Okija: We Shall Clean Up Igboland, Says Irukwu
BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE
THIS is certainly a tough time to be the head of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The socio-cultural group representing the interest of the south easterners. While the South East is believed - in the current political equation-- to be the most primed to take a shot at the presidency in 2007, the north has been tugging at the same diadem and Ohanaeze Ndigbo has found itself struggling to assert its claim to the stake. Unfortunately, the body's leadership is being accused of being too weak and passive in its approach to the issue. And while the battle of wit is on for the 2007 pie, the Ohanaeze has found itself in the midst of yet another battle: this time to rescue its reputation from the smear trailing the strange discoveries in the Oguwugwu shrine at Okija in Anambra State. Less than 24 hours after the Okija shrine discoveries, the Ohanaeze secretary, had issued a statement to the effect that the socio-cultural group supported the bizzare activities associated with the ogwugwu shrines. This statement, taken to represent the views of the entire Ohanaeze leadership has no doubt, rattled the group; and as well cast a slur on the integrity of the body in the estimation of the larger public.
However, Prof. Joseph Ogbonnaya Irukwu (SAN), 70, chartered insurer, consultant, administrator and president-general of apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, who had been accused of having slowed down the activism of the body since he took over the mantle of its leadership through his apparent taciturnity even in the face of urgent need to speak out for the apex Igbo socio-political group, the Ohanaeze leader said the Okija shrine discoveries is "tragic because the Igbo are among some of the most civilised people in the world; when you think of some of the great men and women and the kind of leaders and societies Ndigbo have had.
"We are not barbaric. It is a tragedy. It is not good for our children, psyche, and society. This is part of the decline in our value system, which we are all complaining about".
The Ohanaeze leader however, said that the body has decided to move into action in order to stem the tide of ill-will that the incident is poised to bring to the Igbo people. He said:
"One of the things Ohanaeze has decided is to set up some kind of reform schools, rehabilitation centres and institutions where we all teach our children civic responsibilities, how to develop and be good citizens; and the great values that made the Igbo man great. We have started looking for places, where we can have such centres in every local council where we can teach our children.
"We discussed it with some of our youths recently and they were saying to us 'what about unemployment and work, etc.' We told them that the issue of work is important and we are going to address it. We will see how we can create opportunities for them to have jobs. So that they will not be tempted to go into such things".
And putting the incident in Igbo land in the context of the national polity, Prof. Irukwu declared: "I don't discuss the Igbo in isolation because our problems are all over the country. Today, you discuss it in Anambra State, tomorrow, you discover it in Kogi, the next time you discover it in Ijebu Ode, next time you discover it in Maiduguri. It is part of the decay and decline in our value system all over the country. It is mainly because people are suffering, there is a lot of hardship, and people are inclined to do the wrong thing".
And on the allegation that his leadership of Ohanaeze had been too silent and inactive in the face of mounting challenges against Igbo interests within the national polity, Irukwu, who became president of the body eight months ago said: "My attitude to life is to find a solution to a problem not to talk. I did a lot of work behind the headlines. I believe that I achieve more by not making many statements. People who make a noise are people who are not sure of themselves and confident that they can achieve results.
"I am interested in results, I prefer to go about things quietly so as to achieve my results. Since Ndigbo decided to make the mistake or to do the right thing to elect me, they have to accept that I will use my style to get results. If you saw the things I have achieved in the world - Africa, international scene and at home quietly without making noise, then my style of not making noise is more effective than making noise".
On why he was silent when the Igbo were killed in the reprisal attacks in Kano recently following the Plateau state crisis, Irukwu remarked; "My concern is to stop the killing and ensure that it does not happen again. We achieve that more by talking to people privately. We say 'look what you have done is not good. If you continue it, you are creating a situation that is dangerous for you, me and our people, so you must stop it.' If I had finished saying it in the newspapers before going to talk to the person, he will not listen to me".
On whether he was able to secure a firm commitment or an agreement that such killings of Igbo will not recur, he disclosed, "Everybody we talked to agreed that there is no justification for these killings. Everybody we spoke to is doing everything possible to make sure it does not happen again. We too on our part are doing everything possible to ensure it does not happen again. It is a continuous process. But remember that many people from other ethnic groups who were not Igbo were also killed. The reason it appeared, the Igbo were killed in large numbers is because the Igbo are the only Nigerians who are everywhere in large numbers. If you are in that kind of situation, you have to use your brain to work out how you will continue to be in those areas, doing your business peacefully".
