South-East still paying for civil war, says Balarabe Musa

By Chioma Igbokwe
Friday, June 10, 2011

Second Republic Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balabare Musa has said that the repeated marginalization of the South-East is because Nigeria has not forgiven the Igbo’s over the civil war.

In an interview with Musa who was the governorship candidate of People’s Redemption Party (PRP), in the just concluded election, said Igbo are still paying the price for the civil war. He also spoke on the reason why he will not go to the tribunal despite his claim that the election was massively rigged.

[b]2011 election
[/b]The election was not free and fair. Rather, it was disgraceful. It was something planned by the President, knowingly or unknowingly. He is a part and parcel of a conspiracy against the stability of Nigeria. He is one person that came looking fresh and clean. He shouldn’t have allowed himself to be involved in the abandonment of the zoning system, which has sustained Nigeria as one country since 1959. The conspiracy has now exposed the fact that as he became the President, is saying that the zoning system should be sustained.

As someone who has part and parcel of a conspiracy, he did everything to destabilize politics by abandoning the zoning plan, so that he can become president. Now that he has become president, he wants to return to zoning.

[b]South-East marginalization
[/b]All governments in Nigeria marginalized the Igbo since the civil war. Marginalization is on the ground that they participated in the civil war, so many years after the civil war that ought to have been forgotten.

The abandonment of zoning is one of the things that will perpetually marginalize South-East because with this zoning system, any part of Nigeria can hope to present a president. The South-East, which has never produced a president, will never produce a president without zoning system. You know that there won’t be stability if a section of the country can be so neglected.

The civil war ended and since the so- called surrender, has anything come from the South-East to assure Nigerians that the civil war problem will not repeat itself? Since they surrendered, they have integrated themselves into Nigeria. The leaders of the country are refusing to integrate them. Until the days of late Yar’ adua, the South-East was not part of the security system in the country. They did not have their own share of the leadership in every part of Nigeria. What they relied on in the past is trading. They are not relevant except in spare parts business. They still have grievances and that grievances should be looked into.

[b]Way forward
[/b]In the case of Nigeria today, the issue about the way forward is a big one. Those in control of power and economy at every level did not get there on the basis of merit. I can be frank with you, thieves are now ruling the country from top to bottom and with this type of situation how can we expect rationality? We still cannot have an acceptable election. Every election is worse than the previous one. Those who are knowledgeable know that the 2011 election was worse than others. Do you know the role thumb printing of ballot paper played in the 2011 election? Do you know the role taken by communities to show that there is no election in their community and to ensure that they elect the person they want? All there lies about free and fair election will come out if we use forensic examination on our ballot papers. It will expose everything. It will expose their lies that both local and international observers said, that the election was free and fair.

[b]Post election violence
[/b]The crisis that erupted in the north originally was political. It was a crisis between the leading political parties in the North. Eventually, like everything in Nigeria, it took the form of ethnicity and particularly religion.

[b]Election tribunal
[/b]I am not going to the tribunal because it is a waste of time. I don’t have the money and there is no guarantee of justice in the judicial system. It is a question of the highest bidder taking the day. We cannot afford the hundreds of millions or naira required to process a petition successfully. Apart from the lawyer, the legal cost is another issue. The court charges a lot of money in the filing of documents.
It is something that we will not bother ourselves about. We have already transformed ourselves since 1983 into a movement that can compete in any election, if the conditions are right. The important thing is that PRP is our party and we have since we have transformed ourselves into a movement and electoral political party. We believe that our struggle is protected and permanent. Therefore been rigged out of the election does not mean that we will stop. It does not matter whether we are registered or not. It does not also matter whether we can contest election or not. We are a movement.

[b]Deregistration of parties
[/b]We are not bothered just like I told you. We have formed a movement and a political party that can contest in an election. Whether we can participate or not, we will remain because we believe that our struggle is protected and permanent. Coming to the legal situation, the electoral act that says that a political party that does not win one state house of assembly election or national assembly election be de registered is subject to the reading of the constitution.

