Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has urged the Federal Government to employ more diplomacy in handling the agitation for the Republic of Biafra.
Watch And Pray, Watch And Prey By Wole Soyinka
Soyinka said statements like “Nigeria is indivisible”, “This won’t happen under my watch,” “Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable” would not help matters.
The Nobel laureate spoke in an interview on Channels Television programme, Channels Books’ Club.
Agitation for the Republic of Biafra gained more traction recently following the arrest of Director of outlawed Biafra Radio,Nnamdi Kanu.
The protesters had taken over the Niger Bridge, Onitsha, Anambra State blocking traffic and it took the intervention of security agents before they could be dislodged, leaving some persons dead in its wake.
Soyinka asked President Muhammadu Buhari to approach the agitation in a more diplomatic way, pointing out that he had said earlier that Biafra cannot be defeated.
According to him, ”Once an idea has taken off, you may defeat those behind it in a war but that does not mean the end of the idea.”
But he lamented that he had been misunderstood at the time.
He said the attitude of the government should be to sit down with the those leading the renewed agitation and ask: “What can we do to make the Igbo feel part of the country, what can we do to make them to feel that they belong and not alienated.
“This is what we are ready to push for in the overall governance content of the country. It is not to be carrying on that this will not happen under my watch; Nigeria is indivisible, Nigeria’s unity is non-negotiable, he stated”
ABA—The youth wing of the pan Igbo socio -cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has commended the former military heads of state, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Yakubu Gowon over their support for the election of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction.
Former President Ibrahim Babangida
Babangida had said in an interview that he will back an Igbo for the presidential seat in 2019 if he finds a credible personality while Gowon had openly canvassed for an Igbo president to preside over the affairs of Nigeria in the nearest future.
National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo youth wing, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, in an interview with Vanguard, described the two former leaders as the conscience of the nation, stressing that their support for Igbo presidency had given Ndigbo hope that they would find greater accommodation within a united Nigeria.
He explained that an Igbo presidency would finally heal the scars left by the unfortunate civil war and the marginalization of Ndigbo in the affairs of the nation.
“Ohanaeze youths commended the two former military heads of state for their love for the unity of Nigeria through their support for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction.
“A Nigerian President of Igbo extraction is desirable in 2019 after President Muhammadu Buhari. An Igbo presidency will boost the unity of Nigeria. Former President Ibrahim Babangida said he will back an Igbo if he finds one; but we assured him and other Nigerians that Ndigbo have credible personalities who have the capacity to govern Nigeria.”
Isiguzoro urged political parties to zone their presidential candidates to the South East and called on Ndigbo to support Buhari’s administration.
“If we can get Senator Ike Ekeremadu as a PDP presidential candidate and Rochas Okorcocha as the APC presidential candidate in 2019, it will end the cries of marginalization including protests by Biafra agitators.”
The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, has directed all Igbo living outside Igbo land to start returning home and re-establish their businesses and investments in the South-East.
Biafran Protest over Kanu
Decrying what he described as the nonchalant attitude and insensitivity of many Igbo people residing in northern and western parts of the country the MASSOB National Director of Information, Mr. Uchenna Madu, said that, “we have decided and promise to provide adequate security for lives and property in Igboland.
MASSOB shall defend Igboland with our blood, valour and enthusiasm. It is our unflinching service to our father land.
“MASSOB has vowed to stop kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal tendencies in Igbo land because there is no place in Nigeria like Igbo land.
“Nigeria is a state where others are first class citizens but treat the Igbo as second class citizen, a state where others are born to rule but treat the Igbo as perpetual outcasts, a state where state policies deliberately deny Igbo land critical developmental infrastructure.
“Nigeria has vowed to continue to be a state where prejudice, tribalism, exclusion and hate are elevated while nation building is ignored, a state where it seems the only logic for unity is to share oil resources and not on the basis of consent, mutual respect, fraternity and brotherhood.
“Today in Nigeria, true nationhood has remained elusive to Nigeria which still remains in perpetual strife and ever increasing crisis since independence.