But Irukwu will not disclose those with whom he had discussions over the killings; rather he said "we talked and are talking to everybody who is in a position to influence things positively".
Prof. Irukwu disputed those who say he appeared too reticent for the role demanded by the headship of the apex Igbo socio-political group; rather, he said "I am not flippant by nature and I hate talking just for the sake of talking. I believe in dignity and self-respect. You don't earn dignity and self-respect by opening your mouth every time. You should talk only when it is necessary to talk. I am not trained to talk carelessly and unnecessarily. Quite often, if you talk too much, you cause offence and I don't like offending people. I prefer to make friends than to make enemies. Besides, I am not a politician, I have no need to talk unless it is necessary. As much as possible, I avoid unnecessary talk. My attitude in life is that if you have nothing good to say close your mouth".
To those who claim that he does not speak out against the Obasanjo administration because he is a stooge of the President, Irukwu remarked,
"If you can befriend the president of your country, it is a good thing. I don't mind befriending the president. They even said that the five governors of the South-East are my friends, why not I try to befriend as many people as possible. It is better to be friends with people than to be enemies with them.
"Why should I make it my hobby to criticise people Anybody ruling Nigeria is in hell, because it is a difficult country to rule. There are so many vested interests and it is a very complex society. I sympathise with the president and all of them who are in power and I don't want to make their life more difficult by criticising them unduly. People can say whatever they like. The important thing is that I know myself and nobody can make me take a position that is unjust, dishonest and unfair.
"Ndigbo elected me unanimously. Having elected me, I will hate to fail them. Whatever I can by using my resources to improve their lot I will do so. My major concern is how to befriend other ethnic groups. I want very Igbo man to relate well with other ethnic groups because Ndigbo are everywhere. In all the 36 states of the federation, when you count the local people, the next largest group are Igbo. Therefore, it is in our interest to make friends with other parts of Nigeria. I believe my style is better for the Igbo than the one that tells them to go and fight. What do you gain by fighting Nothing!"
On the vexed issue of 2007 presidency and the principle of rotation of power, which many people fear might not favour the Igbo, Irukwu stated that the position of the Ohanaeze ,"is that we want justice and fair-play. Our principle is egbe belu ugo belu (justice for all)."
He continued: "We believe that Nigeria will be a better country if it is based on the principle of fair-play and justice for all. Every group in Nigeria is capable of producing the president. We don't like discussing the issue of the presidency in isolation. What we will like to see is a political arrangement that will make it unnecessary for anybody to worry about where the president comes from. We want a true federation, we want the political system to be structured in such a way that it does not matter to the Ijaw man whether the Nupe man is the president, or to the Fulani man whether the Calabar man is president. What would matter is that whoever is the president must be one that will do justice for all. That is what is the real thing.
"The only reason we are saying that it is the turn of the East to produce the next President is because we started the country. We started the journey in 1960 when we decided to become independent from Britain. Before then, we had three quasi-sovereign regions - East, West, and North. These regions had their representatives abroad and were independent practically in every respect. It was only on a few issues that they were federating. When they decided to become independent, they surrendered their sovereignty to form a federation of Nigeria. They did so because the three visionary leaders we had at the time-the Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello had the vision that it was better to have a big nation that will make an impact globally rather than for them to have their separate countries. If any of them had decided he wanted to be separate, nobody would have stopped him. Britain would have allowed them to go separately the way they allowed Cameroun. The confirmation of this assertion is that the Sardauna of Sokoto said at a time that the North was not ready when the other two said they were ready. We had to wait for them for three years otherwise, we would have had independence in 1957 like Ghana.
"Now, if you remember that the three regions have federated, the concept of federation demands that power rotates. The North has had it for 35 years, the West has had it for 12 years and the East for six months. If you accept the principle of justice for all and want Nigeria to begin to do well on the basis of justice for all, then, it is only fair that it should be the turn of the east. By the time we finish rotating, every part of the country would have had the opportunity of being president.
