By ABDULLAH DAN’AZUMI MOHAMED GOLKOS.
Political discourse has shifted to Biafra since the extradition, others call it the kidnapping of Nnamdi Kanu and his appearance in court on various allegations bordering on sedition and the jumping of bail. But whatever may be the allegations, we presume that he is innocent until proven guilty. It is therefore imperative that he is given the protection and the privileges every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to including access to anything that can facilitate his trial considering the fact that he is entitled to a free and fair trial.
There is no word today that raises more emotions in the Southeast like Biafra. It is a word that to some connotes history. To others a call to resistance to domination and marginalisation. To others, it is a bright and hopeful future.
Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB supporters are mostly of the post civil war generation. They had not witnessed the war and its consequences. The deprivations of the war and the misery experienced, the loss of life and property and the horrors of the internal situation in the Biafran enclave at a stage at which the mere mention of the word”saboteur” can send you to the great beyond without trial are simply tales by the moonlight. When therefore Kanu came out to champion the course of a second Biafra, he is embraced by the post war generation. He is deitified. He could do no wrong. Without the knowledge of history and international relations, he plunged into confrontation with Nigerian state head on. Applauded and worshipped by his supporters, encouraged by the silence of Ndi Igbo elders and elected representatives and pushed by a comfortably North European based Diaspora, he became untouchable. He was a running a mini state inside the Southeast complete with a militia. He became an uncoronated Emperor of Ndi Igbo. He was hurling insults left and right in his agitation for Biafra alienating even those who may be sympathetic to his course. The Ndi Igbo culture of respect for elders was thrown to the winds. He became untouchable. In the Southeast, you can only contradict him at your own risk.
In his agitation for Biafra, no one was spared. All of us were likened to animals in the Zoo including the liberal Yorubas, who to be fair to them have always been sympathetic to the course of the Ndi Igbo. For even at the peak of the war, they were freely going about their affairs in the region. And there are no stories of the confiscation of their properties. To Kanu and IPOB, that was nothing. The North and Buhari become interchangeable, an insult to one, is directed to all.
In all his actions, Kanu was oblivious of laws of International relations and the crude interest on which interstate relationships are based which allow individuals to be sacrificed on the alters of national interest.
The coures he was championing has never been popular on not only the African continent but indeed universally. The entire countries on the continent are colonial fabrications just like Nigeria. Balkanisation has never been approved nor encouraged. Where it has indeed happened, like in Eritrea and Southern Sudan, the results has not been encouraging thus dampening the morale of those who might entertained support for such. Internationally, it is no better, for when the Catalonia region of Spain decided to opt out, including a referendum and an endorsement by the regional Parliament, the central Government moved against them. For even at the peak of the Nigerian civil war despite the hardship, only a few countries recognised Biafra.
The Biafra which Nnamdi Kanu touted and portrayed was a cross between George Orwell’s Animal Farm before the rebellion and a tourist brochure which usually depicts people sitting at the beach beside swaying Palm trees reading novels watching the azure blue sea merging with the sky in the distance “Far from the Maddening Crowd”. Apologies to Thomas Hardy.
It is land where there is no contradiction. There will be no Inter communal clashes over land between communities( a recurring problem in the Southeast) nor with neighbouring countries. It is a land flowing with Milk and Honey. It is a land in which everybody will be minding his own business and every Ndi Igbo will be his brothers keeper. Such is the image of Kanu’s Biafra. To a post war generation, such a scenario is irresistible. The thoughts that such a conceited fellow will become a dictator is beyond their thoughts.
In the propaganda towards achieving such an objective, the entire history of Ndi Igbo from the pre-colonial to date was re-interpreted. His pre-colonial Republican system was shown to be progressive compared to others whose Geographical location necessitated the evolution of the opposite. The Colonial was presented as if others were given preferential treatment. And the post independence history was presented as that of having been oppressed, prosecuted and marginalised by the post colonial Nigerian state. But ASSUMING such is true, let us briefly look the history of the political development of Ndi Igbo both in the triple period of pre colonial, colonial and post colonial Nigeria compared to other areas of the country and observe if Ndi Igbo can totally absolved themselves of either direct or indirect complicity in his present predicament.
While Pre-colonial Ndi Igbo society was Republican in nature and meritiously based compared to other parts of the country that has evolved and revolved around centralised leadership, it should be simply seen as the combined reflection of Geographical factors, numerical strength and cultural identity and heritage. For a society protected by natural Geographical barriers like a forest, mountain or rivers or lakes, surrounded by weak neighbours encumbered by the same factors whose numerical strength has not forced them to seek to expand beyond their boundaries, the pressure on such a society to develop a centralised system of leadership for quick response to external challenges will be lacking. If such a community is compared to the centralised states that evolved in the open Savannah like Kanem Borno, Benini, Oyo , the Kwarrarrafa and the Sokoto Caliphate or on the fringes exposed to external pressure by strong forces and lacking Geographical barriers, then it will be understood that leadership systems evolved in re-action to the interaction between Geography(space) Mathematics(numerical strength compared to neighbours) and Sociology( identity and cultural heritage) rather than to any assumed superiority. More over, there is no historical evidence to prove that Republican(acephalous) had fared better than the centralised .
