By Nnamdi Ojiego
Only Shagari, Obasanjo, Jonathan meant well for Igbo’
Says May 30 can’t be wished away
58 years after the declaration of Biafra, a former President of Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Aka Ikenga, Chief Goddy Uwazurike, insists that the struggle it represented is far from over.
In this interview, he reflects on the significance of May 30 for Igbo people, the historical trauma and resistance embodied in the Biafran cause, and ‘’despicable’’ treatment of Ndigbo in Nigeria’s political structure among others.
58 years after the declaration of Biafra, what does May 30 mean to Ndigbo today?
May 30 is in Igbo blood and Igbo DNA. Once it is in you, you must mark that date in one form or the other. You may mark it in your room, you may mark it outside, you may go to church but mark it, yes, we must. Two, what every family should tell their members in Igbo land is that May 30 is a date that can never be whished aside, can never be swept aside and must always be in our hearts.
What, in your view, are the most important lessons the Igbo nation has learned from the Biafran experience?
Well, it means a lot to many people. Not everybody agreed with the declaration of the State of Biafra and what followed. But then, for many of us, we mark that date, we remember that date, and the lesson will always be there. That one, push a man to the wall, even a coward has to react.
Two, there is a reaction to every action. And three, never tell a man what he can do? Telling a man what he can do? will have consequences on both sides.
That’s my very short answer to lessons, because there are no permanent lessons; every situation is different. The era that experienced May 30 1967, can never be the era today, but the lessons must be imbibed by all.
How would you describe the socio-political position of the Igbo people in today’s Nigeria?
Despicable! Despicable because there is this consistent unwritten rule that Igbo must be kept out of the political equation of this country, the political structure. Yes, we had people who meant well. We had people of integrity like Shehu Shagari, like Olusegun Obasanjo, like Yar’Adua, like Goodluck Jonathan. They made sure there was inclusion of all, not just the Igbo or Yoruba or Hausa/Fulani, of everybody in the political equation of Nigeria. But then that’s where it ended. Throughout the military era, we were just less than passengers.
We were more like conductors, conducting and watching people going to different destinations. And today, and yesterday, including Buhari’s era, we are back to that “siddon look.” In other words, nobody is getting the best politically out of the Igbo nation. As far as they are concerned, the Igbo must be subdued. With people like Buhari, the war is still on. Throughout his eight years in power, the war was on.
Unfortunately, the Igbo were not conquered. The Igbo are still standing. So the basic Igbo man up till today is still asking for a level playing ground. A level-playing ground that led to May 30, 1967, that’s what they’re asking for, and we’re still asking for it. If they think that we’ll get tired, believe me, nobody will get tired. The quest must be pursued to its conclusion. When they are going to lay their wreaths, on June 12 or October 1, that is where you see those who are actually ruling Nigeria. You will never see an Igbo person there as of today. You will not because the president, the vice president, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Federation, there is no Igbo person there.
Then in the order of protocols in this country, the president, the vice president, the Senate President, the Speaker, the Chief Justice, and then you begin to see the Deputy Senate President, then finally you will see the Deputy Speaker, who is more like an attachment in the equation. So when it comes to appointments in this country today, we are just doing another “siddon look”. Let me ask you, how many ministers do the five Southeastern states have? One major minister, Minister of Works, the other one is what I call Chief Minister, and three assistant ministers. I am choosing my words carefully in my description, because the man from Enugu State is the Minister of Science and Tech. His budget is not up to the monthly budget of some other ministries.
His entire annual budget is not up to the monthly budget of some other ministries. All the others are ministers of state. Now, get down to Ogun State, how many ministers? Four. All of them are frontline ministers. I’m not talking about Southwest, I’m talking about one state, called Ogun, versus the entire Southeastern states. When they are meeting in the National Executive Council, there is only one person who will speak, Dave Umahi, but there is a limit to how long he will speak. After that, no other person from the Southeast. David Umahi’s main accomplishment today is first, praising Buhari and then praising Tinubu. Eulogising the two of them. So when you are talking of federal appointments, we are simply not there.
Now let me get down to party leadership. APC is the ruling party today. Who is the Igbo person there? Is he the chairman? The deputy chairman? The national secretary or the assistant? They are not there. In other words, when the national caucus meets, where is the Igbo man there? None. When they have emergency meetings, the National Working Committee, NWC, who and who are the Igbo there? None.
