₦airaland Forum

A Biafran!I'm not surprised.Hard work and resourcefulness is in their DNA.

This man talking did not win his local government o!

NIGERIA MUST TAKE A DECISION ON THE IGBO

Published May 9, 2017

Azuka Onwuka; azonwuka@yahoo.com; 0809-8727-263 (sms only)

Before August 9, 1965, the Singaporeans were seen as an irritation in Malaysia. Then Singapore was one of the 14 states of Malaysia. Singaporeans were viewed as arrogant, stubborn, and domineering. While the United Malays National Organisation wanted affirmative action or “quota system” for the Malays, the People’s Action Party of the Singaporeans insisted that the best thing for the country was a merit-based policy on all issues, so as to bring out the best in the nation and create a spirit of excellence.

This constant disagreement and tension resulted in race riots. It got to a point where the Malays could take it no more. So on August 9, 1965 they convened the parliament, with no Singaporean parliamentarian present. At that sitting, the legislators voted unanimously (126 – 0) to expel Singapore from Malaysia.

When the Singaporeans heard that they had been expelled from the nation, at first they were devastated. But they took their fate in their hands and started building a new nation. And, indeed, by applying merit and the pursuit of excellence, Singaporeans built a country that moved from the Third World to First World in record time, overtaking Malaysia in all ramifications.

Interestingly, despite this sad way of parting, Malaysia and Singapore have remained good neighbours. In spite of the success that the latter has recorded, it has not made Malaysia not to record its own success.

There are many similarities between the story of Singapore and Malaysia and the Igbo and Nigeria. The Igbo are not happy with the quota system policy used in the admission into federal schools and federal positions. They want competitiveness in every sector, which will lead to the best being selected, for the sake of excellence.

The Igbo are seen as arrogant, noisy, domineering, greedy, over-ambitious, to mention but a few. Many Nigerians see them as irritants. They get killed frequently, especially in the North, at the least misunderstanding. Sometimes the cause of the provocation is someone from Denmark, Cameroon or another part of Nigeria.

There are many Nigerians who will easily tell you: “We will never allow an Igbo person to rule Nigeria.” There are many who believe that the problem of Nigeria is from the Igbo and that once the Igbo are done away with, Nigeria’s problems will disappear.

Given this scenario, the Igbo want a true federal system that will make Nigeria look like what it was before 1966, with each state or region taking charge of most of its affairs and moving at its own pace. Sadly, anytime it mentions restructuring or true federalism, there are forces that resist it vehemently and insist that such will not be allowed.

Ironically, despite this view by many Nigerians about the Igbo, anytime any person or group from Igbo land asks that the Igbo be allowed to leave Nigeria to form their own country, the resistance from most Nigerians is fierce. This reaction creates a contradiction. If the Igbo are irritants and troublemakers, why not expel them from Nigeria the way Singaporeans were expelled from Malaysia? But if you see them as valuable and believe they must be part of the Nigerian state, why not treat them as equal partners in the union? What does Nigeria really want from the Igbo?

Last week news broke that the Department of State Services embarked on a recruitment exercise, with 165 people recruited from the North-West. The report said that 51 people were recruited from Katsina State alone, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Director General of Department of State Security, Mr Lawal Daura, while the number of people recruited from the five states of the South-East was 44 and the number recruited from the six states of the South-South was 42.

Compare that with the academic performance of the different zones of Nigeria. The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Education of 2016 produced the following number of applicants from the six zones:

South-East (five states) = 335,883;

South-West (six states) = 320,691;

South-South (six states) = (299,632);

North-Central (six states plus the FCT) = 259,846;

North-West (seven states) = 163,240;

North-East (six states) = 96,220.

