have changed over the years.

He referenced an account attributed to 19th-century explorer and geographer William Balfour Baikie, which described the historical extent of Igbo territories as stretching across a wider geographical area, including territories close to the coast.

Ejimakor alleged that post-Civil War policies and subsequent boundary adjustments resulted in the loss of political control over some historically Igbo territories.

He particularly criticised the 1976 boundary adjustment exercise, arguing that it contributed to the incorporation of some territories he described as historically part of Igboland into neighbouring states.

However, Ejimakor maintained that parts of the present-day Southeast still possess rivers and waterways that run through adjoining territories and eventually reach the Atlantic coastline.

He said the existence of these waterways challenges the argument that the Southeast’s geography makes the development of a seaport impossible.

Ejimakor’s comments add to the continuing debate over infrastructure development and access to maritime facilities in Nigeria’s Southeast region.