₦airaland Forum

Former Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State last Tuesday, May 23 to be precise, at the First Chinua Achebe International Conference held at the University of Nigeria,Nsukka (UNN) drew attention to the plight of the Igbo in Nigeria, what has come to be addressed as The Igbo Question. Correspondent COLLINS UGHALAA was there and reports…


Delivering a lecture on The Igbo and the Leadership Question: the Achebe Example, Dr Ikedi Ohakim said Ndigbo are being demonized in Nigeria, because of the civil war and other negative descriptions.

Ohakim reminded the Igbo that they have a great past that is filled with great accomplishments, saying that it is the fear of the great past of the Igbo people that has led to the demonization of the Igbo people.

“Our past was a great past not just a past replete with defeats. It was, in fact, that great past that came under attack during the civil war. And it is the fear of that great past that has continued to sustain that attack, which manifests in what many of us call ‘marginalization’,” he said.

“Keeping the Igbo down has become a vehicle for the political advancement of other rival groups. And to perpetuate that, all manner of stereotyping of the Igbo is employed. External forces exploit the greed among some of our mendicant political class, induce crisis among us and turn round to demonize us as people incapable of providing leadership.”
The immediate past Imo State governor said the rest of Nigeria is afraid that the Igbo did not die in the war but survived and became resilient.



“The truth is that there is a mortal fear among fellow Nigerians that rather than destroy us, the war honed a more resilient and enterprising Igbo nation, and that if they allow us space, we would not only surge ahead, we would probably wipe out everybody.
“Thus, the Igbo have become a people to be feared, a people to be suspected, a people to be subjugated and a people not to be trusted. But to me, what is important is not how people choose to see us, but how we want them to see us.”
The former governor regretted that Nigeria has developed a bad attitude of needing the Igbo but not wanting them, stressing that this has made the Igbo peripheral players in the national economy.

“Another truth, which proceeds from the above, is that Nigeria has developed a strategy of needing the Igbo but not wanting them. This may have succeeded in making the Igbo marginal players in the Nigerian economy, that is, if we ignore self-inflicted limitations, but it has really done more harm to Nigeria itself,”the former governor reiterated.
He noted that “the fear of the Igbo has held Nigeria down and will continue to hold it down. After all, it was Harry Truman who said that you cannot hold a man down without staying down yourself.”



“And I will illustrate,”he declared. “Many times in the past, during Nigeria’s many constitutional conferences, the proposal was made that Nigerians should enjoy full rights and obligations of citizenship wherever they have lived for some minimum specified years and paid tax. The knee-jerk response by other Nigerians to this proposal was that it would benefit the Igbo and make him take over the entire country. The proposal was always thrown out in the belief of keeping the Igbo man caged in his own geo-political area. Now, years after, the war of “indigenes” against “settlers” emerged in the North, claiming thousands of lives. It has not subsided even as I speak.

“Those who killed the unity of Nigeria for the fear of the Igbo are worse for it. There is also the case of Dr. Njoku Obi of the University of Nigeria Nsukka, who produced anti-cholera vaccine soon after the war. His effort was reduced to ethnic debate, probably because it was not expected that such a feat could come from a rebel. Dr. Njoku Obi simply sold his patent abroad while Nigeria continues to spend billions of dollars to import the same anti-cholera vaccines from the foreign patent holders.”





The former governor added: “When other ethnic groups try to give us negative stereotyping, they are really trying to induce our obsolescence. That effort translates to what we call our marginalization. They paint us black to justify our oppression. Prof Okwudiba Nnoli in his work, Ethnic Politics in Nigeria, validates this when he said, ‘Colonial racism provided a myth whose primary objective was the complete alienation of the colonized African, enabling a better and more complete domination and control of him.’

“The result, according to Frantz Fanon is a ‘rejection of self’ and ‘identification with the colonizer’ and ‘the acceptance of the latter’s image of one’s inferior status.’ If you watch the Nigerian scene closer, you will notice a progressive lack of self-belief among our people and an identification with our internal colonizers.



“Some Igbo regard our language as inferior, but show off their mastery of Hausa or Yoruba language. Our young millionaires are so showy, loud and noisy, thus attracting resentment and envy to themselves. Our enterprising spirit is sometimes carried to an exuberant excess, eliciting an aggressive resolve among our competitors to contain and subjugate us. Most of our leaders have become compromisers and cash and carry leaders.

“Unfortunately, there is no discipline in Igbo land today because those who should lead by example have abandoned their responsibilities for a mess of porridge. I can go on and on to give reasons why we must reposition the Igbo nation for the future.”

