Prominent community leader from Borno State, Alhaji Sali Bello, has renewed the long-standing call to create Amana State, describing the demand as a constitutional obligation and a necessary step to correct a historical injustice.

Speaking in Abuja while presenting the case before lawmakers of the 10th National Assembly, Bello said the request was not based on sentiment or emotion, but on the need to address decades of regional imbalance and the failure of Nigeria to fulfil promises made to the people of the Kasara-Amana area in 1961.

According to him, the agitation for Amana State is rooted in the events of February 11, 1961, when residents of the then United Nations trust territory known as Kasara-Amana voted in a plebiscite to join the Nigerian federation instead of Cameroon. At the time, representatives of the Nigerian government, including the late Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, made what Bello described as solemn promises to the region’s people in exchange for their loyalty.

He recalled that two specific promises were made by Nigerian authorities during the post-plebiscite integration. The first was that the Kasara-Amana area would continue to exist as a distinct entity within the Nigerian federation. The second was that Mubi, its historic and administrative centre, would be recognised and developed on equal footing with other regional capitals such as Kano, Katsina, and Ilorin.

“More than 58 years later, we are still asking the same question — have these promises been fulfilled? The answer is no,” he said. “We are not a state. Mubi is not recognised as a capital in the same way as others are. What we face is not just marginalisation; it is a complete disregard for an agreement made in trust.”

Bello said the creation of Amana State would help address structural inequality and give the people of the region a stronger voice in national affairs. He argued that Amana meets all the legal and constitutional requirements for state creation, including population size, geographic spread, administrative capacity, economic viability, and cultural identity.

He called on the National Assembly and the current federal administration to act with courage and historical awareness by righting what he called a national wrong.

“Since 1967, when the first 12 states were created, our agitation has been consistent. We have the numbers. We have the land. We have the resources and the economic potential to stand on our own,” he stated.

Bello stressed that the community had submitted all required documentation and memoranda to the Senate and House of Representatives committees in charge of constitutional amendments and state creation. He expressed optimism that the present lawmakers would show the political will to act where others had hesitated.

“The 10th National Assembly and this government have the opportunity to write their names in gold,” he said. “They can bring justice to a people who kept their word to Nigeria over six decades ago and have waited patiently ever since.”