"We are putting it to the whole country that the only way for us to have a stable Nigerian nation is that we should all resolve from now onwards that everything in Nigeria should be based on fair-play and justice, because unless sections of the country are happy you will not have peace. If you do not give justice for all, those who are victims of injustice have no interest whatsoever in peace. Because we want peace, development, and progress, we want us to operate on the basis of justice for all. That is our case, a fairly straightforward case. The Igbo case is case for Nigeria. That is why any balanced thinking Nigerian who wants peace will support the Igbo case.
"However, we do not want the kind of Igbo man who will replace one kind of injustice with another. When we talk about Igbo president, what we mean is a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction who must be acceptable to other Nigerians because he is a good man and can be trusted to be fair to all. I will be among the first to oppose an Igbo president who will want to replace one kind of injustice with another.
On the perception that the inability of Ohanaeze to present a consensus candidate in 2003 hampered the Igbo presidency dream then, Irukwu submitted that 2003 was a different period from now.
"In 2003, we had a situation where an incumbent president who was allowed eight years in the Constitution was there and had declared that he wanted to stand. If you watch the African scene, it is not easy for an incumbent who is determined to stand to lose because everything is in his favour. I am quite sure that many people who went into the 2003 fight may have done so half-heartedly. But 2007 is a totally different environment".
But will Ohanaeze endorse a consensus candidate for the 2007 contest
Said Irukwu: "The candidates will emerge. Ohanaeze is not a political party and does not belong to any political party, so it cannot produce a candidate. The parties will produce candidates but Ohanaeze will support that candidate who is likely to win. And that candidate will be an Igbo man who is trusted by other Nigerians to do justice for them. Ohanaeze will respond to the situation based on the issues that appear at the right moment. I do not have political ambition. No leader of Ohanaeze is allowed to be partisan when it comes to politics. Being representatives of Ndigbo, Ohanaeze is interested to make sure that the political environment is right for the right decisions to be taken and the right kind of candidates to emerge".
Though Irukwu agreed that the battle for the 2007 presidency is now a North/South-East affair, with the North having three well known aspirants, he said that the South East still has a bright stake in the nation's highest political office, saying, "If you take your mind back to the 1999 elections, the current president emerged less than six months to the time. So the issue is not the date on which you emerge but on whose side is justice in the matter. You don't go and dissipate your knowledge on a race until the race begins, 2007 is still a long way".
Recently, the Ohanaeze set up a committee on the much-debated National Conference. Ndigbo set up a panel, which is mandated to articulate its position on the matter. Prof. Irukwu said, "we have never had any doubt in our mind as to the need for a National Conference. The reason is very simple. We believe that Nigeria as a country has problems. There are conflicts in different parts of Nigeria. We believe that as long as you have conflicts and major disagreements, there will be instability in the nation and there will not be the kind of development that we cherish. Because we are Africans, we believe in the African tradition, which is that when a family has a problem the elders of that family summons a meeting of everybody, they sit down and discuss the problem. They listen to those who are angry, hear the different shades of opinion and find a compromise that will protect the family and ensure unity and peace.
"We believe that Nigeria being in difficulty, we ought to have a platform, meeting of all the ethnic nationalities and vested interests that make up Nigeria where we will sit down, discuss the problems and agree peacefully how we are to live together as one nation. Whatever we evolve at that meeting, we expect that it will promote national stability and make Nigeria a more peaceful place to live in because it will represent the views and wishes of the people. Whether you call it national conference, dialogue etc, we in Ohanaeze are convinced that it is necessary and the earlier we do it the better for Nigeria. We believe we should sit down and discuss our problems in peace because the alternative is chaos and we do not want chaos".
The Igbo went to the 1994 Constitutional Conference with an agenda, part of which is the six geo-political zones, in the country today. If a national conference was to hold today, what would the Ohanaeze design as the Igbo position
Irukwu said, "It is an on-going discussion and consultation. By the time a date is fixed for the national conference, I am quite sure that we will emerge with our position just as we expect other people to emerge with their positions.
"The importance of the conference is that you all come together and what will finally emerge at the solution to our problem will not be the views of one group. It will be the collective views of all the groups that make up this nation, and accepted as one that will protect Nigeria and make everybody happy. It is going to be a compromise, you can never get everything you ask in a negotiation".
