NOTE: Please, take your time to read through to the end for this exposition is fairly long.
Quite recently, there has been a barrage of vilifying and provocative speeches directed against Igbos by some well-placed Nigerians, orchestrating the deeply-entrenched hatred and disdain of countless other people from their ethnic stocks for a tribe they commonly and unnecessarily consider as their major threat. Indeed, the way most Nigerians react to issues concerning Igbo people can only be interpreted as meaning nothing other than a collective perception of the Igbo as the only headache confronting them, even as the entire country is facing the most challenging and debilitating economic difficulties in known history.
It all started with a prominent Northerner and scholar, Prof. Ahmed Bako, who poured out invectives and sheer falsehoods targeting the Igbo in his inaugural lecture at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto. In the lecture titled, “The Igbo Factor in the History of Intergroup Relations and Commerce in Kano: Opportunities and Challenges Revisited”, the historian plunged into historical heresy by claiming that Igbos are domineering in nature and that they have harboured the dream and desire to dominate the country. In his vile and vicious attempt to smear Igbo people, he went ahead to describe the apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo as a separatist group.
I strongly believe that Prof Bako has received a good dose of scathing and appropriate responses from some Igbo intelligentsia and eminent scholars for his deliberate concoction of misleading information capable of creating more enmity for the Igbo man. With very solid and comprehensive critiques of the shoddy and fallacious misrepresentations of the Igbo man by Prof Bako in his ill-fated lecture, I am stoutly convinced that there is nothing much to add to the efforts of such erudite Igbo scholars as Prof Chidi Odinkalu, Prof Chima Onuoha, Prof Moses Achonu, Dr Sam Amadi, Dr Okey Anueyiagu, among others. I have brought up the issue of the prejudiced and misguided Prof Bako simply to strengthen my concern about the concerted attempts being made in diverse quarters to break the Igbo man and diminish his essence. It appears that this is part of the elite conspiracy to further intensify the hatred of Igbos by the rest of the people of the country and render them irrelevant in the nation’s political equations and schemes. This is becoming annoying, even as these efforts will end up in futility.
As one was still wondering the propriety of Prof Bako’s lecture topic and grossly fallacious assumptions in such tensive moments as we are in, another prominent figure, this time one of the ruling Yoruba personalities, came up with another curious position exposing the concerted animosity towards the Igbo. Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, the current Senate leader was widely reported in the social media as saying that, “If you allow regional system in Nigeria, we would have automatically given the Easterners Biafra.” He was reported to have made this extremely unfortunate and sad statement in rejecting the bill to return Nigeria to regionalism.
In reaction to Senator Bamidele’s warped position on the highly sensitive matter, an unnamed source in the social media said; “In effect the Distinguished Senator is saying instead of us liberating ourselves as Nigerians and in the process Igbos get liberated too, let us all be trapped in the hole.” He went further to remark thus; “That’s good. Thank God the average Igbo man is a self liberated man, never reliant on Government.” The commentator concluded by expressing that; “I never knew how entrenched Igbo phobia is till now….”
In essence, it does not matter to the Senator and several other depraved members of Nigeria’s ruling class, including their Igbo associates and acolytes whether Nigeria, as presently structured and governed, is working well for everyone or not. For as long as the Igbo man is living in the bondage of the rest of Nigerians, Bamidele and his ilks are comfortable and will continue to exude a sense of fulfilment. From that reckless and senseless statement which has not been rebuffed or refuted by the Senator or any of his aides, it is now quite evident that the Igbo man is not far from being an endangered specie in Nigeria. It could be seen why there appears to be constant concerted moves to subjugate, intimidate, oppress and persecute the Igbo man. I guess they see Igbos as slaves, and like the Biblical Pharaoh, who was pitched against Israelites, they harbour a morbid fear of what becomes of them should the Igbo be freed from the shackles of some strange and imaginary slavery.
