This’ the way it’s,thing’ll never be the same again
From the north to south, and from the east to west, many of the political leaders are calling for unity and indissolubility of the Nigeria state yet they fail to do the needful,they do not want to sit and find a vintage point, a common ground to settle the many Nigeria problems. No nation has ever achieved greatness by shying away from her problems but confronting it head on. Many of the Nigeria leaders especially from the north do not want to accept the fact of many years of Igbo marginalization. This is because to them accepting it means defeat and putting responsiblility of doing the needful to intiate the process of healing for a greater nation building.
Political progress is not built on tools of death threats, assassination, economic sabotage, religious dominance and immoral superiority, or marginalization of minority people.Violence begot violence, hate actions begot hate speech and all these produce one predictable result, increase propensity to anarchy.
Nigeria has thrived adversely over the years on the tools of nepotism, call for war along tribal lines, ethic and religious tendencies, forged census results, fabrication of electoral process and result sheets, annulments of electoral outcomes, skewed constitution, skewed policies; from political to economic and educational policies.
The building of a nation is independent of the abundance of natural or material resources. The growth of a nation depends on the mind function of the people to respect and uphold in honour, various branches of her institutions.
The first leaders of the biblical free world imitated God and built monuments, cities, commerce and formidable multicultural and multi-racial society by the simple word let us build.If there is commitment to engage, resources will not be a problem.It was their oneness and unity of purpose that compelled them to reach the topmost height of their civilization.
They didn’t have the resources; stones and mortars to build but they thought what must we do? In exchange for stone, let us make bricks to provide the same function as stone.In our age, brick is made out of mud or clay soil shaped in a certain way and heated with fire for many days. In their time, it’s made from straw or stubble.
Necessity they say is the mother of invention. The Biblical Israel under bondage had straw to make bricks but when straw was in short supply and was not given to them, they thought and so they found stubble an alternative for straw. Bricks were alternative for stones, as stubblewas for straw in making bricks.
Today the world is looking for alternate form of energy to substitute for fossil energy, electrical engines for diesel engines.By 2025 upwards,this shall become a possibility to most Eruopean countries.
After the Civil war, the Ibos lost,Gowon,in his treachery, decreed in his speech ‘No victor,no vanqushe’ and the 3Rs, the many ploies to deceive the international community of the Ibos integration into the Nigeria mainstream. Of these 3Rs his administration failed to honour nor the administrations after him. This is because they have drafted from the war of guns and men in uniform to an alternate form of war…economic war. The stretagy has changed- to ensure the total and complete emmanscuration of the people group,they used government to make policies that will seclude her from stratagic government positions, and civil service positions and also from emerging to convass for anything in Nigeria. …as stated by the formal CBN governor –Emair. Sanusi L.S, in his paper presentation at the national conference on the 1999 constitution at the Arewa house,Kaduna.
This is fifty years, the war has not ended only that it is fought in a different lane and a different weapon of war is employed. South-east political leaders are still talking about making the region economical viable.This is a shame, because I doubt if they can do it under a restructured Nigeria, since all of them are calling to do under restructured Nigeria what they could not do under skewed Nigeria designed to strangulate the region in all fronts.
In Enugu under Dr. ChimarokeNnamani, that administration built industries in Ibo land not outside of it. The federal government determined to cripple and undermine the region economically, in the name of fighting corruption shutdown these companies, many lost their jobs, yet failed to create jobs for these ones. For fairness and justices, the companies should have been managed by the state or federal government since it was built with state money instead of shutting it down.How many of the leaders and political actors after wards,spoke against it nor have done anything close to building industries, or commerce or financial institution that has become the envy of the rest of Nigeria….what do they (politcians) have in Nigeria that we can call the Ibo agenda. Contrary to the unpopular opinnion for Ibo presidency and restructuring, as far as Nigeria is concern, the Ibos have no such agenda.
