Igbo community leader and Chief Executive Officer of Task International Technical Ltd, Chief Ndukwe Ikoh says the manner in which the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization carried itself in recent times has made the organization irrelevant. Ikoh who is the President of Ohafia Community in Lagos, also speaks on the state of the nation, Abia State, and why he is mobilizing citizens for the voters registration exercise and to defend their votes thereafter. He spoke to Vincent Kalu.
Excerpts:
Thursday, November 25, 2010
•Ndukwe Ikoh
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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Ohanaeze and Jonathan’s endorsement
I will describe the Ohanaeze Ndigbo as paper tiger. Ohanaeze has lost focus before now. Even recently whatever they say turns out to be the opposite of the aspiration of ordinary Igbo people. It is like a circus or a small club of privileged Igbo retirees that will come up with a statement in the morning and the next day you find out that statement does not hold waters.

How can the organization say that Igbos have adopted Jonathan. What do we stand to gain in Jonathan’s presidency? Was it not the same thing the leadership of the organization did when Obasanjo was campaigning for a third term, the leadership then said that Igbos supported Obasanjo’s third term when it was not so and when other ethnic groups had rejected the Obasanjo’s third term project. This is worrisome, where can it lead us?

The ordinary Igbo man has gone beyond that kind of deceit; we are realistic, practical and pragmatic. The statements of Ohanaeze do not even influence the Igbo man in any way. They are not organized and galvanized to make any impact on the Igbos concerning their thinking. Some of them play politics of the stomach; they just want to satisfy their personal needs by embarking on certain ego trip to make somebody happy somewhere. But that is not the true position of Ndigbo.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo does not represent the aspiration of Igbos in recent times, they have lost focus and nobody should believe them and take them seriously even the President should not take them seriously in whatever statement they come up for his support. The Igbos have a direction they take in issues, which is the direction of interest. How does the position of Ohanaeze affect the ordinary Igbo man in the streets, in their market, work places and in their private endeavours that is what we are talking about?

The Ohanaeze to me only exists on pages of newspapers.
The right thing they should say they don’t say it but keep saying the wrong things. They don’t comment on bad governance in the Southeast, have you ever heard Ohanaeze coming out to criticize any governor in the region even the governor that has come out openly to say he didn’t perform well. Did you hear Ohanaeze commenting on the kidnapping and the insecurity in the region and how it could be stopped, why didn’t the organization hold a conference to articulate ways to curb the menace of kidnappings?

Have they made an official statement to the striking universities teachers that have led to the closure of states owned universities in the region, which is affecting education in the region? They don’t think of things that are favorable to the people but only things that are favourable to them.


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2010/nov/25/politics-11-25-2010-002.htm

the position of the masses of igbos is clear( the sense-able ones) that ohaneze has sold the birth right of igbos to the highest bidder

how can a this group say they represent the an igbo man or woman when they have not put their interest first before the interest of their pockets,,,,,,,,,,,,,how

all i have to say is that some igbo leaders are just manipulating and abusing there position for there interest

hopefully they can learn from this man that speak and protect the interest of the igbo people first before the interest of the ijaw or any other group in nigeria

alj harem:

the position of the masses of igbos is clear( the sense-able ones) that ohaneze has sold the birth right of igbos to the highest bidder

how can a this group say they represent the an igbo man or woman when they have not put their interest first before the interest of their pockets,,,,,,,,,,,,,how

all i have to say is that some igbo leaders are just manipulating and abusing there position for there interest

hopefully they can learn from this man that speak and protect the interest of the igbo people first before the interest of the ijaw or any other group in nigeria

You again. Anyway, do not mind those noise makers. Some of this people (including Ikoh) where those who lost out on Ohanaeze crusade of no Eze ndigbo outside Igboland.
Ohanaeze had a worldwide consultation of Ndigbo before reaching out at a conclusion.

I never expected everybody to accept the decision of Ohanaeze, but am sure Ohanaeze got it rite this time.

Andre Uweh:

You again. Anyway, do not mind those noise makers. Some of this people (including Ikoh) where those who lost out on Ohanaeze crusade of no Eze ndigbo outside Igboland.
Ohanaeze had a worldwide consultation of Ndigbo before reaching out at a conclusion.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

marcdunu:

Nothing can be further from the truth.

You can say that again!

I do not think Ohanaeze is dead, but it is losing relevance. They should have steered clear from politics. I cannot even take this organization seriously anymore.

Mark my words, the Igbo vote will be divided.

Omenani:

I do not think Ohanaeze is dead, but it is losing relevance. They should have steered clear from politics. I cannot even take this organization seriously anymore.

Mark my words, the Igbo vote will be divided.

It has always been that way.

