Africa’s longest reigning monarch, Obi James Anyasi II, seeks govt help
The monarch of Idumuje-Unor, Agbogidi Obi James Anyasi II is the longest reigning king in Africa and the second in the world after King Bhumibol Adelyadej of Thailand reputed as the World’s longest reigning monarch. A phenomenal king headed for the Guinness book of records, he was born on the 6th of March 1924. Obi Anyasi II was crowned king from the Okwunye ruling dynasty on the 9th of October, 1946 at the age of 22, in the hey days of British Colonialism.
The Obi who is now 87 years old, has been on the throne for 65 years, a royal longevity never recorded in Nigerian or African contemporary history. Added to its enviable regal pre-eminence is the exalted place of Idumuje-Unor as the cradle of the clans in Aniocha North Council Area.
James Anyasi II
According to an indigene, Nobert Chiazor, the community has been living in abject squalor and poverty for decades.“Whenever it rains, the people live in an ocean of floods. The area is ravaged by gully erosion. Poverty and lack stalk the land as frustrated youths beguiled by city life move out of the village, leaving behind the aged and vulnerable women, consigned to subsistence farming and petty trading. With its palpable underdevelopment, Idumuje Unor is a telling metaphor of the typical Nigerian village; neglected, desolate and squalid.
“ This is the scenario since the attainment of nationhood five decades ago, as successiveNigerian leaders invariably averse to rural development have held the countryside prostrate, through cold in differences and rejection. Life in Idumuje Unor is bereft of appreciable modernity or urbanization. Even with its proximity to Asaba, the Delta State Capital, 15 kilometers uphill, the inhabitants have no access to good roads, pipe borne water, health care system and other public utilities.
“ Idumuje Unor had not been on the wrong side of history. It is instructive to note that Obi Anyasi II and the revered Benin Monarch, late Oba Akenzua II were the only two kings who represented the entire Benin Province at the historic Obas’ and Chiefs’ Conference of 1950 in Ibadan which led the foundation for other constitutional conferences that culminated in Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960. Idumuje Unor by its opaque rural setting can scarcely be in the news.
Located about five kilometers from Issele-Uku, Headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area, Idumuje Unor lies ensconced in a cascade of dense tropical rainforest, north of the Niger.”
Another chieftain of the community laments that Idumuje Unor is surrounded by a land locked horizon, accentuated by poor social infrastructure.
“ The settlement inhabited by a modest, population of barely 5000 people, reeks of rustic obscurity and pristine underdevelopment. Jagged earth roads ridden with deep pot holes are the only access routes to Idumuje-Unor from the neighbouring Idumuje-Ugboko, Onitsha Ugbo and Onicha Uku villages. The only tarred road linking Idumuje Unor from the Benin-Asaba expressway terminates abruptly at its boundary with Issele-Uku having been abandoned for so long by an anonymous contractor.
“As a royal father, patriot and statesman, Obi Anyasi II has contributed immensely to the peace, unity and survival of Nigeria especially during the 1967-1970 pogrom. Through wise counsel and fatherly intervention, the monarch according to records saved the lives of some Yorubas and other tribes resident in Idumuje Unor when Biafran soldiers invaded the community, making him a detribalized pacifist and nation-builder.
It is also to the honour of Obi Anyasi II that he has reformed Idumuje Unor from a society steeped in animism and idolatory to a vibrant Christian community. Strikingly the king has maintained its traditional values of cultural splendour, dignity, nobility and respect, with the community now better for it as a liberal, peaceful habitable society. With a tapestry of legacies and ethos, Idumuje Unor has every reason to be celebrated as an Arcadian society.”