Thëse undeniable realities are the reasons the Nigeria state is afraid of Biafra which represents the truth they cannot legitimately counter.”
But reacting to the spate of protests by pro-Biafra groups, the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, dissociated itself from the activities of the agitators who have been protesting in many cities in the South East and South –South.
Ohaneze said that, “Biafra died in 1970 with the surrender by General Philip Effiong, to the Nigerian troops.”
Addressing reporters in Awka yesterday, Chairman, Forum of State Presidents of Ohaneze in the seven Igbo-peaking states, Dr. Chris Eluomunoh, said that no right thinking person would support what he called the madness by some youths, who were being deceived to engage in something they cannot finish.
He said, “you will notice that Ohaneze has been silent on the issue of Biafra insurgency though the youth wing of Ohaneze has been speaking on it.
Ohaneze, as the Igbo cultural group, cannot support Biafra and we dissociate ourselves from it totally.
“Igbo people have contributed so much in the development of Nigeria and we cannot allow some people to jeopardize the lives and efforts of millions of Igbo people residing in all parts of Nigeria.
“We believe that anybody who has any issue to settle with the federal government should use dialogue and that is why we participated in the last National Conference.
“No sane Igbo person would want to witness a repeat of the kind of thing that happened during the Nigeria civil war.
“Ojukwu, who led the Biafra war, returned to Nigeria from exile and contested elections in Nigeria which shows that he was fully integrated in Nigeria and was a full-fledged Nigerian before he died.”
Eluemunor denied insinuations that politicians of Igbo extraction support the Biafra agitation noting that support for pro-Biafra groups comes mainly from outside the country.
He admitted however that the agitations may not be unconnected with the dearth of infrastructure in Igbo land and pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to address the infrastructural decay in the area.
Opinion leaders and socio-political associations in the South- East believe that Igbo were deliberately denied ‘juicy’ ministries by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
Leaders of the foremost Igbo socio-political body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and Njiko Igbo, another prominent pan-Igbo association, described the portfolios assigned to Igbo ministers as ‘disappointing.’
Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, President of Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, who spoke on behalf of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said Ogbonnaya Onu and Chris Ngige deserved ‘more influential’ ministries than Science and Technology, and Labour and Productivity, respectively.
Isiguzoro said, “We are disappointed that somebody of the calibre of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was assigned to Science and Technology ministry, even Dr. Chris Ngige should have been appointed as the Health Minister instead of Labour and Productivity.
“Okechukwu Enalama should have been appointed Minister of Finance.
“Igbo ministers did not get juicy portfolios, except perhaps Ibe Kachikwu and Rotimi Amaechi, who are our brothers from the South-South.
“We are not happy that we did not get the juicy portfolios, although we are happy that our brothers from the Niger Delta got.
“Nevertheless, the era of impunity has gone and we expect all the Igbo ministers to perform excellently.
“We expect them to close ranks and work towards developing Igboland.”
Also, President of Njiko Igbo, Reverend Okechukwu Obioha, said Buhari relegated Igbo ministers to the background in his cabinet.
But he admitted that the association was not surprised.
He said, “They are adding more salt to the injury, we expected that. We can see that we (Igbo) are not wanted in this country. At the moment, the sharing of the national cake is between the North and the South-West.
“What will Ngige be doing as Labour and Productivity minister when the Federal Government is not employing anyone, or creating jobs?
“Even the Foreign Affairs portfolio that was given to an Igboman (Geoffrey Onyeama) is of no consequence because already Buhari has travelled to most of the countries and he will continue to do so.
“He has travelled in six months more than the immediate past president travelled in six years.
“So the Foreign Affairs minister will just be a rubber stamp.
“Buhari has taken the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for himself, making an Igboman the Minister of State.
“So, he (Buhari) has virtually given the Igbo nothing.
“But the problem is this will lead to more agitation for Biafra,” Obioha said.
Too early to assess ministers – Nwabueze group
However, the Igbo Leaders of Thought, an association of prominent Igbo personalities, led by foremost constitutional lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, said it was too early to praise, or condemn the new cabinet.
