BNW Magazine: Biafra Nigeria World :: Advancing Nd'Igbo in a New Century:: Of Igbo Presidentists, econo-Politicians, neo-Biafrans, and neo-Federals:: Aham Nwankwo : Nwankwo's Probe @ BiafraNigeriaWorld.

Nwankwo's Probe

Advancing Nd'Igbo in a New Century:

Of Igbo Presidentists, econo-Politicians, neo-Biafrans, and neo-Federals

Today, opinion is divided as to the best way to advance Nd'Igbo in the 21st century. One school of thought believes strongly in Igbo Presidency as the solution to our problems while another believes in the economic regeneration of Ala Igbo. On the other side, are people who believe that the solution lies in the Republic of Biafra. At yet another extreme are those who believe that we should concentrate our efforts towards the uplifting of Nigeria as a whole. Each of these opinions is argued strenuously by their proponents. But, what this writer observes is that there are some nagging issues, which the proponents of each point of view are yet to settle.

The Igbo presidentists, the proponents of Igbo presidency as a policy, maintain that with an Igbo president, Nd'Igbo would be in a position to reverse years of neglect of Igboland at the hands of successive governments in Lagos and Abuja. The argument maintains that Igbo presence at the very top of government will ensure that the Igbo Nation is not denied its fair share of the dubious "national cake." That idea is doubtful as the proponents are unable to point to what Chief Alex Ekwueme was able to achieve for Nd'Igbo through out his time as the vice president of the country. His defenders have often argued that the position of vice president does not have any

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real powers and thus Chief Ekwueme had no powers to influence events in Nigeria. This ignores the fact that other vice presidents, including the current vice president, Abubakar Atiku, have been able to use the position to channel huge development projects to their part of the country. Ekwueme himself was only able to site a Federal Polytechnic in his village and his claim to fame is that he established numerous post offices in Igboland. Ah Nd'Igbo: a nation of letter writers. Thus, it is clear that the problem lies not in the office, but in the occupant. Ekwueme delivered what he could, and it wasn't much. The people in the Igbo presidency camp today are cut from the same cloth as Ekwueme.

Another fact that is worth considering is that this gentleman signed on behalf of the Federal Government most contracts awarded for the Ajaokuta and Aladja steel plants. Despite this, he was not able to site any of the support industries in Igboland. Ekwueme also got rich procuring contracts for himself and his companies for the construction of Abuja, the new capital territory. Even when he lost out to Obasanjo in 1999, this man was asked to nominate people for Obasanjo's cabinet, yet he was not able to put out a team of individuals who would be able to fight in the corner of Nd'Igbo. While the North had Adamu Ciroma, the West Bola Ige, Nd'Igbo were left to the likes of Ojo Maduekwe and Kema Chikwe.

From the above, it might be thought that Chief Ekwueme is a selfish individual who only wanted to look out for himself and his Oko Village. But, what is clear is that had he been the President of Nigeria, it would not have made an iota of difference to the lot of Nd'Igbo. It is also worth considering that the present set of politicians clamouring for Igbo presidency can at best be described as "proxy" Northerners or Yoruba. These people range from Orji Uzor Kalu who owes his political clout more to North than to of Abia citizens, to Chimaroke Nnamani and Achike Usenwa who owe more to Obasanjo than to Enugu and Imo citizens respectively. If any of these gentlemen become president of Nigeria, is there any reason why they would suddenly start promoting the principles of equity, fairness, and justice in Nigeria, instead of serving the interest of their masters? I think not. In the present circumstance, the people who claim that the solution to our problems would be for an Igboman to clinch the presidency are wrong.

I understand the people who favour concentrating on the Economic regeneration as the way forward. I call them Igbo econo-politicians. They base their thinking on the ingenuity of the Igbo past and insist that we have the capacity to turn Igboland into another Singapore or Taiwan. Proponents feel that we should forget politics and rather concentrate on this economic angle. This point of view is in my opinion flawed. The Singapore and Taiwan are often cited as examples, but in these countries the government provided the infrastructure necessary for progress to be made in these areas. In the Nigerian context, most importantly, the Federal Government must be supportive. The support would have to include not only fiscal discipline on the part of the government, but also the provision of the basic infrastructure such as Road, Electricity, Water Supply, Telecommunication, and finally Security. The Federal Government policies must also be stable and clear for all to see. It should not be like the present state where policies are labile and products are added and removed from the (banned import) list overnight.

Security is very important in that people will not come to Igboland to do business if they are not assured of the safety of their lives and wares. Aba traders were well aware of this. Hence, they started Bakkassi Boys, which has been banned by the federal government who are yet to provide the same level of security Ala Igbo enjoyed when Bakassi were operational. One stroke of pen in Abuja and an entire industry in Igboland goes caput.

It is very clear that not many industries can survive without constant supply of electricity nor businesses survive if they have no access to and from its consumers be it by road or by telephone. I do not claim to be an Economist, but I know that Nigeria is not like Western countries where decisions are looked upon rationally. As such, it is very unlikely for the Nigerian Government to contribute positively towards citing of these infrastructures in Igboland. We were all witnesses to how Obasanjo moved a power station which had been planned for Mbano to Ota, his home town. The exhibits not only a case of lack of support but clearly a case of the Federal government being obstructive towards efforts to develop Ala Igbo. I would say that those who think that economic regeneration is the way forward are mistaken. The road to economic regeneration of Igboland lies through influencing Nigerian policy.

