After Ojukwu, Ndiigbo and the leadership challenge

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After Ojukwu, Ndiigbo and the leadership challenge

HANK ESO

Sunday, 11 December 2011

The trophy for Igbo accomplishments in Nigeria cannot be our singular quest for an Igbo presidency, as much as what the Igbo nation has done for themselves and for Nigeria, which would make the former a natural acquiescence.

There is still some time to go before Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu is buried but, as Igbo politics and proclivities go, there are already behind the scenes machinations about what some believe to be their presumptive leadership succession entitlement. Ironically, revered as Ojukwu was in his personal and political life, he remained essentially a titular Igbo leader, albeit well respected and widely acknowledged. Ndiigbo did not crown him anyone else their King

Nevertheless the presumed vacuum and challenge brought about by his death are not easy to overcome. In this context, Ndiigbo are not alone, a reality many already acknowledge, but one that truly could complicate Igbo politics and quest for full integration, if not properly handled.

Deceased national heroes are often emulated and imitated, but hardly ever replicated. This will be the fate of Ndiigbo in the post-Ojukwu era. The divisive Igbo leadership challenge will now be even more deep-seated and beyond Igbo republicanism (See The paradox and blithe cruelty of Igbo individualism). So too is the broad awareness within and outside Igbo circles that Ndiigbo urgently need a leadership icon on whom to rally around. They are not alone.

Politically, the Hausa and the Yoruba still crave and search for the post-Ahmadu Bello and post-Obafemi Awolowo successor icons. Some, presumably acknowledged protégés, but hardly the anointed, tried to insinuate themselves into that role, especially in the political realm. They failed woefully. Just recently, the Northern Emirs consented to installing Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State as the Sardauna Hausa for his contributions to the development of the North.

Many politicians still covet such successor roles, but suffice it to say that Sarduanaism, Awoism like Zikism have all become alien concepts to self-centered Nigerian politicians, excepts when they serve as convenient political recalls. The same fate probably awaits Ojukwuism, if indeed there was ever such a political doctrine and concept. For Ndiigbo, no emergent politician has been able to fill the proverbial shoes of Nnamdi Azikiwe and none will be able to do so for Dim Ojukwu. These are incontrovertible hard facts of life.

Apropos many Igbo leaders, one would be curious to know, when last they stopped by the Biafran war veterans at Oji River to have a chat, or when last they dropped by Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum in Onitsha to show their respect to the old nationalist or draw some inspiration; yet, when politically convenient, they will be first in claiming to be members of the Zikist Youth Movement.

Ironically, despite a surfeit of moneybags in Igboland, Ndiigbo are still waiting for the federal government to fund completion of the Zik’s Mausoleum, as if it was a federal project and in the same category as the second Niger Bridge. Even if other Nigerians were utterly indifferent, Zik’s tomb which should serve for Ndiigbo even symbolically as a place of remembrance, pride, and political renaissance, stands in total disrepair some fifteen years after Zik’s death. The Abacha regime gave the contract to an Igbo contractor who never completed the job. Ten years later, the Yar’Adua administration re-awarded the contract for over N120 million; it is still uncompleted. What this underlines is the mislaid priorities of some Igbo leaders. In treating Zik this way, can we expect them to treat Odumegwu-Ojukwu any better?

Still, we know that many Igbo leaders are already angling to step in and become the presumptive Igbo leader, thanks to the political and power vacuum they now perceive with the demise of Ojukwu. They forget, however, that Ndiigbo are not into hero worship and that, even if they do so in uncommonly literal ways, it raises suspicions and oftentimes is only as a means to an end.

Nonetheless, Igbo politicians have the right to aspire and to dream. But those who dream that they could ever step in and replace Odumegwu-Ojukwu confound us since such thinking is mind-blowing in its absurdity. Even Ojukwu understood that as respected as he was, he could not singularly rally Ndiigbo under one umbrella, be it Ohanaeze Ndiigbo or APGA. When he returned from exile in 1982 and joined the ruling NPN, most Ndiigbo remained with Zik, Sam Mbakwe, and Jim Nwobodo in the opposition NPP. A few others like Chinua Achebe stayed with Aminu Kano in PRP and some, like Philip Green Umeadi, stayed with Awolowo in UPN. Furthermore, despite the self-ennobling titles of “Ikemba Nnewi,” “Dikedioramma Ndiigbo,” or “Ezeigbo Gburugburu” bestowed on Odumegwu-Ojukwu, such nomenclature, which are accoutrements of services already rendered, has hardly eroded Igbo individualism and republicanism.