Another challenge facing the Ohanaeze leadership is the non-restoration of the police security for Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra since his July 10, 2003 botched abduction. On this, Irukwu disclosed; "we are concerned about the situation in Anambra. The position of Ohanaeze is that the rule of law should obtain, the Constitution should be obeyed by all. We are trying our best to see what we can do to talk to every one concerned to resolve the Anambra issue. We hope that by the grace of God we will soon find a solution. Our ultimate aim is that there should be peace in Anambra State, there should be peace all over Nigeria, and everybody should respect the Constitution".
Eight months after he mounted the saddle as Ohanaeze president the experience has been varied and hectic. Irukwu said, "it has not been very easy but we have been doing our best. Our main task is to unite our people, reconcile various interest groups so that as much as possible we can be able to speak with one voice. It is not an easy task. People belong to different shades of opinion and political inclinations. What makes our task easy is that our main focus is to make sure that every decision of ours is based on what is just and fair to all, and ignore issues that are merely diversionary". For instance his leadership had to forge alliances with other interest groups within the South East. There is the Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu-led Igbo National Assembly (INA), which had openly expressed its disagreement with the Ohanaeze, over bringing the estranged INA members into its fold. Irukwu said, There are over 40 million Igbo in Nigeria, it is impossible to get 40 million people to belong to one organisation and hold one opinion on all issues. This is why Ohanaeze is different from all other organisations. It is an umbrella organisation that looks after the interest of Ndigbo, every other organisation belongs to Ohanaeze.
"Our attitude is that every group is part of Ohanaeze. People may champion different views and policies on issues, our own is to make sure that we provide an umbrella where everybody come together. Our main concern are those issues that are in the overall collective interest of Ndigbo. If you are an Igbo man, there are issues on which you must all be agreed, you cannot afford to disagree with any suggestion, which says that Igbo should be treated with respect, that the Igbo should carry out their affairs peacefully, everybody should be his brothers' keeper, live in peace with others and relate well to other Nigerians since we all belong to the same country; and it is in the interest of everybody that there should be justice and fair-play for all, whether they are Igbo or non-Igbo. These are fundamental issues on which we are all bound to agree, so we have no problem with anybody. I have a very good relationship with Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu. I know he is a good Igbo man, I know he has the interest of Ndigbo at heart and I have not seen any reason why we should disagree. We have no disagreements with him".
On the Obasanjo government of five years and democracy, Irukwu said "to be fair and honest, I think we could have done better. However, we have to bear one thing in mind, for many years we were under military rule and both the rulers and ruled have learnt to operate under a military system of government. Society takes a long time to change when it has acquired one kind of culture. It will take some time before we completely shed off the military culture and begin to acquire the culture of democracy.
"I am surprised that we have done the much we have managed to do even though we are still a long way from achieving a genuine level of democracy. We are still shedding off the military culture and the process of shedding off the military culture is not helped by the fact that the leaders of the system happen to be people who were brought up under the military culture. I am a lawyer, for the past 42 years, I have been a lawyer, my whole life - the way I talk and reason is that of a lawyer because that was what was indoctrinated into me when I was a young chap and it followed me all my life. Everybody's profession affects them and it is difficult for people to behave outside their profession. That is the situation we are going through.
"I am sure that the president occasionally forgets that he is no longer a military officer, which is quite understandable. All these are the factors that have affected the process of change. You would have noticed that in his second term, the president is behaving more democratically than he behaved during his first time".
And on the peculiar case of retired military men being in the forefront of those seeking the presidency, Irukwu said, "they have tasted and enjoyed power, it is unfortunate we had a situation where we had military government in the first place. As a young British trained barrister, when I came back to Nigeria in 1962, I used to admire our military officers, they were polished gentlemen, in fact, they were trained by some of the best military schools abroad and they were proud of their profession. None of them had any desire to go into politics until they were pushed into politics by civilians. Having gone into politics they tasted power and liked it. It is only natural that they would want to stay there. But it is not in the interest of the democratic process that they should abandon their profession and go into politics. This is an area we should continue preaching against so that the military will not abandon their profession. It is the system that produced them and even civilians voted them into power. It is a question that every body has to address The people should know that the way you make your bed is the way you sleep in it. Right now it is impossible for an honest man who is not rich to be elected to anything even as a local council chairman because he has to bribe his way to be elected. If the good man who is ready to give service cannot be elected and someone has to pay to be elected, how do you expect him to give honest service The first thing he will do is to recoup what he invested and that is exploiting the system. He will tell you he does not owe you any obligation because he paid you to be elected.