Andre Uweh:

You again. Anyway, do not mind those noise makers. Some of this people  (including Ikoh) where those who lost out on Ohanaeze crusade of no Eze ndigbo outside Igboland.
Ohanaeze had a worldwide consultation of Ndigbo before reaching out at a conclusion.

i do not think he is a noise maker, i think he really cares for his people like abagworo,jason,dapo,mikensy,chinenyeN and co

listen to this people when they give u word of advice, they are obviously very clever and think before they talk  


in hausa there is a saying  

Ya ji ya ji (he who has ears let him hear)

well i have said my 2 cents

Very late obituary announcement,

alj harem:

the position of the masses of igbos is clear( the sense-able ones) that ohaneze has sold the birth right of igbos to the highest bidder

how can a this group say they represent the an igbo man or woman when they have not put their interest first before the interest of their pockets,,,,,,,,,,,,,how

all i have to say is that some igbo leaders are just manipulating and abusing there position for there interest

hopefully they can learn from this man that speak and protect the interest of the igbo people first before the interest of the ijaw or any other group in nigeria    

So the Northern Political Leaders Forum is manipulating and abusing their position for their own (selfish) interest, right? They are not working for the north, right?

Ciroma is on his own, right? Why should Ciroma who is HAUSA decide the political fate of IBB who is GWARI, or Atiku who is FULANI? Are the four northern candidates from one geopolitical zone? If the answer is no, why do you think that they should accept Ciroma committees consensus arrangement? Why do you welcome that, but proceed to develop headache over Igbo agreement with Ijaw?

I would not speak for other Igbos but I would speak for myself.
It is INSULTING for you to keep thinking that ONLY your northern section of Nigeria can speak with one voice without anyone questioning your motive and with you turning a blind welcoming eye.

Why do you think they Ndigbo are not politically intelligent enough to understand the value of numbers and group efforts?

Why do you insist on this insult?  

Kobojunkie:

It has always been that way.

Which is why Igbo are the butt of Nigeria; an object of national ridicule and ignominy. That is why no one would take Igbo serious in national politicking.

That is why all edeeots in Igboland need to be expelled. In the olden days, they'll all be sold into slavery.

Most of these edeeots will even rebel against themselves just for the heck of it!

Onlytruth:

So the Northern Political Leaders Forum is manipulating and abusing their position for their own (selfish) interest, right? They are not working for the north, right?

Ciroma is on his own, right? Why should Ciroma who is HAUSA decide the political fate of IBB who is GWARI, or Atiku who is FULANI? Are the four northern candidates from one geopolitical zone? If the answer is no, why do you think that they should accept Ciroma committees consensus arrangement? Why do you welcome that, but proceed to develop headache over Igbo agreement with Ijaw?

I would not speak for other Igbos but I would speak for myself.
It is INSULTING for you to keep thinking that ONLY your northern section of Nigeria can speak with one voice without anyone questioning your motive and with you turning a blind welcoming eye.

Why do you think they Ndigbo are not politically intelligent enough to understand the value of numbers and group efforts?

Why do you insist on this insult?  

onlytruth, onlytruth, onlytruthhhh, onlylies

my brother, no one is insulting the ndigbo

we northerners call ourselves one because of

1.) the religion that binds us together
2.) must of us speak hausa as a second language so that brings a sense unite and common interest
3.) ciroma does not speak and will never speak for us northerners i tell u, he only talks in pdp that's it,,,,,remember he said he was going to match 1million or so northerners to abuja,,,,,,,,,people did not support him on that

4.)some of us northerners have drop our culture to embrace 1 unify culture and belief.


u southerners are NOT like that, u people never stick to ur words

igbos and yorubas were united before but after the war igbos became jealous of their neighbour or brothers that have been so nice to them, and did all they can to insult there brother eg ijaws

onlytruth, u are a very funny man i must tell u

hopefully one day we can meet like brother and dine together because u are always my blood brother

alj harem:

onlytruth, onlytruth, onlytruthhhh, onlylies

my brother, no one is insulting the ndigbo

we northerners call ourselves one because of

1.) the religion that binds us together
2.) must of us speak hausa as a second language so that brings a sense unite and common interest
3.) ciroma does not speak and will never speak for us northerners i tell u, he only talks in pdp that's it,,,,,remember he said he was going to match 1million or so northerners to abuja,,,,,,,,,people did not support him on that

4.)some of us northerners have drop our culture to embrace 1 unify culture and belief.


u southerners are NOT like that, u people never stick to your words

igbos and yorubas were united before but after the war igbos became jealous of their neighbour or brothers that have been so nice to them, and did all they can to insult there brother eg ijaws

onlytruth, u are a very funny man i must tell u

hopefully one day we can meet like brother and dine together because u are always my blood brother

Almajiri you are really deluded! Igbo are NOT jealous of anyone!
What is there to be jealous of? We are the greatest Nigerians ! No one matches us in ANYTHING. So what are you smoking dude?

