By Chukwuemeka Okala
It is no longer news that Ndigbo (the Igbo people of Nigeria) have repeatedly cried foul over marginalisation in the scheme of things in the commonwealth of Nigeria. And it’s on that baseless platform that IPOB/ESN stand to cause repeated and endless mayhem in the Nigerian polity – demanding senselessly the independence of their ethnic nationality from Nigeria with the name of Biafra.
Recall that Biafra was the name of the short-lived republic that encompassed the landmass that houses the present day South-South (minus Edo State) and the South-East. These two areas put together formed the Old Eastern Region of Nigeria from whence Biafra accidentally emerged. It (Biafra) was inadvertently carved out of Nigeria on the 30th day of May 1967 due mainly to the madness of that time.
Nigeria was only circa 6 years old as an independent nation-state. So, all players in that unfortunate war (from both sides of the divide) could ipso facto be forgiven, considering that the country was still a toddler – learning how to walk in the murky and complicated world of politics, diplomacy and nation building.
The war lasted for circa three years and the republic of Biafra was literally defeated, killed and finally buried at the Dodan Barracks in Lagos(the then seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria). In the agreement that finally sealed the war and supposedly deleted the name of Biafra from the country’s lexicon, Gen Philip Effiong the Second-in-Command to Gen Ojukwu and the man who led the Biafran team to that historic meeting, declared before the world inter alia, that “what was [hitherto] known as the Republic of Biafra, hereby ceases to exist”. It was a vow! and the agreement was gazetted. And by it (agreement), nobody was to talk or think about the existence of Biafra anymore moving forward.
In an unprecedented magnanimity, Gen Yakubu Gowon, the then Head of State of Nigeria declared that there was neither victor nor vanquished from that regrettable unbridled violent war. Subsequently, he humanely and wisely came up with an RRR (Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction) policy to be able to manage and achieve an envisaged post-war reintegration for the country maturely genuinely.
From that policy, no Nigerian from any extraction of the country was either knowingly minimised or seen as an enemy. Every Nigerian was given the freedom to operate and exist in Nigeria. Students wanting to study in the institutions of higher learning – both home and abroad were given mass scholarships. In the absence of enough colleges, polytechnics and universities in the country, most of the scholarship awardees travelled overseas – majorly to the UK and US and the Federal Government of Nigeria footed the bills. There was no discrimination in the awards. It didn’t matter whether you were Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Ikwerre, Edo, Itsekiri, Idoma, Efik or…. You were simply given the scholarship for as long as you deserved it.
I’m not a fan of Gen Yakubu Gowon, but when it comes to the management of the post-war integration, I give him kudos resoundingly unreservedly. He did excellently marvellously. In that period, Nigerians of all walks of life saw themselves as Nigerians devoid of ethnic acrimony and all that.
So, how did the Igbos suddenly see themselves as a marginalised people in the scheme of things in Nigeria? This is what baffles me!
I make bold to say that Ndigbo are their own WOERST ENEMY in Nigeria and their endless cries about Igbo-marginalisation are absolutely worthless, baseless and without foundation.
Come with me.
Sequel to the “no-victor-no-vanquished” policy of the Federal Government of Nigeria, late Dr Alex Ekwueme became the first VP in the new democratic dispensation that saw Shehu Shagari as the first Executive President of the country. Chief Obafemi Awolowo who allegedly came second in that election (he would have been the first Executive President had Gen Obasanjo’s government respected the Constitution and allowed an Electoral College) had an Igbo, late Barr Philip Umeadi as his running mate. Nigeria was more of a country in the real sense of that word, so, no one blinked an eye about Chief Awolowo’s choice of an Igbo as his running-mate, even when both candidates in that (UPN) ticket were from the southern part of the country. Put differently, if Papa Awo had won that General Election, an Igbo would have still been the VP of the country. How else would one define RECONCILIATION or INTEGRATION?
In order to function effectively, given his weak acceptance at the polls, President Shehu Shagari’s NPN (a northern oriented party) formed an alliance with NPP (an Igbo oriented party). And together the Alliance ruled Nigeria for as long as Shagari’s first term lasted. And No Igbo man or woman cried marginalisation throughout the term and time of that administration.
When Maj Gen Muhammadu Buhari came on board with late Maj Gen Tunde Idiagbon as Head-of-State and Deputy-Head-of-State respectively, an Igbo attorney, Barr Chike Ofodili was the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice. And Nobody from Igbo cried marginalisation.