The recent confounding views expressed against the Igbo by Prof Bako and Senator Bamidele seem to portray an elite conscious conspiracy against Igbos, reinforcing the numerous anti-Igbo utterances and actions in the build up to the 2023 general election and thereafter. The public media space was awash with bitter hate speeches and reports of open threats and acts of violence perpetrated against Igbos in certain parts of the country at the time, none of which was condemned by those in authority, or any of the perpetrators held responsible for same. The world witnessed as Igbos were prevented from collecting their permanent voter’s cards (PVCs), especially in areas where they are predominant in Lagos State. There were reports of violent attacks during campaigns and on election days in the state. Some urchins had moved round parts of Lagos threatening fire and brimstone should any Igbo vote against the party in power in the state. This was particularly the case prior to the gubernatorial election, after the resounding victory of Mr. Peter Obi in the presidential election in the state of the main Yoruba candidate who was eventually curiously declared as the winner. One or two markets populated predominantly by Igbo traders suddenly went up in flames in the midst of the aggression against Igbos in Lagos. It became a common refrain across some parts of the country, especially in the far North West states, that an Igbo man would never be allowed to rule Nigeria. Many non-Igbos were not bothered about the competence, capacity and suitability of the other candidates contesting the presidential election. To such people, the most unqualified non-Igbo candidate was preferable to the best candidate of Igbo extraction.
It was for this reason that Igbos do not seem to be perturbed by the terribly poor quality of governance associated with the present administration. The Igbo man had since moved on as they did in the past when they were subjected to agonizing treatment, neglect and denial. He has learnt to live with all the misconceptions about his person and not to lose much sleep over the unmitigated cruelty he faces in the hands of his fellow countrymen. They have generally learnt to survive with or without the government.
Of all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, the Igbo have suffered the most bitter experiences and treatments. The intimidation, molestation, marginalisation, persecution and annihilation of Igbos have a long history in Nigeria, dating back to pre-independence era. In 1953, following the motion for independence moved by a Southern Nigerian of non- Igbo extraction, Mr. Anthony Enahoro, hell was let loose and violent attacks unleashed on Igbos by Northners in Kano. From 1953 to 2023, there have been near-countless unprovoked acts of violence perpetrated against Igbos in different parts of the country, especially in the North, and recently in Port Harcourt and Lagos.
The climax unfolded in 1966, when as a retaliatory measure to a military putsch which claimed the lives of some notable Northern leaders, Westerners and a Mid-Westerner, Northern soldiers, policemen and civilians embarked on a widespread pogrom across Northern cities, killing and maiming soldiers and civilians of Igbo extraction. Wanton destruction of lives and property of Igbos took over the streets of cities in Northern Nigeria and in some parts of Lagos. This was to culminate in a fratricidal war in 1967, a war that lasted almost three years, and reportedly claimed three million lives of mostly Igbo civilians including women, children and men.
The Nigeria-Biafra war, as the internecine conflict was called, ultimately pitched the whole of Nigeria against Igbos. Even their neighbours who were hitherto part of the then Eastern Region were at a point in time conscripted to join the rest of Nigeria to fight against Igbos. That was the genesis of the trend where, ironically, some Igbos in the old Mid-West Region and Rivers State began to fiercely deny their Igbo identity. From that time, despite the fact that they bear Igbo names and speak the language with slight dialectical differences, many Igbos outside the present South East areas would conveniently claim that they are not Igbos. Some communities bearing Igbo names in Rivers State suddenly began to corrupt such names in a bid to hide their Igbo identity and links. This was precipitated by the grave hostilities targeted against Igbos by the rest of Nigeria during and immediately after the civil war.
Apart from physical combat launched against Igbos during the war, some extremely harsh and obnoxious socioeconomic policies and measures were adopted to cut the people to size; to weaken and perpetually clip their wings of progress. The worst of these cruel policies was the crass reduction of their pre-war savings and wealth accumulations to a paltry twenty pounds (£20) per individual or corporate body, irrespective of the size and value. This had widespread excruciating impacts on the people’s lives and economy, reducing everyone in Igbo land to a mere pauper.
There was also the abandoned property policy by which some governments in the country, particularly the old Rivers State, confiscated all landed and immoveable property belonging to Igbos, which they left in the places of their abode at the onset of the conflict to return to Igbo land for safety.
The Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree (NEPD) of 1972, otherwise known as the indigenization policy, was another measure contrived and implemented to deliberately pauperise Igbos further. The policy was designed to exclude them from participation in the acquisition process of the multinational companies which ownership was being transferred to Nigerians at the time. The fact that the people had been stripped bare of their savings and wealth, and their properties confiscated prior to the introduction of the indigenization policy intended to allow Nigerians acquire equity holdings in those firms, meant that Igbos were never contemplated to benefit from the significant economic policy. Hence, as other Nigerians took advantage of the monumental policy by becoming investors, partners and owners of the foreign companies through the acquisition of equities, Igbos literally stood helplessly with hands akimbo, merely watching as observers.