You on the other hand have been jealous of Ndigbo and our moves. You have been having sleepless nights since we decided to support the Ijaw next year. So, what are you talking about?

I know that one day, we WILL RULE YOU. It is cast on stone.

Onlytruth:

Which is why Igbo are the butt of Nigeria; an object of national ridicule and ignominy. That is why no one would take Igbo serious in national politicking.

That is why all edeeots in Igboland need to be expelled. In the olden days, they'll all be sold into slavery.

Most of these edeeots will even rebel against themselves just for the heck of it!

Thats if it does not turn out that you are actually among the eeddeeoottsss!!!!!!

If not for Ohaneze leadership, who is Uwechue in Igbo political affairs?

Uwechue will now banish Ojukwu, Ekwueme, Nnamani, Sam Egwu from Igbo land? You have no clue yet!!!!!

i am just happy that my brothers are starting to reason!!!

onlytruth, i have told you, you are too wise for your own good!

Onlytruth:

Which is why Igbo are the butt of Nigeria; an object of national ridicule and ignominy. That is why no one would take Igbo serious in national politicking.

That is why all edeeots in Igboland need to be expelled. In the olden days, they'll all be sold into slavery.

Most of these edeeots will even rebel against themselves just for the heck of it!

Wrong!!! Matter of fact the edeeots would be those who expect that their individual rights to vote for whomever they want no longer apply.

I cannot imagine any intelligent/educated and capable ibo out there, in his/her right mind, would want all ibos to become drones similar to some of the Hausas, who individually cannot express their will but are pushed around by a very small minority deeper and deeper into poverty and a backward way of living.

i do not know why my igbo brothers could not see what is/will and going to happen to the igbo nation with this so called ohanaeze endorsement.

as i said earlier, i'll give you (onlytruth and co)time to think about it (till 2015). it is common sense!
_{when you love someone, you will do everything to protect them!}

Ohaneze has spoken. The Igbo masses will speak on election day. Enough of these gossips. The SW elements sympathetic to PDP are rooting for Jonathan too, much the same way as the North root for their own? So why the obsession on Igbos? BTW, not all Igbos are PDP.

marcdunu:

Thats if it does not turn out that you are actually among the eeddeeoottsss!!!!!!

If not for Ohaneze leadership, who is Uwechue in Igbo political affairs?

Uwechue will now banish Ojukwu, Ekwueme, Nnamani, Sam Egwu from Igbo land? You have no clue yet!!!!!

You are one of the edeeots because you are a senseless rebel! Blinded by extreme selfishness!
An edeeot is one who would do everything in his power to present his people as disunited and disorganized, someone who would tell the world that HIS ELDERS are fools. If you have any brains you would realize that you are the fool by default because the world (Nigeria mainly) know those Ohanaeze officials and actually respect them. THEY DO NOT KNOW YOU. To all reasonable Nigerians, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM WITH NDIGBO. Any day we can successfully rein in your type, our children would start to have a future.

Onye isi ike n'ebi n'ala okponku!

hmm the igbo replubican nature is excellent if the stay on their own or have their own country but in a nigerian state i am not too sure about that

Onlytruth:

You are one of the edeeots because you are a senseless rebel! Blinded by extreme selfishness!

Simply because he doesn't accept Ohanaeze's behavior? Emerging Tyranny, I see.

Omenani:

I do not think Ohanaeze is dead, but[b] it is losing relevance. They should have steered clear from politics. I cannot even take this organization seriously anymore.[/b]

Mark my words, the Igbo vote will be divided.

The ohanaeze ought to be the highest decision making of the ibo.so why are you not taking them serious ?

I don't need Ohaneze to tell me who to vote for. Again, this is the election period, so whatever position Ohaneze takes is bound to look inappropriate to some group of persons.

~Bluetooth:

The ohanaeze ought to be the highest decision making of the ibo.so why are you not taking them serious ?

See the impression that these people have made. . .

ChinenyeN:

See the impression that these people have made. . .

What impression ? The organization has been representing the interests of ibo both ''home and away'' for more than 30 years.they've always stand for a consensus ibo !

~Bluetooth:

What impression ? The organization has been representing the interests of ibo both ''home and away'' for more than 30 years.they've always stand for a consensus ibo !

That is insane thinking, you know that, right? A mere organization of a couple hundred, and you already believe they represent millions, many of whom have no clue they even exist?

You again. Anyway, do not mind those noise makers. Some of this people  (including Ikoh) where those who lost out on Ohanaeze crusade of no Eze ndigbo outside Igboland.
Ohanaeze had a worldwide consultation of Ndigbo before reaching out at a conclusion.

