Out of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo have
by far the worst politicians. Among the different ethnic groups in Nigeria, the
Igbo are without a doubt, one of the most remarkable. So remarkable, indeed,
that some have even traced their ancestry to biblical Israel, as the far-flung
descendants of Jacob, the Jewish patriarch. ADVERTISING Gad, Jacob’s seventh
son, is said to have had three sons who settled in South-eastern Nigeria.
These sons; Eri, Arodi and Areli, are
believed to have fathered clans in Igbo-land and to have founded such Igbo
towns as Aguleri, Arochukwu, Owerri and Umuleri. Even the bitterest adversaries
of the Igbo cannot but admit that, as a people, they are very resourceful and
ingenious. Indeed, this has often been the cause of their envy and dislike by
others. However, more enlightened non-Igbo
Nigerians see this as a cause for
celebration. While today, the centre-point of Nigeria’s manufacturing is
situated in the Lagos/Ogun axis, there is no doubt that the real locomotive of
Nigeria’s indigenous industrialization lies farther afield in Aba and in the
mushrooming cottage-industries of the Igbo heartland. In one of the paradoxes
of Nigerian history, the terrible civil war provoked homespun industrialization
in the South-East. Military blockade left the Igbo with little alternative than
to be inventive in a hurry. While Nigeria as a nation failed woefully to
harness this profitably after the war, it has nevertheless ensured that the
Igbo are at the forefront of Nigeria’s economic development today. Indeed, the
way we disregard “made in Aba” today is the same way we disregarded “made in
Japan” yesterday.
For those of us who believe against the
odds that Nigeria is the China of tomorrow, we equally recognize that the
ingenuity of the Igbo is an indelible part of the actualization of that
manifest destiny. Hall of fame The Igbo have been a great credit to Nigeria.
They have given us a great number of our favourite sons, including
international statesman Nnamdi Azikiwe; military leader Odumegwu Ojukwu;
regional leader Michael Okpara; vice-president Alex Ekwueme; mathematical
genius Chike Obi; literary icon Chinua Achebe; world-class economist Pius
Okigbo; world boxing champion Dick Tiger; international statesman Emeka
Anyaoku; and world-class artist Ben Enwonwu. Pemit me to include in this
illustrious list even some of my very good Igbo friends: Pat Utomi, Ojo
Madueke, Olisa Agbakoba, Joy Ogwu, and Stanley Macebuh. Let us get one thing
straight: Nigeria would be a much poorer country without the Igbo.
Indeed, Nigeria would not be Nigeria
without them. Can you imagine the Super Eagles without the Igbo? Not likely!
Who can forget Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha and our very own Emmanuel Amuneke?
Can you imagine Nollywood without the Igbo? Impossible! Just think of Stella
Damascus-Aboderin; Rita Dominic and Mike Ezuruonye. And then there are the
diaspora Igbo who many are unaware are of Igbo descent, including concert
singer and actor Paul Robeson; Oscar award-winner Forest Whitaker; mega-pastor
T.D. Jakes; Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu; and BAFTA actor award-winner
Chiwetel Ejiofor. You may well wonder why I have found it necessary to present
this small litany of Igbo who-is-who. I think it is important to emphasise how
the Igbo have been very vital to the Nigerian project. They have more than
represented Nigeria creditably in virtually all walks of life. This makes it
all the more absurd that this same people have been consistently denied the
position of executive president of the country in all but six months of
Nigeria’s 54 year history. Civil-war legacy Of course, a major reason for this
was the 1967-1970 civil-war which had the Igbo on the losing side. But that was
over 40 years ago. If there is really to be “no victor, no vanquished” in
anything more than mere rhetoric, then the rehabilitation of the Igbo back into
post civil-war Nigeria will not be complete until an Igbo man finally becomes
president of the country.
That imperative should be of interest to
every Nigerian nationalist, committed to the creation of one Nigeria where
everyone has a deep sense of belonging. The problem, however, is that the Igbo
themselves seem to be their own worst enemies in this regard. They appear to be
doing their very best to ensure that this inevitable eventuality continues to
be denied and delayed. The Igbo need to forgive Nigerians. No one who lived
through the horrors that precipitated the secession of Biafra and led to the
civil-war cannot but admit that the Igbo were abused and mal-treated in one of
the worst pogroms ever. It was not just that they were senselessly massacred in
their own country; it was that they were butchered. I remember vividly gory
pictures of scores and scores of the Igbo with hands chopped up and with legs
amputated. And then there were the ravages of the three-year civil-war itself,
resulting in the death of millions of Igbo; many through starvation and
attrition. The end of the war brought no respite, as the Igbo were pauperized
by fiscal decrees that wiped out their savings and their properties were
blatantly sequestered by opportunists. All this is more than enough to destroy
the spirit of any group of people. But God has been on the side of the Igbo.
