This year’s edition of the Igbo National Day celebrations held nationwide and abroad, but with the national venue at Owerri, Imo State, stood out as the best organized, most peaceful and purposeful of the three so far staged. Unlike the 2002 edition where the members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) suddenly spilled into the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba to close down the event and carry away their idol, Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, shoulder high, the Owerri occasion went without a single hitch. The attendance was passable. The aggressive grassroots programme of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo became apparent, as delegates came from all nooks and crannies of Igboland, each representing town unions and special interest groups.
Today’s Ohanaeze is no longer the cult of self-selected top citizens whose primary motive was to use the platform as a tool for the pursuit of selfish interests. It is now a genuine umbrella of the Igbo of all persuasions firmly connected to the grassroots. The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Professor Joe Irukwu, made this point precisely when he said at the world press conference, that Ohanaeze is for every Igbo person, whether they be thieves or saints. Its job is to encourage the saints and persuade the thieves to mend their ways. This, therefore, put to rest the confusion as to whether it is a political movement: it is not, says Irukwu. But it is responsible for moderating the interests in Igboland with a view to advancing the political interest of the Igbo people within the larger Nigerian community.
However, two principal constituents of the Ohanaeze were conspicuously absent. These were the Odumegwu Ojukwu political camp, known as the Igbo National Assembly (INA), which has boycotted Ohanaeze’s activities for over one year now due to the Igbo umbrella’s unwillingness to adopt the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the Igbo official political party, as the Afenifere Yoruba adopted the Alliance for Democracy in 1998.
Hopes were high that in the light of the recent face-off between Ojukwu and the State Security Services (SSS) over Ojukwu’s open support for MASSOB, during which the entire Igbo nation closed ranks in Ojukwu’s support, the Ikemba Nnewi would exploit the impetus of the Owerri meet. This reporter called Chief Chekwas Okorie, Ojukwu’s number one handyman, to know why their camp kept away. He could not give any clear answer, except to give the impression that the INA boycott has not been officially called off.
The other camp that stayed away was the pro-Presidency political group. The Presidency is usually fond of sponsoring its officials, especially ministers, to such grand Ohanaeze convocations, at least to press its own case. But the cold relationship between the Presidency and Ojukwu over the MASSOB issue in which Ohanaeze boldly stood behind Ojukwu, tended to advise Igbo federal government officials to “play safe” and keep off. MASSOB members were nowhere to be found. Perhaps they saw reason and kept away as directed by Ohanaeze.
Also, many politicians whose 2007 ambitions are being almost wholly rested on President Olusegun Obasanjo’s special graces, also kept off.
For instance, Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State, who is known to be “eyeing something” sent his Deputy Governor, Chief Okechukwu Itanyi to represent him. So also did hundreds of youths and dancing troupes carrying his posters. In fact, it was a straight competition between the poster bearers of Governor Sam Egwu of Ebonyi (who attended in person with his Deputy) and Nnamani’s. Absentee Governor Orji Kalu of Abia sent his Secretary to Government, Professor Chibuzor Ogbuagu, who obviously needs a lot of tutorial on public political speech making. However, a few “federal government politicians” such as Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Owelle Rochas Okorocha, were in attendance.
Also in attendance was a “corporate guest”, Globacom, the indigenous telecommunications giant, which was said to have “sponsored” part of the Igbo Day activities, though the details of this were not immediately made clear. Not to be outdone, the Chairman of Diamondbank and MTN Nigeria, Dr. Paschal Dozie and the ACB International Group, were among the corporate guests, though it was not specified if they also played any sponsorship role. Talking about attendance, three “friends of Ndigbo” who were present at the Owerri event were Alhaji Wada Nas (who came with a goodwill message, see below), Mrs. Sarah Jubril and former Nigeria Labour Congress President, Comrade Paschal Bafyau.