The six states that produced the highest number of candidates were:

Imo – 104,383
Delta – 78,854
Anambra – 77,694
Osun – 72,752
Oyo – 72,298
Enugu – 69,381.
The six states that produced the least number of candidates were:

Adamawa – 15,615
Jigawa – 12,664
Yobe – 10,045
Sokoto – 10,006
Kebbi – 8,947
Zamfara – 5,295
The states that were given a minimum of 130 cut-off mark out of 200 in the 2013 examination into the Unity Schools were:

Anambra – Male (139) Female (139)

Imo – Male (138) Female (138)

Enugu – Male (134) Female (134)

Lagos – Male (133) Female (133)

Delta – Male (131) Female (131)

Ogun – Male (131) Female (131)

Abia – Male (130) Female (130)

For the same examination, the states that were given cut-off marks of less than 50 were:

Borno – Male (45) Female (45)

Jigawa – Male (44) Female (44)

Bauchi – Male (35) Female (35)

Kebbi – Male (9) Female (20)

Sokoto – Male (9) Female (13)

Taraba – Male (3) Female (11)

Yobe – Male (2) Female (27)

Zamfara – Male (4) Female (2)

The six states that scored above 50 per cent in the 2015 West African Senior School Certificate of Education were: Abia (63.94%), Anambra (61.18%), Edo (61.05%), Rivers (55.69%), and Imo (52.49%). The states that scored below 13 percent in the same examination were Kebbi (12.08%), Katsina (10.81%), Gombe (7.41%), Jigawa (6.37%), Zamfara (6.23%), Yobe (4.37%).

These are verifiable results that have remained virtually the same for decades. And they give an idea of the number of candidates that are involved in education from each state and zone, as well as their academic performance.

The point of this essay is not that it is only the Igbo that excel in many sectors. Other ethnic groups, especially from the South, also excel. But the focus of this essay is the Igbo. From the attitude of other ethnic groups, it seems that they are comfortable with the status quo. If not, they should not be focusing on the Igbo as their problem.

The call for restructuring of the country has been promoted as the solution to Nigeria’s problem. However, there are strong forces that are hell-bent on ensuring that the restructuring of the country will never succeed. They have been erroneously schooled that restructuring will impoverish them.

The danger in this hard line against restructuring is that if restructuring fails, the alternative may not be palatable. Nigeria has moved in a self-destructive path for long. Nigeria has been wallowing in retrogression for long because some stakeholders are afraid that pulling it out and setting it on the path of progress will cost them their feeding bottle. But nothing lasts forever.

Last week the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, met his seemingly impossible bail conditions within 48 hours. When the bail conditions were made public, the belief of many was that no serving Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would want to associate with him. But the South-East caucus of the Senate met and quickly chose one of them to stand bail for him. All other conditions were also swiftly met.

If those conditions were given in December 2015, no Nigerian Senator would have wanted to be associated with Kanu. Since his coming into office, Buhari has continued to display a type of croynism and prebendalism that has never been witnessed in Nigeria. And the worst beneficiaries of this are the Igbo. He has been making it clear by his words and actions that the North and the Igbo are not equal partners in the Nigerian project. He has been distributing Nigerian resources and appointments to his kinsmen and region as if they are his personal property. This brazen nepotism has made even the fiercest Igbo critics of Kanu’s call for secession to develop sympathies for Kanu.

Nigerians must decide what they want from the Igbo. It is either they want the Igbo in Nigeria as full citizens or they want them out as non-citizens. As the English say, Nigerians can never eat their cake and have it.

Thanks

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Bro Tambuwal it is not a MUST to live as one.I no do again na by force??

omooba969:
What will happen to him @Upper Iweka?

Believe me, you don't want to know.

Op remove Port Harcourt,Uyo,Calabar,Enugu and Owerri from your list.They are in Biafra republic not Nigeria.

Kc3000:
No problem at all. Next time you hear there's rioting in Kaduna, assemble all your yeriba friends and families and head over there...let's see if they don't sever your precious cone head from your body.

No! not sever but separate his precious cone head from his body.

Igboesika:
So this rumour is true, so it's true that when normal human beings are sleeping, afonjas will be looking at ceiling thinking about Biafra and Nnamdi Kanu.

