Since independence there has been an intense struggle by the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria: Hausa/Fulani, the Yorubas and the Ibosor Ndigbo to capture power at the center and preside over the affairs of the Nigeria nation. Looking at the score board of each group in this struggle either during the military rule or the civil rule, our Hausa/Fulani brothers have been dominant as they have captured power much longer than the other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Their success in this regard was largely due to a federal structure that was skewed in their favour, handed over to us by the British Colonial masters at independence in 1960.
Our Hausa/Fulani brothers and the other ethnic groups from the north have held power either as military or civilian Head of State close to forty-two (42) years. The Yorubas have held onto power at the Federal level close to 12 years occasioned by crisis situations when they were needed to douse the tension created by the power play within the military or between the north and the south. The minorities of the South-south geopolitical gone unexpectedly, presided over the affairs of the nation for close to six (6) years.
Unfortunately, the Ibos of the south-east geopolitical zone who are a major pillar of the tripod upon which the Nigerian nation stand only tested power for just 6 months as their son, Major General Aguyi Ironsi who inadvertently became Head of State after the first military coup of January, 15th 1966 was brought home dead just 6 months in the saddle. He was murdered in cold blood in a counter coup led by young Nigerian military officers of Northern extraction on the 29th of July, 1966.
The ndigbos paid dearly for what was perceived as the military misadventure of their kinsmen along with a Yoruba major who out of inexperience staged a bloody coup which claimed the lives of prominent Nigerians of the northern, western and Mid-western extraction. If the truth is to be told, Major General Agunyi Ironsi was not privy to the coup nor was the idea of the coup an Ndigbo agenda. It is on record that late General Agunyi Ironsi along with some other young military officers then like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, foiled the coup, forced the key actors to lay down their arms AND got them arrested and detained.
The top military brass of the Nigerian Army then were mostly Nigerians of Ibo extraction. They, like we are today, were disenchanted with the way the politicians were conducting the affairs of the newly independent Nigerian nation. Their hope and belief which was that the politicians will be shown the way out, were dashed as the 1964 general elections that would have ushered in a new set of leaders were massively rigged against the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian electorate.
These young military officers felt they owed the Nigerian nation a patriotic obligation to sack the politicians. Unfortunately, the January 15th 1966 coup led by the then Mid-Western State born Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogu turned bloody. The most unfortunate of the unfortunates was that the spill of blood did not go round as no known Ibo politician was killed. That gave the coup ethnic coloration and it precipitated a counter coup that took the lives of General Agunyi Ironsi and Col. Adekunle Fajunyi, the then military governor OF the western region. Col. Adekunle Fagunyi was shot dead by the coupists because he insisted that the Head of State General Agunyi Irosni who was on an official visit to his state should not be killed. This act of laying his life for the Commander in-chief is unprecedented and it deserves national honour posthumously.
The coup and counter coup laid the foundation for mutual distrust among the major ethnic groups and to a larger extent the North and the South. This mutual distrust led to serious crises which culminated in a 30 months’ civil war which theater was the South-South and the South- East states. At the end of the civil war, the Nigerian nation triumphed as we all agreed to live together as one indivisible Nigerian nation. We do not pray for another civil war, as no nation survives a second civil war.
Since the end of the civil war, the various ethnic groups that make up the Nigerian nation have made sacrifices to maintain the unity of our nation. One ethnic group that has sacrificed much more than the others are the Ibos of the South-East geopolitical zone. The Ibos are a very vital component of the Nigerian tripod stand. They are very mobile and industrious people whom you can find all over Nigeria, Africa and even the world, contributing to national development, be it in Sports, Business and even in Science and Technology. The Ibos have made significant contributions to the socio-economic development of the Nigerian nation. Today, by the ingenuity of the ndigbos, Nigeria has joined the league of auto manufacturing countries of the world courtesy of Innochris auto company at Nnewi, Anambra State. Both at home and in the Diaspora the Ibos have brought honour to our great nation Nigeria. The presence of the ndigbos as a major component of the tripod upon which the Nigerian nation stand is a great blessing to the Nigerian nation. That view of Nigeria as the giant of Africa can be faulted without the Ibos.
