Tochukwu Ezukanma
As
the quit notice issued by the Coalition of Arewa Youths also called the
'Kaduna Declaration' heats up the polity, a South-eastern has dropped a
compelling piece on the issue. A one-time British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, called the Constitution of the United States of America (USA) “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man”.
And America was conceived in “such brave hope and largeness of ideas.” The ideals that underpinned the nation were encapsulated in her creed: “We hold this fact self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
It was an article of faith both revolutionary and transcendental by
the standards of the time, the 18th century. Ironically, America
evolved one of the most entrenched and intractable racism in human
history; an ingrained and perverse racism that once informed a US
Supreme Court ruling that Blacks in America have no right “which any White man was bound to respect”.
If a country governed by an unbeatable Constitution and inspired by
pious and pioneering idealism produced such racism that so thoroughly
disfranchised a section of her citizenry, it is then “self-evident” that
no country, political arrangement or human institution can be perfect.
If countries with all the essentials of nationhood have daunting
and lingering problems, what then is expected of Nigeria, a farrago of
peoples, cultures and religions roped together purposely in
furtherance of British colonialism? At inception, Nigeria lacked the
basic elements of nationhood: unifying theme, rallying points, article
of faith, etc. The closest thing to a Nigerian creed was a refrain in
our now discarded national anthem: “Though tribes and tongues may differ, in brotherhood we stand”.
It was written by an English lady. The denizen made reference to a
brotherhood that was, for the most part, non-existent. What brotherhood -
kin, linguistic, or religious - was she referring to? For, initially,
none of these existed in any substantial form in the unwieldy artificial
sovereignty. Despite these limitations, the different peoples of
Nigeria, with varying degrees of commitment, resolved to keep Nigeria
united. But then, it was to be a union of understandable delicateness;
requiring cautious and subtle handling.
Without rallying points, such as a nationally-spoken language and
common history, the complex task of forging a nation out of Nigeria
overwhelmed our leaders. They tried very hard, but did not have much
success; they failed to give Nigerians a unified sense of purpose.
Without an overarching heritage and a unified sense of purpose, the new
country was beset with many problems, especially, tribalism, and its
attendant ethnic rivalry, ethnic hegemony, ethnic strife, fear of real
and supposed victimisation, etc. Quite naturally, at different points,
different ethnic and regional groups felt aggrieved and, invariably,
sought justice and/or redress for their grievances. Refreshingly,
Nigerian history has shown that offended groups in Nigeria that
patiently sought redress usually attain the object of their quest.
For example, the peoples of the Niger Delta were understandably
pained. In extracting the oil, that keeps Nigeria financially afloat,
the oil companies pollute the land and waterways. This created serious
health hazards, and made it impossible for the people, traditionally,
farmers and fishermen, to farm and fish. With their health imperiled and
sources of livelihood ruined, the people wasted away in sickness,
disease and raw-dirt poverty. Still, the Federal Government and the oil
companies, in their snootiness and insensitivity, refused to use some of
the oil revenue to create jobs and economic opportunities, and provide
schools, hospitals and other social facilities in the area.
They demanded justice and fought for it. Interestingly, they did
these as Nigerians in Nigeria. They did not try to secede and become
citizens of an oil-rich Fantasy Island. For the most part, they achieved
their objectives. More money was made available to their states’
governments; the derivation for oil-producing states was increased from 5
per cent to 13 per cent. Federal Government agencies, like the Ministry
of Niger Delta and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) were
created to attend to their needs and advance their welfare.
And the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election incensed many
Nigerians, mostly, the Yoruba. The cancellation of a free and fair
election because a non-Hausa/Fulani, a Yoruba, was poised to win the
election was apartheid in its most brazen form. The Yoruba were
justifiably roiled by Hausa/Fulani rendition of apartheid, unyielding,
systematic attempt by the Hausa/Fulani to retain an exclusive hold on
political power, even in defiance of the collective will of Nigerians.
They defended Moshood Abiola’s presidential victory in Nigeria, not in
secession from Nigeria. They were victorious; they got eight years of
Yoruba presidency.
The bane of the Igbo is that unlike the other peoples of Nigeria,
we seek redress for our grievances outside of Nigeria, in Biafra.
Earlier, before we started seeking restitutions and remedies in Biafra,
the Igbo were the most committed to Nigerian unity and then, we excelled
in every spectrum of the Nigerian social life to the point that other
Nigerians became jittery of “Igbo domination”.
The January 1966 coup and its aftermath deeply and unappeasably
enraged the Hausa/Fulani. Their rage found expression in murderous
fanaticism; they murdered about 30,000 Igbo. Still, the mass-murder did
not justify Igbo secession from Nigeria. But swayed by the oratorical
flourishes of a selfishly ambitious rabble-rouser, we, for the first
time, looked for justice and restitution not in Nigeria but in a
make-believe Utopia, Biafra. It was Ojukwu’s Biafranism that caused the
war.
The realities and consequences of war were cruelly different from
the hopes raised by Biafra. The war came with a tsunami of gloom:
devastation, death, dispossession, etc. It dealt us a bludgeoning blow
that has left us reeling for the past nearly 50 years.
Above all, it
dealt us a psychological blow that we may not recover from for hundreds
of years. Without secession, the pogrom and all that were associated
with it would have been a major drawback for the Igbo. But we would
have, for the most part, retained most of our earlier successes and
achievements in Nigeria.
The majority of the Igbo are pro-one Nigeria, because one Nigeria
is most advantageous to the Igbo. Like earlier Igbo leaders, Alex
Ekwueme, Sam Mbakwe and Chukwuemeka Ojukwu (evidently, he repented of
his secessionist bent) among others, dramatised their commitment to one
Nigeria; they participated in the writing of the 1999 Constitution
which, like earlier constitutions, affirmed the indissolubility of
Nigeria. The neo-Biafran activists are a renegade but vociferous few.
Apart from disturbing the peace of the country, they cast the Igbo as
perennial troublemakers, subversive elements and irredeemable rebels;
nudging other Nigerians to suspect and antagonise us. The recent quit
notice to the Igbo in Northern Nigeria by Northern Youth movements was
in direct reaction to neo-Biafranism; it is an incontestable evidence of
the suspicion and animosity neo-Biafranism visits on the Igbo.
It was Biafranism that wrecked the Igbo. The restoration of the
Igbo will come from a total renunciation of Biafra; and seeking redress
for our grievances and finding solutions to our problems in Nigeria, and
not in a daydream wonderland, Biafra.
•Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos. He can be reached via 08035292908 or maciln18@yahoo.com
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