Nigerians and
non-Nigerians remains on the red alert on coming in contact with the Igbo-man
for the first time until he goes the extra mile to disabuse their minds that he
means no harm but only seeks a mutually beneficial relationship.
This mindset, to
my mind, arises from the famed extra-ordinary intelligence, smartness and
foresight of the average Igbo-man which he demonstrated before—economic and
education, during--ogbunigwe and after the civil war—quick recovery in spite of
all odds, remember, Gen. Gowon did not understand the import of Col. Ojukwu’s
demand in Aburi and willingly consented to his conditions for peace; and
neither he, Gowon nor the entire leadership in the North saw any benefit in
keeping the united or having the south-east as part of the country and were
therefore, more than willing to allow the carving up of the country but for the
intervention of the British government
official who painted the bigger picture—the threats and opportunities.
This famed
intelligence, however, seems to have become or is becoming historic, in recent
times, as peoples from other ethnic stock, riding on the wings of the near mass
poverty occasioned by the war with the resultant rat race for survival by all
means amongst the Igbos and with the aid of ICT, has developed mentally by
association to the extent where they have reduced the Igbos to nothing but one
of the buttons in their calculators, meant to help achieve their objectives.
Objectives for which the Igbo gets literarily nothing but idiotic gestures;
like at the government level where the standard reward is to announce the
commencement of design works on the second bridge across the river Niger.
Recently, when President
Goodluck Jonathan ruptured the most politically correct principle for equity
and stability of the PDP and Nigeria, zoning, by declaring his interest to run
for the presidency, groups from all corners of the country, with doubtful
electoral values scrambled to endorse his candidature, Oha na Eze, the presumed
leading pressure group from the south-east, temporized. Finally, when
endorsement was becoming common-place, out of the blues, they came out and queued
behind him.
And the
consideration for the endorsement, according to the President-General, is the
office of the president come 2015, as it
is expected to move between the two southern regions in an un-broken manner
before any other zone or person, including the current vice-president, would
have a shot at it. Wise me of the east. How this gentleman’s agreement with Dr.
Goodluck who wouldn’t respect the one he entered with the larger Nigerian
people through his party, the PDP, is hard to understand.
General Obasanjo
for all his braggadocios did not attempt such an arrangement of handing over to
a fellow southerner even though he encouraged Dr. Odili to throw his hat into
the race for the simple reason of keeping the other governors out of the race
until he could zero- in on one of the many Northerners he fancied—Yar'Adua. Remember, he said it recently that he knew the
implications of handing over to a southerner. How then, would GEJ who is shy of
breaking the law indiscriminately to further his ambition, unlike Obasanjo, be
expected o do it for the south-east, in 2015? Would he not throw the rule of
law mantra at them, as he has currently done to the PDP and the North, against
an agreement to which he personally endorsed?
Another reason
that keeps hitting the headline on the need to support Dr. Jonathan is the one
that dwells on the need to placate the south-south over the civil war. This is puerile
and senseless. As far as the Nigerian civil war goes, it is the south-south
that ordinarily should be placating the east over their treacherous acts and
betrayals, when the federal troops entered their region. It was one of them
that announced the confiscation of Igbo-owned property in Port- Harcourt and in
some instance, kept federal troops in them to await the return of the
Igbo-owners. The south-east did not
start the process that culminated in the war. The British government only took
advantage of the situation to cause disunity between the east and the north in
order to remain relevant. The south east has demonstrated unity by supporting
the region in the most critical junction of the nation’s development—massive
support for the actualization of 13% derivation at the Abacha’s conference and
under the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo’s headship of the Senate.
There is no
short-cut that would make anyone trek from Onitsha to Sokoto but there can be
that which reduces the amount of time spent on the road. The best, quick and
realistic option open to the east, as far as the presidency and its attainment
in 2015 is concern, is that of supporting a northern candidate to supplant Dr.
Goodluck in 2011. Thankfully, the one chosen as a consensus candidate had
promised to do a single term. Considering his past sacrifice for the sake of
the unity of the country, I am inclined to believe he will honour his words. And
even if he decides to go for a second term, it is still a better option than
imaging Dr. Goodluck handing over to the south-east in 2015. It is wishful
thinking; and they know it. It is just that their slavish devotion to the
interest of anyone in Abuja gets it in the way. It is the reason the Igbos have
been reduced to perpetual hewers of wood and fetchers of waters and never the
supervisors in the Nigerian project.
It is Oha na Eze’s
and its members position; it does not extend beyond those who gather to take
such decisions and the members of their immediate and extended families who
have benefited both directly and indirectly from them. The leadership is not
drawn from the different Igbo town unions scatter across the nation and beyond;
and there is scarcely any interface between them and the age grades to which
all true Igbos must belong. As a poser, send a questionnaire to any village of
your choice, asking just this question: who is the president of Oha na eze? Be
sure to include the name of the Ikemba Ndi Igbo, Chief Ojukwu and wait to see
how many people knows about the existence of this contractors union from the
East.
Ilobi Austin, a
social commentator is available on facebook, twitter and www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com