pazienza:
IF THE IGBOS DID NOT MARGINALIZE HER
MINORITIES DURING THE ANALOGUE YEARS, WHY
WILL THEY DO SAME IN THIS DIGITAL AGE?
By Efa-Iwa Rex Egbe
Some weeks back on one of your posts I made a
rebuttal about the erroneous and mischievous rants
of some of my (our) misinformed NigerDelta
brothers. First and foremost let me tell you all a
little story for the avoidance of doubt.
I am from the Agbo ethnic group in Cross River
State. We are located in Abi Local Government
Area which is a coastal settlement and unarguably
the smallest LGA in Cross River State in terms of
landmass and to a large extent population -
slightly a few thousands ahead of Bakassi LGA. My
fore bearers both on my maternal and paternal
side were given the opportunity to serve in then
Eastern Nigeria regional government.
My grand uncle Dr.S E Imoke of blessed memory
was an all influential cabinet minister in the regime
of Dr M I Okpara. He held the Trade portfolio and
was also Finance minister at the time until the
unfortunate incident of January 1966. He was the
longest serving Education minister. His son the
Urbane Liyel Imoke is the immediate past Governor
of our state “Cross River”. During the outbreak of
the war, he was the Biafran Commissioner for
Refugees and Humanitarian affairs. One of my
maternal uncles also served as Permanent
Secretary in the ministry of health at Enugu.
My maternal grand father was also a frontline
member of the Eastern Nigeria regional house of
Chiefs.
Outside my family circles, another great
Cross Riverian M T Mbu was nominated a Federal
Minister for Transport and Navy by the Igbo
controlled NCNC. It's on record that Mbu was
Nigeria's first Ambassador to the UK, UN and the
USA. He is from Boki in Cross River state. Boki is
another minority ethnic group just like my native
Agboland.
The Igbos gave him the opportunity to excel ahead
of their own worthy sons at that time. He is the
father to a Senator MT Mbu jr. Another person who
is noteworthy is the late Chief Michael Eta-Ogon
who was the Administrator of the oil rich
PortHarcourt province in the first republic. He is
also from the same Boki with Mbu. Thomas Weir
Ikpeme an Efik man from Odukpani in my native
Cross River was the longest serving Permanent
Secretary in the Eastern Regional Ministry of
Education.
The key point is that the Igbos were comfortable
with us “the minorities” that was why they
entrusted education solely in our hands. Not only
education but other critical areas like Public Works
and Transport etc. N U Akpan an Ibibio man from
Akwa Ibom state was the technocrat behind the
eastern regional public service. He was the
Secretary to the regional government.
Thompson Akpabio, an Annang man from Ukana in
present day Akwa Ibom state was the regional
minister of health. The former Governor of Akwa
Ibom state Godswill Akpabio is his nephew. There
were other high ranking cabinet ministers of
minority origin like one of our family good friends,
HRH Amanyanabo E P Okoya, Agada III the
Ibenanowei of Ekpetiama in Bayelsa State, Chief.
Erekosinma of Rivers and a whole lot of others
who are too numerous to mention.
During the secessionist struggle, an Ogoni from
Rivers state, Chief.Ignatius Kogbara was Biafra's
Ambassador to Britain. My dad's friend Chief.
Lekam Okoi, from Idomi in present day Yakurr LGA
of Cross River state was one of Ojukwu's trusted
drivers. He is today a successful lawyer and a
former commissioner in the Federal Character
Commission. Capt Akpet a minority from Cross
River was also Ojukwu's dependable aide on
intelligence. Secondly for the avoidance of doubt,
aside these political appointments, our people
enjoyed immense goodwill from the Igbo
dominated region by way of social security.
My dad's immediate elder brother received a
scholarship from the regional government that
enabled him study for a PhD in soil science. He is
the first man “arguably” in Africa to obtain a
doctorate in Soil science. I have friends across the
Niger Delta whose parents
......((WITH KIND PERMISSION TO COMPLETE THE WRITE-UP, VERBATIM)).......
He is the first man “arguably” in Africa to obtain a doctorate in Soil science. I have friends across the Niger Delta whose parents, uncles, aunties and relatives also benefited from the benevolence of the Eastern regional government. Unarguably our Niger Delta region received it's last major face-lift in terms of infrastructure when we were under the Eastern region.
Till the abolition of the regional system of government, the Eastern region was the most united region, they was never a recorded case of ethnic skirmish or BLOOD letting between the Igbos and other minority groups.
During the pogrom of 1966 we all carried the same cross to “Golgotha”, both Igbos and Eastern minorities were killed in their thousands across Northern Nigeria by the blood thirsty Hausa Fulani/Northern folks without blinking an eye. It doesn't really matter if you were Igbo, Ijaw, Efik or a miniature Agbo person.
I never really wanted to bore you with reading this lengthy essay but it's my moral responsibility to tell the truth at all times. I was thought by my fore bearers never to distort history and to always separate facts from fictions. If we were not marginalized by the Igbos during the “analogue” age, how then can the Igbos marginalize us in this digital age?
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