The educational advancement of Borno who were literate and can read and write using the Arabic script over a Thousand years ago is a testimony to that. The sophistication of the stolen artifacts of Benin that are still adorning the museum’s of European capitals is also a proof. The Oyo Empire developed a centralised leadership complete with a system of checks and balances to checkmate the excesses of the Alafin. An innovation more effective than the present rubber stamp legislature. The Jukuns of Kwararrafa developed a strong martial State the likes of which has never been seen in the history of Nigeria while the Sokoto Caliphate evolved a sophisticated administrative system that the colonialist found no cause to disturb. All these are evolutionary historical stages in development of societies to which they are responding to the factors enumerated above.
The existence of the “Osu caste” in Igbo land was an indication that internal slavery existed among the Ndi Igbo just as it existed in other communities even before the introduction of the Trans Atlantic Slave trade which was the equivalent of the Northern baesd Trans Saharan slave trade. And when Ndi Oyibo introduced the Trans Atlantic Slave trade , Ndi Igbo had no qualms in raiding his neighbouring communities to capture slave for sale. Aro Chukwu did not become notorious for tourism but because of the obnoxious commerce. The Yorubas, the Binis and all the people of the coastal areas participated. They were the intermediaries between the slave traders from the North and the slave merchants of the coast. The existence of the “Assas”(a corruption of the word Hausa) in the plantations of Brazil who organised a revolt which albeit failed by sending letters to different plantations using Ajami(Arabic script adopted for writing Hausa) was a prove that the trade was an all comers affair.
The aim of colonialism has always been the same everywhere: Economic exploitation. When colonialism was imposed, there was no preferential treatment. Resistance was met with force. Each community, State, Kingdom or Empire resisted with resources at its disposal based on the existing order. While the communities in the Southeast responded individually, the organised states resisted collectively. After being crushed and realising the futility of their existence, each re-acted by succumbing to colonial authority. There were no shortage of Ndi Igbo who stepped forward to volunteer their services to the colonial authority as “Warrant Chiefs” as there were “Sarakuna’s” who collectively negotiated for privileges to serve as intermediaries to the colonial authority under the “Indirect rule” arrangement. Each region was taxed mercilessly. There were no privileges.
The contribution of Ndi Igbo to the struggle for Nigeria’s independence is well documented. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe is only second to Herbert Macaulay. The early embracing of western education was to put Ndi Igbo second only to the Yorubas. At a certain stage, it could even be assumed that they were at par. This gave Ndi Igbo a very high level of visibility. They were prominent and visible in Federal embelishments.
As at independence, Ndi Igbo was well placed. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe was the President, albeit a ceremonial one. Sir Nwafor Orizor was the speaker of the Parliament. They were adequately represented in the Federal Executive Council.They dominate the officer corps of the Nigerian Army including it’s Commander, Gen. Ironsi. Of the two Universities in the Southwest, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos, they were each headed by Prof. Kenneth Dike and Prof. Eni Njoku who were both Igbos at a time.
They were well positioned in the Federal Civil Services sometimes occupying commanding positions.
In the commercial sector, they very visible. They owned landed assets and properties all over the country. In terms of commerce in the North, they were only second to the Lebanese. Infact that prevalence in the North was reflected in the emergence of Igbo dominated quarters popularly refferd to as Sabongari. He was first among equals among the beneficiaries of the Nigerian project.
In addition all these, was the Ndi Igbo dominated Southeast region with Dr. Michael Okpara as Premier where his relationship with the minorities of the region was anything but complimentary.
That was the situation until that fateful day of 15th January, 1966, when a Major Nzeogwu, an Army Officer of Igbo extraction from present Delta State set in a motion a chain of events that not only consume him, but alter the mutual beneficial relationship Ndi Igbo and the Nigerian State.
Before going further, let’s look at the picture Inspite of the romantic presentation of that period by the advocates present day “Restructuring” who are presenting it as Nigeria’s golden age and the role of Ndi Igbo.
The country was under a negotiated Federal Constitution under which Nigeria’s minorities were shared out among the big Three ethnic groups of the Hausa/Fulani of the Northern region, the Yorubas of Western region and the Igbo of Eastern region. The relationship of the minorities in all the region’s was anything but golden. The continued assertion of the seperate identity of the minorities from the former regions is reflection of an unsatisfactory relationship or a lack of desire to be lumped together again.
In the Northern region, the Government never hesitated to use the Native Authority(NA)Police against it’s opponent’s and members of the opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union(NEPU). It is the history of that abuse of the NA Police by the then ruling Northern People’s Congress(NPC) and the manipulation of the States Independent Electoral Commission(SIEC) resulting into muzzling democracy and the emergence of de-facto one party states at the state level that is making people apprehensive about the creation of a State Police. The question is, if a state Government can manipulate a state
apparatus to rig elections, can such a Government be trusted with a repressive apparatus like a Police?
When the Tivs of the Middle Belt in Northern Nigeria attempted an uprising, the central Government did not hesitate to send troops to suppress it.
