Nigeria [opinion]: Northern Riots And Igbo Ethnic Security

This is touching,

THE Igbo communities in the Northern states of Nigeria were again victims of another recent riot organised in Maiduguri, Katsina, Bauchi and other towns. Many of them were slaughtered with their families in cold blood.

Several were wounded and coveyed to the South East for medical treatment. As usual, the governments of those states orchestrated last minute attempts to stop the mayhem and true to type, instituted commissions of enquiry to discover the miscreants who carried out the dastardly attacks on innocent settlers. So far, the reports of the commissions have not been submitted. Going by past experience, nothing will come out of the enquiries and the culprits will once again go scot- free. Predictably, new riots will emerge sooner than later in the North and the Igbo will in the usual manner become the targets of fresh attacks by ghost hoodlums and their clever sponsors.

The question people have been asking is: What have the Igbo and Christians in the Northern states got to do with reckless cartoons on Prophet Mohammed published in distant Denmark, thousands of kilometers away from Nigeria? By which criteria are the Igbo of Nigeria linked with Denmark either socially, politically or economically? The print media published a declaration by the former military head of state, General Mohammed Buhari which indicated that the riots were indeed generated by the controversial and explosive third term agenda of some greedy and self serving mercenary politicians who want to sit tight in office. If actually this assertion is correct, why should the Igbo and Christians be held responsible for the crazy manipulations of desperate and mean leaders who in their myopic ambition do not see anything wrong with destroying the unity of Nigeria?

The extanct political objectives enshrined in the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy of the Nigerian constitution make ample provision for free mobility and residence for all citizens. Section 15 states that national integration shall be actively encouraged while discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status, ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited. The constitutional provisions also prescribe that the state would ensure adequate facilities for and encourage free mobility of people goods and services throughout the federation and secure full residence rights in all parts of the federation. The national constitution firmly provides the freedom of religion and vividly remarks that the government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion. Why then should fundamentalists, sharia addicts and their sponsors deliberately rock the boat and inflict bloody riots without any provocation on fellow citizens?

The cultural antecedents of the Igbo are generally misunderstood and michievously misrepresented. They come from an achievement-oriented society and therefore seek for greener pastures anywhere they can find opportunities for self improvement. They migrate freely and work very hard to earn their living. According to the Nigeria Official Handbook published by the Federal Ministry of Information:" Leaders of Igbo society had to prove themselves by presenting a record of achievements. Outstanding men of ability, whether young or old, were awarded status relative to their proven ability. Leadership among the Igbo was never granted for life. The tenure was fixed for periods of time. To continue in office, the leader must constantly validate his achievement record.'

The animosity and violence against the Igbo has been traced to the colonial era starting in earnest in 1945 during the famous general strike of that year. Professor Okwudiba Nnoli succinctly relates the situation in his brilliant book "Ethnic Politics in Nigeria". The 1945 general strike adversely affected food supplies causing a general feeling of anxiety and severe shortage of food. Every morning the District Officer rationed out food to people in a long queue outside the market. Since the strike was a nationalistic outburst against the colonial administration, the British colonial officials seized the resultant hardships in the north to incite the Northerners against the strike and the Igbo. They blamed the strike and shortage on the Igbo, led by Azikiwe and manipulated Igbo-Hausa animosity over competition on trading and residential area to incite the Hausa against the Igbo. The Hausa and the Igbo fought for two days in Jos. Two people were killed and many others injured.

Considerable property were destroyed. It took the combined operations of the Police and the Army sent from Kaduna to restore public order.

Again in 1953, violence erupted between the Hausa and Igbo in Kano. The genesis of this crisis was essentially political. The North resented the motion by Anthony Enahoro on self government for Nigeria in 1956. Rioting commenced when a delegation led by Mr. S. L. Akintola arrived at Kano at the height of tension precipitated by the independence motion. Ironically, Southerners were the target of attacks but the Igbo bore the brunt of the mayhem simply because they were the major socio-economic competitors of the Hausa. The aggression lasted for four days from 16th to 19th May 1953 claiming 36 dead and 241 wounded, majority of them Igbo.

Since 1953, the Igbo have continued to be at the receiving end of fratricidal antagonism not only in the North but in fact all over the federation. The obvious reason is because the Igbo constitute the major settlers in all parts of the country where they engage in petty trading, artisan works and services usually in competition with the envious indigenes. The pogrom of 1966 and the massive loss of lives during the civil war between 1967 and 1970 are too well known to be repeated. This factor is the driving force behind the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) whose leaders' trial is proceeding in the judicial sector.

Recent meetings held by the South Eastern governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo on the ongoing victimisation of the Igbo do not go far enough. The hatred and naked hostility against the Igbo must stop. The Igbo should learn to take their destiny into their own hands. Past assurances by governments to secure the safety of the Igbo collapsed like a pack of cards. This writer personally listened to the fervent promises of safety guaranteed by the former military governor of Northern Nigeria, Hassan Katsina in 1966. The Igbo who believed in the guarantees never lived to tell the story. The subsequent pogroms during which programmed massacres took place followed in quick succession prior to the civil war.
 
Since the patrons of attacks against the Igbo have turned out to be sacred cows, action must be taken to mount solid protection for the embattled tribe. The Igbo have become an endangered species and they should appreciate that tragedy in spite of hypocritical assurances from the establishment. We will only accept security assurances to our bitter detriment. Every legitimate and constitutional methods must be evolved to promote the security for the Igbo.

The Federal Government should not leave the security of Igbo in the North and in fact all over the federation in the hands of the state governors alone. The South Eastern governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo must take the bull by the horns and provide tight and reliable security without waiting for empty guarantees. Deterrent measures must be taken against politicians and businessmen who regard the Igbo as mortal threats to their survival. The Igbo definitely want to be part of Nigeria on equal basis with the rest of the constituent communities. As a last resort, we may invoke the spirit of the Aburi Accord reached in Ghana on January 4, 1967

http://allafrica.com/stories/200603210534.html

When Igbo traders were murdered by the policemen in Abuja, there was a loud outcry and there was government action against the perpetrators as well as compensation for the victims' families.  That is the right way.

good point oasis but that still leaves the nation with the problem. in more reasonable countries,there would be immediate action to prevent future occurence. the emphasis is prevention because at the end of the day, retaliation does not bring back those who died in the 1st instance.

but in "fishy countries" like nigeria(haha,fishy countries,thats what somebody called nigeria to my face today:if not for british police i would have fought him,i didn't know i have feelings for nigeria.haha) there is no concrete plan to prevent another episode.

how can this be stopped before it happens.those who die in these riots are not mere statistics. they are humans like me, with a hope for a future,just like me and you.

my biggest ambition now is to ensure my children(when i start having children) will have a british or american or eu or canadian passport. they can't pass through this shit.

i don't know how to describe the country

To give you an idea of what non-muslims in Nigeria are up against:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060323/wl_nm/religion_afghan_reaction_dc;_ylt=AvTcc.Stc.nHa12TxXh71rMQr7sF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

, a Kabul court threatened to impose the death sentence on an Afghan man who abandoned Islam and coverted to Christianity,

Is Bin Laden unemployed? 

They're on a crusade to Islamize the world.  You need to internalize that.