I have
wondered about this: Every Igbo person should ask himself the following
questions:
(1) If I were not an Igbo, would
I be comfortable with the Igbo?
(2) If I were not an Igbo, would
I welcome an Igbo president for Nigeria at this time?
(3) If any other group brags and boasts and claims to be better than others, as
we, the Igbos,
often do, will I be comfortable with that?
I
grew up my entire life (first 4 years in the Civil War) believing that we, the
Igbos, were wronged by everyone else, that we were perfectly right and others
were perfectly wrong, and that others hate and envy us because we are special,
which is why we call ourselves Umuchineke (special children of God). Of course,
I had to believe all this because that was what Ojukwu
told our parents.
These stories have
been passed down from generation to generation.
I
grew up having a lopsided understanding of the events between 1966 and 1970. In
the brainwashing that we all received, we have no problem with the fact that
Zik and M.I. Okpara were the only politicians in their class that were not
killed in January 1966.
And
we don’t seem to understand that even if that was a coincidence, it was a
troubling coincidence with serious ramifications. We read no meaning in
the fact that Nwafor Orizu, an Igbo man, handed over the powers of a democratic
government to a military general, also an Igbo man. We read no meaning in
the fact that the military general
passed the Unification Decree.
This pushed the
country's federal structure toward a unitary system, much to the
discomfort of the rest of the country.
We
failed to understand the implications of General Ironsi's failure to punish the
majority of Igbo officers who killed
political leaders of other ethnic groups. And why did Ironsi not
punish Nzogwu and Ifeajuna?
Because
they were so popular among
Eastern youths especially
university students who praised them for killing
other ethnic leaders. This chain of failures led to the
counter-coup of July 1966, which changed history.
In
all these events, as an Igbo child, I was trained to blame others and absolve
our people. So, I was mis-educated. That miseducation continues
today. So, why and how would you expect others to trust you and be
comfortable with you?
To
change the Nigerian mindset, we must
receive proper education and orientation. It is not enough to think
we are superior or that we were so wrong that we are entitled to something
special. We cannot continue to think the way Ojukwu taught us in 1967 and
expect a different outcome. It is unrealistic to expect non-Igbos
to suddenly trust us. It will take time
for that to happen. And whenever the Igbos try to really build the
bridge, a group like IPOB will set us
back 50 years.
So
ask yourself, if I were the Yorubas, would
I like the Igbos? Even the Ijaws don't like the Igbos that much. So
maybe we should
rethink our way out of our predicament.
As for an Igbo presidency, do not expect it for
another 16 years from now.
Tinubu will get 8 years. Northerners
get 8 years. Then, perhaps, the two main parties will both field an Igbo
candidate based on zoning. Without zoning an Igbo president will not emerge in the next 50 years. But
with zoning, expect it in the next 16 years.
Many
people were impressed by Peter
Obi's performance in the last election. But that was as random as
the End-SARS protest. Indeed, Peter Obi
led Labour Party was a peaceful form of End-SARS
protest. They both took the powers that be by surprise.
And as
you can see, after the End-SARS protest, the powers that be moved quickly to
prevent it from reoccurring soon. Likewise, having survived the shock of the
Peter Obi movement, they are moving quickly to ensure
it doesn't happen again.
We
really need to pay close attention to history. Everything that happens now has
happened before but in a slightly different format. We owe
it to learn from history and
need proper education, not the misinformation that has led us far astray.
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