Femi Aribisala: Nigeria cannot survive without the Igbos
AMONG the different ethnic groups in Nigeria, the Igbo
are without a doubt, one of the most remarkable. So remarkable, indeed, that
some have even traced their ancestry to biblical Israel, as the far-flung
descendants of Jacob, the Jewish patriarch. Gad, Jacob’s seventh son, is said
to have had three sons who settled in South-eastern Nigeria.
These sons; Eri, Arodi and Areli, are believed to have
fathered clans in Igbo-land and to have founded such Igbo towns as Aguleri,
Arochukwu, Owerri and Umuleri.
Igbo genius
Even the bitterest adversaries of the Igbo cannot but
admit that, as a people, they are very resourceful and ingenious. Indeed, this
has often been the cause of their envy and dislike by others. However, more
enlightened non-Igbo Nigerians see this as a cause for celebration. While today,
the centre-point of Nigeria’s manufacturing is situated in the Lagos/Ogun axis,
there is no doubt that the real locomotive of Nigeria’s indigenous
industrialization lies farther afield in Aba and in the mushrooming
cottage-industries of the Igbo heartland.
In one of the paradoxes of Nigerian history, the terrible
civil war provoked homespun industrialization in the South-East. Military
blockade left the Igbo with little alternative than to be inventive in a hurry.
While Nigeria as a nation failed woefully to harness this profitably after the
war, it has nevertheless ensured that the Igbo are at the forefront of
Nigeria’s economic development today.
Indeed, the way we disregard “made in Aba” today is the
same way we disregarded “made in Japan” yesterday. For those of us who believe
against the odds that Nigeria is the China of tomorrow, we equally recognize
that the ingenuity of the Igbo is an indelible part of the actualization of
that manifest destiny.
Hall of fame
The Igbo have been a great credit to Nigeria. They have
given us a great number of our favourite sons, including international
statesman Nnamdi Azikiwe; military leader Odumegwu Ojukwu; regional leader
Michael Okpara; vice-president Alex Ekwueme; mathematical genius Chike Obi;
literary icon Chinua Achebe; world-class economist Pius Okigbo; world boxing
champion Dick Tiger; international statesman Emeka Anyaoku; and world-class
artist Ben Enwonwu. Permit me to include in this illustrious list even some of
my very good Igbo friends: Pat Utomi, Ojo Madueke, Olisa Agbakoba, Joy Ogwu,
and Stanley Macebuh.
Let us get one thing straight: Nigeria would be a much
poorer country without the Igbo. Indeed, Nigeria would not be Nigeria without
them. Can you imagine the Super Eagles without the Igbo? Not likely! Who can
forget Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Kay Okocha and our very own Emmanuel Amuneke?
Can you imagine Nollywood without the Igbo? Impossible!
Just think of Stella Damascus-Aboderin; Rita Dominic and Mike Ezuruonye. And
then there are the diaspora Igbo who many are unaware are of Igbo descent,
including concert singer and actor Paul Robeson; Oscar award-winner Forest
Whitaker; mega-pastor T.D. Jakes; Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu; and
BAFTA actor award-winner Chiwetel Ejiofor.
You may well wonder why I have found it necessary to
present this small litany of Igbo who-is-who. I think it is important to
emphasise how the Igbo have been very vital to the Nigerian project. They have
more than represented Nigeria creditably in virtually all walks of life. This
makes it all the more absurd that this same people have been consistently
denied the position of executive president of the country in all but six months
of Nigeria’s 54 year history.
Civil-war legacy
Of course, a major reason for this was the 1967-1970
civil-war which had the Igbo on the losing side. But that was over 40 years
ago. If there is really to be “no victor, no vanquished” in anything more than
mere rhetoric, then the rehabilitation of the Igbo back into post civil-war
Nigeria will not be complete until an Igbo man finally becomes president of the
country.
That imperative should be of interest to every Nigerian
nationalist, committed to the creation of one Nigeria where everyone has a deep
sense of belonging. The problem, however, is that the Igbo themselves seem to
be their own worst enemies in this regard. They appear to be doing their very
best to ensure that this inevitable eventuality continues to be denied and
delayed.
The Igbo need to forgive Nigerians. No one who lived
through the horrors that precipitated the secession of Biafra and led to the
civil-war cannot but admit that the Igbo were abused and maltreated in one of
the worst pogroms ever. It was not just that they were senselessly massacred in
their own country; it was that they were butchered.
