Nigeria: Where’s The Place Of The Igbos In This Federation? (Part II) -By Ifeanyichukwu Mmoh

Two weeks ago, I began to write an expository essay – under the above title – that is aimed at deactivating some known derogatory remarks that seemed to have gained currency over the years about the good people of southeast Nigeria and at the same time also emphasized the positive side of the ethnic group that qualified them as nation-builders and if so; to attain the political height that has eluded them over the years and for which I think it was time for a redress.

It is no longer funny that for close to 60 years since independence, the Ibo tribe has had the opportunity to contribute to leadership for a period of only 6 months. During which time the Senate President Nwafor-Orizu first presided for about 3 months after which he conceded power to the highest military officer at the time namely J T Aguiyi-Ironsi. But the chaotic situation that worsened following the overthrow of the Sir A. T. Balewa regime on January 15^th 1966 did not allow that presidency to produce results.

Particularly for the fact that the country Nigeria as at the first 6 years after independence was boiling like hot soup. Why was this situation then? It was the situation then because from the word go; the agenda for sectional dominance as is seen today has been a priority and because of this agenda, first the 1963 census was manipulated by the federal government and shortly after in 1964, the regional election in the west was rigged to put Chief Awolowo out of power.

When the outcome was rejected by the western region, the crisis that ensued immediately after gradually snowballed into a regional crisis that threaten not just the western region but also the entire country. The intervention by the ‘5 Majors’ led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu was timely given the wild jubilation that greeted their actions. But like everything Nigerian since then; it quickly turned into politics with accusations and counter-accusations of sectional cleansing going viral.

From the foregoing, young scholars today have continued to ask what exactly were the Ibo man’s sins? Yes, the eastern region also rejected the census result but there was no breakdown of law and order in the region like it turned in the west. Yes, the eastern region was a part of the federal government who did everything possible to foist a particular tribe over the others but the Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (as President) wrote letters (that can be verified) to the premier of the north as well as the Prime Minister.

Again, yes the eastern region formed the bulk of those who staged the coup but there is strong evidence that they had the blessings and indeed the backing of the west and the core north. One of such strong proofs comes from the adventure of Major Nzeogwu against the premier of the north. The troop he commanded was not from the eastern region alone and as at that time, there was no Nigerian of the age of 18 years and above who did not know Sir Ahmadu Bello or what he did for a living.

Sir Ahmadu was twice more popular than Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe then. Only in Chief Awolowo was there an equal in popularity. And the troops back then were soldiers of between the ages of 18 years and above. Furthermore, despite the obey-the-last-order culture of the military which has been relied upon as excuse to blame the leaders of the coup; no soldier or any human being for that matter concurred with an arrangement they stood to gain nothing.

That said, the basis for justice which has since placed the ibo ethnic group in a far disadvantaged situation that they no doubt looked politically worse than they ever were has never had the guts to bring to book the perpetrators of both census and election manipulations or the principal conspirators who engineered the breakdown of law and order before January 15^th 1966. For it is widely agreed that the incursion of the military into politics was occasioned by the excessive abuse of power by the politicians.

And since Yakubu Gowon, no regime has had the balls to question those by whose actions of greed and sentiment opened leadership unto military incursion. In Ghana, the soldiers had stepped in to relieve Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of his duties in 1966 but this was because Dr. Nkrumah had degenerated into an autocrat who barely tolerated any opposition. In Zaire, Colonel Joseph Mobutu had seized power explaining that “the purpose of all national armies is to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the state.”

Unfortunately, the wonderful people of eastern Nigeria has remained the scapegoat for far too long that it was time we talked about their plight like we should talk about community policing, resource control or even restructuring. For what better options have we to grow the economy and stabilize it than to allow those who have shown the whole world that it was indeed possible to turn a business capital of 20 pounds sterling into billions of naira in just 20 years.

Why is Nigeria so afraid to give political power to the Ibo tribe? The Europeans – although, once described as barbarians – will never elect to fail if they knew that the solution they sought was with their archrival. To buttress my point, Google-search the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1986 and find out why it happened. If the Nigerian federation was Germany, the great feat that was accomplished by Professor Chukwuma Soludo in 2004 alone following the recapitalization of banks would’ve been enough magic reason.

If Nigeria was Germany, the contributions of Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (as minister of foreign affairs and later as minister of finance and then coordinating minister for the economy in the Obasanjo and the Jonathan presidencies) to the Nigeria federation would’ve counted for the values it produced such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the IPPIS, the use of a benchmark that is lower than the prevailing price of a barrel of crude oil for designing the national budget or the agricultural revolutionary scheme drafted by Professor Akinwunmi Adesina alongside Madam Okonjo-Iweala.  

If Nigeria was Germany, the great sacrifices of the late Professor Dora Akunyili (of very blessed memory) – in the capacity of NAFDAC DG, as minister of information and as the fearless amazon that challenged a bunch of buccaneers who had for selfish reasons; refused to transfer the presidency to then vice-president Goodluck Jonathan – would’ve been heroic enough to convince anyone that the true Nigerian spirit existed in the Ibo tribe. But Nigeria is not Germany and heroic sacrifices do not count for any reasons.

So, do we now fold our arms and say “Hey, after all nobody cared about our sincere contributions to this federation?” Not at all, because that’ll amount to playing the victim or believing the persecution mentality or even to self-isolating from mainstream politics. Personally, I believe in marketing. And as one who has been in the media for a while; I know the power that the media possessed in its ability to recreate, to repackage or even to deodorize a failing personality. This is why I believe in publicity – making the positive known for promotional purposes. But publicities like this require financiers.    

The Ibo wants to contribute his fair share to leadership. He has proven his mettle in several tough capacities like the Prof. Humphrey Nwosu’s June 12 general elections that is still adjudged the best, like the Prof. Barth Nnaji’s National Integrated Power Projects and like the Nigeria Railway Corporation of the 60’s. Not given to prebendalism and, created with the mindset of creativity, hard work and business-is-business; there is no doubt that leaders Nigeria yearned for can be found in the southeast of Nigeria.

Comrade Ifeanyichukwu Mmoh; an advocate of attitudinal change writes from Abuja, Nigeria. 08062577718