This year’s theme was tagged: Itughari Uche maka odi n’Ihu, translated literally as “soul searching for the sake of the future”. Reports from many parts of the country and the diaspora had it that lectures were held to explore this theme. For instance, Professor Pat Utomi, the Director of the Lagos business School, gave the lecture for the Lagos State chapter of the celebrations. Also in Abia State, Professor Mkpa A. Mkpa, a University Don and Abia State Commissioner for Education, was the lecturer at Umuahia. In Anambra, Professor A. O. E. Animalu, eminent nuclear scientist, delivered the talk at the Unizik Auditorium in Awka, while in Anioma, Professor Angulu Onwuejiogwu held the forte at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Asaba. Others who performed the intellectual rites were Professor Egwu U. Egwu (Ebonyi), Dr. Onyema Ocheoha (Enugu), Professor Cletus Uwazuruike (Imo) and Barrister Uche Okwukwu (Rivers).
In addressing the issues surrounding the theme of this year’s celebration, Professor Irukwu, a veteran of Igbo group politics and a keen Ohanaeze activist since its days as a prebendal outfit, showed the wealth of his experience. First, he addressed the philosophical principles upon which the Ohanaeze of today is shepherding the Igbo nation into a future of complete self rediscovery after the staggering psychological discontinuities wreaked by the civil war and its aftermath.
These principles are the pegs upon which the normal Igbo psyche is hung. These are: Igwebuike (there is strength is numbers), Onyeaghala nwanne ya (be your brother’s keeper), egbe bere ugo bere(justice and fairness to all), ezi okwu bu ndu (truth is life) and nwanne di na mba (when you live outside your place of nativity your tribesman becomes as close to you as your own blood brother).
This simply means that the Igbo, wherever they are, should love one another, work together, reason together and be fair both to one another and to their neighbours who are not of their ethnic stock. These principles will advance the interest of the Igbo and the interest of the non-Igbo and eliminate conflict.
With these moral armaments, the Igbo should proceed to insist on their right to their rights. For instance, this issue of Nigerians conceding them office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2007, is one of those rights the Igbo feel is theirs to be given. How come? Irukwu goes back to the beginning. There has never been a political southern Nigeria at any time in our history, he says. What we have had is Eastern Region, Western Region and Northern Region.
These were the quasi-politically autonomous subdivisions of Nigeria whose leaderships negotiated the terms of independence of Nigeria and agreed to surrender to an independent Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1960. Since independence, the North has ruled Nigeria for over 34 years, West has provided the executive leader of Nigeria for over nine years(so far) and the East has governed Nigeria for only six months.
Therefore, the principle of rotating the Presidency between “north and south” is founded on historically non-existent and inequitable political criteria and will further victimise and alienate the former Eastern Nigeria if, after the West completes its turn, power is shifted back to Northern Nigeria for another possible eight years.
A question arose as to why there is not a single Igbo candidate for the Presidency come 2007. Prof. Irukwu, flanked by Governors Achike Udenwa, the chief host, Dr. Sam Egwu and Chris Ngige, stressed that there is a surfeit of eligible candidates in Igboland and that when the time is ripe they will be known. Dr. Egwu, when he spoke, made very suggestive hints and left it at that. Irukwu, however, cautioned that Ohanaeze should not be expected to nominate a President of Nigeria of Igbo extraction, as this is not its job. It is the job of political parties, and will depend on the goodwill of the Nigerian electorate. Ohanaeze will, however, play a role towards making it orderly, from the home front point of view.
Posthumous awards were given to heroes of the Igbo race, particularly Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Dr. Michael Okpara, Chief Dennis Osadebay, Chief Sam Mbakwe (PHD) and General Aguiyi-Ironsi, whose name elicited hisses from around the Dan Anyiam Stadium, and comments such as “he made the mistake that put us where we are”.
Surely, after nearly forty years in the wilderness, the Igbo people, like the Biblical Jews whom some of them claim to have descended from, are finding the voices and their feet again in the slippery Nigerian terrain.