And the constitution under the fundamental provision does not allow that to happen. In any case, there is even a practical issue. That same law did not say the parties that have been de registered cannot be registered again. It is a futile attempt by those in power to impose themselves on the people. In any case, after all, we didn’t get registered just for asking. We went to the federal High Court and to Federal Court of appeal in 2002 before 57 political parties where registered. In 2002, when we went to court, only six parties were registered and the electoral body refused to register any more political party. We had Gani Fawehimi who is so patriotic and committed that he stood in for us. It is unfortunate now that we don’t have a lawyer who is so patriotic and democratic that can fight for us. If necessary, we will reach that stage, because they must have seen the futility of questioning what the Supreme Court has already done.

[b]On government agenda
[/b]Why should I bother when I know that they have rigged the election? They are not going to do anything good. The kind of people in government today is not the type of people that are patriotic or can perform. Now, they will make the situation of Nigeria even worse.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/politics/2011/june/10/politics-10-06-2011-002.html

He is speaking many truths, in which we in the South-East already knew. Now this is coming from a true Hausa-Fulani, so have the Ndigbo been speaking the truth for all this time?

He spoke the word!

Paying the price of the civil war to who, to yorubas ? Who are going to spend the next 4 years in Nigeria's political wilderness or the hausa fulani who were roundly defeated in the 2011 election by the alliance of SE, SS and NC.

Igbos don't need to allow people to force that victim mentality on them again, the igbos are now a factor in nigeria's power play.
If igbos didn't support GEJ would he have won ?.

B Musa should focus on the north , who aren't a force wreckon with educationally or economically . Their military force is a spent force and can only victimise innocent jos people.

We Igbos have made tremendous strides over the recent decade, but more needs to be done. He is only reiterating something the Ndigbo already knew.

asorocker:

Paying the price of the civil war to who, to yorubas ? Who are going to spend the next 4 years in Nigeria's political wilderness or the hausa fulani who were roundly defeated in the 2011 election by the alliance of SE, SS and NC.

Igbos don't need to allow people to force that victim mentality on them again, the igbos are now a factor in nigeria's power play.
If igbos didn't support GEJ would he have won ?.

B Musa should focus on the north , who aren't a force wreckon with educationally or economically . Their military force is a spent force and can only victimise innocent jos people.

GBAM!!!!

Yawns and goes back to sleep

Are you guys not tired of whining

Βουκέφαλος:

Yawns and goes back to sleep

Are you guys not tired of whining

Who is whining? Is it not a Northerner who is saying this? Or do you know how to read?

yeah and is it a northerner that posted it?
carry ur self pity somewhere else abeg

sebi una don vote 500 percent for Jonathan and he don promise una presidency in the next dispensation among other things?
why the Nairaland whining again now?

I am just a messenger. And I am tired of reading this Awolowo nonsense in this section.

Total nonsense! Trade and spare parts? Balarabe Musa can do better than this.

Economically, there's no region better-off than the SE and Ndigbo as a people. I think the marginalization is on Nigerians as a whole and not necessarily Ndigbo simply for the fact that other regions and Nigerians haven't quite fared better-off than Ndigbo since the end of the war. Balarabe Musa should point out to me, between Ndigbo and his own people in the north (Hausa/Fulani,Kanu etc), who are more marginalized?

EzeUche!:

We Igbos have made tremendous strides over the recent decade, but more needs to be done. He is only reiterating something the Ndigbo already knew.

A lot of Nigerians and even foreigners admire Ndigbo for how far they've been able to recover from the war eventhough to us Ndigbo, we may not be satisfied and we may not have seen this recovery.

Is musa trying to gain cheap political importance with his assertions? Since igbos ebulliently came out with a cohesive stance to enthrone gej every person is coming out to identify with them for future help.

Well done Balarabe. You spoke the damm Truth. Anybody not happy can hug the transformer

Really from my research the only way igbos could be marginalised is the distribution of oil wells to individuals and retired generals.

Yes igbos sell spare parts and do trading all over the country. The hausa fulani make suya , shine shoes and butcher meat all over the country , the yorubas are taxi driver and mechanic all over the country , while some south south people do house help work and okada business .
So whose tribes occupation is more dignifying. As is selling suya is better than selling spare parts.
By the way it is time igbos stepped up their game and rather than sell parts go into something the befits their accomplishment. How can some graduate sell parts.

