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THE IMPARTIAL OBSERVER
Igbo quandary Hank EsoSunday 1 June 2008
E kwukalia ofu okwu, onye nti ike anu ya ~~ An issue that is incessantly discussed, is soon heard by the deaf.
I have observed that the general response by the Igbo at public meetings to the salutation, “Igbo Kwenu” has increasingly grown ambivalent. Seemingly, but consistently, the responses lack assurance and gusto. This numbing reality is emblematic of the growing Igbo quandary. In addition, if there is a sense of divisiveness amongst the Igbo at home and abroad, it is hardly imaginary. The Igbo no longer listen to their own voices. In addition, they no longer reckon with the admonitions of the Igbo idioms that served the forebears so well. That is the genesis of the present quandary of the Igbo nation. They have abandoned their ideals and roots. Apropos, Igbo idioms, one will certainly serve as the foundation of this piece:
Ihe Chukwu mere Igbo di ofu, Ihe Ndiigbo mere onwe ha di itenani
- God foisted one problem on the Igbo, and the Igbo foisted another nine onto themselves.
The last days of May 2008 – 29th May and 30th May-- served as an appropriate junction to revisit the state of the Igbo nation. The first, 29th May, is Democracy Day in Nigeria. The Igbo supposedly are part of Nigeria’s nascent democracy, but they will readily tell you that they do not feel as if they are part of it. The second, 30th May, marks the day Biafra, the defunct Igbo nation was proclaimed in 1967. In the context of present day evaluations, on needs to asses how the Igbo have faired in Nigerian politics and its budding democracy and why they seemingly find themselves in an endless political quandary.
One thing is certain, like the Chinese, Indians, and Jews, the Igbo retain the capacity and entrepreneurial acumen to become a global phenomenon. In the context of Nigeria and wherever the Igbo have sojourned, they are by natural disposition not just meant to live there but, as denizens of that abode, to master their society. However, mastering a society does not mean dominating it or its other denizens. So far, the Igbo have failed to find their niche in Nigeria. Simply put, we have not mastered the inner workings of Nigeria politics.
Why?
Thirty-six months ago - 19 May 2005 to be exact - I wrote in this space about the self-induced Igbo problematique. [See The paradox and blithe cruelty of Igbo individualism.] However, there seem to have been neither lessons learned nor the willingness to think through how much of the malign faced by the Igbo are extraneous and how much, is in actuality, self-induced. More troubling, however, is the paroxysm of Igbo self-denial, self-pity, and self-flagellation.
Recently, when two of the most visible Igbo politicians spoke power to the truth about the challenges facing the Igbo, they were upbraided instantly. That, surely, is an Igbo thing to do. I was not there, but it was refreshing to read excerpts and media reports of the kernel of Governor Ikedi Ohakim’s address at the 2008 Aka Ikenga Lecture, which was aptly titled, “Ndiigbo: Rebranding for a Changing World.”
Essentially, Ohikim charged his fellow Igbo to rebrand, reevaluate, rethink, and replenish their contribution to Nigeria and in so doing, carve their niche and place. To anchor his view, he urged the Igbo to rise beyond the civil war and its deleterious consequences on the Igbo. His message was loud and clear; the war is over, get over it and let us move on.
Peter Clever Oparah recently captured the broad-brush of Ohakim’s treatise in observing that:
Ohakim lamented that the activities of what he terms a local cartel of free-wheeling political merchants, with no other business than living off politics has over time, shackled Igboland in a virus-infested politics of self-fending that has preened Igbo of the resources that would have jump-started its development after the civil war. ….But he has a message for Ndiigbo; don’t continue dwelling in self-pity, stop lamenting about the tragedies of the civil war because the civil war is over, stop blaming others for your woes, work to attain whatever you want to attain, shorn practices that are inimical to your person and stop being too pessimistic because of the civil war consequences and charged them to free themselves from the piths of self-abnegation and self laceration because they fought a war that was imposed on them. (Ohakim’s Nsiko Mentality Theory And Ndigbo, http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com)
Not long before the dust from Ohakim’s salvo fully settled, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State fired his own cannon. During the South-East Strategic Leadership Conference in Enugu, Obi rocked the boat, in critiquing the failings of his fellow Southeast governors, he included, for not lifting beyond their individual and collective political weights, by providing the impetus and political leadership needed to bring about the renaissance of Igboland. Some Igbo people promptly excoriated Obi for engaging in heresy. The Ebonyi House of Assembly passed a resolution castigating Obi and calling for his resignation.
Like Ohakim, Obi refused to buy into the notion of Igbo marginalization by the rest of Nigeria and, specifically, by the Federal Government. He ventured to state that if indeed there was Igbo marginalization at any level or quarters, a preponderance of such marginalization, at least seventy-five percent of it, were self-induced or brought on by the Igbo themselves. To drive his point home, again speaking truth to power -- in their presence and not behind them -- Governor Obi damned the nonchalance of some of his counterparts, when it came to addressing collective Igbo interests, telling them as he did so that the political leadership in the southeast zone had failed the Igbo people.
