By Emmanuel Onwe THE theoretical case for the
emergence of a Nigerian
president of Igbo extraction has
been eloquently established
beyond any reasonable doubt.
The economic case is persuasive; the legal case, which is a derivate
of the constitutional principle of
federal character, is
incontrovertible; the political
case is self-evident and the
moral case is utterly compelling. But the establishment of the case
at the intellectual and
theoretical plane is quite clearly
insufficient to meet the rigorous
demands of our ambition.
Genuine ambition is contingent upon action. Ndigbo have, for decades,
expressed the desire and the
thirst for the prime political
office in this country. We have
clearly shown, by oral advocacy,
why we have that desire and thirst. Now we must take the
forward steps in the direction of
the oasis from which we hope to
quench our thirst for justice and
our desire for equity in Nigeria.
The next step is the crusade that
will take our case to the other
three cardinal points of our
nation – West, South and North.
The legwork and mobilisation
that must underpin the theoretical case has been
commenced by Njiko Igbo. Igbos
should crave, plead and obtain –
rather than presume, expect or
demand – the support and
solidarity of all Nigerians. The component tribal groups
that make up the Nigerian
republic have unique experiences
arising from their history of
participation in the union; but
none is quite as unique as the Igbo experience, made so by
being the only tribe to have
pledged allegiance to two
different nations within the same
territorial borders – first to
Nigeria and then to the Republic of Biafra and then back to the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. In
between this shifting citizenship
have occurred pogrom/genocide,
starvation and conquest. This history and experience place
us in a complex category in our
union. And no Igbo citizen should
be in any doubt that our quest
for the presidency has remained
a mirage precisely because of this unique experiential history –
and nothing to do with the
popular myth about disunity
amongst us. Accordingly, our
challenge in attaining the prime
office in this land remains herculean and requires efforts
of corresponding proportions to
prevail. No authentic Igbo citizen should
fold his or her arms and wait to
be recruited into, or consulted
about, this dream. Instead, our
recruitment efforts and
consultations should be directed at non-Igbo Nigerians. The focus
of our pleas and arguments
should be firmly directed at
those who remain unpersuaded
or unsympathetic to the justice
of our cause. This crusade is an Igbo one, the
staff and the rod is Njiko Igbo.
But Njiko is not claiming an
exclusive right to arms. Other
warriors are welcome and, in
fact, encouraged to rise to the occasion. Our job is to motivate,
consult, mobilise and persuade
both Igbos and non-Igbos alike.
Additionally, Njiko Igbo is a
platform for debate and
exploration of deeper ideas about the place of Ndigbo in the
Nigerian federation. What I have said elsewhere bears
repetition on these pages: “As an
Igbo man, I harbour a deep sense
of sadness at the manner in
which we, as a people, have been
consigned to the peripheral reaches of the Nigerian power
structure for more than four
decades. Where is the justice or
equity or the idea of equal
opportunities in a pluralistic
society such as ours? “When shall these be accorded
Ndigbo in order that we can have
the assurance that, yes, we are
not Osu (outcasts) in a nation
family where we have played a
brave and distinguished role to make its history more solid and
more enduring? As a Nigerian,
observing our unending national
degradation, I feel a sense of
outrage that the Igbo option
appears never to be in contemplation as a legitimate
instrumentality through which
our national challenges could be
finally confronted in a manner
that could genuinely yield
transformation.” Of course, it’s self evident that
we cannot achieve our goal
without first putting our house
in order. We must show a unity of
purpose which must be
demonstrated through the pursuit of this one and
irreducible ambition. It will entail the sacrifice of the
personal on the altar of the
collective – which must be
demonstrated through allowing
ourselves to be dedicated to a
purpose greater than our individual selfish commitments.
www.vanguardngr.com/2013/01/igbos-cant-produce-president-with-five-states/