"So the change has to start from educating our people that what you need is people who are not corrupt to rule you to determine your fate. If you elect the corrupt ones then you have to pay the price. We should also educate our people to know that we have to all make sacrifices in order to make our society great. Unfortunately, I find that it is not many people who are interested in group success. Many people are interested in individual success, they forget that the days of individual success are gone. You must work as a group to achieve your objectives in life. It is only selfless leaders who are prepared to make their personal sacrifices that can afford to lead the group. If yours is to go into group leadership in order to get funds for yourself then you have not started. We have to begin to identify leaders who will go into a system and want to make sacrifices for the good of the people.
"I am surprised the Igbo decided to elect me president-general of Ohanaeze. First, I did not want it because every member of my family opposed it. They thought my reputation would be ruined. But a group brought pressure to bear on me and said 'you must go and do it.' They said 'if you don't sacrifice at this your age for the good of your people when will you make sacrifice' They started giving me examples of people who made sacrifices. I decided to think about it and in the end I went.
"To my surprise, there were three of us they were going to vote for, the other two who are really well-respected people and I would not have minded any of them going but they withdrew for me. They made passionate speeches when they were withdrawing and I was almost in tears. And I swore that I will sacrifice everything to work for the interest of this people because it surprised me. I did not give anybody money, I did not offer anything.
"I think we need leaders who will be willing to serve the people and make sacrifices, not those who will be going to get from the people. We have many such people in Nigeria, it is just that they are not given the opportunity.
"We also have to make our politics tidier and cleaner. Many honest people in Nigeria regard the political system as a jungle and they are afraid to get into the jungle. If there is anyway we can make the political system more friendly and healthier, we might be able to make a change. The reason politics is too important to some people is the money they get from it. I think it should be made less attractive financially. Let us make it impossible for anybody to make money from politics. That is why I talk much on the need for true federalism. If we have true federalism and diffuse the power in the system in such a way that there will be no financial attraction, it will make matters a lot easier for the ordinary people.
"There is no reason for an intelligent hardworking person to be poor in Nigeria because the opportunities are endless. If we stop corruption and make it a level playing field, everybody can afford to get a job, our youths will be more gainfully employed.
"There are so many things we have not done which are the biggest markets in the country. We have to make it attractive for those who are taking money outside to want to bring them back by creating some level of security that will encourage them. Some foreigners who want to invest here say many of your people have put their money outside, they do not want to bring it. If the owners of the land do not want to bring in their money why should I bring my own here'
So, you find that the investors are only coming in very strategic areas like oil, etc. They don't want to put their money in other areas and yet we have so much. The gas sector has not been exploited.
We have a long way to go but I think the country has a great potential, it can easily become a world power".
Growing up was fantastic
I remember when Nigeria achieved independence, we had parties for six weeks as students in England because we were so happy that Nigeria had achieved independence and we had great expectation because we had everything we need to be the greatest country in Africa. Everything was rosy and promising. When we came back in 1962, it was still good and we were all determined to make this country great.
Unfortunately, after a while we started seeing decline in our value system. It is unfortunate that things have not turned out the way they seemed. But Nigeria is a very promising country and I hope we all will begin to work to get a better Nigeria.
growing up among my siblings in the village was also fantastic. Everything was totally different. Everybody was contented. I did not see any family that did not have food. I did not see any poverty, the villagers had their farms and crops, and everything was just good. It was a wonderful experience. Then suddenly, the kind of poverty that we never thought was possible caught us. It is very painful. I have travelled round the world, the kind of resources that we have only few countries have them. We have no excuse whatsoever to be poor. I think we have not managed our resources properly and it is unfortunate. Corruption is the worst thing, it is so endemic that you cannot get anything done. Even getting an ordinary form from a government department, you have to pay for it. Corruption has become such a way of life that there is no way you can get anything done without having to corrupt the system".