With Dim Odumgwu-Ojukwu gone, Ndiigbo will continue to survive as they have done through the ages, largely by individual enterprise, which is their forte. Occasionally, they will rally into pockets of collective excellence and enterprise. This dual track approach to service, industry and wealth generation must be recognized and sustained along with the creation of an egalitarian society and an enabling environment in which Ndiigbo can thrive collectively and feel sufficiently secure to carry out whatever enterprise they wish. According to Samuel Brittan in such circumstances, “Ultimately what matters is not counting heads but a society where people are free to lead their own lives without fear of either the government or what their neighbor will say.” For now, Ndiigbo are far removed from this reality (see Igbo quandary).

Igbo leaders must also be attuned to the needs, desires, aspirations and fears of Ndiigbo. They must also be in tune with the criticism emanating from the Igbo rank and file. It has been said that “knowledge is power, but so too, is fear,” especially of the unknown and imponderables. Hence, present and future Igbo leaders need to rethink their individual and collective roles and how indeed such roles jell with those of former leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mbonu Ojike, M. I. Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, and Sam Mbakwe in furthering those goals that are germane to Igbo interests.

For now, Ndiigbo continually assess and reassess their place within Nigeria. Coincidentally, one commonality of views that persists within the Igbo population is that the wellbeing of a handful of Igbo politicians or business moguls cannot in any way translate into the collective wellbeing of Ndiigbo, more so when the national wealth is not being equitably redistributed and the Igbo share of the “national cake” is not being wisely invested in the development of Igboland. This sentiment is well captured in a recent op-ed piece in which the author, an Igbo, while mourning the loss of Odumegwu-Ojukwu was offended by those Igbo politicians who are already jockeying to succeed him or fill the void that his death created. He summed up his disgust thus: “The leaders we have in Igboland today are profligate, traitors, saboteurs, and cowards - leaders who are after their own selfish interests more than the welfare of Ndiigbo. That’s the dilemma of Ndiigbo today.” Blunt and broad as this may sound, it consists of some sordid truths.

Economically, those Igbo leaders and entrepreneurs who are invested in other parts of Nigeria may do well to heed the poser in a current popular Owerri hit song by ND Stanley Nnorum, titled, “Ukwu no anyi na mMba”: “Ogu su na Zamfara, Igbo, i ga-ebu kompani ala? Ogu su na Kogi, Igbo, i ga-ebu kompani ala?” These are basically pertinent questions, with answers that are already inherent from the civil war experience.

For Ndiigbo, politically and especially within APGA, which now controls two states and stand the chance of controlling several more, the challenge is not to allow Ojukwu’s passing to become divisive where it should be a uniting force. Generally, for the self-assigned and self-proclaimed Igbo leaders, the post-Odumegwu-Ojukwu challenge is not to seek to be the best usurper of his incomparable role and place in Igbo history and politics. Even if any individual achieved that goal, none could ever achieve Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s role as the Biafran leader: the one who defended the Igbo nation from annihilation, and the one who in the postwar environment in Nigeria spoke truth to power and bluntly so, and unapologetically for the Igbo cause, without prevarication or fear of being compromised.

The best thing Igbo leaders can do now for Zik, Okpara, and Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s sake is to continue advocating for Ndiigbo to get their rightful place and entitlements under the sun within the geopolitical context that is Nigeria. This can only happen with Igbo leaders decidedly becoming introspective and more transactional in their outlook and in defending the collective Igbo interests. The saying that “charity begins at home” has never been more apt for the Ndiigbo than it is now. Ndiigbo can do several things for Zik, Okpara, and Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s sake. We can immortalize them and embolden their respective and collective visions by making Igboland the place to be in Nigeria. Thus, the trophy for Igbo accomplishments in Nigeria cannot be our singular quest for and fixation on an Igbo presidency, as much as what Ndiigbo have done for themselves and for Nigeria; which would make the former a natural acquiescence.

As far as we know, Odumegwu-Ojukwu was a political father and godfather to many Igbo politicians. To many others he was an icon, mentor, or role model. Certainly, some of his acolytes were closer to him than others, but he did not at any time proclaim or anoint anyone as his successors, in his role as the titular Igbo leader. It would as such be dubious for anyone to stake that claim. Those who wish to lead the Igbo nation should do so by building up their credentials. They should prove their worth and bona fides by their investments and how many public or private sector projects they attract to Igboland. Ndiigbo are anything but stupid. They know those who serve their best interests and those who serve them only in name and line their pockets with the largess that should be for the commonwealth. They also know that Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu acted spoke for them in ways very few Igbo men can or would in the foreseeable future. That is the difference; leadership is earned but not by wishful thinking.

This column goes on vacation until mid-January 2012; until then, Happy Holidays and New Year.

With neither anger nor partiality, until next time, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.

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Hank Eso is a columnist for Kwenu.com. His observations on Nigerian, African and global politics and related issues, has appeared in various print media, journals and internet-based sites.

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