The Secretary General of the ILT, Evang. Eliot Uko, said it was a welcome relief that a cabinet had been put in place after several months.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone, he said, “It would be wrong to praise the cabinet, or to condemn it, hurriedly. We are happy that the cabinet has taken off but it is necessary for the cabinet to realise that expectations are very high.
“They should also understand the implications of crashing this high expectation.”
Asked to state the views of the ILT concerning the ministries assigned to Igbo ministers, Uko said, “The Igbo Leaders of Thought are not that petty-minded to judge which ministries are juicy, and the ones that are not.
“Juicy or non-juicy portfolios, we want a cabinet that can take Nigeria to a higher level, bearing in mind that there is need to restructure this country.”
CHRD faults education minister appointment
But the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders faulted President Muhammadu Buhari appointment of Adamu Adamu appointment as Education minister and a professor as Minister of State for Education.
The convener of the body in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, said in Uyo on Thursday that a reverse of the appointment would be adequate.
According to him, Buhari with the appointment of ministers and the portfolios that had been assigned to them was on the right track.
“Buhari seems to be on the right track with the appointment of ministers and the portfolios that have been assigned to them. It is encouraging because it shows a departure from the past.
“Though I have reservation on some of the portfolios especially that of Education ministry, where Adamu Adamu is the minister, while the professor is made a Minister of State. I felt the reverse should have been the case,” he said.
On the corruption charges levelled against some of the ministers, Effiong stated that there was nothing so serious as some of the allegations emanated from those who had political grudges with some of the ministers.
He stated that the development was the carry-over of acrimony and hatred by the Peoples Democratic Party senators against some of the ministers.
Cabinet composition fair – Ijaw youth
The Ijaw Youth Council commended the President for a fair and even distribution of ministries in the assignment of portfolios.
The IYC President, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, said on Thursday that the development would help in forging national integration that is badly needed in the country.
Eradiri said, “The new cabinet composition will help in national integration that is strongly needed at these trying times of our nation.
“We urge the ministers from the Niger Delta to live up to expectations and use their offices to address the challenges of youth unemployment that is the catalyst for the high rate of crimes, kidnappings, pipeline vandalism and oil-related theft prevalent in the region.”
Also, a foremost Ijaw activist, Mr. Alagoa Morris, urged President Buhari to ensure that the ministers do not fail the nation by giving them necessary tools to carry out their functions.
He challenged the President to ensure that critical areas of corruption, power supply, mass housing, justice and human rights, security, etc were tackled, saying tha addressing them would be the beginning of getting the nation out of its present predicament.
Morris state, “The appointment of ministers and assignment of portfolios was long awaited and, thank God, it finally came like a much desired rain in the arid land.
“However, while it is hoped that round pegs are not placed in the square holes, it is important to say that much is being expected from Buhari and his cabinet and the Nigeria project must not fail, especially with the sailing mantra of change.
“Again, it is instructive to urge Mr. President to ensure that the round pegs in round holes meet their expected ends. To be effective in the task ahead, the necessary tools of the office should not be denied them because if you appoint and starve the ministers free mind to execute their duties, that is ‘disempowerment’.”
He reminded the President that Nigerians had been in the wilderness of needs for too long and that it was time the government made the positive moves to get Nigerians out of the woods.
He also urged Nigerians to give genuine support to the Federal Government so that the populace, could as a nation, advance collectively towards the ideal – the promised land.
He advocated the necessity for Buhari and Nigerians to exercise the important roles of supervising, monitoring and observing the ministers and offer criticism where necessary constructively so that they would not veer from the task given to them.
Also, a the public affairs analyst and the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights, Dr. Jackson Omenazu, said Nigerians would be satisfied with the crop of ministers put together as federal cabinet by President Buhari.
ENUGU—The apex Igbo socio-cultural group,Ohanaeze Ndigbo,yesterday,appealed to the Igbo nation to remain calm in the face of seeming lopsidedness of appointments made so far by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ohanaeze was reacting to the strident outcries that have attended the appointment of the president’s ‘kitchen cabinet’.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
President General,Ohanaeze Ndigbo,Chief Enwo Gary Igariwey, spoke at the Ohanaeze National Secretariat in Enugu during an appraisal meeting on the Igbo nation.
