One of the things that have fuelled hopes of Igbo comeback is the growing conversation on the need to rebuild Igboland.

There is a growing fascination with the idea of developing the South East into a prosperous economic region that would absorb the energy and dynamism of our people which have continued to find expression outside the homeland since the end of the civil war. The champions of this romantic nostalgia cite the Jewish example as well as the impressive accomplishments of the Catalonia Region in North Eastern Spain. Catalonia for instance is known to be the richest region in Spain today but it rose from the brutal crackdown of General Francisco Franco who in 1938 smashed Catalonia, killing 3,500 Catalans and forcing many of them into exile.





Catalonia has also been intensely strident in its calls for independence from the rest of Spain. So, it shares identical restlessness with some elements in the South East who have been calling for the rebirth of Biafra. Unfortunately, this is where the similarity ends between the two regions for while Catalonia remains the industrial heartland of Spain, Igboland has been largely the wasteland of Nigeria. Catalonia is rated by the OECD as the 34th largest economy in the world with a GDP per capita of $35,000 and a gross domestic product of $314 billion. This makes the region a far bigger economy than Portugal and Hong Kong while its GDP per capita makes it wealthier than South Korea, Israel and Italy. Whew!


It is not the intention here to draw comparisons between Catalonia and Igboland. That is not realistic. Catalonia is far too advanced to be compared structurally to any part of Africa. But the inherent lesson here is that people who feel a strong inclination to redeem themselves can actually do so if they choose. Just like the Jews and the Catalans.



The Jewish example does not lend itself easily to this analysis because the Jews founded their own country and so had a free hand to chart their own destiny. But while the Igbo and the Catalans are engaged in the same agitation as strong ethnicities within a country, the Catalans offer a clear benchmark of what the Igbo can achieve even within the present political equation if they are wise and determined enough. It might seem though that the Igbo got it all wrong by prolonged years of investing away from home. So, what is the way forward for the Igbo?
This is the thinking behind the growing conversation on a possible Igbo come back. Interestingly, the recrudescence of Igbo self-awakening and pride has been re-enforced by efforts of organizations like the World Igbo Congress, the Ohaneze Unity Forum, the World Igbo Summit Group and of course some governments in the South East. While there have been endless efforts in the past to awaken this consciousness, it would however seem that the last edition of the World Igbo Congress in New York which took place in September, may have added fuel to turn what had seemed like a silent fire into a raging inferno. Whether deliberately or fortuitously, the organizers of this year’s edition of the annual congress had chosen the timely theme – K’anyi Mezie ala Igbo (Let us rebuild Igboland). This theme was very creatively exploited by various speakers at the congress to further stoke the belief that Ndigbo can truly be masters of their own home. This much was reflected in Governor Willie Obiano’s highly commended address at the congress with a title that coincidently echoed the campaign theme of US President Elect, Donald Trump – Umunnem, Igboland Can be Great Again! Obiano’s rhetoric merely sought to stir up a strong awakening among Ndigbo and remind them that there’s work to be done at home.


The truth that stares the Igbo in the face is that only the Igbo man can lead his friends and associates to develop Igboland. To achieve this, his expected first line of action is to put something down in the homeland himself. It saddens to realise that any keen observer of migratory patterns in Nigeria in the last half century would have noticed that other Nigerian ethnicities hardly set foot on Igboland and when they do, they rarely visit with the intention of investing there. This may be hard to explain since the Igbo are always in the vanguard of opening up Nigeria’s most remote villages. It just might be that the Igbo has finally woken up to this fact and is finally having a dialogue with himself. Interestingly, Obiano made quite some remarkable suggestions on what the Igbo must do to develop Igbo land. He suggested the construction of a Trans-oriental railway line to link up the South Eastern states together and connect them to the rest of the country. He also suggested increased cooperation in the region in the area of security, power generation and supply, construction of roads and bridges and of course the drafting of a comprehensive regional economic master-plan. But even far more important might be his call for a more cohesive political plan by the Igbo, pointing out that there is a need to protect Igbo investments at home and abroad with good politics.