In the Yoruba dominated Southwest, the not so cordial relationship between them and the minorities of the present Edo and Delta states resulted in the creation of the Mid West region. Further more, the intra party squabble in the Action Group(AG) was to pitch Chief Obafemi Awolowo against Chief Ladoke Akintola with serious consequences for the region resulting into the declaration of the state of emergency. Along the line, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was jailed on allegations of treasonable felony. It was in that course that late Segun, his first son had an accident and died when travelling to see him. Like the Stoic that he was, he bore his pain bravely without calling anybody names or asking the heavens to fall.
The re- action of the minorities of the Southeast both during the civil war, and after the war and presently of distancing themselves from the Biafran agitation is a pointer to a relationship they neither cherished nor wish to experience again.
The above was the situation until that day…
The ethnic composition of the coup plotters, the victims of the coup which excluded any political leader from the Southeast, and the events that followed were the turning point in the political destiny of Ndi Igbo and Nigeria. The emergence of Gen. Ironsi as the Head of State after the coup, coupled with ethnic composition of the plotters as well as the victims made it suspicious to appear as if it was Ndi Igbo inspired to dominate the nation. Their inability disassociate themselves from the event, an action almost nearly repeated with Kanu and IPOB, was to lend credence to that belief.
The promulgation of Decree 34 which was drafted by an Igbo lawyer introducing a Unitary System in the face of the protest by a weak North whose entire top political and military representatives had been wiped out in a single night confirm its suspicion. Being in a weak position, lacking allies in its protest against the decree introducing the Unitary System, the North had no option but to embrace the decree and make use of a bad situation.
The chain of events set in motion by Nzeogwu was to begradually lead to the civil war. All sides tried to prevent it but the suspicions has gone and mistrust and ego had set in.
But even during the war, the Nigerian State adopted a reconcilliatory attitude towards Ndi Igbo. A civilian and an Igbo, Dr Ukpabi Asika was appointed as the administrator of the region as against the Military Governors of the other states complete with Igbo Commissioners.
At the end of the conflict, there were no summary trials of the leaders of Biafra nor wholesale imprisonment of the leaders. The war was declared as having nor victor nor vanquished. It was a brotherly quarrel.
There can be no denying the fact, like in all wars, lives, properties and positions were lost, some of which will never be regained. But it was a war that ended suddenly. There was no retribution and there was no Guerilla warfare as a continued resistance.
The re-integration of Ndi Igbo was a gradual process. Through a display of the resilience of the indominitable spirit of which he was known for, within a period of ten years, he has regained his pre war status economically. By 1979, he had bounced back. Ndi Igbo was the Vice President as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was also well represented in the Federal Executive Council as well as in the Parastatals. The Ndi Igbo centred Nigeria People’s Party(NPP) was in control of the core Igbo states of Imo and Anambra states as well as Plateau State in central Nigeria. Within four years of its existence, the party had extended it’s influence to Kano State in the Northwest and Gongola State in the Northeast where the respective Governor’s of the States, the amiable and charismatic Abubakar Rimi and Abubakar Barde resigned from their respective parties to contest on the platforms of the party. Then…
After the uncertainties that followed the June 12 crisis and the termination of the late Abacha Junta, another transition was set on course. Instead of Ndi Igbo to biult on the experience and goodwill of the former NPP, they moved into the PDP en masse.
The party did not disappoint them. They were appointed to lucrative positions. Under President Jonathan, they are the most visible group strategically placed. All was well and there was nothing wrong with Nigeria. They headed the Police and they headed the Army.
The late Ikemba with a foresight saw the need for the Ndi to be well placed along the lines of the former NPP. The APGA was established with its base in Anambra state. The Nigerian state was magnanimous as it overlooked the constitutional requirements of national spread and issued a waiver and the party registered in the belief that it will grow to reflect the spirit of Ndi Igbo and will one day be a formidable force in Nigerian politics as well as the machinery for achieving its political aims.
Unfortunately, many years after, APGA is still being run like a corner shop in Awka and always parades the highest number of people jostling for office of the Governor. Those to whom the party have been entrusted have failed to develop it beyond Anambra state except for a brief sojourn in Imo under Okorocha. Since it’s inception no outsider has ever been it’s Chairman. It’s strictly an Ndi Igbo affair.
The defeat of the PDP caught Ndi Igbo off balance. Having enjoyed sixteen years of unbroken patronage and with nothing to offer other Nigerians, they had recourse to blackmail. Igbo Presidency and Biafra is thrust before Nigerians in a heads I win, tail you loose situation. The agitation for the Igbo Presidency was to provide the enabling environment for the emergence of Kanu and the IPOB. Just like sadly, the agitation for the Sharia in the North provided an enabling environment for the emergence of the likes of Mohamed Yusuf with serious consequences for which the region is still battling with, such would have developed in the Southeast as the political class were thinking of using Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB as the enforcement arm for the agitation for Igbo Presidency. For surely, it would have gone out of control had it not been stopped and had the elders and elected representatives of the region not disassociate themselves from IPOB
The funniest aspect of the Ndi Igbo campaign for the Presidency is the fact that, no notable man from that zone has indicated his interest in the Presidency with exception of Rochas Okorocha Uzor Kalu who had at one time or the other have expressed their Interest.