After the war to make sure the Ibos do not rise to toe the path of Germany in second world war some two decades after the first war to make her mark in the league of nations….sowed seeds of distrust and hate among the Ibos and the minorities in the region, deprive them public services and blamed it on their brothers. Used some key- persons from eastern minorities groups and Ibo sabos to destablize the region of the peace, unity and warmed friendship she once enjoyed. Forced to remain in the union yet denied the justice and equity by enacting monetary policy to their disadvantage - We now have the Ibos scattered all over the world in millions and hundreds of thousand in search of a better life (which is to her, now, of great advantage in the biafra struggle)
Rather than pursue personal agenda driven by ego, selfcenteredness, selfishness and passed it on to the next generation, the Ibo political leaders of thought of that time should have rallied around and come out with an agenda, of which every Ibo man would pursue not only to rebuild the region, economically and politcally but to rebuild the mind set of the Ibo man towards his brother and the relationship she once had….it here I make bold to say this, if any people group in Nigeria had undergone what the Ibos went through in Nigeria after the war, it would have been worst for them – total devastation.
What we have in Ibo land are politician,people who can talk, and pile up paper works to substantiate their talk but do nothing to effect development in the legion. First, those leaders who have industries should relocate their companies to the region or at least replicate the same in the east. Some few months ago they held a meeting at Nike-lake, like every other meet, certain agreement were reached, upuntil now none of them have done a thing to that effect.
Nigeria is the way it is not only because of the failure of leadership but also failure in her institutions. The combination of these two elements gave birth to different agitations and threats by different regions.
Two years ago the formal president, of the Yoruba extraction came to south-east economic summit. He pointed out that the region is the way it is because the Igbos do not invest in their homes land and that they should not look unto the Federal Government nor wait for the Government to provide for the region and develop her economically. One may but wonder is the east not part of the federation or north and west alone?
More also a lot many Nigerians will cite Lagos as the achievement of the Yoruba man.If this were so, why is it that other Yoruba states is not as viable and advanced and developed as Lagos is?
Two , this is laughable giving to the fact that Lagos like Calabar was one time the nation’s capital, as such has enjoyed her presence many years over and more than any other capital or state. Many of the Federal Government budget on infrastructure, capital projects and development goes into Lagos state unlike any other state.It is wrong and hypocritical for the state man to speak disrespectful of the region as he has shown or has he forgotten, that in his capacity as the president he pushed and turned the attention of the Orients-investors coming to develop the east to his home state.
I want to tell the united-Igbo political leaders that the region can be made viable under any condition, restructure or no restructure. It is a question of their mindset. But, they have had their times and have failed….it is time for the new Igbo man, the new generation of the Igbos to lead the way.
IPOB emergency has been mainly because of the gross failure in providing guidance and leadership by both the Ohaneze and the political leaders of our vast Igbo community. Take it or leave it,like it or not, IPOB is now the voice the world listens to, the symbol of the Biafra struggle and the only voice many of our youth heed to.
A whole lot of people in Nigeria have condemned IPOB not because their aspirations are not noble but because of their approach…I, however do not agree to these views and this unpopular line of thoughts. The Niger-delta militants, employed violence, kidnapping of oil workers, economic sabotage(blowing of piplines).
Boko-Haram made their mark in continous bombing and rendering the whole north-east and the administartion of the previous government ungovernable.
The Fulani-herds-men are making their own statements every day, they maimed,killed and rape innocent women in the villages all over Nigeria….all these groups unlike the IPOB used a violent approach as a means to a justified end.
I think this of IPOB, whether civil or not, their approach is more effective and pivotal in making their voice to be heard in the Nigeria equation. The position of IPOB is the agenda of the majority Ibo men in the Nigeria context-Nigerians know it, the north and west know it. It is only the eastern political leaders that pretend they do not know it. And because of their approach the many Nigeria nations are beginning to see and understand the rudiment of the Nigeria problems, where they are in the scheme of things. If the political lords want to save Nigeria, let referendum be conducted to all ethnic nationals in Nigeria to try their fate in the Nigeria project….otherwise with the way things are going,they wouldn’t know what hit them.
While MASSOB and other agencies to some extent have made their input in sensetization and mobiliazation of the region on the need to restore the defunt republic. IPOB, however, in her own has made a giant stride in bring together as one the voices in diaspora and that of the homeland. Easterners scattered all over the world in pursuit of better life are as of today, via rallies, talk shows, movies, songs, entertainment, demostrations, public lectures and public figures, etc are lending their voices to the Biafran quest.
