Northern elders taking Igbos and their youth for a ride -By Njoku Ikenna

I thought it will not get to this point, but the latest hate song emanating from the north seems to be proving me wrong. The way and manner the song cast aspersions on the Ndigbo reminds us of the hate pre 1967 when Igbos where referred to as vermins, snakes and dogs that has to be crushed under foot, which they succeded not by their ingenuity but using all illegal means, starvation been one of them to embark on ethnic cleansing of the Igbos.

Now they are back with these song calling Ndigbo useless children of thieves and unemployed, a curse to Nigeria, one in which their abortion would have been better than their birth, stoking the embers of war, a people without a name, stupid, shameless, a people who had and inherited nothing since their origin, calling for the country to split and lastly saying the Igbos never voted for Buhari, but rather rigged him out, which gives us a more clearer picture of were the proponents of these hate song are coming from and their motive.

But to educate them, Ndigbo remain one of the largest single ethnic group in Africa, a people receptive to change, individualistic and highly competitive. A kind of creature fearing no god or man, custom-made to grasp opportunities, likened to the Jews, one with self-confidence engendered by the belief that one man is as good as another, a people with the highest literacy rate, highest standard of living and with the greatest proportion of citizens with post-secondry education in Nigeria. Not stopping at that during the war, necessity gave birth to invention,though blockaded by the federal govt,they leapt across the great chasm that separates knowledge from know-how,designed, built and guided its rockets, maintained its vehicles, refined crude in their back gardens, maintained their airports that it broke the record of been one of the busiest in the Continent. The Igbos spoke to the world through telecommunication engineered by local ingenuity, the world had them and spoke back, breaking the technological barrier by becoming the most civilized, technologically advanced black people on earth. A people that were handed 20 pounds in 1970, took away their control of port-harcourt, gradually rebuilt themselves going by their uncanny resilience and resourcefulness.

So why am I saying all these? That the Igbos have chosen to jaw jaw rather war war should not make us vulnerable to such insult and hate song propagated by some people in the north. Yes Ironsi might have made some errors by abolishing regionalization in favour of a unitary system which the north regarded as a plot to establish Igbo domination in the federation, his favouring of southern Nigerians in appointments, as well his inability to punish army mutineers responsible for the coup, but seems to be awry is that the mistakes of Ironsi yesterday is still been repeated by Buhari today. Haven giving us his words during his inaugural speech that “he belongs to everybody” has turned back to witch-hunt us. What was Nnamdi kanu’s crime that he only called for a peaceful sit at home in remembrance of dead Igbos who were killed and starved to death by the federal govt forces during the war, which is now used by northern leaders in collaboration with Arewa youths to give Igbos a quit notice and now the hate song.

To the Ahmeds, Hamzas and Yusufs who remain my friends and brothers, heed not the words of this so called northern elders and their political collaborators, the Igbo agitation is not meant to harm anybody but a just call against oppression and inequality which is also a likelihood of what the north is requesting to finish up Yar’Adua’s tenure but lest it be Buhari. So peradventure the Igbos get Biafra we will leave side by side, but if not we should think the future of our children built on things that brings us together rather than ones that divide us.

Njoku Ikenna – 07063993369.Your thoughts and reactions are quite appreciated.