What Governors Ohakim and Obi tried to say is this: beyond the myth of Igbo marginalization, in real terms, the Igbo political leadership is collectively complicit enablers in the marginalization of the Igbo. Here is a point that needs to be made. The Igbo continue to engage in a convenient dodge. How could the Igbo blame anyone from any other part of Nigeria for the fact that their children no longer go to school; that their cities and towns are filthy and that those with the financial and material means of creating wealth within the Igbo nation, would rather leave their monies in the bank to earn interests? Why would the Igbo nation renowned for having the skill set for enterprise fold their arms and wait for the government to create an enabling environment in Igboland? And why would a people who continuously show disinclination to pay taxes and thus raise internal revenue for development and who continue to insist on handouts from the state governments, which in turn, await handouts from Abuja, expect to prosper and control their own destiny? Well, the answers rest once again on the core pillars of the problems the Igbo has foisted on themselves.
A few days back, I read an article about what the venerable Rev. Hassan Kukah said on how we should as a nation go about solving the Niger Delta crisis. His words:
What is most critical in Nigeria is how do we develop the political will to do what needs to be done. ….. It is important for us to understand that the local elites of the Niger Delta not only today has the capacity, but also, it is important to understand that we cannot allow our children to seek for their heroes elsewhere…. The solution to the problem lies in whether we can generate enough love for our people, enough concern for our people.
The points afore can be applied without fail, to all the so-called problems and challenges dogging the Igbo nation today. Can Igbo leaders “generate enough love for our people, enough concern for our people?”
As has been said, “The only leaders qualified to lead are those who have learned to serve.” Perhaps, this is the bane of the Igbo nation. We no longer seek out those with proven record of service and accomplishment or the integrity and commitment to lead us. Everything boils down to politics of money and of the individual or the cabal that is most vociferous or opportunistic. Why has Ohanaeze floundered? Why is it that after many years, the World Igbo Congress (WIC) remains just an Igbo TalkShop Congress devoid of action? Compared to Afenifere or the Arewa Consultative Forum, what has those Igbo umbrella groups yielded in tangible terms or in policy orientation either for the Igbo people or for Nigeria? Where is the Igbo voice in the national debate on critical issues?
Let us take the Niger Delta Crisis for instance. The Igbo may still be smarting from the betrayal of the Niger Delta Communities during the civil war. That is understandable. Nevertheless, the issue of revenue derivation and resource sharing pertaining to oil and other natural resources should interest us. If in the short and medium term policies affecting the Niger Delta communities are favorable to them, then, whenever we commence exploration of the oil and gas deposits in the Anambra River Basin, the Igbo communities there will not be shortchanged. We can expect to be cheated later on, if the Niger Delta Communities are cheated now.
Moreover, if the Southeast governors were to work in concert, there is a whole lot they could do to show common cause and unity of purpose. Let me start with the smaller matters. Since we are fixated with the civil war, why is it that those Nigeria-Biafra War Veterans at Oji, continue to languish? Between Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo State Governments, is it too much to honor these veterans who gave of themselves yesterday, so that the rest of us could have a safe today, with a befitting home until they respectively move on to meet their maker? Or is this one of those things we have to wait for the folks in Abuja to solve or to give us handouts and contracts to execute?
Today, it falls on dedicated individuals, groups and the Igbo Diaspora mainly, to look for ways to ensure the sustenance as well as a final solution to the problems of these Biafran war veterans. The Aladimma Project, run by some dear friends of mine is a fitting example. However, will the Igbo people voluntarily donate to this cause, which is inherently theirs? The Igbo political leadership and intelligentsia continue to treat Biafran Veterans with the same levity they treated the long incarceration of Ralph Uwazurike of MOSSOB. Regrettably, indifference is not yet a virtue. If the Igbo cannot manage their usokwu, how can they manage a communal house, talk less of the imponderables and vagaries a multiethnic Nigeria and its fractious politics?
Despite the revelations about licentiousness of the Obasanjo’s administration, it boasted of many visible and accomplished Igbo technocrats- Ezekwesili, Akuyili, Okonjo-Iweala and Soludo-, which goes to prove that the Igbo nation is not entirely bereft of manpower. But they have almost all moved on, which indicates Igbo lack of strategic succession planning in politics. It should be recalled that almost all the prominent Igbo politicians who held top legislative post in Obasanjo’s first term soon abandoned them, perhaps because legislative posts do not command sufficient clout for dispensing contracts and other financial largesse as would a ministerial or governorship post. But this is shortsightedness at its utmost. With their exit, the Igbo lost legislative seniority, which explains the unprecedented reason why a rookie politician, Ken Nnamani, would emerge as the Senate President.