When IBB came to power as the Military President, Commander Ebitu Ukiwe, an Igbo man was his Deputy. This is aside from the FACT that two Igbo Economists – Dr Kalu Idika Kalu (the author of Structural Adjustment Programme – SAP and the maiden devaluation of the naira and Dr Chu Okongwu) controlled the monetary and fiscal policies of the country – all other appointees of folks from the Igbo extraction notwithstanding. And Nobody from the Igbo extraction cried marginalisation or hate!
During the short-lived rule of late Ernest Shonekan, ministers like Mrs Kuforiji-Alubi and late Uche Chukwumerije from the Igbo extraction inter alia were powerful ministers in the federal cabinet. And No Igbo shouted hatred, marginalisation or Igbophobia!
Unfortunately I can’t remember how they (the Igbos) fared in Sanni Abacha’s and Abdusalami Abubakar’s regimes. But what I do know is that the Igbos did not cry marginalisation, even in those two last military regimes in the country. I can also recollect that Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was more of an Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinaire in Sanni Abacha’s regime.
In the third Democracy, aside from having powerful ministers like Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Barth Nnaji and others in the federal cabinet under the leadership of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the position of the Senate President was reserved for the Igbo – either by accident or design for as long as that administration lasted. And No Igbo cried “Pim” about marginalisation.
During the rule of President Goodluck Jonathan, the Igbos literally ruled the country as they virtually occupied all the notable positions of authority in the scheme of things in Nigeria. The trend would have continued unabated but for the surprise and unexpected emergence of the very corrupt President Buhari at the helm.
No sooner President Jonathan lost to Buhari than Mazi Nnamdi Kanu took a flight from London where he lived as a British citizen to Nigeria as the leader of IPOB to take over from Ralph Uwazuruike’s moribund outfit to start an aggressive campaign for the secession of the Ndigbo from Nigeria with the name of Biafra for nonexistent MARGINALISATION of the Ndigbo in the scheme of things in Nigeria. Weird!!
Surprisingly, the Igbos did not rise up to stop him from his dangerous mission which was clearly based on FRAUD and LIE!! They allowed him and his outfit, IPOB to carryout their violent mission in the country and senseless propaganda abroad. A good population of Ndigbo even supported him both financially and morally because of greed.
That was the genesis of the cry about the marginalisation, hatred of the Igbos and Igbophobic rhetoric in Nigeria. Just because President Jonathan lost the election and their hope to continue with the rule dashed. I can remember advising them time without number on these platforms to re-strategise democratically to be able to achieve the political leadership of the country which they wanted so much. I even cited the noble path of the Yorubas. But all I got was one abuse after the other in gutter and gibberish languages.
With the atrocities committed by Nnamdi Kanu and his groups – IPOB/ESN coupled with the senseless injuries inflicted on the society through Sit-at-Home policy (I can hardly forget the video of where one Justice Nnaji was dastardly wasted in a gunshot, in his jeep around Owerri axis for failing to obey Sit-at-Home, yet there were supposedly active state governments in their territory). Why would any government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria take them seriously or have faith/confidence in them?
So, who is marginalising who? The Igbos are the very ones marginalising themselves in the scheme of things in the country. And it’s very clear!
I make bold to say that the Ndigbo are their own WORST ENEMY!! They are the very ones causing marginalisation for themselves. They have succeeded in taking themselves so many years backward in the scheme of things in Nigeria because of greed and stupidity. They should fix the problems they caused for themselves and leave other sister tribes who are law abiding citizens of the federal republic of Nigeria alone!! No one hates the Igbos but Ndigbo and ONLY Ndigbo alone hate themselves.
There’s nowhere in Nigeria where cannibalism is practiced except in Igboland! Nowhere is Okeite practiced except in Igboland! No other tribe in Nigeria is doggedly trying to annex a sister tribe with every fiber of their being for their selfish end, except the Igbo tribe! So, if there is Igbophobia in Nigeria, you know why?
After watching a video clip on how some Igbo folks were cooking and happily eating their fellow human beings literally, why would any one ever try to convince me to travel to anywhere in Igboland for whatever reason? I don’t think I would oblige anyone for that kind of offer. Why? Because I’ve become Igbophobic. I wouldn’t want to be killed, cooked in a big pot and happily feasted upon literally by my fellow human beings. No way!! Lord have mercy.
If you ask me, I would encourage the lawmakers and policymakers to have Ndigbo excised from the polity so they can have their so-called Biafra as a distinct country from Nigeria.
Enough of the EMBARRASSMENT! Enough of the WASTAGE of innocent blood! Enough of their “WAHALA”! Shame!!!
Emeka Reuben Okala
London,
“Faith and reason are not necessarily opposed. But when reason won’t take you another step, faith keeps on going because it connects you to God.”
