In the matter of Nigeria, especially what is
happening in the Northeast, it is important to put it
in the widest of contexts possible. Simply put, the
political space in the Northeast shrank until there
was no other room except for the extremists. It
was a gradual process and happened over a long
time. Even the people who orchestrated it now have
no space to stand and roll it back. My fear is that
we Igbo are on a similar path. We are gradually
closing down the political space such that opposing
views are squeezed out. I’ve never seen our society
ever like.
I write you all with great humility. I forgot how
much I missed you all and missed engaging in the
all-important conversation we need to have within
our “mkpuke” (inner chamber) and the ones we need
to have in the square.
As a kid, I was once marveled by the sight of a
large cart kept in the church premises on which it
was written, “Ọ bụ m, ka ọ bụ gị?” I asked my
parents what it meant. They explained that the cart
was used to push coffins into the church for funeral
mass and was simply asking the question, ”Would it
be me or you?” In other words, for whom does the
bell toll?
I know we are angry. I know because I have been
angry, too - for a long time. I have been angry at
what Nigeria did to me and to us and to all of its
citizens. Nigeria stifled me and I believe it stifled
you, too.
I have been expressing my anger in different ways.
I have called some people fools, idiots, goats and
other unmentionable names. I did it for a long time,
waiting for them to start dancing naked at Ogbete
market. It did not happen.
As I grow older, I have learned to find more
creative and productive ways to channel that anger.
And I am sure you will get there one day.
Without meaning to blow my own trumpet, I have
been involved in our struggle for a long time. I have
been doing my little bit. I have the scars to prove it.
And I will continue to do so in the best possible way
that I know.
What is as stake for us is complex. If it were
simple, the generations before us would have solved
it. It requires from us a sophisticated response to
everything we are seeing and dealing with. That
sophistication entails thinking things through and
looking at every challenge from more than one
dimension. As Prof. Chieka Ifemesia often says,
“the things that others did to the Igbo are many,
but the things we did to ourselves are more.”
I love that we always fancy ourselves as the Jews
of Africa. It would help if we studied the Jewish
society to see how they have survived in the face of
global disdain. Israel survives today not because of
its arms or its God; Israel survives today because it
is a pluralistic society where the best solution to
any challenge ultimately filters to the top.
During the Civil Rights Movement in America, the
Jews backed the Blacks. They provided funds and
legal support to the Civil Rights struggle. They did
so knowing that many blacks dislike the Jews. The
Jews did it because they could empathize with
those whose fundamental human rights are denied.
The Igbo, going by what we have gone through in
the past, should be the first to identify with people
who are at the receiving end of injustice. We should
be the ones screaming and kicking for fair
treatment, equality and rights. No matter how
jaded we may feel, we must lead the charge
because we are the ones who have survived it and
who have the moral authority to demand a just
society.
I know the temptation. The temptation is to follow
the easy path. It is to surrender to the lower
element in us. It is this lower angel that makes us
say, “Yes, we told you.” “Yep, let them see what we
saw.” “Please, when it was our turn, what did they
do?” One of the greatest Jews that ever lived,
Albert Einstein, once said that, “We cannot solve
our problems with the same level of thinking that
created them.”
It has been said, that when we look too deep into
the abyss we become the abyss. The ancient Igbo
spiritual act of “ Ijidelu mmadụ ọfọ” has no room
for derision, resentment, and shortsighted
gestures. It is the basis for a covenant with our
God – our ark of covenant, if you like.
In the matter of Nigeria, especially what is
happening in the Northeast, it is important to put it
in the widest of contexts possible. Simply put, the
political space in the Northeast shrank until there
was no other room except for the extremists. It
was a gradual process and happened over a long
time. Even the people who orchestrated it now have
no space to stand and roll it back.
My fear is that we Igbo are on a similar path. We
are gradually closing down the political space such
that opposing views are squeezed out. I’ve never
seen our society ever like this. It should be of
concern to us all.
The Igbo people that I know do well when they
maintain their republican tradition and allow ideas
to flow and the best of ideas to be adopted by the
generality of people. Even when the people go
wrong, the open political space allows for a retreat
and a reversal. But in a closed political space, the
worst of ideas are often forced on people and they
don’t usually embrace them or fight them with all
their might.
Ala di nma, o bata onyeobuna ofuma.
I will stop here because some of you complained
that a 750-word piece was too long to read. But
before I go, let me remind you all that a hearse
carrying the corpse of a stranger is just another
vehicle on the road. But sooner or later, it will carry
us.
For my Biafran brothers and sisters, I repeat the
same things I say to you all, again and again-I am
the Biafra you are fighting for. If that is clear and
acceptable to you, then, I invoke the audacity to
present to you what the real assignment in Biafra is.
Assignment in Biafra
Imagine if they stopped fighting to hoist the flag on
government houses
And hire a truck
And hit the streets of Aba market and beyond
With shovels and rakes in hand
Sweeping and scooping one street after another,
Imagine the flag they will plant in the hearts of the
dispossessed.
Imagine if they stopped struggling to seize radio
stations
And dig the ground with manure on hand
And plant a tree, again and again
All along the path of that rascal of a flood
Causing erosion uptown, downtown and places in-
between,
Imagine how it’ll calm down the nerves of the
uprooted children of Biafra.
Imagine if they stopped demanding the worship of
their manmade gods
And pause to look at the children
And wipe away the tears
Dripping down their cheeks
Not with handkerchiefs but with the palms of their
hands,
Imagine the goodwill they will attract in the garden
of their fathers.
Every need demands true leadership
True leadership comes through service
True service comes through sacrifice
And in the end needs bow not to curses
But to the sight of unwavering commitment
Imagine if they stopped cursing out unbelievers in
high and low places
And draw a wider circle where they’ll show how it
should be done
The day after the referendum
Haste will jump onto triumph
When the people will stand up and all affirm,
Imagine how glorious the stars will shine in the face
of the dark.
Imagine if they dropped the gun every Asari and
Shekau possesses
And crafted a Scotland song
With duty and dignity,
Doing and defending,
Chasing the wolf while cuddling the hen,
Imagine how their countenance will bring forth
conscience regained. www.saharareporters.com/2014/12/09/memo-my-fellow-ndigbo-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo