[b]Another wake-up call for Ndigbo
By Orji Kalu [Okalu@orjikalu.com]
Saturday, October 30, 2010
At the first Igbo Summit in Enugu
on January 19, 2001, I delivered a
speech entitled, A Wake-up Call for
Ndigbo. That speech, which is
evergreen, has become a reference
material for many researchers and
speech-makers. In truth, never in
the annals of the Igbo nation had a
speech excited so much
consciousness and discourse as did
the Enugu speech. The inspiration
to deliver such a monumental and
powerful speech arose from a deep
desire on my path to sensitise
Ndigbo on the need to wake up from
their slumber and reclaim their
identity, which they lost for
obvious, explainable reasons. I had
reasoned that unless somebody took
up the gauntlet and led the struggle
of emancipation of Ndigbo, nobody
else would.
Recent events, which I find
repulsive, provocative and
demeaning, have caused me to
make another wake-up call on our
people. It is only a mischievous
person will claim not to see the
pernicious and ominous clouds
gathering over Nigeria ’s political
firmament. Every indicator points
to the fact that Ndigbo are headed
for disgrace if they toed the path
being charted for them by some
persons that claim to be their
leaders. While other ethnic groups
are fighting to reposition
themselves strategically - to become
more relevant politically - Ndigbo
are satisfied with their role as
second fiddlers. This was what gave
the Ohanaeze Ndigbo the temerity
to assert that Ndigbo had no
intention to produce the president
or vice president in 2011. I have
never been as embarrassed as much
as I have been when I read the
recent Ohanaeze Ndigbo advertorial
on zoning and 2011, which has been
published by almost every
newspaper in Nigeria. Who did they
consult before reaching a decision
on such a sensitive national issue
before bringing it to the public
domain?
I am sure Ohanaeze was simply
acting out a script written by
someone somewhere, with the
ultimate target of hoodwinking
them and quarantining them to the
political wilderness for another
century. Who told Ohanaeze and
their paymasters that Ndigbo are
not ready for 2011? Were they not
aware, before they issued that
largely misguided press statement,
that I had declared intention to vie
for the office of president in 2011
on the platform of the Progressive
Peoples ’ Alliance (PPA)?
It is preposterous that Ohanaeze,
and other Igbo who think as
myopically as they do, could
kowtow to the wimps of one
powerful man, when, in essence,
Ndigbo are revered and adored all
over the globe as ingenious,
sagacious and effable. There is no
place on the face of the earth you
cannot find an Igbo man. That is
why we are called the salt of the
earth and the Jews of Africa. With
a population of over 48 million and
rare adroitness Ndigbo can compete
favourably with even the most
respected tribe anywhere in the
world. That we found ourselves, by
twist of fate, in the geographical
entity called Nigeria does not mean
we should go cap in hand begging
for what is rightly ours.
Probably, Ohanaeze has forgotten
that power is not given to anybody
on a platter. It is got through
meticulous and dogged planning -
not by mere negotiation.
Negotiation requires confidentiality,
trust worthiness, and consensual
agreement between two parties. But
are Nigerians ready to abide by
mutual agreements. Today, zoning,
which is written in black and white
in the constitution of PDP, is
threatening to tear the party into
shreds, because some persons are
no longer comfortable with the
arrangement. So, how are Igbo sure
that they will be allowed to rule in
2015 as they are being promised.
Any Igbo man or woman who
believes the specious reasoning of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo that Igbo will be
given the presidency in 2015,
without working very hard to take
it, is deceiving himself or herself. Or
are they expecting the Goodluck
Jonathan treatment when they are
nowhere near the corridors of
power? Jonathan got the
Presidency, not out of any sheer
magic or political sagaciousness, but
for the simple reason that he was
at the right place at the right time.
All thanks should go to the master
schemer, Olusegun Obasanjo.
So, one can see the foolhardiness in
the Ohanaeze sophistry. And that
they should fall to such cheap and
puerile tricks is incredible.
Again, the forthcoming voter
registration is eliciting continued
awareness among other ethnic
