Cynics were puzzled
about the prominence of the Ogbaru-born Nwabueze in the organisation as he had
no record of having ever championed any Igbo cause since he returned from his
post in Zambia. This concern was brushed aside by some as being motivated by
jealousy. Nwabueze�s Ohanaeze did not surprise Nd�Igbo as the group made
several pronouncements protesting the inequality in the award of contracts to
Nd�Igbo as well as the representation of Nd�Igbo in political
appointments.� Of course there was the
little matter of the organised slaughter of Nd�Igbo in both the North and in Lagos, which Ohanaeze
conveniently left to that messenger or shall we say �servant� Dim. Chukwuemeka
Odumuegwu-Ojukwu to deal with.
There have also been
criticisms from some people over actions or inaction by the Ohanaeze. The most
often mentioned is the time it takes the group to issue a statement on issues of
great importance to their �flock.�� An
example of this is the time it has taken for this group to comment on the
goings on in Anambra state concerning "godfather," Chris Uba, and his estranged godson Gov. Chris Ngige.�
The critical problem of
the Ohanaeze group still remains that of whom the really represents, who gave
them their mandate and how accountable are they to the people they purport to
represent?� I have often heard people
ask, �Who represents me and my community within Ohanaeze?� The group has often
behaved as a social club or fraternity, pursing individual members� interests. �It has often been suggested that the group
indulges in blackmail of any government in power, to get juicy contracts for its
members. They in return, ensure that Nd�Igbo are maintained in a subservient
state by providing an illusion of representation.
�Recently the mantle of the Ohanaeze leadership
has passed to Chief Joe Irukwu another of those individuals with dubious
antecedent in Igbo nationalism. This time, they have as secretary general, Joe
Achuzia, whose presence they hope, will reduce the clout of Dim. Emeka Ojukwu -
a thorn in the side of the principal officers of Ohanaeze. Recent actions of
Ohanaeze have reinforced the view that Ohanaeze is not different from a social
club.
Consider the �invitation�
of the Asagba of Ahaba, Prof J. C. Edozien, to the recent Ohanaeze meeting held
in Umuahia. �The Asagba is an Igbo
man.� So, exactly what does it mean to
say that he was invited?� Why did� Ohanaeze arrogate to itself the power to invite
the Asagba or for that matter any other Igbo person if as the name �Ohanaeze�
implies, all Igbo persons (oha na eze) are already members of the group? �Should the Asagba really have been invited? If
Ohanaeze was representative of Nd�Igbo, Prof J. C. Edozien or his
representatives should have been there from inception putting across the views
of the Asaba people. That move was an attempt by Ohanaeze to compete for
credibility.� The pretension to
leadership is not confined to Nd�Igbo at home; it has spread to Igbo Diaspora.
World Igbo Congress or WIC has been around for about
a decade; however one would be hard pressed to see its impact in the lives of
Nd�Igbo both at home and in Diaspora. Though WIC purports to be an umbrella
organization for all Igbo persons, WIC is in reality an organization that only
musters membership from the Texas/New Jersey axis of Igbo Diaspora.� Notwithstanding WIC�s lack of spread inside
and outside the United States, one would have
expected WIC to champion some of the issues of interest to Nd�Igbo such as communication
with and within Igboland. Indeed, the main problems of Igboland are in the
areas of telecommunication, security of life and property, power supply, and
accessibility whether by land, water, or air.�
Successive congresses have been held by WIC where controversially, Hausa-Fulani
and other non-Igbo government officials have been invited.� Yet, WIC was not able to get concessions
about providing Nd�Igbo with those services. �
There are murmurs as to
whose interest World Igbo Congress (WIC) is actually serving. These murmurs
have become louder under the leadership of Dr. Kalu Kalu Diogu. There have been
many actions and inactions by the Diogu-led WIC, which has caused a lot of
unease amongst Nd�Igbo.
These include the
shifting of the Igbo Day celebration from May to July.� Many people were surprised with this,
considering that Igbo day was historically celebrated in the month of May, and
the month of July is was the month when catastrophic events in the lives of
Nd�Igbo occurred and therefore should properly be a month of mourning. It has
since been learnt that the shift from May to July was made under pressure from
the Obasanjo regime that were apprehensive that it would remind Nd�Igbo of some
of the atrocities inflicted on them by the Nigerian state.
Then there was the
small matter of the last general elections. While WIC has always relied on the
Ikemba Nnewi, Dim. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu to pull in the crowd and assure
publicity for their conferences, WIC refused to endorse his candidature,
despite the fact that his support cut across party lines. �They had earlier attempted to endorse Gen Ike
Nwachukwu simply because he was more acceptable to the Hausas.
WIC has spent time and
money to organise a rally in Enugu to educate Nd�Igbo on
their voting rights in a democratic process and system, WIC was silent after
Umu Igbo were disenfranchised by the massive fraud that was the 2003 elections.