They should know and they know that political power is never given. You sought for it. You campaign for it by trying to convince others of your suitability in a spirit of give and take. No amount of blackmail can give Ndi Igbo Presidency. For even if the position is zoned to the south, there are surely bound to be other contestants who are equally covered by the term South.
Ndi Igbo should therefore go back to the drawing board and re strategise and come back to the political arena. There is nothing in the history of Nigeria which justifies a special concession of the Presidency to Ndi Igbo at this stage.
The political career of Ndi Igbo in Nigeria consisted of delayed decisions.lf they had disassociated themselves from the actions of Nzeogwu, the suspicions over the events would have been less.
If they had protested against Decree 34 and its Unitary Government, they would gained the confidence of co travellers. Unfortunately not only did they not protested, it was drafted by a man who is now an advocate of “Restructuring”. Can such a double standard inspire confidence?
If only they had biult on the goodwill generated by the NPP, unfortunately, it was thrown away. If only APGA have grown to a national party, alliances could have been forged making it easier as a national platform. Unfortunately, APGA is stunted.
If only Ndi Igbo have matched their words with action by coming to work for the Presidency, unfortunately no single Ndi Igbo of note has come from the region beside the two aforementioned.
As a guide, Ndi Igbo has the antecedents of three Nigerians from the Southwest to adopt.
The first is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He was a Civil war commander who rose to become a Military Head of State. He midwifed the first military transition civil rule.
When the election of 1979 devoped a technical hitch, the results were challenged in a court of law by the Southwest based Chief Obafemi Awolowo led Unity Party of Nigeria. Obasanjo refused to intervene and allow justice to take its course and the NPN was declared the winner. People from that part of the country saw that as a betrayal and has never been seen as a hero in some quarters. Some continue to refer to the Shagari Presidency as a stolen Presidency in Southwest untill the demise of that Republic. He refused to kowtow to the ethnic sentiments of his kinsmen against his national disposition.
At a most crucial time in Nigeria’s history, with his nationalist credentials, he was beckoned unsolicited for national service.
The second was the late symbol of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy, M. K. O. Abiola, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land.
Abiola was not a radical or a revolutionary by all standards. But he was democrat. He was a dyed in the wool conservative, a comprador bourgeois who served with the notorious American International Telephone and Telecommunications(ITT), a notorius company that collaborated with the CIA to overthrow the elected Socialist Government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. He was a Carpet Bagger(Military Contractor) who made powerful friends among the top echelon of the Nigerian Military. He was a Billionaire and has friends and connections all over. But he was from a humble background. A fact he never forgot nor was he ashamed of.
He started his political career in 1979 with conservative National Party of Nigeria(NPN) at a time when it was fashionable and expected of most people from that part of the country to join the Yoruba based UPN. Infact to join the NPN was to run the risk of being regarded as an outcast and slave to the Hausa/Fulani.
In less than Three years, internal squabble drove him out of the party. He left to concentrate on his business and philanthropic activities. His generosity knew no bounds. He was a chief launcher at numerous accasions beyond count. He acquired so many traditional tittles from all parts of the country untill it was capped with Ore Ana Kakanfo, the highest tittle in the kitty of the Alafin of Oyo.
When the short-lived third republic was ushered, he contested in the primaries of the defunt SDP as a Presintial candidate against two Northerners whom he defeated to become the candidate.
The election pitched him against Bashir Tofa from Kano State. In the election regarded as the most free and fair, Nigerians did not disappoint him as he was massively voted across board including beating Tofa in his home State of Kano. He was never to be a President but has set a standard. Nigeria honours its own.
The Third is a living Colossus. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He came to limelight during the botched Third Republic as the Chairman of the Senate finance committee. He was a forefront member of the former NADECO which was championing the course of the revalidation of June 12 election.
After his return from exile, he joined the Alliance for Democracy(AD), a Southwest based party founded on the rump of the UPN and NADECO. He was elected the Governor Lagos state in 1999. In 2003, using Federal might, the PDP over run the entire region except Lagos. Realising the shortcomings of regional based parties as vehicles of achieving national aspirations, he formed the Action Congress of Nigeria. He started a vigorous campaign using both political and legal means until the zone become ACN dominated.
His continued negotiations was to finally culminate in the establishment of the All Progressive Congress(APC)which is presently the ruling party. Nobody can dispute his contribution to the formation of the APC and its victory at the polls. All three are from the South in addition to former President Jonathan who was propelled to power by providence and has left a legacy and is today being sought by friends and foes.
Ndi Igbo has all it takes to clinch the Presidency. What is badly in need is a strategy. Neither threat nor blackmail can do. The attempt to rewrite history to absolve Ndi Igbo of either direct or indirect complicity in their present plight is unacceptable. For now the best that Ndi Igbo has close to national leaders are Uzor Kalu and Rochas Okorocha.Ndi Igbo, Nnamdi Kanu and the agitation for Biafra: Are the Igbos not directly and indirectly complicit in their plight?
By Abdullah Dan’azumi Mohamed Golkos.
CEO Salasadis Pol. Consults.