Today, there are several distinguished Igbo generals in the Nigerian military. Several have reached the peak of being service chiefs. Most of them, incidentally, commenced their military careers after the civil war. But quite ironically, in the field of law, where we have had entrenched personalities, the Igbo nation is yet to produce a Chief Justice of the Federation. The route to the apex court begins with identifying erudite lawyers and appointing them early to the State High Courts, from where they can easily transition to the Federal Courts and then onto the Supreme Court, well before they near the retirement age. But we lack the strategic foresight of pursing the longer-term goals. Yet, we cry marginalization, when there are Federal appointments and Igbo candidates do not make the short list. Is this also, an issue we should blame on the civil war and our loss?
As a people, we the Igbo frequently let others people poke our fingers into our eyes. For instance, today the Igbo would say that an Igbo man is the Chairman of the ruling PDP. True enough. But how and by what Igbo political configuration and permutation did Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, who had not even campaigned for the position, emerge as the party chairman? What this amounts to, is allowing others to define the Igbo agenda.
However, the issue here is not about Ogbulafor’s political credentials as much as the fact that his emergence was a factor of a lack of a consensus Igbo candidate. Because the Igbo could not agree on their own candidate, others made a choice for them. Ironically, as they appoint, so will they dispose! Moreover, we cannot accumulate if we do not speculate. Interestingly, not a single vote was cast to elect Ogbulafor, so he cannot claim to have beaten Sam Egwu and Anyim Pius Anyim, yet he benefited from the crudity, crass politics, and garrison mentality and configuration of the PDP. Today, against all odds and political considerations, Ogbulafor is PDP’s Chairman. However, does he have a national constituency or an Igbo constituency? The answer is obviously neither. Yet, the Igbo nation and political class will rely on him to perform miracles on behalf of the Igbo. We can dream on!
The Igbo have an adage, which holds that, “An issue that is over discussed would soon be heard by the deaf.” This is now true of the Igbo political quandary. Let us transcend the political chatter, blame game, and move to the realm of concrete policies and substance. It is not up to the rest of Nigerians to create an enabling environment in Igboland. A handful of Igbo entrepreneurs killed the Onitsha airport project. In a few years, they and their kith and kin will cross the Niger to Asaba to board planes. Capital and investors are flirty; they will go where the attraction is the strongest. During a chat with Gov. Peter Obi not long ago, he said to me that he would go anywhere and accept any invitation, if there is tangible prove that such interaction or event will bring capital, resources or any form of development benefit to Anambra State. That is commitment and a grasp of what it takes, as well as the required vision to govern. Let us not lose sight of the forest for the trees.
The fact remains that if the Igbo had a collective strategic vision, we would not be where we are today in the Nigerian political equation. Indeed, there is tangible evidence that politically and in strategic considerations, we continually miss the boat. Since Alex Ekwueme served as Shagari’s deputy, the top slot in Nigeria’s governance equation have virtually been denied the Igbo people, but only so because the Igbo are not strategically proactive and often opt to play the singular card rather than leveraging their collective clout. Since General Babangida’s attempt to humiliate Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe and the Igbo, we have not come close to being a heartbeat away from the Nigerian presidency; not on MKO Abiola’s ticket, not under Shonekan, Abacha, Abubakar or Obasanjo. Indeed, when the opportunity arose in 2007 to give the number two slot to the Igbo, assuming the number one position was not open, President Obasanjo opted to give it to Goodluck Jonathan to pacify the Niger Delta communities. But really, after the mockery Igbo politicians made of the number three slot with the quartet of Senators Ewerem, Okadigbo, Ayim, Wabara, before Ken Nnamani brought a modicum of dignity to the position, should the Igbo expect any preferential consideration? This is the bitter truth and reality.
As I say frequently, reality bites!
So where do we go from here? As far back as 2004, I observed that the Igbo needed to “decouple the perceived contextual link between Igbo political aspirations and what some fear as Igbo domination. Ultimately, what we need now is hard-headed cognitive politics and the emergence of those Igbo politicians who are selfless and single-minded enough to pursue the Igbo national agenda in the context of present day Nigeria, without being complacent or obtuse about the ultimate objective.” (See “Cold Reality: Igbo Presidency in 2007 Elusive”). Until we collectively embrace the paradigm of Igbo collective action and collective responsibility and agree to swim and sink as one, Ndiigbo will continue to act and feel like a nation still in search of its history. We will also easily pass for a people time forgot. Only the Igbo will solve the prevailing Igbo quandary. When and how: that is the contending question?
With neither anger nor partiality, until next time, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.
------- Hank Eso is a columnist for Kwenu.com. His commentaries on Nigerian politics and global issues have appeared in The New Times (Lagos), African Profile International (New York), The Nigerian And Africa Abroad (New York), African Market News (New Jersey), Gamji.com and Nigeriavillagesquare.com
© Hank Eso, Sunday 1 June 2008 Email: hankeso@aol.com |