On another side are those who believe that the solution is Biafra. They are the so-called neo-Biafrans. They point to the things the republic of Biafra was able to achieve during the thirty months of war. The proponents do not see any reason why these achievements could not be re-enacted during times of peace. It is well known that during its period of existence, it was the most technologically advanced country in Black Africa. The proponents do put forward a very powerful argument. However, if one were to dig deep, one soon realises that the most vocal and visible proponents of this idea are romantics at best and at worst are little opportunistic dictators who are often unwilling or unable to entertain contrary views as to how to achieve Biafra. They are very often surrounded by a group of sycophants who think if they shout Biafra, Biafra, or Yahweh Yah nwe, Ya nwe uwa, amasi amasi, loud enough, Biafra will be actualised and we will live happily ever after. When ever these individuals are asked about their organisations, they often point out a Yahoo mailing list, which always has Biafra in its address.

Except for a few forward-looking publications by the Biafra Liberation Movement (BLM), and the Biafran Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS), the Biafra groups and individuals have simply not been able to put out a methodology for achieving their objective or the structure or organisation of Biafra. They are unable to articulate what it means to be a Biafran or differentiate Igbo from Biafra. Any attempt at posing such simple questions is usually met with a sanction from the Yahoo list-serve. What is

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very evident is that the calibre of individuals who partake in debates in those yahoo list serves could not possibly be said to be the best that Biafra could offer. Some individuals even allege that some of these neo-Biafran groups are avenues through which some unscrupulous individuals extort money from unsuspecting Nd'Igbo - that they are people in America shouting MASSOB and Oji River and passing collection and auction plates around for money that never reaches MASSOB or the poor inmates of Oji River.

The last school of thought are the neo-federals who fancy themselves as idealist. They propose that we do away with fighting for improvement for Nd'Igbo, but concentrate our efforts on Nigeria as a whole. In their confusion, the neo-federals attempt to draw analogies between Nigeria and the US. They insist that things will work in Nigeria the way it has worked in America. To the neo-federals, Biafra should be memorialised, not actualised. Their reasoning is that the fruits of improvement in the Nigerian situation must surely have a trickle down effect on Nd'Igbo. This can at best be summed up as wishful thinking, or alternatively just lunacy. Nigeria is just a geographical expression which comprises people who are described as Nigerians because they are live in this area. It is not a nation; it is rather made up of different nations. According to Obafemi Awolowo, "Nigeria is not a Nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are No Nigerians in the same sense there are 'English' or 'Welsh' or 'French'. The word Nigeria is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within boundaries of Nigeria from those who do not."

Unlike the American civil war, whose end cemented the nationhood of the United States of America, the end of the Nigeria-Biafra War merely gave an illusion of nationhood of the entity Nigeria. The reason that the USA was able to arrive at nationhood after its civil war while Nigeria could not achieve the same is that unlike the Nigeria-Biafra War where the unjust side prevailed, the just side won the American civil war. This sums up Nigeria. The Nigeria-Biafra War served to establish injustice as state policy. Other nations in Nigeria less numerous than the ones in Biafra are now experiencing the injustice that follows from that policy.

There does not exist within Nigerian, that sense of nationhood or the sense of national pride. When a Nigerian starts exhibiting a pride in Nigeria, it is either because Nigeria is playing a football match or because some non Nigerian has made some uncomplimentary (but probably) true statement about Nigeria. Other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria don't aspired to go and do

what would be right for the country but have often aspired to do what is right for their ethnic nation. Contrast what the Sarduana did for the Hausa-Fulani, what Awolowo did for the Yoruba, with what Zik did for Nd'Igbo. Notice how Awolowo and Sarduana went about fighting for their respective nations while Azikiwe wallowed in the illusion that he could fight for a better Nigeria, while the other gentlemen clearly understood the realities of the entity Nigeria. People who project this view are clearly making the same mistake Azikiwe made. The truth is that Nigeria is not a Nation; it has refused to undergo the process that would enable the inhabitants be they Ijaw, Bini, Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo to achieve greatness. Until that happens, it is outright stupidity to claim that Nigerian improvement will have a positive impact on Nd'Igbo. Furthermore, an Igboman is not in a position to institute any change in the direction which Nigeria moves as even the most innocuous intention of our people is viewed suspiciously by other nationalities that make up Nigeria. The worst part is that the neo-federals are usually people seeking political office and who are generally amenable to manipulation by those whose help they need to achieve their ambitions.

In conclusion, apart from the last option which I think is a non starter, I think we can pursue advancement of Nd'Igbo through several methods. However, it is time that reputable Nd'Igbo come out and move these processes forward. We should not have to rely on the present set of opportunists who claim to represent Igbos, be they proponents of Igbo presidency or the charlatans of the mainly Diaspora based neo-Biafran foundations. Involvement of reputable individuals in these pursuits will result in well thought out action plan acceptable to all involved.