Political discourse has shifted to Biafra since the extradition, others call it the kidnapping of Nnamdi Kanu and his appearance in court on various allegations bordering on sedition and the jumping of bail. But whatever may be the allegations, we presume that he is innocent until proven guilty. It is therefore imperative that he is given the protection and the privileges every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to including access to anything that can facilitate his trial considering the fact that he is entitled to a free and fair trial.
There is no word today that raises more emotions in the Southeast like Biafra. It is a word that to some connotes history. To others a call to resistance to domination and marginalisation. To others, it is a bright and hopeful future.
Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB supporters are mostly of the post civil war generation. They had not witnessed the war and its consequences. The deprivations of the war and the misery experienced, the loss of life and property and the horrors of the internal situation in the Biafran enclave at a stage at which the mere mention of the word”saboteur” can send you to the great beyond without trial are simply tales by the moonlight. When therefore Kanu came out to champion the course of a second Biafra, he is embraced by the post war generation. He is deitified. He could do no wrong. Without the knowledge of history and international relations, he plunged into confrontation with Nigerian state head on. Applauded and worshipped by his supporters, encouraged by the silence of Ndi Igbo elders and elected representatives and pushed by a comfortably North European based Diaspora, he became untouchable. He was a running a mini state inside the Southeast complete with a militia. He became an uncoronated Emperor of Ndi Igbo. He was hurling insults left and right in his agitation for Biafra alienating even those who may be sympathetic to his course. The Ndi Igbo culture of respect for elders was thrown to the winds. He became untouchable. In the Southeast, you can only contradict him at your own risk.
In his agitation for Biafra, no one was spared. All of us were likened to animals in the Zoo including the liberal Yorubas, who to be fair to them have always been sympathetic to the course of the Ndi Igbo. For even at the peak of the war, they were freely going about their affairs in the region. And there are no stories of the confiscation of their properties. To Kanu and IPOB, that was nothing. The North and Buhari become interchangeable, an insult to one, is directed to all.
In all his actions, Kanu was oblivious of laws of International relations and the crude interest on which interstate relationships are based which allow individuals to be sacrificed on the alters of national interest.
The coures he was championing has never been popular on not only the African continent but indeed universally. The entire countries on the continent are colonial fabrications just like Nigeria. Balkanisation has never been approved nor encouraged. Where it has indeed happened, like in Eritrea and Southern Sudan, the results has not been encouraging thus dampening the morale of those who might entertained support for such. Internationally, it is no better, for when the Catalonia region of Spain decided to opt out, including a referendum and an endorsement by the regional Parliament, the central Government moved against them. For even at the peak of the Nigerian civil war despite the hardship, only a few countries recognised Biafra.
The Biafra which Nnamdi Kanu touted and portrayed was a cross between George Orwell’s Animal Farm before the rebellion and a tourist brochure which usually depicts people sitting at the beach beside swaying Palm trees reading novels watching the azure blue sea merging with the sky in the distance “Far from the Maddening Crowd”. Apologies to Thomas Hardy.
It is land where there is no contradiction. There will be no Inter communal clashes over land between communities( a recurring problem in the Southeast) nor with neighbouring countries. It is a land flowing with Milk and Honey. It is a land in which everybody will be minding his own business and every Ndi Igbo will be his brothers keeper. Such is the image of Kanu’s Biafra. To a post war generation, such a scenario is irresistible. The thoughts that such a conceited fellow will become a dictator is beyond their thoughts.
In the propaganda towards achieving such an objective, the entire history of Ndi Igbo from the pre-colonial to date was re-interpreted. His pre-colonial Republican system was shown to be progressive compared to others whose Geographical location necessitated the evolution of the opposite. The Colonial was presented as if others were given preferential treatment. And the post independence history was presented as that of having been oppressed, prosecuted and marginalised by the post colonial Nigerian state. But ASSUMING such is true, let us briefly look the history of the political development of Ndi Igbo both in the triple period of pre colonial, colonial and post colonial Nigeria compared to other areas of the country and observe if Ndi Igbo can totally absolved themselves of either direct or indirect complicity in his present predicament.
While Pre-colonial Ndi Igbo society was Republican in nature and meritiously based compared to other parts of the country that has evolved and revolved around centralised leadership, it should be simply seen as the combined reflection of Geographical factors, numerical strength and cultural identity and heritage. For a society protected by natural Geographical barriers like a forest, mountain or rivers or lakes, surrounded by weak neighbours encumbered by the same factors whose numerical strength has not forced them to seek to expand beyond their boundaries, the pressure on such a society to develop a centralised system of leadership for quick response to external challenges will be lacking. If such a community is compared to the centralised states that evolved in the open Savannah like Kanem Borno, Benini, Oyo , the Kwarrarrafa and the Sokoto Caliphate or on the fringes exposed to external pressure by strong forces and lacking Geographical barriers, then it will be understood that leadership systems evolved in re-action to the interaction between Geography(space) Mathematics(numerical strength compared to neighbours) and Sociology( identity and cultural heritage) rather than to any assumed superiority. More over, there is no historical evidence to prove that Republican(acephalous) had fared better than the centralised . It was such pressure that the Israelites confronted in Canaan when they started meeting resistance from the indegenes that forced them to jettison collective leadership( Judges) which does not allow for quick responses in favour of Centralised leadership to ask Samuel to anoint them a King.