Chief Igariwey said,”we had a meeting of a select group with Ohanaeze NEC to discuss Igbo day celebration. It will be held on a low key. Branches are free to celebrate as they want. But Ohanaeze national will mark Igbo day on a key.
“It will be a day of retreat,tact and unity. The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Akonauche na Njiko’ (tact and unity).
On the issue of appointments, the PG said,”we ask our people not to be disappointed on the seeming lopsidedness of appointments made so far by the president.
“Our people should remain steadfast, think of home, and galvanise efforts towards the development of Igbo nation because nobody will do it for us. We have helped in building Lagos and Abuja among others. It is time to do the same in our own place.
“We should recreate that zeal and develop our place. This years’ celebration is not a time of festival and masquerades,but a tiime for rethink.”
Also, former Secretary General of Ohanaeze,Chief Joe Achuzie,who was miffed by the lopsided ‘kitchen cabinet’ appointments, charged Ndigbo to remain strong and form a veritable opposition that will take over power come 2019.
According to the former scribe,”having known that the president has distributed key positions to his brothers, what worries me is that ministers have been regarded as mere servants by the president. In other words, if an Igbo is appointed minister,he or she will be a mere servant.
“The question is, are we to take up such positions to go and serve him,to go and make him popular? Without an Igbo man being a minister, I do not think the president will survive. So,Igbo should not take ministerial position.”
Appointment: Marcel Dim-Udebuani sues Buhari for breaching federal character
An Enugu-based activist, Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo has filed a suit at the Federal High Court Umuahia, Abia state challenging the constitutionality of the appointment of Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service by President Muhammadu Buhari.
General Buhari
However, Okonkwo’s suit is coming few days after Marcel Dim-Udebuani, a lawyer who hails from Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, filed a suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2015, before an Abuja Federal High Court, accusing Buhari of allegedly breaching Nigeria’s federal character principle in his appointment of persons into key positions under his administration.
Dim-Udebuani who joined the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission as the co-defendant, contended then, that the 25 appointments made so far by the President were in breach of the spirit of federal character enshrined in section 14 (3) of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He anchored his suit on the grounds “that the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country for all the citizens, South-East inclusive.”
Similarly, Okonkwo in the suit FHC/UM/CS/216 in which he joined the Attorney General of the federation and Ali, the plaintiff also sought the interpretation of Sections 5(1), 147(1), 148, 151 and 171(1) of the 1999 Constitution and the Custom and Excise Management Act, Cap. 45 Vol. 4LFN 2004 among others.
Okonkwo asked the court to declare that the appointment of Col. Ali (rtd) as Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Services violated 5(1), 147(1), 148, 151 and 171(1) of the 1999 constitution as well as a declaration of the appointment as ‘ultra vires’ of the president’s executive powers and duties and breach of his Oath of Office.
He further asked for “a declaration that as at 27th of August 2015, when the President purportedly appointed the Col. Ali (rtd) Comptroller-General of the NCS; the President breached the statutory mandatory provision in section 147(1) of the 1999 constitution; having not appointed Minister of Finance, the 2nd defendant.
“A declaration that the appointment of Col. Ali (rtd) as the Comptroller-General of the NCS is not supported by any iota of law, and a clear violation of the Public Service Rules application to the NCS. A declaration that there is no enabling law made by the national Assembly as the authority for the appointment of Col. Ali (rtd) as the new Comp,troller-General, NCS, his appointment by President Buhari is unconstitutional, null and void”.
Okonkwo told the court that the purported press statement by Mr. Femi Adesina, an aid of President Buhari was without due regard to Civil Service Rules, stressing that an appointment to the office of CG of NCS “shall not be made except with the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, and among Deputy Controller-Generals, Assistant Controller-Generals and or Controllers in the Service.