I remember vividly gory pictures of scores and scores of
the Igbo with hands chopped up and with legs amputated. And then there were the
ravages of the three-year civil-war itself, resulting in the death of millions
of Igbo; many through starvation and attrition.
The end of the war brought no respite, as the Igbo were
pauperized by fiscal decrees that wiped out their savings and their properties
were blatantly sequestered by opportunists. All this is more than enough to
destroy the spirit of any group of people. But God has been on the side of the
Igbo.
It is a testament to their resilience that, in spite of
this terrible affliction, they have survived, bounced back and have even
triumphed in Nigeria. Forty years have now gone by. The Igbo may never forget
what happened to them and, indeed, should never forget. But it is past time for
them to forgive.
We are sorry
This is one voice in the Nigerian wilderness saying to
the Igbo from the depth of his heart: we are sorry. We are sorry for the way we
mistreated you. We are sorry for the way we abused you. We are sorry for
starving your children to death. We are sorry for killing your loved ones. We
are sorry for stealing your properties.
We are sorry for making you feel unwanted in your own
country. Please forgive us. It is time to forgive us. It is way past time for
the Igbo to forgive Nigerians. We beg you in the name of God.
There was a civil war in the United States, but the
defeated South rose from the ashes. Five of the last nine presidents of the
United States have been from the South, including Jimmy Carter from Georgia,
George Bush from Texas and Bill Clinton from Arkansas. The time is overdue for
an Igbo president of Nigeria, but it is not going to happen as long as the Igbo
continue to hold a grudge against Nigeria and Nigerians.
There is no question about it: the Igbos cannot elect a
president of Nigeria on their own. To do so, they have to join forces with
others. They have to form alliances with people from other parts of Nigeria.
That is not going to happen as long as the Igbo continue to bear a grudge
against practically everybody else.
The Igbo have a gripe against virtually all the people
they need. They have this tendency to antagonise their possible alliance
partners. They keep dredging up the past, refusing to let sleeping dogs lie.
Until they drop these gripes, they are not likely to realise their dreams.
Demonising Yorubas
For example, the Igbo have this tendency to demonise the
Yorubas. It is alarming when reading the Vanguard blogs today to see the
animosity often expressed between Igbo and Yoruba contributors. The hatred is
most unhealthy. Insults are traded with abandon. What is the point of this? For
how long will the Igbo demand emotional retribution from every Yoruba for the
betrayal of Awolowo? Most of the contributors were not even born when the
civil-war took place more than a generation ago.
There is now even transferred aggression against
Babatunde Fashola, who made the blunder of repatriating some destitute Igbo
from Lagos back to their home-states. The man has apologised for the
infraction. He should be forgiven. Blunders are not the exclusive preserve of
the non-Igbo. The Igbo have made more than a few themselves and will yet make
others.
Paradoxically, the redemption of the Igbos to prominent
national office moved apace under President Obasanjo; a Yoruba man. Recognising
that Igbos are some of the most seasoned, competent and experienced
public-servants, Obasanjo relied heavily on their expertise.
Thanks to him, we got Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at Finance, Charles
Soludo at Central Bank, Obiageli Ezekwesili at Education, Ndidi Okereke at the
Stock Exchange, and Dora Akunyili at NAFDAC. Indeed, Igbo statesmen came into
more prominence under Obasanjo than did Yoruba statesmen. But for some strange
reason, this does not seem to have succeeded in assuaging the ill-feeling of
the Igbos toward the Yorubas.
Bad politicians
Within the framework of Nigerian politics, the Igbo also
have a fundamental problem. Out of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria,
the Igbo have by far the worst politicians. They have no recognizable leaders,
and have no discernible strategy as to how to negotiate power at the centre. As
a result, the Igbo have tended to be short-changed at the federal level.
Traditionally, the inconsequential ministries, such as the Ministry of
Information, have been zoned to them.
The Igbo need to work out a plan that will take them to
Aso Rock. First, they need to choose and groom a de-tribalised leader of the
Azikiwe mould who can be sold to non-Igbos. Then, they need to give him
undiluted support. At the moment the internal politics of the Igbo militates
against this. The Igbo seem to hate themselves as much as they hate others.
They seem to fight themselves with as much venom as they fight others. Every potential
Igbo leader seems to have more enemies within than without. This must not be
allowed to continue.
The Igbo need to help themselves in order that their
friends can help them. In this centenary of Nigeria’s amalgamation, as we
embark on the arduous process of crafting our future through a National
Conference, we salute the Igbo for their fortitude and implore them to stake
their claim in Nigeria. Nigeria cannot survive without the Igbo.
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