Perhaps, another very destructive and destabilizing policy was the compulsory takeover of mission schools by government across Nigeria. Prior to this takeover, most of the schools in existence in Igbo land were founded and operated by various Christian missionaries. Their standard was very high. With the government takeover came the gradual, but steady decline in educational standards. Igbos suffered this ugly experience greatly as the widespread establishment of community secondary schools by the people across Igbo land thereafter, further plummeted educational standards.
Yorubas were the first in Nigeria to embrace Western education, long before Igbos. Notwithstanding this fact, Igbos soon took full advantage of their exposure to Western education and were literally everywhere showcasing their endowments. Their enterprising and innovative nature drove them to send many of their sons overseas to acquire higher education through community sponsorship. Soon, many communities across Igbo land could boast of highly educated men. Despite the fact that Igbos were next in line after Yoruba people to acquire formal educational training, the impact it made on them was such unprecedented that before the exit of the colonial masters, following Nigeria’s ascendancy to an independent state, Igbos had literally occupied frontline and strategic positions in nearly all sectors of the public service, including the military. Their vast exposure to education and inclination towards seeking for greener pastures beyond their immediate environment saw Igbos taking up top positions in public service, especially as teachers, in Northern Nigeria, where there was a dearth of educated people at the time.
This was how the story of Igbo dominance or domineering tendency emerged and began to gain currency. To the Yoruba, the people now became a threat to their dominance in education. As far as the Hausa and Fulani are concerned, the unfortunate killing of their leaders during the first military coup was provoked by nothing other than this so-called propensity of the Igbo man for dominance.
Unfortunately, no one ever wanted to give them the credit that they actually worked very hard and deserved the prominent positions they occupied in all facets in the country at that time. They did not imagine the cumulative impact of communities pooling resources together to sponsor their sons to acquire degrees overseas. Rather, it was convenient to reduce their hardwork and pervasive visibility in all sectors of public service to what it is definitely not- a brazen desire for dominance. Ironically, this same picturing of the Igbo man holds sway till date, as can be seen in Prof Bako’s recent paper presentation. This is a gross misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the Igbo man.
It’s very clear that the introduction of the quota system by the authorities was intended to curtail the speed at which Igbos were moving and tending to dwarf others in nearly all fields of endeavour. By this policy, the system deliberately slows down those who are eager to excel and props up those who do not have what it takes to succeed. The policy has been justified by its proponents as an instrument for providing equal opportunities to everyone. Ironically, what this policy mainly achieves is the promotion of mediocrity and the stifling of meritorious performance. For example, it denies or deprives admission to an Igbo student from Abia State who scores 120 marks in a common entrance examination into Federal Government College and reserves a place for a lad of Hausa or Fulani stock from Zamfara State, who scores 10 marks or even less. The system is similarly applicable to employment opportunities and it is called Federal Character principle.
From this foundation and perspective, it will never surprise any discerning mind why Nigeria is not working and will never work for as long as merit is relegated to the remote background. Countries that have attained progress, prosperity and greatness are associated with according prominence to the tenets of merit, distinction and excellence. There is no single country in the world known to have discarded these highly essential values in preference for mediocrity, favouritism and nepotism that has fulfilled the critical objectives of national development and economic prosperity. Nigeria will never be an exception. Never will the country progress with this abracadabra style that we are patronising and upholding.
For the country to make any headway in the direction of real progress and meaningful development, there must be a stop to this unnecessary hatred for anything Igbo. In fact, the rest of the people of the country must be bold and patriotic enough to ask some soul-searching questions. We must strive to seek understanding of why Igbos are not lagging behind in nearly all indices of development despite all the hostility, alienation and marginalisation that they have been subjected to by the rest of the country. They have been cramped into the least number of states and local government areas for purposes of starving the people of the great chunks of national resources. Yet, the people are moving on. They are not bemoaning this ill-treatment. They continue to flourish and thrive even beyond most of their adversaries and those cornering the greatest proportions of the nation’s wealth.
From all conceivable indications, it is evident that all efforts to suppress and retard the progress of Igbos have failed woefully. They have not succeeded in yielding the expectations of the propagators of anti-Igbo plots and schemes. Against this backdrop, one thinks that it’s foolhardy to continue to hold Igbos in disdain, or to oppress them. In fact, one wonders why it is difficult for antagonists of Igbo people to see and agree that the more efforts are being made to drag them backwards, the more they continue to conquer all odds and break all barriers, like the Jews. Indeed, it should not pose any difficulty in coming to terms with the fact that, persistent alienation of Igbos, who are known globally for their distinction, innovation and diligence, remains the bane of the nation’s under-development.