I decided to be awake tonight to personally confirm it and here they are gnashing there teeth over Biafran issues.

You decendants of fallen lucifer are terrible, I repeat, you guys are terrible
nawa oo.
Indeed, the name Nnamdi Kanu gives you skull miners sleepiness night. Let me go to my bed because I have seen and confirmed it. Just look at the time. Ewwww!!

Chai!See finishing.

NgeneUkwenu:
The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division!

OK!

Bifor nko!Na for your village division??After all Ameachi na Port Harcourt boy.

Caseless:
sure?

Yes

I'm a Biafran supporter.But I voted against GEJ in the last presidential election.

mascot87:
Show me one Nnamdi Kanu supporter that doesn't hate Buhari too

I support Nnamdi Kanu and I don't hate Buhari.

Why always Biafrans?

Nathaniel Bassey songs bring down anointing.

Please leave Ngige out of your list.Im enjoying the only good road in my village is because of him.

Chelsea FC

I support Biafra and I agree with the OP.But unless Nnamdi Kanu has a master stroke to use the so call political class to achieve Biafra.I see him jettisoning and scuttling the cause.Well if Nnamdi Kanu disappoints.We still have the Lower Niger Congress championed by Barr Tony Nnaji.Viva Biafra.

ocelot2006:
No we are not one.

You are a minority.If our lord Jesus Christ can have a Judas among his disciples,What can one say about Biafra?

Interesting post!Though a Biafran I have pondered on the points/questions the op has raised.

Indiaindia:
YOU AR A BIG FOOL. IS AKWAIBOM OR CROSSRIVER IBOLAND?

Haters will always hate.Instead of countering my comment with facts.You are hating and cursing.Tell me who is now the big fool??AkwaCross my Biafran brothers welcome.We are one.

ocelot2006:
Abeg abeg leave Akwa Ibom and Cross River out of Biafra! Wetin?? Did we beg to join you folks?

You guys don't have to beg to join because you are all part of Biafra.You don't beg for something that is rightfully yours.

Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers are coastal areas and are part of Biafraland.On limited landmass,every Biafran must not relocate to the homeland;that's why we are preaching for peaceful dissolution of this contraption call Nigeria.

sarrki:
The truth is Abba kyari and Lawan will be charged with treason

Sooner or later

I call on pmb to do the needful and write his name in GOLD

we love you pmb

God loves you

God bless Muhammadu Buhari

God bless Yemi Osinbajo

God bless Federal Republic Of Nigeria

So Buhari is yet to write his name in gold in his two years as president and you are defending him like he is the best thing after slides bread. [size=8pt][/size]

lezz:
@ the emboldened! That is the dumbest strain at logic I have read so far all year .

You bear English name out of colonisation and subjugation while still bearing your local names and surname.

Were you colonised or educated by Igbos?

What's your own native names before you began bearing Igbo names?

Did your father and his father not bear Igbo names as well?

Chai! See finishing

Armed robber shot down!Na plane him be?

There is a PFA that has a platform where you can apply for 25% online without a physical visit to their branch.I'm sure its Leadway Pensure PFA.That PFA is giving the likes of IBTC and ARM a serious run for their money.

garsul:
All those making comments for the sacked DG ought to go back to the controversies sorrounding her appointment during GEJ. She was practically forced on Pencom by the then SGF Pius Anyim, because she had served 8 years with the former board and ought to have gone with them coupled with the fact that she does not have any requiste qualifications nor experience as she was appointed as secretary to the former board straight from school out of nepotism during
OBJ. You need to read the CV of the new DG to know that he is round peg in a round hole, an astute banker and pioneer MD/Chairman of premium pension

So in your opinion making the helmsman of an operator in the industry the DG of the industry's regulatory body is a fair practice??

Funlordmaniac:
So sound people are usually sacked for doing a great job? Abeg wait for the revelations of what she did to come out first before you start your dance of injustice!

She is good and sound at her job.Take it or leave it.Mind you she had survived similar exercise by this administration in the past.