Saturday, April 2, 2016
Thankfully under President Goodluck Jonathan the Igbo managed to do
better than at any other time in our history. As a matter of fact this
was so much the case that Nigerians from other parts of the country,
particularly the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani, often sulked about it and
openly complained.
Jonathan had a soft spot for the Igbo and I have little doubt that that
partiality was borne out of his innate sensitivity to their historical
trials and tribulations. It may have been sub-conscious but I have no
doubt that it was there.
Unlike others he viewed the Igbo as equals and regarded them as human
beings: he treated them with respect and decorum and he gave them their
due. Consequently it was under Jonathan that Lt. General Azubuike
Ihejirika the first Igbo Chief of Army Staff since the civil war was
appointed.
It was also under Jonathan that Senator Pius Anyim, the first Igbo
Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria since independence was
appointed.
Sadly when President Muhammadu Buhari was elected into office all that
changed and eastern stars stopped shining. Under him the persecution,
marginalization, humiliation, detention, state-sponsored executions and
assassinations and sectarian and ethnic-motivated murder of the Igbo has
reached pre-civil war proportions.
To add to that the Igbo have been treated with more disdain and contempt
by the Buhari administration than any other government in our entire
history. Permit me to share juat one example of that here.
A few days ago hordes of AK-47-wielding Fulani herdsmen and militants
attacked some farms in Enugu state. Fearing that the Agatu treatment may
be meted out to them and in order to protect their lives, their
families, their property, their livestock and their crops from the
murderous vandals and marauders the Igbo farmers organised themselves
and fought back gallantly.
Consequently there were casualties on both sides. Instead of the police
to come in to apprehend the Fulani aggressors and raiders, seize their
weapons and bring them to justice they arrested 76 Igbo farmers. Up
until today those farmers are in police custody and their families have
had no access to them.
As far as I am aware not one Fulani militant or herdsman was questioned
over this incident let alone disarmed, caitioned or arrested. As
unbelievable as it may appear this patterm of behaviour by the security
agencies has been the norm throughout the Middle Belt and the south
since President Buhari has come to power.
They have displayed great reluctance to protect the indigenous people
and farmers of those two regions from the pillaging, killing and raping
that the Fulani herdsmen always subject them to.
It is also instructive to note that the political leaders of the igbo
nation appear to have been so intimidated by this trend of events that
none of them has spoken out against the abduction of the Enugu farmers
or condemned the barbarous action of the Fulani herdsmen that raided
their farms.
As a matter of fact the only two politicians in the entire country that
have publicly expressed concern about the safety, whereabouts and plight
of the 76 Igbo farmers are both from the south west and they are
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state and yours truly. Fayose did so in
an advert in the newspapers a few days ago and I did so in my column
last week titled "Of Tyrants, Martyrs and Heroes (Part 2)".
Everyone else, including the Igbo Governors. Senators, Ministers, elders
and leaders of their socio-political groups has maintained a curious,
submissive and stoic silence on this matter. I guess that is a sign of
the times that we are living in and I cannot blame them. Given the
circumstances and the obvious constraints of their political leaders and
elders why would the younger generation of the Igbo not agitate and
fight for the establisment of Biafra?
This is especially so given the fact that it is self- evident that under
the leadership of President Buhari igbos, and indeed other southerners,
are not just being subjected to violence in the north but they are also
being attacked by northerners down in their own states in the south.
Southern leaders are expected to live with this, accept it as the norm
and most importantly they are not expected to defend themselves, defend
their people or complain about the atrocities that they are being
subjected to in their own land.
This hardly kindles hope for the future of our nation and it certainly
does not engender confidence in our country or enhance national unity.
It is clear that the contempt with which our government views the people
of the south and particularly the igbo is obvious and glaring.
President Buhari himself, during one of his interviews with Al Jazeera
and during the course of an earlier interview with Nigeria's NTA,
displayed that contempt very eloquently when, in answer to a question
about Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB's prolonged detention and the
increasingly aggressive agitation for Biafra, he asked rather brusquely
"what exactly do the Igbo want?"
When he was told that the Igbo felt marginalised by his government he went further on to ask "who is marginalizing who?"
Again before millions of viewers from all over the world President
Buhari refused to watch the footage of the extra-judicial killing of
some IPOB youths by his security forces when he was asked to do so
during his infamous interview with Al Jazeera.
In that same interview he went on to dismiss the legitimate aspirations
of and agitation by millions of young people from the eastern part of
our country for the creation of Biafra in just one sentence.
He said that if they had any complaints they should agitate for more
states in the east instead of yearning for their own country.
One wonders how state creation can appease a generation of angry young
Igbos who genuinely believe that their people are being systematically
killed off and that they have been turned into slaves and second class
citizens by Nigeria.
And this coming from a man who has refused to appoint one single Igbo
into the Presidency and who believes that he has done them a favor by
appointing five Igbo Ministers into his cabinet.
He forgets that the constitution of our country compels him to appoint
at least one Minister per state and that whether he likes it or not he
must appoint those five because the Igbos control five states in the
Federation each of which must be represented in the cabinet.
It may not be fashionable to say it publicly but the truth is that the
Igbo are virtually an endangered species under President Buhari's
government.
They have been robbed of their dignity, their sense of self-worth, their
self-esteem and their self-respect by our government and the Igbo youth
particularly do not believe that they have much of a future left in
Nigeria. That is why the agitation for Biafra has reached fever pitch
among them.
Whatever anyone feels about Biafra the fact of the matter is as follows:
as my friend and brother Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Governor of
Abia state, said a few days ago, "the igbo have not been fully
integrated back into Nigeria 46 years after the civil war".
The truth is that Nigeria is not working for most of the ethnic
nationalities and everyone knows it. And as long as those that hold
power at the center today remain in power things will not get any
better.
As a matter of fact as long as they are in power things will get worse.
In Buhari's Nigeria if you are not from the core north and if you are
not a Muslim you do not have much hope of getting to the top or
achieving your full potentials.
That is "chanji" for you and that is Buhari's mission and vision. We
said it during the Presidential campaign but regrettably few would
listen. Now the same people that would not listen are regretting it
bitterly and they are saying that we were right.
In Buhari's Nigeria it is one law for the oppressed and another for the
''Born to Rule" oppressor. Whether we wish to admit it or not that is
the reality and everyone knows it.
There is also a well-orchestrated attempt to Islamise our country and
suppress the practice of Christianity in some parts within our shores.
Kaduna state is an example and what is going on there is nothing but a
test run for the rest of the country. .
Yet the truth is that everything has its expiry date including religious
bigotry, bondage and slavery. The oppressor often forgets that the
future belongs to the oppressed.
The Irish experience and the beautiful people of Eire and the Emerald
Isle have taught us that. Far away London in merry England was once
their capital yet today it is their very own Dublin. If God can do it
for them He can also do it for us. It is just a matter of time.
Some will disagree with the contents of this contribution whilst others
will hate me for writing it. To such troubled souls I recommend the
words of Albert Einstein. He said:
“Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds.
The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to
bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express
his opinions courageously and honestly".
I need say no more.
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