It is unarguable that the Igbo man is unrivalled in enterprise, industry, innovation, perseverance and astute commitment to excellence. The charlatans who are mostly and often favoured to occupy political leadership positions in Igbo land (some of who are chosen from outside) should not be used as the standard for measuring the quality of true leaders prevalent in Igbo land. The average Igbo man is a dogged and unrepentant believer in hard work, resilience and unity of purpose. These are the major factors that have driven them to rebuild their battered fortunes and economy after the devastating and debilitating civil war. There is no part of this country other than in Igbo land where the people have totally transformed their rural villages and communities into urban and semi-urban centres with minimal or no government inputs and support. In their efforts to transform their local communities, they tar roads, provide electricity and potable water, build schools, hospitals and markets and adorn much of their landscapes with beautiful edifices as personal homes.
Meanwhile, in most other parts of the country, people largely depend on government, especially the lopsided and overtly partial Federal Government to provide them with most of these amenities. Under former President Muhammadu Buhari, we saw how stupendous quanta of national resources were devoted to catering for people from his part of the country all in the guise of fighting poverty, which he and the many leaders of the country from the North were instrumental in creating and compounding. Their pursuit of numerous unproductive policies, wasteful practices and deliberate denial of opportunities to those who have the capacity to turn the country around, resulted in consigning the entire nation to backwardness, ultimately fetching for us the ignoble reputation of once being the poverty capital of the world. There is no way we can forge ahead as a nation by embracing the pursuit of awkward, futile and unprogressive measures while jettisoning the inevitable pathways to meaningful national socioeconomic development and progress.
It has been proven beyond every reasonable doubt that the greatest asset in building a virile and viable nation lies actually in human capital. The case of Nigeria has clearly shown that a country can be superfluously rich in natural resources, but still remain very poor in outlook and other developmental indices. The country has been unfortunately declared not just as the poverty capital of the world, but a place where more than half of the population of over two hundred million are living in multidimensional poverty. This is notwithstanding the fact that Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural resources, including large quantities of oil and gas reserves, as well as other solid and precious mineral resources.
The reason for this extremely unfortunate situation is not far-fetched. We have refused to do things right. We prefer to be consumed or governed by primordial sentiments. When despite the prevalence of practical evidence that an Igbo man can change this miserable situation, we have preferred to treat him with ignominy and distance him from the scheme of leadership. Nigeria will continue to pay the huge price of underdevelopment for as long as the people wallow in arrogance by refusing to tap from the immense and unprecedented innate talents and attributes of the Igbo man.
These are people, who, without external support effectively rebuilt their shattered personal fortunes and collective economy from ground zero after the civil war. These are people with the fastest developing cities and communities at the end of the war in 1970 without so much of government involvement. These are people whose states have remained in the frontline of educationally advanced states in the country, competing effectively with the Yoruba states and a few states in the South South geo-political zone. These are people who have drastically reduced poverty within the region, and boasting of the highest number of rich people among the ethnic groups in Africa. These are people who are reputed in the developed world for being the leading group of African immigrants in North America and parts of Europe. These are people who are found in nearly every part of the world. These are people who have turned all parts of the country, including remote areas to their homes, and investing heavily in those places.
No ethnic group in Nigeria can compete with Igbos in terms of their very huge investments outside their traditional Homelands. They take wherever they find themselves as homes, integrating themselves fully into their newfound homesteads. This is one other way through which they have acquired the notorious and erroneous reputation of being domineering. They are the only group in Nigeria who will go to a virgin place outside their traditional Homelands and not only occupy the area under the most difficult and intolerable conditions, but will transform it into functional modern environment. He will achieve this feat through legal avenues, tenacity of purpose and recourse to hard work and personal sacrifice.
Unfortunately, the likes of Prof Bako and numerous other antagonists of the Igbo people who are blinded by ethnic and religious bigotry will never bother to reckon with the incomparable and unassailable transformational efforts, roles and successes of Igbos in this dimension. In Kano that was the reference point of Prof Bako’s distorted lecture, once the legitimate investments of Igbos are detracted, the sprawling city of Kano will certainly no longer be what it is today. The story cannot be different from Lagos where Igbos are turning barren swampy areas into beautiful modern neighbourhoods and cities. The transformational strides of Igbos are indeed evident across many parts of the country. Regardless of this pervasive and visible reality, Prof Bako and many of his fickle-minded anti-Igbo co-travellers will rather translate the unprecedented and highly commendable attributes and feats of the Igbo person to mean a domineering character, an assumption which is unfounded, unjustifiable and non-existent.