It will be share political naivety for anybody who wishes Nigeria well to say that a group as large, dynamic and industrious as the Ibos should go to hell because they are aspiring to lead and preside over the affairs of the Nigerian nation. If after 60 years of our independence, a group as large, vibrant and intelligent as the Ibos have not tested power as the number one citizen of this country, then something must be wrong with our political system. This defect in our political system must be reviewed or corrected if we want to give all Nigerians a sense of belonging. Today, like the General Babangida and the Abacha days when we had the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) we are again threatened by the ethnic militias such as the movement for emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). Movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB), the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and the others. All these uprisings are pointing to one thing and that is injustice of not giving some groups of people in our nation a sense of belonging.
There can be no peace in the face of glaring injustices and naked oppression. If truly we love our country and we want to live together as one indivisible Nigeria, we must be fair and just to all the components or ethnic groups of our dear nation. Our forefathers have in the past endured all these injustices. But we cannot expect the younger generation to do same. Our Hausa/Fulani brothers and indeed other Nigerians who have had the golden opportunity to preside over the affairs of our nation should be ready to make sacrifices. Since independence, except for the current administration the Ibos have been a great ally of the north and had helped the north to emerge as Head of State and Commander in- Chief right from the time of Tafawa Balewa to Alhaji Shehu Shagari and even Umoru Musa Yar’adua.
This is the time for the north to reward such a consistent ally. The alliance of the Ibos with the north has helped to hold Nigeria in unity. Today, for the first time in the political history of Nigeria, the Yorubas have allied with the north for the north to produce the President. The north should not forget that the Yorubas will also, like the Ibos are doing ask the north to help them be on the driver’s seat at Aso Rock sooner or later. These alliances are good for the unity and stability of our dear nation Nigeria. The north has continued to be the sole beneficiary of these alliances except in crisis situations like the death of former Head of State General Muritala Mohammed and the death of former President Yar adua when their seconds-in-command former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan respectively had to normally step in and became the Head of State for the survival of our dear nation.
The north should be willing to be second in command not only when the nation is at the brinks, but also in peace times. A careful analysis of the shift of power to the south has always been in crisis period. If our northern brothers are only willing to concede power in crisis periods when the unity of our nation is threatened, then we may be living in borrowed times. It is now very clear that neither the Hausa/Fulani nor the Yorubas nor the Ibos can use their block vote alone to capture power at the centre. There is the need for the alliances. But the north cannot continue to believe that they will always produce the Commander-in-chief at all times since independence the north has always gone into alliance with the Ibos to produce the Head of State and the Ibos Vice President at a time when the Yorubas through late Chief Obafemi Awolowo insisted and rightly so, on presiding over the affairs of the Nigerian nation.
The Yorubas as a rational people have relaxed their bid for the number one position haven been there for eight years which they purchased with the lives of Chief M.K.O Abiola and his wife Kudirat Abiola who lost their lives in the struggle for the actualization of the mandate of Nigerians freely given to MKO Abiola. They are doing this because of their belief that other ethnic nationalities should also be allowed to preside over the affairs of the nation. This is what our northern brothers should emulate for the good of the nation. Even the Almighty God who created us gave all us all freedom. The north has now found it convenient to align with Yorubas as long as the Yorubas are willing to be second in command. They will again return to the Ibos when the Yorubas insist on producing the number one citizen. There is no way this kind of political exploitation can endure and produce lasting peace and unity of our dear nation.
The insistence of the north to always be the Commander-in-Chief is a recipe for anarchy which should not be encouraged. The recent statement credited to Maman Daura that selection of the Nigerian president should be based on merit is quite apt. The truth is that there is no ethnic nationality in Nigeria that has a monopoly of intelligent people. History and experience has shown that the south-East will even be more qualified if we base our choice of leaders on merit. Singapore lifted her nation and it’s people out of poverty and from a third world country to a progressively developed and advance country by adopting meritocracy, pragmatism and honesty as criteria for their choice of national leaders. We have in our own case been guided by mediocrity.