groups who have embarked on a
campaign to mobilize their people.
What are Ndigbo doing? They are
waiting for somebody to bribe them
to go and register. Do these lousy
Igbo who want to be cajoled before
they go and register realise the
disservice they are doing to Ndigbo
and Nigeria and even themselves?
The voter card is the instrument
every Nigerian needs to install God-
fearing and empathic leaders.
The bane of our election has been
the lack of commitment on the part
of the electorate to vote and ensure
that their votes count. Without the
voter cards how can anyone change
a bad government? This is why
every Igbo should go out, when the
time comes, to register and ensure
he votes according to his conscience
and belief.
I am also worried when other tribes
refer to Ndigbo as lovers of money.
Who does not like money? Why do
people loot the treasury when they
find themselves in positions of trust,
if they do not like money? The
difference between the Igbo and
other people is that Igbo believe in
working very hard for their
money. This is why they are
ubiquitous and cosmopolitan in
nature.
Nevertheless, I do not understand
why Igbo could betray another Igbo
because of money. I suffered this
fate in 2003 and 2007, when some
prominent Igbo based in Abuja
ganged up against me, because I
joined forces with some
progressives to scuttle the third
term bid of Obasanjo. Up till today, I
am still persecuted, with the active
connivance of the same Abuja-based
Igbo, including those that I helped
at one time or another.
As I have said countless times, I do
not mind the price I am made to
pay for being a lone voice for my
people. If other Igbo choose to keep
quiet while our people are being
emasculated and humiliated, Orji
Uzor Kalu will not. What again do I
have to lose for speaking out
against the evils in Nigeria? After
all, Obasanjo used his position as
president to revoke the licences of
our airline, Slok Air, and oil blocks,
including Hallmark Bank PLC. He
also refused to allow our new bank,
Southgate, to take off after meeting
all the stipulated conditions. The
truth is that what I have lost since
2001 that I addressed the Igbo
Summit in Enugu and set agenda
for Igbo rediscovery is
unquantifiable. But I thank God for
His grace and protection. I will
continue to speak out until Ndigbo
regain their rightful place in our
nation’s socio-political life.
I have searched my conscience to
know where and when I had
offended my persecutors and have
not been able to get any result. I
have never cheated anybody whom
I have done business with nor have
I taken another man’s wife. Why
then do they fight against me? I am
ready to apologise if they can tell
me what their grouse is about me.
See what is happening all over Igbo
land. Our people have been
demonised. We sleep with our eyes
wide open for fear of kidnappers,
armed robbers and other social
miscreants have found refuge in
our land. The government left all of
us to die. It took the outcry of other
Nigerians to attract the soldiers to
Abia State to check the
embarrassing spates of kidnapping
that have made life hellish for the
people.
Let me warn those Igbo who are
ready to destroy their fellow Igbo
for material gains that their days
are numbered. Their sin will soon
find them out. What do they gain
by their perfidy to the Igbo cause?
All the wealth they accumulate will
be inherited by others while their
dead bodies will be eaten by
termites. This tells us the vanity of
life.
I have since located what is
responsible for the peevishness,
shyness and timidity of Ndigbo to
claim their right to the leadership
of our dear nation: hang-over of the
war. Yes, we fought a war, but
were not defeated. Even though the
war was reasonably avoidable, it
was fought to restore the integrity
of the Igbo man. The lessons we all
learned from that war would have
been lost if our people continue to
behave timidly. In fact, the war has
helped to unify and unite us a
people. What would have happened
to Nigeria as a nation if we had not
fought the war?
General Yakubu Gowon stated
categorically at the end of
hostilities that there was no victor
and no vanquished. Why should
anybody still nurse a feeling of
inferiority? There is, no doubt, that
there still exists some level of
inferiority among Ndigbo as a
result of the war. If it is not so,
then why the jubilation when
another Igbo was appointed a Chief
of Army Staff – 44 years after the