“The appointment was not in response to advertised vacancy, therefore the said appointment is of no legal consequence and as a retired Colonel in the Nigerian Army above 60yrs of age, a pensioner, he is not eligible for appointment into the federal civil service regarding the Nigeria Customs Service,” he stated.
Pan-Igbo cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of having deep hatred for the Igbo nation.
Speaking on ‘Face the Press’, a programme an Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), the President of Anambra State chapter of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Chris Eluemuno said all the actions and utterances of President Buhari pointed to the fact that he did not like the Igbo.
Eluemuno, who is also the chairman of all chairmen of Igbo-speaking states, said Buhari had no reason to discriminate against the Igbo.
He frowned on the President’s appointment of five service chiefs in the country without an Igbo representation.
Eluemuno called on the Igbo to brace up to the challenge posed to them by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government which he said, was not justified.
He condemned the President’s promise to compensate those who gave him more votes saying: “There is no way the President should expect all Nigerians to vote for him in the last presidential election.”
He said the statement contradicted Buhari’s earlier stand that he belonged to everybody and belonged to nobody.
Dr. Eluemuno said Buhari’s current actions justified the decision of the Igbo not to vote for him in the election.
He said that Igbo played prominent roles in the development of the country and should not be discriminated against in the scheme of things.
On the President’s decision to probe only former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the Ohanaeze leader said it would amount to witchunt if the President did so.
He advised that the probe should start from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.
He also urged the President not to jettison the report of the last Constitutional Conference, but study it critically and make use of it.
The report of the conference, he insisted, was key to fighting corruption in Nigeria. He said it contained recommendations that could help the President succeed in his fight against corruption in the country.
The Ohanaeze leader condemned the decision of the President to travel with All Progress Congress(APC) governors during his recent trip to the United States.
The imminent absence of the South-East from top leadership positions in the Senate and House of Representatives is of little bother to leaders of the region, former Anambra State governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, has said.
However, radical member of the Second Republic House of Representatives, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday, put the plight of the
Ohanaeze Ndigbo
region to its decision to put all their eggs in one basket, even as renowned economist, Dr. Pat Utomi, cautioned All Progressives Congress, APC to ensure that it gives a fair representation to all sections of the country.
The reactions came as APC, which is set to take over the Presidency and the National Assembly, denied taking a decision on the zoning of the top positions of government.
The party’s assertion nonetheless, there were indications that APC had zoned the office of Senate President to the North-Central with Senators Bukola Saraki and George Akume as the major contenders.
Other principal positions in the two chambers are being contested by the North-East, North-West and South-West. The South-South, which only has one returning member to the House of Representatives, is also angling for the office of Deputy Speaker.
The South-East, which has no returning member of APC in the Senate and the House of Representatives, has been completely left out of any of the principal officers’ positions.
Ndigbo aren’t worried—Ezeife
Reacting to the development yesterday, Chief Ezeife, who governed Anambra State between 1992 and 1993 said: “I do not see anything wrong with what APC had done.
“What the party has done is in line with their convention. I do not see any reason why people should be worried about the fate of the Igbo.
“We are not worried. Only those who do not see us as people of destiny are worried. However, there are lessons to be learned from the outcome of things. But we are not worried because lessons have been learned.”
Decisions’ve consequences — Mohammed
In his remarks, Dr Mohammed said the decision of Ndigbo to put all their eggs in one basket will have consequences politically.
He said: “I must say I do not have the privilege of seeing what the incoming government, led by APC, has drafted in terms of zoning offices.
“However, it is evident that the Igbo mobilized towards one candidate and I think APC is justified for not zoning any major office to their zone.
“I am not a believer of zoning, but with the complicity in Nigerian politics, rotation has been brought to the forefront and we will continue to battle with this until Nigeria matures politically.
“It is not just the result of the last elections that showed that the South-East zone had tilted towards one candidate, results of previous elections also showed that and they have had it so good under previous administration.
“They have, therefore, taken it for granted that they will get things on a platter of GOLD.
“APC is absolutely justified with the arrangement of not zoning any major office to the South-East. If they are given some of the big positions, what will other zones like North-West, who gave the President-elect big votes, ask for?