How can Igbos be marginalized when 70+% of the land in Abuja is owned by them?

aletheia:

How can Igbos be marginalized when 70+% of the land in Abuja is owned by them?

gbammmm

also are in the top 6 position in the government

65% of lagos population and business are of igbo

igbo commisioner in lagos

etc, what again

alj_harem:

gbammmm

also are in the top 6 position in the government

65% of lagos population and business are of igbo

igbo commisioner in lagos

etc, what again

 

Another one of those pro-Igbo days of yours. If I blink eye now, u go turn into one bad azz anti-anything-Igbo. U no get direction or base at all. Whether na masquerade u be or na bot u be, me no know.

dem_people:

 

Another one of those pro-Igbo days of yours. If I blink and eye now, u go turn into one bad azz anti-anything-Igbo. U no get direction or base at all. Whether na masquerade u be or na bot u be, me no know.

them people u need to understand me, i love fairness and equality

now there is a thread about aboki being misunderstood, those kind of thread annoy me and i have to retaliate

if in that process, it annoys you or any other cool igbo then my hands are tie

i mean no one like if his people are insulted

There's no question Igbos are still paying for the war, what's not so obvious on the short run is that Nigeria as a whole is also paying for the war, because anytime you hold somebody down, it takes useful energy that could have been used for other purposes to continue to hold that person down.

Hello pls which are we discussing cause wars are fougth on different planks. Robberies,Fake/harddrugs ,419,kidnapings, hostage taking, assasinations etc are all war by other means.

Truth plus half truth plus falsehood or ignorance produce an alchemy of nonsense. Is Balarabe Musa still in the 1970s?

^^^^
---and your point is

Musa, we are not in the 70's, This is old truth, nevermind !

North have been in power for 40yrs of nothing to show.

Your people are in poverty, backwardness and blind after 40yrs.

Igbos are doing pretty well, considering the war.

come 2015, IGBO PRESIDENCY !

igbo isn't marginalized anywhere. every tribe in Nigeria is screwed by the few in power.

Lets see what Igbos are known for abroad. Economist, Great footballers (cannot be denied), one of the greatest African author that ever lived (Chinua Achebe), doctors, lawyers etc. It feels good to be Igbo.

These Politicians are becoming wiser as time goes by (when it comes to brain washing), He mentioned what a tribe will stand to gain, when they support zoning but never alter d truth also that He (as an old politician) stand a better chance to be selected through zonning. These politicians have made tribal sentiment one of their greatest tool to come back to power, The main issue is about these politicians being afraid that discarding zoning will actually give d ever increasingly enlighten populace d opportunity to pick a better leader (probably a Technocrat) which will spell doom to most politicians careers.

The northerners want to make friends with the Igbos so we can support them come 2015 but it won't work,Nigeria is already on her way to seperation,zoning or no zoning

OCCULTIST:

The northerners want to make friends with the Igbos so we can support them come 2015 but it won't work,Nigeria is already on her way to seperation,zoning or no zoning

I think that is the closest Ndigbo will get to the presidency (VP) with the North as the president come 2015.

I am speaking objectively

jason123:

I think that is the closest Ndigbo will get to the presidency (VP) with the North as the president come 2015.

I am speaking objectively

And I think the closest that you will ever get to Womanliness is in a sandbox.

I am speaking literally.

naijaking1:

There's no question Igbos are still paying for the war, what's not so obvious on the short run is that Nigeria as a whole is also paying for the war, because anytime you hold somebody down, it takes useful energy that could have been used for other purposes to continue to hold that person down.

i really adore this!

topic" i percieve a divded nigeria by 2015,if we survive it then i dont think we can break again! or maybe i feel 2015 as the year in which true fedralism will come to stay in nigeria.which will provide real competition, people will see how important the crop in the north is, the oil in the south is, etc,

What exactly are the benefits of having a representative in the highest political offices? I have searched high and low and I can't find it. The Igbo's are probably the smartest of the large ethnic groups. They have focused on what truly matters - building and developing strong local communities through infrastructure, commerce and education. With all their years in power, the North has not accomplished half of what Igbo's have accomplished. This aboki Musa man needs to mind his own business and work towards getting the almajiri off the streets instead of pretending to sympathize with the plight of an ethnic group that's collectively doing better than his. See pot calling china plates black!