late General JTU Aguiy-Ironsi held
the position? Do other ethnic groups
in Nigeria react the same way
when their sons and daughter are
so appointed?
As far as I am concerned, every
tribe in Nigeria has the moral and
constitutional right to aspire to the
highest political or elective office in
our dear nation. If we should use
contributions to national
development as a yardstick to
determine qualification, then Ndigbo
are most qualified.
My perception of Nigeria is beyond
sheer parochialism and
clannishness. I am a patriot and
that is why I advocate the
emergence of a new Nigeria built on
justice, fairness and equality. Our
forbears institutionalised such ethos
as guiding principles for the socio-
political advancement of Nigeria.
The ongoing schism and egotistic
adventurism by some persons
grandstanding as national messiahs
are contemporaneously
disadvantageous to national
development. What we should strive
at as a nation is to build bridges
across tribes, religions, and political
affiliations, such that our collective
vision to evolve a more egalitarian
nation will be ultimately achieved
with minimal obfuscation.
When I speak or write the way I do
here some persons think it is
strictly about me. Not all. As I had
indicated earlier in this article, the
campaign I have waged about a new
Igbo consciousness since 2001 is not
borne out of a relentless desire to
fan the embers of ethnicity. Rather
it is borne out of exigency. We are
gradually becoming the laughing
stock of the nation. While Yoruba
and Hausa – tribes we share
majority outlook with – are
working conscientiously and
tenaciously to stay afloat politically
our people are busy selling their
rights for a mess of porridge.
Were we all not witnesses to what
happened in 2007 when we won two
states – Abia and Imo? When we
added the two to Anambra’s APGA
it strengthened our negotiating
power. Did other tribes not start
respecting us? Political analysts
were compelled to even forecast a
rosier political future for Ndigbo.
Suddenly, things went gaga. And
before one could say Jack Robinson,
we had lost two of them. Today, we
can boast of only Anambra State,
given that the ongoing horse-
trading does not take it away from
us.
The North, despite the infiltration
of the ANPP by agents of PDP, has
continued to make impressive
forays politically. At least, it still
controls a reasonable number of
states and is working unremittingly
to regain prominence in 2011. Its
commitment to the pursuit of zoning
remains resolute. The same can be
said of Yoruba, who are
consistently regaining what they
lost to political hawks in 2003 and
2007. They have won back Ekiti,
Ondo and even Edo that were stolen
by PDP through ACN and Labour
Party. If you add these three to
Lagos, they now control four states.
With these they can look anybody
straight in the face and demand
anything.
Yoruba leaders would not have been
able to attain such a political height
without the cooperation of their
people. I commend Ahmed Bola
Tinubu and the entire Yoruba
nation on the forthrightness,
courage and unity of purpose they
have exhibited on Nigeria ’s political
arena.
The judiciary has also shown an
unequalled determination to ensure
the sustainability of our nascent
democracy. It has contributed more
than any other institution to the
survival of our nation.
As we approach 2011, with what
will Igbo negotiate for power? The
only state we have, Anambra, is
about to be taken away also by the
forces that do not want the unity of
Ndigbo? Regional parties make for
integrated survival of a people in
the context of Nigeria ’s pluralistic
political and ethnic hegemony. In
any case, it is not contestable that
the regionalisation of the factors of
existence and sharing of offices –
whether elective or appointive – as
a sovereign nation has constantly
been a part of our political system
prior to independence.
It will be a big disaster if Ndigbo
failed to do something now to
redeem their image and build a
formidable political structure to
reassert their presence more
forcefully in Nigeria. In my
estimation, 2011 is the best chance
we have to make a strong
statement on how things should be
done in Nigeria and redeem our
image. If we miss this chance then
we will have ourselves to blame.
As a believer in justice and equity I
preach live and let live, but those
that have vowed that Ndigbo will
not live shall not live too.[/b]