“So I think it will be stupid to give big positions like Senate President or Secretary to the Government to the South-East zone when the zones that gave bloc votes to the President-elect will just be watching.”
I expect good representation—Utomi
On his part, Professor Utomi said he expects APC to ensure equal representation from the geo-political zones even as he played down comments on the issue as he said the party had not come out with a categorical policy on the issue.
Pressed further, he said: “What is favour and what is not favour? I think any political party that wants to govern effectively would seek effective representation from across the country in the executive and legislative leadership of that country.”
APC’s assurances
Meanwhile, APC has urged Nigerians to disregard the wild speculations making the rounds concerning the appointment of ministers and the zoning of offices under the incoming Buhari administration.
In a statement in Abuja on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, APC said there was no truth to anything that had been dished out by the rumour mill concerning the issues of appointment, especially the zoning of the National Assembly’s principal positions and other offices.
It said in the true tradition of APC, all issues of public interest will be handled transparently and conveyed to Nigerians through the usual communication channels.
The party said: “No appointments have been made and no offices have been zoned. The main concern of our party at the moment is to ensure a smooth transition and to hit the ground running in the overall interest of the long-suffering people of Nigeria.
“At the appropriate time, Nigerians will be informed of the appointments made and the offices zoned.”
‘An effective govt’s priority’
Also speaking, President, South-East/South-South Professionals, Mr. Emeka Ugwu-Oju, said merit should be promoted in the allocation of government positions even as he called for the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference.
He said: “The number one priority of the peoples of South East/South-South is the implementation of the National Conference Resolutions as the foundation of the recreation of a new Nigeria that will be anchored on justice, equity, merit and the Rule of Law.
“That is the main reason they overwhelmingly voted for Jonathan.
“Majority of them will prefer the immediate implementation of the National Conference Resolutions in lieu of the National Assembly positions, because it will benefit more of the people than just a handful of individuals.
“Any political party that wants to govern effectively would seek effective representation from across the country in the executive and legislative leadership positions.”
DEPENDING on where one is standing, in Nigeria, the name Igbo is a compound word that includes many ethnic groups heaped together.
The perception of who constitutes the Igbo varies from place to place and could determine, to a large extent, how one is treated outside Igbo land.
While, in the strict sense, the Igbo refers to one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria found East of the River Niger; in a broad sense, the Igbo includes, in one angle, all the ethnic groups in southern Nigeria (if one is in the North), or the ethnic groups found in the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria (if one is in the South-West).
The Igbo cut this image because they are very vibrant and industrious, always conspicuous.
Geo-politically, the Igbo do not refer only to the ethnic group that bears that name. The broad perception of the Igbo is due to misconception rather than hatred.
There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria out of which three are outstanding, namely: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. This was what most of us were taught in the primary school.
Therefore, depending on where you are, every Nigerian is seen as Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba. The other ethnic groups were subsumed under these three.
For instance, to a typical Hausa man in Northern Nigeria, the Igbo refer to all non-Hausa speaking people from Southern Nigeria. The Northerners call the Igbo nyamiri, which is concocted from the Igbo phrase nyem miri, meaning, give me water.
To a Northerner, nyamiri refers to everybody from Southern Nigeria, irrespective of the ethnic group. A typical Hausa man doesn’t know that the Igbo are distinct from the Yoruba. Similarly, our common perception in the South-East is that everybody in North is Hausa. We call the entire North Ugwuhausa, meaning literally, the hill country of the Hausa.
Similarly, a typical Yoruba in Southwest Nigeria sees all non-Yoruba as Igbo, excluding, perhaps, the Hausa. Therefore, when a Yoruba says omoIbo, he is not just referring to the Igbo-speaking ethnic group but all non-Yoruba-speaking people, excluding the Hausa.
Nevertheless, the Igbo are often at the centre of the discourse because of their early predominance. The Igbo, who bear the ethnic tag, often take exception to any mention of Igbo anywhere, especially, if it is for bad reasons. By so doing, the Igbo often bear the brunt of ethnic profiling in Nigeria.