Yet, they are the people who make decisions for everybody in this country. So there are some people who are determined to put the Igbo down, to make him stay down, to make sure he never gets up. This is rather unfortunate, but the Igbo can never be suppressed. There is this innate desire to succeed.
That’s why when Peter Obi came out, he came out in a way, not as an Igbo man, he came out as a person and showed the country that it is possible to have a decent politician. And he’s still showing it.
Many young Igbo today were not born during the war. Yet, many are deeply passionate about the Biafran cause. What do you think drives that intergenerational sentiment?
It’s not sentiment. It’s something that is in their blood. We are talking of young men of today, in their twenties. So, when a young child goes for a common entrance examination, he has 180. They said, no, we will not admit you. Who will they admit? They admit somebody from another state who has two points and another person who has twenty points. So, the child goes to state secondary school because he cannot get admission to federal government-owned unity colleges. Now, he takes the JAMB and he passes.
What happens? He’s told that their own merit score must be extremely high. You have to get up to 280 to go on the merit but some other people can go in at 150. If they have 150 marks, they go in but you that have 280, you have no seat. So, the child grows up with that kind of anger bottled up in him. And he goes to ask his father what happened? His father will now start explaining to him what Biafra meant.
So, will you now turn around and tell him he has no reason to be angry? Let me tell you, the young man of today is looking at what is happening through the glass ceiling. Looking through the glass ceiling means that you see your mates moving higher, but you cannot cross.
Now, what of that man who scored 180 in primary school, scored 280 in JAMB? He gets 2.1 Second Class Upper, and when he gets into civil service, he is bossed by somebody who graduated the same year as him, who had an ordinary pass. Within five years, the man who is academically inferior becomes his boss, and he has to obey him. That is a point of anger. They see through the glass ceiling that his peers are moving while he is marching and he says why. He joined the uniformed service, it is the same treatment.
The discrimination is so obvious, and it means too much. So, whenever you see him getting angry, you know why. And what does he do? Like his father, he moves into private business and he excels. When he starts excelling, what happens? They impose all kinds of restrictions on his business. And those who are running the country are people who are academically inferior. In other words, our first 11 is not being used. He belongs to the first eleven, but who do you use? The last eleven.
There are various Biafran groups with sometimes conflicting visions. Is there a unified voice for the Biafran quest today?
Well, the quest for Biafra is called LCM – local common factor. So, that is the unifying factor, but how they see it actually matters to who actually brought them up and whose vision it was. Yes, the quest for Biafra will always be there, it’s in the DNA of any Igbo person. That’s the truth but how to go about it is a different thing.
The one thing no Igbo man wants is those who are going for violence. No, we don’t want it. You can raise your fist. You can raise your voice. You can demand for it. That’s what the modern world requires.
But not violence. So, those who are agitating violently definitely are not Igbo people. Biafran genuine agitations are not violence. And I can say this without any fear of contradiction. Biafran genuine agitations are not violent.
Some argue that agitation is hurting Igbo economic interest. How would you address such concerns?
Well, you know what is happening in Igbo land today. Every Monday they have one amorphous group making announcements, wreaking violence on people who go about their business. They are not genuine agitators. They are unknown people who are using the cover to milk the people. They are hurting us. And what can we do? It is the army that can quell them but on Mondays, the military will go home and sit and allow all those bad people to have a field day. On Tuesday, the army will come out and then start harassing the populace. Meanwhile, the criminals are busy enjoying their loot. So, the people can do nothing. It’s still up to the military, if they think they can solve it, they should stand up and take a stand.
What role do you see young Igbo people playing in shaping the future of the region politically, economically, and culturally?
Well, what the young people will do to shape the future of this country depends on what the adults are doing. What are the adults doing today? They are perpetrating injustice. They are making sure there is no level playing ground. And what will they do to change the situation so the young people will have a better nation than us? Whether Biafra succeeds or not, life must go on. Now, let me tell you what they can do.
If they have, from primary school, if you pass, you have passed. Nobody wants to know where you come from, we are looking for the best. If you have scored very high, go for a choice. Nobody wants to know where you are from. If you are going to a civil service, uniformed services, level playing ground, equal treatment of all. No discrimination. No marking of time. Nothing like you are Igbo, you are Yoruba, you are Hausa, you are Fulani, you are Efik, no. All they want to do is the best.
So Nigeria will make up its mind that this nation must be for everybody. Nobody must be left behind. Nobody must be excluded. Justice and equity must be enshrined. If you notice the coat of arms of Nigeria today, it’s justice and equity. Let us practice it and see how things will move.
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