From
time immemorial, the Igbos have been known to be a very resilient and
self-aware or as contemporary people will say, “Woke” people. The determination
of an Igbo man to survive on his own, independent of any external force is very
evident in the busy markets of Ariaria in Aba, Main market in Onitsha, Ogbette
market in Enugu, Alaba International in Lagos, and even Wuse market in Abuja. The
Igbo man always strives to get for himself what he needs. He never wants to be
seen as a dependant of anyone, because being indebted to anyone, leaves you at
the mercy of that person. This idea of being lord over one’s self, though it
has resulted in financial emancipation for the Igbos, has restrained them
politically, as there’s hardly ever a common voice on issues as it affects Ndi Igbo
(Igbo people). And this has left us at a loss politically for decades in the
governance of Nigeria.
That
intrinsic nature of the Igbos to not want to be subject to anyone, has caused
us so much leadership misfortune in the politics of Nigeria. I remember
watching a political interview of Pete Edochie sometime early last year on ESBS
TV (Enugu State Broadcasting Service Television) while in Enugu on a business
trip and he was asked about his opinion on the lopsided appointments of
President Muhammadu Buhari, and he said “Ndi Igbo No Nma” meaning “Igbos are
well placed”. He went on to say despite the fact that Igbos are seemingly not
holding positions in the government of today, it hasn’t stopped them from
thriving economically. And its indeed a known fact, that despite the political
woes we’ve suffered, we’re known to be doing well in business all over the
country and around the world. This has been reflected severally in human
development reports with the South East always recording the least number of
people leaving in poverty.
While
pondering on this subject, I realised that I know the names and faces of the
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’adu Abubakar, and the emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi and also know the circumstances in which they ascended to the
throne, but don’t know the title or name of the traditional ruler of my town,
let alone the Obi of Onitsha, who is seen as the foremost traditional ruler in
the South East. For the Sultan, his predecessor Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido died
in the ADC airline plane crash of 2006, while the emir of Kano got on the
throne after a tussle with the then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, following
the demise of his grand uncle, Alhaji Ado Bayero in 2014. Before you start
throwing stones at me, please find out how many Igbos out there know who the
Obi of Onitsha is. I can actually make bold to say I know how he looks at
least. This is a sad reality, and as an Igbo person, I don’t take pride in this.
Why you may want to be quick to blame me for not knowing so much about him, you
should understand that it’s not entirely my fault. Generally, the idea of every
man for himself, has led to the relegation of the Igbo traditional
institutions. We don’t place as much importance to them as the Hausa’s and
Yoruba’s do. While this is my perception, it could also be that, I’m familiar
with the Sultan and Emir more because I was “born, bread and buttered” in the
North and they tend to get so much media coverage here as opposed to their
counterparts in the South.
The
need for the Igbos to have a common voice on regional and national issues as it
concerns them, gave rise to the formation of organizations like Ohaneze Ndi
Igbo, Ohaneze Youth Congress, etc. It can be said that these organizations
haven’t achieved their objective of forming a single voice to advance the
political aspirations of Ndi Igbo. This failure created a lacuna that gave rise
to the emergence of Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) as the
voice or should I say the ‘messiah’ of Ndi Igbo. The rise of Nnamdi Kanu to
such level of influence and the massive support and solidarity the IPOB
movement got in Ala-Igbo (Igboland) in such a short time, shows that the Igbos
are in need of political direction. A political direction we’ve so far been
unfortunately deprived of by our political elites for self-serving interests.
The
importance of traditional rulers in the society, especially in socio-political
matters cannot be overemphasized. In Nigeria, traditional rulers are held in high
esteem and are considered as part of the governance structure. While the
traditional rulers in the North and quite frankly the South West wield a lot of
influence, shape popular opinions and command so much respect from both their
followers and the government, their counterparts in the South East are more or
less seen as ceremonial monarchs. In northern Nigeria, the opinions of the
Sultan and the Emirs are held in high regard, they’re considered sacred. This
level of loyalty has helped northern Nigeria hold its own in the politics of
the nation. They so easily form a consensus and this can be seen with elections
and their outcomes. You’ll hardly hear of a case of northern politicians going
to election tribunals to challenge election results. If the Sultan comes out to
say “we’re all going to vote for Mr A”, it becomes more or less sacrosanct. In
the southeast there’s hardly ever any consensus on any matter. Everyone simply
wants to have it his/her way. This may largely be because of the high literacy
level.
Ala-Igbo
can easily be the most developed region in Nigeria, If the Igbos can come
together to make it happen. Our small landmass can be an advantage in this
respect. I’ve always said it that state creation is not a problem of Ndi Igbo,
it’s a problem for the ruling class, who just wants to have access to more
resources. I mean Niger and Borno states are each twice as big, in terms of
landmass than the entire 5 South Eastern states as we currently have them, so
why exactly are the political elites clamouring for the creation of additional
states, if not for selfish reasons.
However you choose to look at it, It is evident that for the Igbos to make any advance politically that will bring about massive development in Ala-Igbo, we must come together as a people, to define a collective purpose, chart a cause of action and put in the work required to build Ala-Igbo and ultimately a Nigeria that will be an envy of nations and a pride for generations yet unborn.