The educational advancement of Borno who were literate and can read and write using the Arabic script over a Thousand years ago is a testimony to that. The sophistication of the stolen artifacts of Benin that are still adorning the museum’s of European capitals is also a proof. The Oyo Empire developed a centralised leadership complete with a system of checks and balances to checkmate the excesses of the Alafin. An innovation more effective than the present rubber stamp legislature. The Jukuns of Kwararrafa developed a strong martial State the likes of which has never been seen in the history of Nigeria while the Sokoto Caliphate evolved a sophisticated administrative system that the colonialist found no cause to disturb. All these are evolutionary historical stages in development of societies to which they are responding to the factors enumerated above.
The existence of the “Osu caste” in Igbo land was an indication that internal slavery existed among the Ndi Igbo just as it existed in other communities even before the introduction of the Trans Atlantic Slave trade which was the equivalent of the Northern baesd Trans Saharan slave trade. And when Ndi Oyibo introduced the Trans Atlantic Slave trade , Ndi Igbo had no qualms in raiding his neighbouring communities to capture slave for sale. Aro Chukwu did not become notorious for tourism but because of the obnoxious commerce. The Yorubas, the Binis and all the people of the coastal areas participated. They were the intermediaries between the slave traders from the North and the slave merchants of the coast. The existence of the “Assas”(a corruption of the word Hausa) in the plantations of Brazil who organised a revolt which albeit failed by sending letters to different plantations using Ajami(Arabic script adopted for writing Hausa) was a prove that the trade was an all comers affair.
The aim of colonialism has always been the same everywhere: Economic exploitation. When colonialism was imposed, there was no preferential treatment. Resistance was met with force. Each community, State, Kingdom or Empire resisted with resources at its disposal based on the existing order. While the communities in the Southeast responded individually, the organised states resisted collectively. After being crushed and realising the futility of their existence, each re-acted by succumbing to colonial authority. There were no shortage of Ndi Igbo who stepped forward to volunteer their services to the colonial authority as “Warrant Chiefs” as there were “Sarakuna’s” who collectively negotiated for privileges to serve as intermediaries to the colonial authority under the “Indirect rule” arrangement. Each region was taxed mercilessly. There were no privileges.
The contribution of Ndi Igbo to the struggle for Nigeria’s independence is well documented. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe is only second to Herbert Macaulay. The early embracing of western education was to put Ndi Igbo second only to the Yorubas. At a certain stage, it could even be assumed that they were at par. This gave Ndi Igbo a very high level of visibility. They were prominent and visible in Federal embelishments.
As at independence, Ndi Igbo was well placed. Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe was the President, albeit a ceremonial one. Sir Nwafor Orizor was the speaker of the Parliament. They were adequately represented in the Federal Executive Council.They dominate the officer corps of the Nigerian Army including it’s Commander, Gen. Ironsi. Of the two Universities in the Southwest, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos, they were each headed by Prof. Kenneth Dike and Prof. Eni Njoku who were both Igbos at a time.
They were well positioned in the Federal Civil Services sometimes occupying commanding positions.
In the commercial sector, they very visible. They owned landed assets and properties all over the country. In terms of commerce in the North, they were only second to the Lebanese. Infact that prevalence in the North was reflected in the emergence of Igbo dominated quarters popularly refferd to as Sabongari. He was first among equals among the beneficiaries of the Nigerian project.
In addition all these, was the Ndi Igbo dominated Southeast region with Dr. Michael Okpara as Premier where his relationship with the minorities of the region was anything but complimentary.
That was the situation until that fateful day of 15th January, 1966, when a Major Nzeogwu, an Army Officer of Igbo extraction from present Delta State set in a motion a chain of events that not only consume him, but alter the mutual beneficial relationship Ndi Igbo and the Nigerian State.
Before going further, let’s look at the picture Inspite of the romantic presentation of that period by the advocates present day “Restructuring” who are presenting it as Nigeria’s golden age and the role of Ndi Igbo.
The country was under a negotiated Federal Constitution under which Nigeria’s minorities were shared out among the big Three ethnic groups of the Hausa/Fulani of the Northern region, the Yorubas of Western region and the Igbo of Eastern region. The relationship of the minorities in all the region’s was anything but golden. The continued assertion of the seperate identity of the minorities from the former regions is reflection of an unsatisfactory relationship or a lack of desire to be lumped together again.
In the Northern region, the Government never hesitated to use the Native Authority(NA)Police against it’s opponent’s and members of the opposition Northern Elements Progressive Union(NEPU). It was the history of that abuse of the NA Police by the then ruling Northern People’s Congress(NPC) and the manipulation of the States Independent Electoral Commission(SIEC) resulting into muzzling democracy and the emergence of de-facto one party states at the state level that is making people apprehensive about the creation of a State Police. The question is, if a state Government can manipulate a state
apparatus to rig elections, can such a Government be trusted with a repressive apparatus like a Police?