As it turned out, this thread of conversation has continued to reverberate across important circles. Some statesmen of Igbo extraction made similar observations during the Igbo Unity Forum held by Ohaneze in Awka late last year. In his submission at the Forum, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, former Chief of General Staff under General Ibrahim Babangida emphasized the need for Igbo entrepreneurship to take firm roots at home. “Our people’s habit of setting up industries in any other part of Nigeria except Igboland is no longer acceptable to many of us. The time has come when the Igbo must look back and move back to re-establish their various industries in Igboland. It is important that all the states and all the governors must start thinking together about how to pull back Igbos from where ever they are. We are not telling Ndigbo to pack their belongings and return to Igboland No. What we are saying is home first. It is time we bring our heavy industries back home. The Yorubas have built their heavy industries around Lagos. We have to develop Igboland. Charity begins at home. First things first! So, Ndigbo must unit and move the core of their businesses and industries back to Igboland,” he advised. Ukiwe who has seen the dark side of Nigeria’s ethnic politics also thinks that the Igbo need a new thinking in their attitude to Nigeria. Ukiwe is not a man of words. So, whatever moved him to say this much must be grave indeed




Chances are that it may not have been the importance of developing the homeland only. Chances are that the revered statesman was reacting to the dilemmas of the Nigerian federation – the cheeky release of Kabiru Sokoto, the suspected bomber of a church in Suleja, the release of the zealots who beheaded Bridget Agbamihe in Kano, the marauding Fulani herdsmen who cowardly slaughter their victims in their sleep and many others. As would be expected, former governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife didn’t flinch from putting these issues in perspective at the event. He argued that the time had come for the Igbo to look at the possibilities of rearing their own livestock for the supply of meat. “We can have meat without nomadic people. Herdsmen exist only where antiquarian practices exist. We can set up ranches to produce the meat we need in Igbo land. Our governors must step in and give us that. If the states cannot get directly involved, they can help private businesses to create cattle ranches with modern technology,” he opined. Dr. Ezeife also flayed the Grazing Reserve Bill and warned that any South East governor that accepts that was on his own.


If truth must be told though, what may become the turning point in the journey to Igbo comeback is sincerely the ground-breaking World Igbo Summit which took place at the St Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State from October 27 – 30 this year. The Uturu gathering which attracted some of the most respected Igbo men and women seems the most audacious of such gatherings in the articulation of its goals and objectives which were well crafted in a Communiqué that came out of the deliberations, now ominously known as The Uturu Declaration. The Summit was the first time the Igbo elite comprising of both members and non-members of Ohaneze would publicly stake a claim to their troubled son, Nnamdi Kanu whom they urged the Federal Government to release without further delay since it had become clear that the IPOB did not present a threat to national security. In the words of the Summiteers, “Since the Biafran agitators are no threat to national security, the Federal Government should promptly release Nnamdi Kanu and all other prisoners of conscience in line with the rule of law.” Hitherto, the Igbo leadership has been decidedly aloof to the plight of Kanu and his followers. But in the Uturu War Cry, the Igbo leaders declared pointedly that it had become clear that “killing or incarcerating anyone because of his identification with Biafra violates everything that Ndigbo hold dear and sacred.” This is a statement that carries all the weight of a profound resolve.
The summiteers also raised a vehement voice against the 1999 Constitution saying that it should be repealed and a new one formed that would take cognizance of the inalienable rights of each constituent group of the union to self-determination and regional autonomy as originally enshrined in the 1960 Independence Constitution and the 1963 Republican Constitution. The Communiqué noted that “the Igbo had made the biggest sacrifices and contributions to the building of modern Nigeria and insists that, henceforth, we will work for a nation where the Igbo are allowed to live and operate as equal citizens without any discrimination, bias or intimidation.” The third most important item in the communiqué to my mind is the recommendation that the South East governors should establish a joint development commission for the South East that would be known as the South East Nigeria Economic Commission (SENEC) to accelerate the
development of Igboland.


All these are significant conversations and dialogues that are going on among Ndigbo at the moment with regards to the future of the Igbo ethnic nation. These conversations should continue as in them lies the possible redemption of the Igbo nation. The least the Igbo should aspire for should be to become a strong component of a united Nigeria. There is no respect for a weakling!











By

James Eze

(eziokwubundu@gmail.com)

http://etimes.com.ng/2017/05/05/eastern-nigeria​as-the-conversation-gathers-momentum/

Nice one

.

nnamdi kanu has taken away the destiny of ibos

Yoruba Muslim I just de pitu the christian Yoruba

Abookis and Yorubas will always hide to advise Igbos.

With all the stole in Nigeria where are they?