It is a testament to their resilience
that, in spite of this terrible affliction, they have survived, bounced back
and have even triumphed in Nigeria. Forty years have now gone by. The Igbo may
never forget what happened to them and, indeed, should never forget. But it is
past time for them to forgive. We are sorry This is one voice in the Nigerian
wilderness saying to the Igbo from the depth of his heart: we are sorry. We are
sorry for the way we mistreated you. We are sorry for the way we abused you. We
are sorry for starving your children to death. We are sorry for killing your
loved ones. We are sorry for stealing your properties. We are sorry for making
you feel unwanted in your own country. Please forgive us.
It is time to forgive us. It is way past
time for the Igbo to forgive Nigerians. We beg you in the name of God. There
was a civil war in the United States, but the defeated South rose from the
ashes. Five of the last nine presidents of the United States have been from the
South, including Jimmy Carter from Georgia, George Bush from Texas and Bill
Clinton from Arkansas. The time is overdue for an Igbo president of Nigeria,
but it is not going to happen as long as the Igbo continue to hold a grudge
against Nigeria and Nigerians. There is no question about it: the Ibos cannot
elect a president of Nigeria on their own. To do so, they have to join forces
with others. They have to form alliances with people from other parts of
Nigeria. That is not going to happen as long as the Igbo continue to bear a
grudge against practically everybody else. The Igbo have a gripe against virtually
all the people they need. They have this tendency to antagonise their possible
alliance partners. They keep dredging up the past, refusing to let sleeping
dogs lie. Until they drop these gripes, they are not likely to realise their
dreams. Demonising Yorubas. For example, the Igbo have this tendency to
demonise the Yorubas. It is alarming when reading the Vanguard blogs today to
see the animosity often expressed between Igbo and Yoruba contributors.
The hatred is most unhealthy. Insults are
traded with abandon. What is the point of this? For how long will the Igbo
demand emotional retribution from every Yoruba for the betrayal of Awolowo?
Most of the contributors were not even born when the civil-war took place more
than a generation ago. There is now even transferred aggression against
Babatunde Fashola, who made the blunder of repatriating some destitute Igbo
from Lagos back to their home-states. The man has apologised for the
infraction. He should be forgiven. Blunders are not the exclusive preserve of
the non-Igbo. The Igbo have made more than a few themselves and will yet make
others. Paradoxically, the redemption of the Igbos to prominent national office
moved apace under President Obasanjo; a Yoruba man.
Recognising that Igbos are some of the most
seasoned, competent and experienced public-servants, Obasanjo relied heavily on
their expertise. Thanks to him, we got Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at Finance, Charles
Soludo at Central Bank, Obiageli Ezekwesili at Education, Ndidi Okereke at the
Stock Exchange, and Dora Akunyili at NAFDAC. Indeed, Igbo statesmen came into
more prominence under Obasanjo than did Yoruba statesmen. But for some strange
reason, this does not seem to have succeeded in assuaging the ill-feeling of
the Igbos toward the Yorubas. Bad politicians Within the framework of Nigerian
politics, the Igbo also have a fundamental problem. Out of the three major
ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo have by far the worst politicians. They have
no recognizable leaders, and have no discernible strategy as to how to
negotiate power at the centre. As a result, the Igbo have tended to be
short-changed at the federal level. Traditionally, the inconsequential
ministries, such as the Ministry of Information, have been zoned to them.
The Igbo need to work out a plan that
will take them to Aso Rock. First, they need to choose and groom a
de-tribalised leader of the Azikiwe mould who can be sold to non-Igbos. Then,
they need to give him undiluted support. At the moment the internal politics of
the Igbo militates against this. The Igbo seem to hate themselves as much as
they hate others. They seem to fight themselves with as much venom as they
fight others. Every potential Igbo leader seems to have more enemies within
than without. This must not be allowed to continue. The Igbo need to help
themselves in order that their friends can help them. In this centenary of
Nigeria’s amalgamation, as we embark on the arduous process of crafting our
future through a National Conference, we salute the Igbo for their fortitude and
implore them to stake their claim in Nigeria. Nigeria cannot survive without
the Igbo.
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