For the ndigbos, they should be politically alert and calculative enough to see long term benefits rather than the immediate. The Ibos were nearer the ndigbo presidency in 2015. The political structure of Nigeria today like the times past is such that primordial and religious sentiments still run high in our politics and the choice of our political leaders. Under such circumstances what is needed is to help the Ibos to become the President and Commander- in- Chief is for the two major parties to field only the Ibos as their Presidential candidates come 2023. Just as the Yorubas were helped by allowing only them to produce the presidential candidates for the only two parties the Social Democratic Party (S.D.P) and the People’s Democratic Party (P.D.P) in 1999 . Anything short of that is share hypocrisy and political deceit which will do no good to our dear nation.
In Nigeria today there are power blocks and king makers who must be recognized and lobbied. If the Ibos were in 2015 able to quickly understand that the powers that brought former President Goodluck Jonathan to power is no longer with him. What the Ibos would have done was to discourage him from contesting and go ahead to support a northerner as People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for 2015 Presidential election.
That northern candidate would have won the election and preserved the PDP as the biggest party with national appeal in Nigeria. The PDP would have in 2019 fielded an Ibo as its candidate or at worst 2023. Instead, they were busy castigating anyone who was against the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. They have failed to realize that even if the ndigbos gave Goodluck Jonathan their block vote he will still not win without the north which was then the major base of the PDP. The Ibos however, have demonstrated their abiding faith in one united Nigerian nation irrespective of the actions of a few overzealous young men who are now agitating for the declaration of the sovereign state of Biafra.
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Ohaneze, the apex Igbo Cultural group has spoken the mind of the ndigbos when they said that the “Ibos are better off in corporate Nigeria”.
Time has come for the Ibos to begin to work for block benefits as against individual benefits which has shortchanged them in the Nigerian Political chessboard. That is why governor Umahi of Imo state recent defection to the APC is seen as selfish and against the corporate interest of the Ibos. The Ibos should be able to put their house in order and identify the power blocks in Nigeria and begin to negotiate with them for ndigbo President.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a powerful mover and shaker of the Nigerian Politics. Any zone that ignores him will only be doing so at its peril. Even the Yoruba political big wigs like Bola Ahmed Tinubu who initially considered Obasanjo as politically irrelevant were on them kneels to Abeokuta to secure his support for Buhari’s Presidential bid in 2015. There are some sons and daughters of ndigbo who are close to former President Obasanjo who can be used to seek and secure his support for Ibo presidency come 2023. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is highly respected in the north and even in the south, he can talk to the powers that be in the north to support Ibo Presidency as a way of killing the Biafran agitation and sustenance of Nigeria.
Another angle which should be complimentary to the Obasanjo support is a strong PDP base in the South east and South- South geopolitical zones. In spite of President Buhari’s victory the PDP strategy of zoning the presidency to the north in 2019 was a necessity that was meant to enable the party capture power back from All Progressive Congress (APC). Primordial sentiments still play a great role in who gets what in the politics of Nigeria.
It will take a northerner to defeat an incumbent who himself is a core northerner. Again, if after all the lobbies and the coast is still not clear for ndigbo to be president come 2023 they should still relax. What is of utmost importance to any party is wining the elections. However, if the ruling party the APC decides to field an Ibo as presidential candidate come 2023 fine and good. Of what use will it be for PDP to field and Ibo as its presidential candidate come 2023 if the facts on ground does not guaranty victory for the party and the candidate and indeed the ndigbo. So the Ibos should start now to begin the needed lobby and bridge building to secure the candidacy of the two major political parties towards 2023.
The Ibos should come off the idea that they are not wanted in Nigeria. It will also not help their case if they continue to use Biafra an outlawed name as a basis for their agitations. They can adopt a new name to form other pressure groups to peacefully bargain for their bid for Aso Rock. That is when they will receive more support and trust of other Nigerians.
As a minority from the South-South geopolitical zone I strongly believe that the Presidency should be rotated among the six geopolitical zones on the basis of the North and the South. Let the North and the South work out how each zone within the North or South will take their turns to produce the president and the vice president. This is the only sure way to peace, unity, progress and economic prosperity as each zone will always bring out their best hands.
WRITTEN BY BENSON IDUH