When the Tivs of the Middle Belt in Northern Nigeria attempted an uprising, the central Government did not hesitate to send troops to suppress it.
In the Yoruba dominated Southwest, the not so cordial relationship between them and the minorities of the present Edo and Delta states resulted in the creation of the Mid West region. Further more, the intra party squabble in the Action Group(AG) was to pitch Chief Obafemi Awolowo against Chief Ladoke Akintola with serious consequences for the region resulting into the declaration of the state of emergency. Along the line, Chief Obafemi Awolowo was jailed on allegations of treasonable felony. It was in that course that late Segun, his first son had an accident and died when travelling to see him. Like the Stoic that he was, he bore his pain bravely without calling anybody names or asking the heavens to fall.
The re- action of the minorities of the Southeast both during the civil war, and after the war and presently of distancing themselves from the Biafran agitation is a pointer to a relationship they neither cherished nor wish to experience again.
The above was the situation until that day…
The ethnic composition of the coup plotters, the victims of the coup which excluded any political leader from the Southeast, and the events that followed were the turning point in the political destiny of Ndi Igbo and Nigeria. The emergence of Gen. Ironsi as the Head of State after the coup, coupled with ethnic composition of the plotters as well as the victims made it suspicious to appear as if it was Ndi Igbo inspired to dominate the nation. Their inability disassociate themselves from the event, an action almost nearly repeated with Kanu and IPOB, was to lend credence to that belief.
The promulgation of Decree 34 which was drafted by an Igbo lawyer introducing a Unitary System in the face of the protest by a weak North whose entire top political and military representatives had been wiped out in a single night confirm its suspicion. Being in a weak position, lacking allies in its protest against the decree introducing the Unitary System, the North had no option but to embrace the decree and make use of a bad situation.
The chain of events set in motion by Nzeogwu was to begradually lead to the civil war. All sides tried to prevent it but the suspicions has gone and mistrust and ego had set in.
But even during the war, the Nigerian State adopted a reconcilliatory attitude towards Ndi Igbo. A civilian and an Igbo, Dr Ukpabi Asika was appointed as the administrator of the region as against the Military Governors of the other states complete with Igbo Commissioners.
At the end of the conflict, there were no summary trials of the leaders of Biafra nor wholesale imprisonment of the leaders. The war was declared as having nor victor nor vanquished. It was a brotherly quarrel.
There can be no denying the fact, like in all wars, lives, properties and positions were lost, some of which will never be regained. But it was a war that ended suddenly. There was no retribution and there was no Guerilla warfare as a continued resistance.
The re-integration of Ndi Igbo was a gradual process. Through a display of the resilience of the indominitable spirit of which he was known for, within a period of ten years, he has regained his pre war status economically. By 1979, he had bounced back. Ndi Igbo was the Vice President as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was also well represented in the Federal Executive Council as well as in the Parastatals. The Ndi Igbo centred Nigeria People’s Party(NPP) was in control of the core Igbo states of Imo and Anambra states as well as Plateau State in central Nigeria. Within four years of its existence, the party had extended it’s influence to Kano State in the Northwest and Gongola State in the Northeast where the respective Governor’s of the States, the amiable and charismatic Abubakar Rimi and Abubakar Barde resigned from their respective parties to contest on the platforms of the party. Then…
After the uncertainties that followed the June 12 crisis and the termination of the late Abacha Junta, another transition was set on course. Instead of Ndi Igbo to biult on the experience and goodwill of the former NPP, they moved into the PDP en masse.
The party did not disappoint them. They were appointed to lucrative positions. Under President Jonathan, they are the most visible group strategically placed. All was well and there was nothing wrong with Nigeria. They headed the Police and they headed the Army.
The late Ikemba with a foresight saw the need for the Ndi to be well placed along the lines of the former NPP. The APGA was established with its base in Anambra state. The Nigerian state was magnanimous as it overlooked the constitutional requirements of national spread and issued a waiver and the party was registered in the belief that it will grow to reflect the spirit of Ndi Igbo and will one day be a formidable force in Nigerian politics as well as the machinery for achieving its political aims.
Unfortunately, many years after, APGA is still being run like a corner shop in Awka and always parades the highest number of people jostling for office of the Governor. Those to whom the party have been entrusted, has failed to develop it beyond Anambra state except for a brief sojourn in Imo under Okorocha. Since it’s inception no outsider has ever been it’s Chairman. It’s strictly an Ndi Igbo affair.
The defeat of the PDP caught Ndi Igbo off balance. Having enjoyed sixteen years of unbroken patronage and with nothing to offer other Nigerians, they had recourse to blackmail. Igbo Presidency and Biafra is thrust before Nigerians in a heads I win, tail you loose situation. The agitation for the Igbo Presidency was to provide the enabling environment for the emergence of Kanu and the IPOB. Just like sadly, the agitation for the Sharia in the North provided an enabling environment for the emergence of the likes of Mohamed Yusuf with serious consequences for which the region is still battling with, such would have developed in the Southeast as the political class were thinking of using Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB as the enforcement arm for the agitation for Igbo Presidency. For surely, it would have gone out of control had it not been stopped and had the elders and elected representatives of the region not disassociate themselves from IPOB
The funniest aspect of the Ndi Igbo campaign for the Presidency is the fact that, no notable man from that zone has indicated his interest in the Presidency with exception of Rochas Okorocha Uzor Kalu who had at one time or the other have expressed their Interest.