To rub salt on injury, KK Diogu was present when the Enugu state governor was
being sworn in. Apart from the results being disputed at that time, a lot of our
young men lost their lives during the elections. �It is on record that WIC did not make any
statement decrying either the violence that accompanied the elections or the
widespread malpractices that occurred in Igboland during the election. �Recently WIC has been reduced to issuing press
releases, which are largely meaningless to Nd�Igbo. These include the recent
tepid release about the crisis in Anambra, and a statement praising Obasanjo�s
efforts at tackling corruption.
It has been stated that
the chairman and his executives are set against letting a congress of member
organisations decide the policy of WIC as stipulated in its constitution. They
would not like any one to derail their gravy train. There are several
allegations to the effect that the WIC chairman was hoping for a ministerial
appointment with the Obasanjo government but may have been �settled� with
monetary inducement running into six figures in dollars. It is believed that World
Igbo Congress at its inception was run with funding from Chief Emmanuel
Iwuanyanwu whose source of income is of course Abuja. Some people seem to
think that this explains why the actions of the group are similar to what one
would expect of the Chief.
The Pan Nd�Igbo Foundation-PNF
must be one of the most active Igbo organisations in Diaspora in terms of
issuing press statements. I first became aware of this group while I was back
home. I read an article in the guardian where a statement was credited to �The Leader of
Nd�Igbo in the USA Dr. Iheanacho Orabuchi.� Well, I had never heard of him despite being one of
his supposed subjects.� On return to base,
I embarked on enquiries into the gentleman and his organisation. What I found was
very similar to what �one has come to
expect from some of our self-styled �leaders.�
Dr. Orabuchi had
visited Nigeria around 1999 and 2000
to explore the possibility of his involvement with partisan politics. His trip
had taken him to both Owerri and Abuja. He was informed that
he needed something to be able to sell himself, such as leadership of a Diaspora
group. On return to base, he attempted to get elected as head of one Igbo group
after another and failed each time. His advisers then came up with the concept
of founding his own organisation. They also linked him up with people close to
Obasanjo, who were very willing to adopt him.
This organisation made
their move at becoming visible by making what looked like an audacious attempt
at organising an Igbo political summit in Dallas. Ostensibly, the aim
of this summit was to �set the Igbo political agenda.� This organisation and
its summit were intensively advertised both in Nigerian news media and in the [email protected] a free yahoo mailing
list run by Dr. Orabuchi. �Doubt began
emerging when they posted a list of invited participants. The list was a who is
who in Igboland and curiously included such people as Emeka Offor and Chris Uba,
both persons of questionable pedigree in Igbo Nationalism.
On the appointed day,
the attendance to the summit was limited to less than 25 people majority of whom
were Orlu people domiciled in the Dallas area rounded up by
Orabuchi to swell the numbers. Over one hundred VIP�s were invited but only one
Chief Okeke attended. The Orlu-born Chairman of the Police Service commission
had been sent by Obasanjo as his personal representative to the event, having
provided the finances towards the hosting of the event and the numerous adverts
placed in the Nigerian media, Aso Rock had a vested interest in the success of
this summit.
Worse was to come in the
form of the communiqu� released at the end of the summit. Not only was there
nothing in it that could pass for a political agenda for Nd�Igbo, it amongst
other things called for Nd�Igbo to accept the result of the 2003 elections,
which was widely acknowledged as being fraudulent. In fact the PDP controlled
Aso Rock could not have produced a better communiqu�. �It also included the call that the governors
of Igbo states should be responsible for maintaining Federal roads in their
states, without the necessary extra funding. PNF was attempting to shift the
blame for the under development away from the Federal Government to Nd�Igbo.
This was akin to those Igbo�s who while their compatriots were being
slaughtered were in western capitals denying that there was genocide being
carried out by the Nigerian army against Nd�Igbo.
Perhaps due to the poor
turn out at the summit, the attention from Aso Rock has not been forth coming.
Dr. Orabuchi and the PNF have not yet given up hope of receiving further patronage
from Aso Rock; they have been putting up an illusion of activity mainly through
their issuing numerous and often meaningless press statements. These statements
can often be at best characterised as sitting on the fence. They are yet to
take a stand that is distinctly pro-Igbo. They would rather be silent than
antagonise the folks at Abuja.
What all these Igbo
organisations and self-appointed Igbo leaders have in common is that they do
not act in the interest of Nd�Igbo but towards their selfish end. In addition,
these organisations seem to represent anti Igbo forces based outside
Igboland.� In other words all these Igbo leaders have either an Hausa or a Yoruba
master.
Nd�Igbo do not need
leaders, what is needed are people who are willing to serve the interest of
Nd�Igbo like the late M. I. Okpara, Sam Mbakwe, and Ikemba Nnewi. We have had
enough of leaders like KK Diogu, Iheanacho Orabuchi , Chris Uba, Arthur Nzeribe,
Ben Nwabueze, etc.