thief

Thief

Thief

Thief

what did he steal? the same pdp that told us that orji uzor kalu was a thief has accepted the thief back to the party and i think he siezed been a thief that same day he rejoined pdp.
many of u made us to understand that orji uzor kalu will run away from nigeria as soon as his tenure finished but what happened? orji uzor kalu was the first gov to hand over and has remainded here since then. instead of kalu running away, we saw ribadu ran away from justice when he was invited by the court.
as long as kalu did not stop nigeria from having steady power supply, good roads, quality schools and hospitals, police and other good things of life, he is not a thief.
constitutionally, an accused remains innocent until he is proven guilty so we are waiting for u and ur groups to prove orji uzor kalu guilty. that noisy ribadu mentioned one of kalu's houses in Victorial Island as one of the properties he bought with abis state money but at the end of the day, kalu told nigerians that the same house held a pdp meeting in 1999 where he donated $1m to obasanjo presidential campeign.
do u know that ur obasanjo was not more than N20,000 rich then but can u value him now?
nigerians are begining to know who the real thieves are.

^^^^^^^

I am an Abian and I know what he did and didn't do for my state. This man should be chased out of Alaigbo along with his wicked mother.

But there is truth in his speech. I will not deny that. . .

ezeuche, i think kalu has a point!!!

pls i want you to answer this question? (pls,lets not insult eachother. i'm just confused)

1) why is ndigbo not producing a presidencial candidate? (i have asked this before but no one answered)
2) if ndigbo will not produce a presidencial candidate, then why did one of the ohaneze leaders support IBB not GJ knowing full well that most of the country will support GJ. (although, the other leaders did not)
3) why do some igbo men not want the progress of ndigbo instead they collect money to betray their fellow brother?
4) is ohaneze a socia-cultural group or a socia-political group?
5) even if they produce a candidate, why 60?

i'm a supporter of ndigbo having political power but these questions have to be answered before ndigbo can be strong politically.

pls just answer the question, i hope you wouldn't deem it offensive. if you do i'm sorry.

In the context on Kalu's speech, am 100% in. I once asked these questions:

- If Ndigbo supports President Jonathan for 2011, what is the guarantee that Ndigbo will have 2015?
- If Jonathan have 2011 and 2015 (does it means he is serving Igbo's slot) - they float "he is one of us"?
- On what bases do Ndigbo base the idea that we will have 2015 without fighting for it?

@ Poster your survey question is not about the article you posted. I think you did not read it in full. The article is about Ndigbo uniting today for a greater tomorrow (to have a solid voice in the affairs of Nigeria). It had little to say about promoting his 2011 presidential bid.

Edit it if you want us to agree or disagree with the article. Currently, its more of "Do you like Kalu for 2011 or not".

My answer to the Orji Kalus of Igboland is that they should stop trying to play with our intelligence.  

As far as I know, I cannot separate "Igbo interests" from "Orji Kalu's interest". That is the problem. I still cry out real tears anytime I see Aba or read about it in the news. If we never had a Peter Obi in Anambra state, we probably would not have know that Ndigbo can produce decent politicians. Orji tend to use our sentiments to advance his own causes.
If he loved Ndigbo that much, what happen in Abia state under him? Is Abia not Igbo? Charity begins at home biko.

On the issues he raised about Igbo relevance, I hope that Jonathan does not rig elections in the south east. If elections are free and fair, I have no doubt that Igbo will vote APGA more than other parties, at least at state and national assembly levels. That will give us almost all the Igbo states back. I hope that Peter Obi and other governors agreed and made that demand from Jonathan. Ndigbo might vote for him as president, but they will likely vote APGA for governorship and members of national assembly except where a governor is really good (like Chime in Enugu).

So, as long as elections are not rigged in Igboland, we will be fine next year.  

if u must know: durin d tenure of kalu, obasanjo sealed almost all d oil well tat generate money 4 d state n tats y he didnt support oba 3 term. Tell me if orji s a thief y s it tat efcc up 2 dis tym neva get evidence 2 prosecute d man even when d invisible leader *obasanjo* s still there.
He stole he stole wey prove?
Now everytin s open 4 ochendo 2 work on wat has he done till now?

Oji kalu shouldn't be talking at all.

f u must know: durin d tenure of kalu, obasanjo sealed almost all d oil well tat generate money 4 d state n tats y he didnt support oba 3 term. Tell me if orji s a thief y s it tat efcc up 2 dis tym neva get evidence 2 prosecute d man even when d invisible leader *obasanjo* s still there.
He stole he stole wey prove?
Now everytin s open 4 ochendo 2 work on wat has he done till now?

bloooooooooooooooooddddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy silly

under Theif Orji

Naira IN= billions

Naira OUT= 0 ni

ewu

on issue related with funds well spent!!! well thats another debate

THIEF,

Abia state is in its worst form in the history of man inhabiting that small strip of land.

He speaks when its time for him to run for office.What happened to all this knowledge and consultations with Igbo organizations outside of elections? Reminds me of Soludo talk a big talk after he left office when he was then craving for relevance again. Didn't work.