I decided to take a closer look at this issue following the hullabaloo over the recent statement credited to the Oba of Lagos, Alhaji Rilwan Akiolu. The Oba was reported to have threatened the Igbo to vote for Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, or perish in the lagoon.
Since the news broke, the Igbo of Southeast extraction have taken it very seriously and made representations to the Oba and other key stakeholders in Lagos. But the Oba’s Palace issued a statement that the royal father was misrepresented in the press and pleaded for understanding.
I am not out to analyze the important of the statement, but to examine what the Igbo means in the statement. As I said earlier, the Igbo could refer to all non- Hausa-speaking people in Southern Nigeria if one is in the North, or all non-Yoruba-speaking people if one is in the South-West.
Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the Igbo in the statement did not refer to Igbo-speaking people in Lagos alone, but all non-Yoruba-speaking people. This includes people from the Niger Delta and beyond.
How do I know this? The statement was based on the voting pattern in the March 28 presidential election. The results showed that the states in the defunct Eastern region comprising the South-East and South-South zones voted overwhelmingly for the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.
Here in Lagos, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) tally was quite overwhelming, with 632,327 votes, while the APC had 792,460, giving a marginal difference of 160,133 votes. This close tally was attributed to the votes of the Igbo, i.e., non-Yoruba-speaking people from the South-East and South-South zones, who favoured President Jonathan in the presidential election.
Pundits in the South-West had reason to be worried. They reasoned that this was a dangerous development. A situation where the Igbo (non-indigenes) could sway the voting pattern to almost give victory to their opponent was unacceptable. What is at play is geo-politics. No ethnic group wants to be dominated. Am sure the Igbo don’t want domination.
Apparently, Oba Akiolu’s outburst was meant to forewarn non-indigenes to desist from swimming against the tide in Lagos. Though undemocratic, it bared the mind of a ruler who cherishes the geo-political integrity of his jurisdiction.
How many Igbo traditional rulers care about Igbo being dominated? We need Ezes in the ilk of Oba Akiolu in the South-East.
Granted that Nigeria has not developed to the level where “non-indigenes” are allowed to dominate the political power in an area, our democracy is maturing towards that, but not yet. Until we get there, ethnic cleavages still dictate who wins and who loses elections. As expected, the APC candidate, Akinmunmi Ambode, won the election. That settles the matter.
It is important for the Igbo of South-East extraction to understand that whenever the name Igbo is mentioned outside Igbo land in Nigeria, it does not refer only to them (Okoro), but all non-natives of the area.
Since the statement was made in Lagos, the Igbo, therefore, refer to all non-Yoruba, who voted for the PDP. This includes people from the South-East, South-South, Edo and Delta. The Igbo ethnic group should not assume that they are the only ones being referred to. That would automatically make them the scapegoat.
That was exactly what happened during the Nigeria-Biafra war. Whereas the war was waged against the defunct Eastern Region and part of Mid-West, comprising the present South-East, South-South and part of Delta State, the Igbo ethnic group bore the brunt, to the extent that many saw Biafra as Igbo personified, which is incorrec
Some Igbo leaders, yesterday, blasted former Chief of Army Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma (retd) over his comments that if former Biafran Leader, late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, had conceded defeat quickly during the 1967-1970 civil war like President Goodluck Jonathan did after the 2015 presidential polls, Nigeria would have been saved one year of bloodshed.
Danjuma spoke on Wednesday shortly after a closed-door meeting with President Jonathan, who visited him at his Abuja residence. He said the President averted civil war in the country by timely conceding defeat and congratulating Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a move he said Ojukwu failed to make and thereby causing the country avoidable blood shed.
Coming at a time the Igbo are still seething over Oba of Lagos, HRM Rilwanu Akiolu’s threat that Igbo living in Lagos would drown within seven days in the Lagos Lagoon, if they did not vote his governorship candidate in tomorrow’s election, Danjuma’s comments elicited caustic criticisms.