@andrew,
what u have made above can only be termed as a bogus statement. what do u mean worldwide consultation of ndigbo before reaching out at a conclusion? were u asked who u wanted to be the next president by this group?
the truth about it is either we accept the fact that this so-called ohanaeze ndigbo has lost the value for which it was known or that it is only existing on the pages of the newspapers.
believe me, ohanaeze ndigbo was not formed as a political tool rather a medium of unity for the igbos. today, how many factions of this ohanaeze do we have? this house(ohanaeze) is divided against itself. many are hiding under ohanaeze to commit attrocities against ndigbo just to satisfy their selfish interests.
the respect and values of ndigbo is nolonger the challange of this organisation as leadership of the group have been taken over by the number of containers one imports.
how many igbo ppl know the name of the president of chairman of the ohanaeze ndigbo? apart from deciding for ndigbo where and who to vote for, what other relevant decission(s) have the so-called ohanaeze ndigbo made on our behalf?
leadership or good leadership takes ppl along not dividing ppl. if u will agree with me, the ohanaeze was formed to unite the igbos and if u look out there, all u can see is a widely scattered igbo lineage without a voice. families and communities with different objectives.
some want igbo president, some want biafra while some want visas to just get out of here. in view of all these scattered interests, none of the above has been looked at as a possibility hence the idea of this ohanaeze to provide an ndigbo that has one voice has been defeated. what we have today is an importer whose goods or fake goods are siezed at the ports will use the name of ohanaeze to trade in for the release of his fake goods to be distributed at onistha main market.
i don't care what u feel abt my position but what u must understand is that what have today is a rubber stamp and a toothless bulldog in the name of ohanaeze. politics especially in a democractic setting does not involved an informed slowpoke deciding for me who to vote for. what will ever happen to ndigbo if the one u are surpporting fails to make it to aso rock?
we have igbos vying for presidency and vice president respectively and we have an ohanaeze supporting non for strangers and u are here to inform us that the ohanaeze is existing.
the unity of purpose will come when we act the former yoruba political system where they have their own party that must win the yorubalands no matter what is happening at the federal levels.
where were u when zik made the npp the igbo based party and the eastern region govs were produced by npp?

Kobojunkie:

That is insane thinking, you know that, right? A mere organization of a couple hundred, and you already believe they represent millions, many of whom have no clue they even exist?

they've been critical in igbo affairs though operating as a social cultural group.it's more than an organization when it was first created.

Who is ndukwe ikoh?Probably a nobody,i havnt heard that name before.His grudge against ohanaeze is likely to be ohanaeze position on the issue of eze ndi igbo outside igboland,a decision ohanaeze took after wide consultations with all the ezes,obis and igwes in igboland.You guys make this endorsement look like uwaechue agenda when we all know that he did wide consultation with various igbo group before endorsing GEJ,any body who cares to know the truth should forget these men and go to the streets of enugu,owerri,aba,umuahia,abakaliki,awka and onitsha and see that GEJ is the peoples choice.

Kobojunkie:

That is insane thinking, you know that, right? A mere organization of a couple hundred, and you already believe they represent millions, many of whom have no clue they even exist?

. . . And whom, like me, don't need them to tell me who to vote for.

Frankly most of these guys attacking Ohanaeze have some kind of mental problem because none of their position makes sense.

Since I was born (believe me, I was not born yesterday   ), I have NEVER seen Igbo people speak with one voice. NEVER.  

I later found out that it was one of the reasons why we lost the war, because you had goats (thinking they were smart) challenging EVERY decision the war council took.  The result? Disunity and loss of war.

The most enduring sign of Igbo disunity in Nigeria is the OPEN marginalization of Ndigbo in Nigeria. Anytime there is ANY effort to unite around a common cause, ALL manners of jackals rise up in defiance to challenge it.  
Some will say something as st/upid as "no one can tell me who to vote for!". Well, your votes are IRRELEVANT because we will vote 35 million ways!  

Even Ijaw with a population of about 4 million in Nigeria have managed to push their agenda unto the national stage and it yielded one of them as president longer than an Igbo ever held the post.  Now, the same folks will come here to challenge Ohanaeze as if it created the problem. The question I ask these folks is this:

If I refuse to accept ANY of YOUR positions, do you think that YOU can ever move an inch forward? Answer, NO!

It is more respectful and sensible that you accept Ohanaeze's position which is a group position (every Nigerian knows that Ohanaeze speaks for Ndigbo, it doesn't matter that you think otherwise!   ), else you would remain a joke in Nigeria. The most urgent task before Ndigbo is to remove the spirit of senseless challenge to authority from our midst, else we are doomed!

Ohanaeze may not be perfect, but it is our greatest asset and can be used in powerful ways to secure our interest in Nigeria.
DO NOT EVER ASSUME THAT ONLY YOU CAN SEE OHANAEZE's faults. WE ALL CAN, BUT CHOOSE TO EMPHASIS ITS POSITIVE SIDE MORE!

That is called being sensible.