Nigeria Is A Clever Country -By Chinedum Nwajiuba

“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases” — Ecclesiastes 1: 18

Nigeria is a clever country, I heard from a senior brother some years ago. I am not sure what that means but it sounds cute. Nigeria is a clever country.

History has been abolished from our schools. That was a good way to avoid confronting our uncomfortable truths.

Ignorance is bliss. It is better sometimes to be ignorant, so you can enjoy the bliss of acting without thinking of yesterday.

Truth is, there is nothing new under the sun. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. This is Ecclesiastes 1:9. Unfortunately, some of us may be suffering what is implied in Ecclesiastes 1: 18.

It is possible some of us believe we may be having some understanding of how Ndigbo feel at this time in Nigeria. Do we?

My Igbo people started organised party politics with a political party aspiring to be for all Nigeria and Cameroon but, against our choice and despite all effort, we ended up becoming a people left alone with the NCNC. The great Zik (Nnamdi Azikiwe), as Achebe wrote in The Trouble with Nigeria, scampered East across the Niger. Eyo Ita lost his position and we have struggled ever since. Lesson: May I not arrive at a point where it seems I have only one road to take. May life always have me having options. May my lack of options not be a choice I have made.

Had Zik made it known that he did not desire to be Premier of the Western Region but that one of his lieutenants of Yoruba origin would, would Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s entreaties to the Chiefs and Obas of Yorubaland about the arrogant “arokes” who just arrived at the altar of Western education, having the effrontery to cross the Niger and stick their fingers into the eyes of the more educated peoples of the Western region, been effective?

Achebe further wrote in The Trouble with Nigeria that all the others in Nigeria believe the Igbo organises and schemes to take over and dominate others. Reality is that what other Nigerians believe the Igbo have, which is organised to take over Nigeria, is the exact thing the Igbo do not have. Ojukwu insisted on the military culture of seniority. That was the basis for Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi becoming Supreme Commander. If Ironsi is no longer there, then the most senior should take over. Simple straightforward logic, which all military personnel understand.

It was a long list which, at least, the first three were Yoruba— Babafemi Ogundipe, Adeyinka Adebayo and Joseph Akinwale Wey. These three could not put up a fight. Perhaps they understood what Nnamdi Azikiwe eventually admonished, that you do not argue with a man with a gun.

After a non-officer refused to obey Ogundipe’s orders, Ogundipe gave up. He eventually accepted to leave for the United Kingdom as High Commissioner. Adebayo agreed to serve as military governor. Wey accepted an appointment at the Lagos Headquarters. Ojukwu insisted on what was rights, he became the villain.

So, Igbo traders announced to the world they are closing shops to go register for permanent voters card. Did registration just start? A people of individual politics want to act as if a group, without evolving the necessary instruments for that. Mgbe onye tetara bu ututu ya. So, you want to now register after the two major parties have candidates from outside the Igbo and everyone knows you are angry. That is good. So, you actually want to register, and act in a manner, which flip side is to defeat Bola Tinubu in Lagos? Very good. That is democracy at work. We are citizens of Nigeria. The constitution actually says that. You have the right. You did not do this ahead of 2015 and 2019. You have stayed away from voting before now. Statistics indicate that only about 22 per cent of Igbo reside in South-East Nigeria. Your vast majority reside in locations within Nigeria but outside the South-East. So, you want to challenge what is becoming an agreed theory that the Igbo have become a minority? Igbo middle-class and urban women who do not vote now want to vote. Clap for yourselves. Have you forgotten the Baboon and Ocean-drowning threats of the past? Obere nwa na amu iri elu, ukwu sie kwa ya ike.

The candidates for the 2023 presidential elections are emerging. So far, we have Peter Obi on Labour Party, Atiku on Peoples Democratic Party, Tinubu on All Progressives Congress, and Rabiu Kwankwaso on New Nigeria Peoples Party. There are at least two or three others coming with more energy than Nigeria has been used to. This election season is unique. It will not be the usual two-way PDP vs APC, even if they are the only two with the national spread. The others come with uncertainties as to their strengths and capacities. May they all be treated as candidates seeking votes across all of Nigeria and not regional candidates. May their candidacies not be considered offensive in any part of Nigeria. Already NNPP and Kwankwaso in the North-West of Nigeria are making waves which pundits predict will not be light. So far, no Northerner is treating Kwankwaso/NNPP as an offense. May the southern candidates, and the mere fact they are candidates not become an offense to anyone. Please say amen. AMEN!

When Michael Okpara returned to Nigeria from exile ahead of the 1983 presidential election, he gave the Igbo one quote: First fool no be fool, second fool na proper foolish.

Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba is Chairman, Board of Directors, Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team