OKONKWO FALLS APART
Most of the people pointing fingers at Chinua Achebe must remember that we all have our prejudices but express them differently. We may not convey it in such an elaborate manner and it may not come from such an accomplished writer. Let us face it, Achebe is just reflecting what many Igbo still feel years after the war. If Nigerian side had lost the war, many of us might be bitter as many Achebe(s), wishing we had won. However, this anger is deliberately misplaced.
Idi-Igbo have accomplished a great deal after the civil war and they are second to none in Nigeria in terms of success in their individual endeavors. They must get off the victim mentality like fictitious Okonkwo that fell to the superior fire power of the British. In a parallel history of Chaka Zulu, they celebrated the formidable power that resisted the superpower of their time and were proud of it. Igbo need to rise up above the war to consolidate their inventions then.
The reason we are here today is because it was either Aburi in its entirety or nothing. Only if and if only we had settled for less than Aburi, Nigeria would have been a better place. Nobody should cut his nose to spite his face at any cost to keep Nigeria one. If we have to go our own ways, so be it. But as long as there is oil, Nigerian politicians, no matter their ethnicity, will continue to sing the unity of the country. So Nigeria is not going away soon.
Many ethnic groups have fought. Some become greater friends like the French and the English or by the separation of the East and West German while others have become even deadlier enemies today than the Palestine and the Jews. Nigeria has so many problems managing its god given resources where all the ethnic groups unite and share the loot as the common man on the street suffer. You would not expect an intellectual of Achebe status to distract us from that.
It is doubtable that even if the whole of Nigeria apologize for the war, Igbo would forgive the Yoruba. Yet the role of the Yoruba in the war is not as pronounced until the Igbo invaded Ore, a sleeping town that was not a bridge to cross the Niger to the North. Indeed, there is nothing to apologize for. A group of people that refused to fight back when invaded were not worth their salt. Yoruba are not aggressive but they can defend themselves from other people's aggression.
Reality is Biafra lost and they are looking for somebody to blame. The most convenient person to blame is not even a military expert, soldier or commander. He happened to be a man that had lost some battles but had never lost a war for his people as the leader of the Action Group, Premier of Western Region and Nigeria's treasurer. He was almost perfect for his side, as any group of people could count on. However, Awolowo was a mediocre politician.
Ironically, Awo was also the most successful politician in Nigeria and his Party was the leader of Opposition from the North to the South. A distinction most people forget. With all that gain, he failed to explain to other regions as opposition leader, that he was the alternative to their higher standard of living and progress as he did in the West. Consequently, the only people that understood him and showed appreciation for his foresight were in the West, and Central North.
Most of the people who were not Yoruba that benefited from his free education in the Western Region and other ethnic groups living in the area hardly come to his defense for fear of being branded Yoruba lovers. Education became a big deal in Nigeria because Awolowo was the pace setter for the East and the North. Since it was possible in the West, other regions deserved the same. The fact was, anyone that wanted education in the North got it up to the university level.
Those that put the blame of starving the children of Biafra on Awolowo must conscientiously ask about Ojukwu that refused Red Cross food because it would travel via Nigeria's roads. They had no proof or evidence that food were poisoned but preferred unfettered access by air with the implication of smuggled arms, or nothing like Aburi again. Let the children starve instead. He was not even negotiating with Awo, he was negotiating with Gowon on military corridors.
If Awolowo was a better politician, he could have explained the 20 pounds given to Igbo better. People talk about it as if it was 20 naira today. The 20 pounds was not to help wealthy Igbo or landlords but for those that were destitute after the war. High School graduates were paid 15 pounds then, primary school leavers were paid 6 pounds ten shillings; and more important those coming to Lagos in those days never had a return ticket or 5 pounds in their pockets.
It cost 5 pounds to rent a room in Lagos island, two pounds ten in Surulere and much less in Mushin and other areas. If you had 20 pounds in those days, you've got money. If it was not for the destitute coming back, Awolowo had never hidden his hand when it came between helping the rich and the poor. So it was unfair for those that had no need for 20 pounds to condemn it as nothing today, when others were silently grateful that they had that much!
Despite the sacrifice of Brig. Ademulegun, Banjo, Akintola, Fajuyi and the youthful exuberance of Soyinka's death-wish to the cause of Igbo, this Yoruba man insisted on working with Igbo. He went there again for his last campaign risking another Yoruba life for Idi-Igbo. You cannot force Igbo to vote for you as long as you are Yoruba unless you had allowed Igbo to rule the Western Region or to become the Governor of Lagos State. Is that infatuation or expediency?
Unfortunately, no Igbo would sacrifice his life for Yoruba. Many Igbo have sworn that if they cannot have their way to rule Yoruba land, they cannot live within Nigeria. It is not only Igbo that want out of Nigeria, even the some parts of the North want out of Nigeria. The only problem is that those Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo that cannot stay within their country, voyaging to every country on earth, should be the last to seek separation and the dislocation of Nigeria.