Unfortunately, this is believed by many Igbos to be the source of envy and hostility against them by the rest of Nigerians. It really beats every imagination that Igbo investments are totally safe in all parts of the world, except in Nigeria and perhaps, South Africa, where Igbo phobia and xenophobia respectively are rife.
One can go on and on, almost endlessly to talk about the great breakthroughs, outstanding attainments and the peculiar nature of Igbo people. These are the same people who fabricated and manufactured their own war weapons and vehicle spare parts; refined fuel locally and distilled engine oil and other lubricants as well as made numerous other inventions to keep the civil war alive and active for almost three whopping years, when the federal authorities had boasted that the war would be won within a few weeks.
There is no doubt that if Igbos had been fully integrated into the scheme of national life, they would have been utilized to make the country an industrialised nation with huge export capabilities. Nigeria would have been exporting even armaments to many African countries and even beyond. We must recall that an Igbo man, Major General Victor Ezugwu built the first and only indigenous armoured personnel carriers being used today by the Nigerian Army. There’s nothing Igbos have not achieved to demonstrate beyond every reasonable doubt that they possess all it takes to pull out this country from the situation of economic dire straits and development conundrums it has unfortunately been trapped in since after independence.
Very unfortunately, the misplaced fear of Biafra has continued to plague Nigeria and distance the country from taking full advantage of the immense potentials embedded in the Igbo man. Let’s recall once again that it was at a time considered a taboo for Igbos to hold certain positions in the security architecture of the country. President Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw man, mounted the saddle and gave Igbos the opportunity to prove that the fears of them holding certain sensitive and strategic positions were actually misplaced and uncalled for. He appointed an Igbo man, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo as Inspector General of Police and subsequently, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, another Igbo, as Chief of Army Staff. The two performed well and never dragged Nigeria into any conflict or controversy bordering on Biafran agitation. They served the nation with total zeal and dedication as Nigerians and not as Igbo people.
Consequently, the presumption that giving an Igbo man the opportunity to lead Nigeria will be tantamount to providing Igbos the opportunity to divide the country is balderdash. It’s nothing other than an unfounded concoction of the elite political class which is sustained by their inordinate desire to perpetuate an unworkable and unproductive system that serves largely their selfish interests. It is utter nonsense and sheer madness for anyone to say that bequeathing regionalism to Nigeria amounts to giving Igbos the opportunity to realise Biafra.
Senator Bamidele was simply talking bunkum and merely attempting to hide his inferiority complex, deriving from the sophistication of the Igbo man. Why was he particular about using Biafra to justify his preference for a failed system when in his own region there is an ongoing separatist agitation? If he had sincerity of purpose, he would have argued generally that regionalism would embolden all those clamouring for division of the country, including the Sunday Igbohos agitating for a Yoruba nation. Unfortunately, his concern was only about the Igbo and Biafra, who have done no known wrong to him and his people.
Igbos are simply concerned about the enthronement of a system that works for everyone. Senator Bamidele knows too well that if Igbos are given the opportunity to determine their own fate under a fertile regional structure, he, along with his co-travellers milking the resources of the people and literally sucking their blood, will be exposed and have no hiding place. The Igbo will show them what good governance is all about as everyone will be developing at their own pace and there will be no room any longer for parasitic over-dependence on a centre with overflowing resources.
Therefore, this needless antagonism against Igbos from certain quarters stems equally from the fact that the people have the capacity to turn things around in the country if availed leadership opportunities at the highest level. It’s obvious that creating the opportunity for an Igbo to occupy such strategic positions will also imply blocking those who are profiting from the present dysfunctional system from having their ways to the detriment of the vast majority of the people of Nigeria. A few Nigerians are enjoying the status quo whereby the country is not working. They detest whatever that will positively alter the trend that enables them feed very fat at the expense of the vast majority of the rest of poverty stricken Nigerians. They are therefore comfortable with keeping Igbos away from the leadership of the country so that their grip on national resources will prevail. This came to the fore in the 2023 presidential election when the political class conspired unabashedly to prevent the best candidate in the race from Igbo land to emerge victorious.