They should know and they know that political power is never given. You sought for it. You campaign for it by trying to convince others of your suitability in a spirit of give and take. No amount of blackmail can give Ndi Igbo Presidency. For even if the position is zoned to the south, there are surely bound to be other contestants who are equally covered by the term South.
Ndi Igbo should therefore go back to the drawing board and re strategise and come back to the political arena. There is nothing in the history of Nigeria which justifies a special concession of the Presidency to Ndi Igbo at this stage.
The political career of Ndi Igbo in Nigeria consisted of delayed decisions.lf they had disassociated themselves from the actions of Nzeogwu, the suspicions over the events would have been less.
If they had protested against Decree 34 and its Unitary Government, they would gained the confidence of co travellers. Unfortunately not only did they not protested, it was drafted by a man who is now an advocate of “Restructuring”. Can such a double standard inspire confidence?
If only they had biult on the goodwill generated by the NPP, unfortunately, it was thrown away. If only APGA have grown to a national party, alliances could have been forged making it easier as a national platform. Unfortunately, APGA is stunted.
If only Ndi Igbo have matched their words with action by coming to work for the Presidency, unfortunately no single Ndi Igbo of note has come from the region beside the two aforementioned.
As a guide, Ndi Igbo has the antecedents of three Nigerians from the Southwest to adopt.
The first is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He was a Civil war commander who rose to become a Military Head of State. He midwifed the first military transition civil rule.
When the election of 1979 devoped a technical hitch, the results were challenged in a court of law by the Southwest based Chief Obafemi Awolowo led Unity Party of Nigeria. Obasanjo refused to intervene and allow justice to take its course and the NPN was declared the winner. People from that part of the country saw that as a betrayal and has never been seen as a hero in some quarters. Some continue to refer to the Shagari Presidency as a stolen Presidency in Southwest untill the demise of that Republic. He refused to kowtow to the ethnic sentiments of his kinsmen against his national disposition.
At a most crucial time in Nigeria’s history, with his nationalist credentials, he was beckoned unsolicited for national service.
The second was the late symbol of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy, M. K. O. Abiola, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land.
Abiola was not a radical or a revolutionary by all standards. But he was democrat. He was a dyed in the wool conservative, a comprador bourgeois who served with the notorious American International Telephone and Telecommunications(ITT), a notorius company that collaborated with the CIA to overthrow the elected Socialist Government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. He was a Carpet Bagger(Military Contractor) who made powerful friends among the top echelon of the Nigerian Military. He was a Billionaire and has friends and connections all over. But he was from a humble background. A fact he never forgot nor was he ashamed of.
He started his political career in 1979 with conservative National Party of Nigeria(NPN) at a time when it was fashionable and expected of most people from that part of the country to join the Yoruba based UPN. Infact to join the NPN was to run the risk of being regarded as an outcast and slave to the Hausa/Fulani.
In less than Three years, internal squabble drove him out of the party. He left to concentrate on his business and philanthropic activities. His generosity knew no bounds. He was a chief launcher at numerous accasions beyond count. He acquired so many traditional tittles from all parts of the country untill it was capped with Ore Ana Kakanfo, the highest tittle in the kitty of the Alafin of Oyo.
When the short-lived third republic was ushered, he contested in the primaries of the defunt SDP as a Presintial candidate against two Northerners whom he defeated to become the candidate.
The election pitched him against Bashir Tofa from Kano State. In the election regarded as the most free and fair, Nigerians did not disappoint him as he was massively voted across board including beating Tofa in his home State of Kano. He was never to be a President but has set a standard. Nigeria honours its own.
The Third is a living Colossus. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He came to limelight during the botched Third Republic as the Chairman of the Senate finance committee. He was a forefront member of the former NADECO which was championing the course of the revalidation of June 12 election.
After his return from exile, he joined the Alliance for Democracy(AD), a Southwest based party founded on the rump of the UPN and NADECO. He was elected the Governor Lagos state in 1999. In 2003, using Federal might, the PDP over run the entire region except Lagos. Realising the shortcomings of regional based parties as vehicles of achieving national aspirations, he formed the Action Congress of Nigeria. He started a vigorous campaign using both political and legal means until the zone become ACN dominated.
His continued negotiations was to finally culminate in the establishment of the All Progressive Congress(APC)which is presently the ruling party. Nobody can dispute his contribution to the formation of the APC and its victory at the polls. All three are from the South in addition to former President Jonathan who was propelled to power by providence and has left a legacy and is today being sought by friends and foes.
Ndi Igbo has all it takes to clinch the Presidency. What is badly in need is a strategy. Neither threat nor blackmail can do. The attempt to rewrite history to absolve Ndi Igbo of either direct or indirect complicity in their present plight is unacceptable. For now the best that Ndi Igbo has close to national leaders are Uzor Kalu and Rochas Okorocha.
GOLKOS is the CEO, Salasadis Pol. Consults.
