Secession and the Biafra Question -By Abdulsalam Jubril

Abdulsalam Jubril

The recent ultimatum for Igbo’s to leave the North is nonsensical and promotes ethnocentrism, and those calling for it shouldn’t be treated with kid gloves by the authorities. Rightly, many Northerners especially the enlightened youths have come out to say these ethnocentric individuals do not speak for the North neither do they represent them.

Having schooled in the North and performing the mandatory NYSC in the region, “Igbos” are collectively and erroneously viewed as Southerners which includes Igbos, Efiks, Ijaws, Edos, Ibibios, Itsekiris, etc. Thus, a forcibly expulsion of “Igbos” will engulf all this other ethnicities. This absurd call is however, not unconnected to the recent MASSOB and IPOB agitation for an independent Igbo state.

While they have a right to self-determination, in my opinion, their agitations may just be smokescreen (no pun intended) of certain persons to bamboozle the region into supporting their self-interested agendas. The romanticization of Biafra, I believe may just be a ploy to weep up sentiments into getting the region’s support for their agenda. No doubt, the Igbo’s have been shortchanged; however, other regions and ethnicities in Nigeria can also lay claims and give valid reason of them also being shortchanged in our 56-years of existence.

While the notion of Biafra still lives on, we should be wary of unscrupulous elements wearing the toga of ethnic champions cashing in on peoples sentiments. History has taught us that many have come supposedly championing the cause of their region or ethnic group. However, as soon as monetary inducement are proffered or received behind closed doors, their agitation would immediately be relegated to the backburner, leaving the people they claim to be fighting for to lick their wounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if during the next elections, certain individuals come out to contest for positions under a Nigeria they are clamoring to break away from.

Critically perusing the Biafra question, if the Igbo were to break away, how many states would form Biafra. Will it be only the 5-South Eastern states or will it comprise the region of the defunct Biafra. If it’s the latter, this will comprise current states of the Niger Delta region. Now the question is are the Niger Deltans willing to be part of another Biafra bearing in mind crude oil which is now the mainstay of the economy is located in their region. Peradventure, they choose to join the union, who will be the president; an Igbo man or a Niger Deltan? We shouldn’t forget that a couple of weeks ago in Bayelsa, a teenage girl was allegedly killed by her Igbo boyfriend. This heightened tensions, leading to the vandalization of properties, shops and businesses of the huge population of Igbos in the state capital.

Now, if Biafra were to consist of only the five SE states, who will be president? Will it be the IPOB leader or the MASSOB leader and where will the capital be, bearing in mind that within Ndigbo there are also cleavages and superiority complex of certain tribes against others. What will happen to all their lucrative businesses and homes in various part of Nigeria? Will an Igbo man be willing to abandon these businesses? The Igbo’s that may decide to remain in Nigeria, will they be able to live with the backlash and animosity that will surely come their way? Are the current governors, politician and elites who are benefitting immensely from the proverbial “national cake” willing to forgo these easy monies affluence and power?

For me and towing the line of the Ohaneze Ndigbo president, the enemy of the Ndigbo thus far is Ndigbo itself. During the last administration, Igbo’s featured prominently in key appointments. The SGF (Anyim Pius Anyim), the all-powerful Finance and Petroleum Ministers (Ngozi Okonjo Iwealla and Deziani Maduekwe), the Labour and Productivity Minister (Emeka Wogu), and the Power and Energy Minister (Berth Nnaji) were all Igbos. These are key positions that have powerful influence on the decision making process of the FEC.

At one point also, the Police was under the control of Okiro while the military was under Ihejirika. These were people who could influence development in the region. However, we all know how many of them (albeit allegedly) were busy stashing and diverting billions of naira into their accounts at home and abroad. The 2nd Niger Bridge they didn’t do. The Lagos Calabar rail lines passing through 9 states, 3 of them in the SE they were not bothered, and many more. Who is to blame? Since 1999 also, the region also had its governors, federal and state legislators collecting huge allocations for the development of their states. What has happened to all these monies?

During the last elections, the Igbos also literally shot themselves on the foot. A Senator of Igbo descent from the APC would have perhaps been the obvious choice for Senate President. Hence, an Igbo man would currently be occupying the third most powerful position in the land. However, they overwhelmingly voted for the PDP without stopping to make the necessary permutations that politics involves. If anything nonetheless, history has shown us that someone from a particular ethnic group holding power, doesn’t necessarily translate to the development of the person’s state or region.

It is unfortunate that the House of Reps. didn’t pass the South-East Development Commission Bill. While refusal to pass the bill is degenerating into a North vs. South-East fracas, a perusal of the bill shows that the proponents of the bill needs to go back to the drawing board and fine-tune the modalities of the bill. Salient issues such as financing of the Commission raised red-flags. For instance, the bill proposes 50% of ecological funds meant for member states of the Commission. Now which governor would want to part with 50% of the ecological fund meant for his state or should I say himself?

Also, the bill proposes the provision of 3% of the total budget of any oil producing company operating onshore and offshore in the SE states as funding for the Commission. This shouldn’t be the case; instead, it should have been the company’s profit proceeds. Even if this were to be achieved, lawmakers would have to review or repeal our laws as enshrined in the constitution to accommodate the implementation of the proposal.

Personally though, proposals for Commissions as developmental tools would simply lead to conduits were monies are further stolen. The NDDC is a quintessential example of a regional developmental Commission turned cash cow. Initiatives like PINE as well as others have towed similar pathways. There are also similar agitations of practically every region in the country agitating for such Commissions. Each region wants its development Commission when they have governors and local governments saddled with the responsibilities of providing developmental initiatives for their state and people.

Every region in Nigeria for me is plagued by similar problems; corrupt elites, underperforming governors, lack of basic infrastructure, absence of autonomous local governments, and widespread poverty. Restructuring Nigeria I believe is the solution to many of our myriad of problems. Most of these agitations are as a result of the failure of government in providing the enabling environment; basic amenities and infrastructure for the people to realize their goals, ambitions and objectives, regardless of ethnicity, creed, favoritism or gender.

If there was 24-hour electricity lighting up every nook and cranny of the country, many people including the Igbos with their entrepreneurial spirit would be able to leverage on this much needed infrastructure. If there were good road networks and functional intra and inter-state railway lines linking every region of the country, smooth transportation and business activities would be conducted which would be beneficial to every region of the country. If each state were run like business enterprises or allowed to harness their resources, stellar leadership would blossom, rather than these arm-chair governors we currently have who run to Abuja every month to collect monies to pay salaries.
Curb corruption to the barest minimum and administer punitive measures to those found guilty regardless of ethnicity, cronyism or creed and see how we will fare much better as a nation. Make institutions stronger rather than making strong men, where everything works procedurally and effectively. Drastically reduce the expenses of government and government officials. If we can do all this as a nation and much more, Nigeria will undoubtedly be catapulted into our arguably current third world status to First and all these agitation would dwindle away into the pages of history books.

Written by Abdulsalam Jubril
You can follow me on Twitter via @Abdul_Jubril