While MASSOB and other aggrieved groups were carring out the phase one of the Biafra project-the ground breaking or if you like the internal work, IPOB was in preparation for the external work- the second phase of the project. At this moment the project is at the point of no return.
On the on-coming election and IPOB position on boycotting it…if referendum is held over Biafra, people will still vote against it but the ‘yes’ shall be greater than the ‘No’ by a greater magin. in the same way, if IPOB records 43% - 70% support, it’s still a win. It’s as good as Anambraians boycotted the election- this is because the families, political parties, well wishers, friends of the people convassing for any political postions may vote- (these are part of the people constituting the No).
On the issue of Biafra, a lot of questions are in the mind of people given to the many points raised on social media and newsletters as regard Biafra….of these questions I will like to rend my input; one was raised by the Deputy Senate President,Ike Ekweremadu,I believe were his dispositions on the matter of Nigeria and Biafra….He said (not quoting) Biafra land will be too small for the Ibo man given to his tendencies to dominate his environment and to progress. He said also, incase of a possible break up of the federation and the Niger-delta refuses to go with Biafra,she ‘ll suffer economical because she ‘ll be land locked. Therefore, the Ibos are better off in a restructured Nigeria than Biafra.
Business and Commerce
Incase of disintegration, many people,leaders of industries, CEO of multinational companies, business owners,estate developers,shall live Lagos(and any other state they lived) to the part they fall into, to develop her and also to seek her prosperity. As a result,Biafra will thrive in commerce, business and as such will boast economically. This’ because an Ibo man does better in this key area. Ontisha and Aba ‘re two among the list of the largest African markets…..and with the right vehicle, she can even become the home of all kinds of emerging markets in the world: from textile, to fabrics, to technologies, to food, from building to estate developement and shoes and furnitures etc.
Housing and Agriculture
These are some of the major problems people pull out to undermine the potentiality of the Biafran state. This school of thought believe that because of the population of the Ibos, the land will not be enough for agriculture nor to accommodated the vast Ibo population,hence, many Ibos in diasporas.If the lands are used for agriculture where is land for housing- the Ibo dilemma?
This is not a problem, the untapped land in Ibo land is much more bigger than the land where people live, nevertheless, to contain their fears and disprove ignorance….we can choose, with the best of structural engineers to build a well and fully air-conditioned underground houses and also build skyscrapers to contain our growing population while maintain our land for machanized type of agriculture. We can build 20, to 40, or 100 stories undergrounds and choose to build farms on-top of these houses.We can make our land grow all kinds of cash crops and provide the right atmosphere for it growth. In Asia, malaysia, to be exact, they have air conditionals littered in the street because of the climatic condition-giving the human body the right atmosphere.
Soil-land substitution farming; in this method, you depose the proposed farm land of non-agricultural soil and than imput one suitable for the type of crop you want to grow.
Seaport and landlocked
Permit me to say this, in case of any referendum or eventual break up and the Niger – delta did not go with Biafra, it is equally good for the Ibos because we can now pursue an independent Ibo state like Israel- a Jewish state. Thus, no Seaport and Biafra will be a landlocked nation.
The five Ibo states shall be economically disadvantaged because she does not have direct access to international waters. This is not true in it entirety because of the principle of success. It says that success is replicable anywhere. If this is true, then Biafra can replicate the success of any landlock countries of the world…such as Swizerland,etc and use it to her advantage.
She can turn River Niger and any other river of the same nature in her territory into a mini-port ( the small ports in totality shall equal a mage sea-port) while she negotiates with our neighboring country for safe passage of voyages. Two,of which is an alternative, she can also negotiate for her to use their seaport for export and import busineses. After all, some African countries like Ghana negotiated for Nigeria to supply her electricity.
Three, she can also invest more in cargo planes… make use of her air-ways. Build the biggest cargo planes known and seen of man that can help facilitate import and export businesses.
Igwe Chijioke P.