Speaking on the problem of leadership, the former governor said that leadership, which has been the problem of Nigeria has also become the problem of Ndigbo. He called on the Igbo to “grow and develop the right leadership”, saying that “the Igbo leadership of the 21st century must be informed, transparent and honest. The leadership for the future must be committed, focused, highly motivated and accountable to be people.”






“The new Igbo leadership must be bold, bright, brave, forthright and, above all, compassionate,” Ohakim stressed. “The new leadership must be educated beyond just the ability to read and write, but must be knowledgeable about the dynamics of the environment in which Ndigbo live. In other words, we need to put our intellectual class to work in the field of political leadership. We must never be led in the 21st century by bit-players and artisans who lack a complete view of the structures they contend with and cannot relate politics to the need for development.”
South East is not landlocked



The former governor also said that contrary to the claim that the region is landlocked, “it is only the economy of the region that is landlocked”, noting that the only way to unlock the fortunes of the region is through marine business.
He said: “Please let it be known from today that the South East is not landlocked. It is only our economy that is locked. One quick way of unlocking the economy of the South-East is through marine business.

The former governor also said that contrary to the claim that the region is landlocked, “it is only the economy of the region that is landlocked”, noting that the only way to unlock the fortunes of the region is through marine business.
He said: “Please let it be known from today that the South East is not landlocked. It is only our economy that is locked. One quick way of unlocking the economy of the South-East is through marine business.

“Contrary to the impression that the South-East is landlocked, the truth is that it has one of the potentially deepest seaports in the country at Osemoto/Oseokwa in Imo and Anambra States. A seaport was designated there in 1959 but the project was abandoned and the admiralty member erased for obvious political reasons. African Development Bank (ADB) feasibility report on this is unambiguous.

“Oseokwa (Ihiala LGA, Anambra State) and Osemoto (Oguta LGA, Imo State) are the deepest natural harbor in the country (over 20m deep) and offer real naval and marine transportation platforms if developed. Besides, it lies only 18 nautical miles to the Atlantic Ocean and a strategic hub for the oil industry and inland dry-docks to promote trade.

“This potential seaport has the capacity of handling over 35 per cent of marine business in Nigeria. As a matter of fact, it was the attraction to these potentials that made my administration in Imo State site the Oguta Wonder Lake and Resort Centre in the area to encourage the federal government and foreign investors. If Ndigbo pursue and complete the seaport, it will also open up over 3,000 square kilometers of the most fertile agricultural land that has one of the highest alluvial deposits in existence for well over a million years.”

He recalled that he was removed from office because of his “pursuit of this revolutionary project, which attracted both national and international panic and may have cost me second tenure as governor.”
“This deep seaport will create over two million jobs, directly and indirectly, in marine business, oil and gas, power, education, housing, agro-food industry, entertainment, tourism, etc,” he emphasized.“With that type of setting, Igbo youths will have no need to crisscross the country in search of jobs and, in the process, endanger their young lives.”
Politics of Second Niger Bridge








According to the former governor: “The federal government had created a National Intervention Project in 2006 under President Obasanjo to restore peace and promote sense of belonging in the country. This gave rise to the N400 billion East-West Road project; the N600 billion Kano-Maiduguri Road project, the N200 billion Lokoja-Abaji-Abuja Road project and the N150 billion Ibadan-Ogbomosho-Oshogb road.

“But curiously, the South-East was left out. When we demanded an explanation, we were promised the Second Niger Bridge but alas, this project is being pushed to a public-private (sector) participation (PPP) arrangement with a tolling scheme to recoup the cost of the project. Is this a fair deal for Ndigbo? We must continue to ask for our own share of the 2006 National Intervention fund.”
Roads Infrastructure: Otuocha-Nmiata-Kogi Road

He continued: “Ndigbo of the South-East must demand the immediate completion of this road, with high economic value but which has been abandoned. This is the Otuocha-Nmiata-Kogi road of less than 150 kilometers, which will knock off about three hours from every journey from the South-East to Abuja.

“The road was awarded to Nigercat in 2009 but curiously, the federal government has not shown any interest in completing this project. Our governors and national assembly members should take note. Ndigbo must demand that this road be completed to reduce the agony of Ndigbo who frequently visit the federal capital in their characteristic manner of making all parts of the country their home.



http://www.oraclenews.ng/biafra-nigeria-demonizes-ndigbo-ikedi-ohakim/