One is not attempting to claim that Igbos are superior to other ethnic groups. There is no attempt here to present the Igbo person as one without his own fair share of flaws. He is not perfect. In fact, there are criminals and evil ones amongst them who have contributed to this country’s litany of woes.
However, the unarguable point that one is striving to make is that Igbos have contributed the most to the efforts at nation-building, even as they have been treated unfairly by successive regimes since the end of the civil war. We have continued to look at Igbos from the spectacle of the civil war and this is not good for either them or the rest of the country. It is absolutely necessary for us to tarry a while to see the Igbo person from the prisms of his peculiar endowments and to tap from those things that make him tick and achieve so much. Igbos have tremendous qualities that make them assets rather than liabilities to Nigeria. One is sounding emphatic that the only viable option for Nigeria’s imminent progress is to embrace Igbos with open hands and hearts. The Igbo will never fail Nigeria if provide the chance to occupy leadership position at the highest level in this country. I do not mean just any Igbo man, but the one with capacity, integrity and a selfless spirit. I say all of this with every sense of modesty, responsibility, patriotism, national pride and certainty. The Igbo will also not fail to achieve the maximum benefits derivable from the regional system of government if the nation opts for that. True federalism is the best option for Nigeria. It’s a dynamic system that will bring out the best from the operators, giving so much room for healthy competition among the various units.
If the rest of Nigerians continue to abhor the leadership of the Igbo man over the country, or avoid the restructuring that will give the people the opportunity to ventilate our innate talents, we’ll jolly well look away and simply concentrate on ourselves and our collective survival. Everybody will be down, but we’ll not be the worst off. Since 1970 to date that the deliberate policy of keeping the Igbo away from the centre of political leadership and governance, no section of Nigeria has fared well. We have all remained aground, crippled by underdevelopment in the midst of plenty. The most sections have continued to wallow in penury, hunger, disease, squalor and illiteracy despite keeping Igbos as pariahs in the governance of Nigeria.
In fact, if there’s any ethnic group faring any better, it could be the same Igbos who are at the receiving end of concerted efforts by the rest of Nigerians to subject them to exclusivity and irrelevance. Is it not time therefore for the rest of the country to reverse their anti-Igbo steps, their morbid Igbo phobia, hatred and envy, and alternatively embrace the people to benefit from their peculiar endowments and experiences? Indeed, it’s foolhardy for anyone to continue to promote the fear of Igbos and their exclusion from the leadership of the country, as it has never paid off doing so. It is indubitable that Igbos are extraordinarily gifted people. This is acknowledged globally.
Certainly, it is not for nothing that they have achieved all the marvellous feats that they are nationally and internationally recognised for. The country should accept and embrace them wholeheartedly and capitalise on their extraordinary gifts to make Nigeria prosperous and truly great. It is both pointless and useless treating them as if the nation is still up in arms with Igbos. This is what is fuelling the persistent Biafran agitation, years after the civil war.
The simple solution to the Igbos and the national question lies in their total and uninhibited acceptance and integration as full-blooded Nigerians. They must have unfettered rights and opportunities as the entire country will be the better for it. It is not too late for this. We have been goofing all the 64 years of our nationhood, but can certainly redress all of this within the shortest possible time, if we ditch arrogance, hatred and primordial sentiments. We must demonstrate an unbending determination to enthrone a new order of inclusiveness, constructive engagements and deliberate efforts to re-write our chequered history of backwardness and underdevelopment.
Igbos must be accepted and treated as true, authentic, committed and specially gifted Nigerians. After all, of all the major ethnic nationalities in Nigeria, they are the only wholly indigenous people. The Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba people also have roots outside Nigeria. So, there’s no reason whatsoever that the Igbo should justifiably be seen as some strange elements in their own country, the only country they are rooted in as indigenous people. Indeed, they hold the key to unlock the elusive development and prosperity for the entire Nigerian people. The Prof Bakos and Senator Bamideles of this country must allow this indubitable reality to sink deep into their skulls. Igbos are not the problem of Nigeria. What is the major setback for the country is keeping them away from the country’s leadership under false beliefs and guises. No one should be afraid of Igbos for they are verily holding the aces for a workable Nigeria.
Joachim OLUMBA (Retd CIS), KSJI
The Emetumba-Dikenafai & Omekannaya-Nchoke
contributed this piece from Owerri, Imo State.