Reacting to Danjuma’s comments yesterday, some Igbo leaders accused him of ridiculing the president, insulting Ojukwu and continuing the genocide against the Igbo by other means.
Among those who berated Danjuma are former Secretary-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo and officer in the Biafran Army, Col Joe Achuzia; Second Republic Politician, Chief Guy Ikokwu; botched Third Republic Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife and former Deputy National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Abia Onyike.
He is no longer strong mentally –Ezeife
Piqued at the comments, Ezeife said: ‘’I know Danjuma is not very well. So I am not surprised.’’
Igbo will respond – Ikokwu
Alleging that Danjuma killed Nigeria’s first military Head of State, General Ajuiyi Ironsi (an Igbo), Ikokwu said General Danjuma will get a full response after the elections because by talking about Ojukwu, he is talking about the South-East and South-South geo-political zones, which constituted most of the former Eastern Region and later the defunct Biafra.
His words: ‘’I don’t think we should take issues with Danjuma until after the elections. Jonathan went to him and not him to Jonathan. We shall respond to him.’’
Danjuma’s comments confirm the genocide against Igbo – Achuzia
In his reaction, Col Joe Achuzia said: ‘’I am happy that my friend Danjuma owned up that there was bloodshed and pogrom against the people of Biafra. I don’t understand what he meant by Ojukwu conceding defeat. If the Federal Government had implemented the Aburi Accord, the bloodshed would have been avoided.
‘’Ojukwu believed in Aburi as the road map for peace at the time of the crisis but the Federal Government reneged on the agreement reached in Ghana. One does not concede defeat half way into a battle. Doing that would have amounted to cowardice. I don’t know where Danjuma got the idea of Ojukwu not accepting defeat from. He has little knowledge of the intricacies of the war. He didn’t even know the terrain of the Enugu that he talked about. If the necessities of capitulating were there, why did the war last for three years? I fought the war for three years and I know that the necessities were not there. Sometimes people talk for talking sake.
‘’The President’s visit to him was a private one and he should not have used that opportunity to insult all that Ojukwu stood for. To say publicly that the President was defeated was even a mockery of the President. It does not portray the President in good light. Of course what he said was an insult on Ojukwu. His reference to the fall of Enugu is laughable because the war was just starting then. Which military officer will surrender in that kind of situation even before firing a bullet? When some people make wrong comments on the civil war, I wonder what often inform their judgement. Ojukwu was a General and was right on all the decisions he took in the interest of the Igbo.’’
His comments ‘re diversionary – Onyike
In a chat with newsmen in Abakaliki, Onyike, one-time commissioner for Information and Orientation in Ebonyi State, said it was most unpatriotic of Danjuma to make such comments at this point in the country’s political history.
He alleged that Nigeria’s problem now is not from the Ndigbo but from Danjuma’s North-Eastern zone occasioned by the Boko Haram and Hausa/Fulani herdsmen insurgency, insisting that the General’s comments were mere diversionary tactics deployed to denigrate the integrity of Ojukwu.
Onyike said: “In the first place, it was Danjuma that backed the spilling of the blood of the Igbo, with the killing of Aguiyi Ironsi in Ibadan in 1967 and we want to say that Danjuma belongs to the group of Army Officers who led the gruesome genocide and massacre of over three million Igbo during the Nigerian civil war.
“We want to say that the problem with General T. Y. Danjuma is mainly psychological because at a time when some of them felt that they had become great statesmen and patriots for presiding over the attempted extermination of the Igbo, unfortunately for them, the Igbo people survived and have come to assert themselves and their identity in the Nigerian federation.
“Secondly, a twist emerged in the Nigerian scene where people like Danjuma and the minority group where he comes from in the Northern have been subjected to the same gruesome murders by militant elements of the same northern oligarchy which they serve, and to that extent Danjuma cannot go to his village.
“So, let him go and resolve that problem first because when Ojukwu was making them understand the nature of the Nigerian federation and the dangers inherent in the politics that was emerging, Danjuma preferred to be a surrogate. So let him stop using the Igbo to hide his inadequacies.”
