To become the president of Nigeria, a presidential candidate must battle
for power and be bruised, battered and bloodied in the political
trenches for power. The global advance of democracy and its peaceful
transfer of power, through the ballot box, made obsolete Mao Tse
Tung’s maxim that “power flows from the barrel of the gun”, but
still, the struggle for power is no mean feat; it remains incredibly
excruciating. Power is elusive; it eludes many that desire it because,
“it takes a unique kind of man to win the struggle for power”. It is
only the gritty, resilient and tough-minded with enormous capacity for
expediency and intrigues that can win the struggle for presidential
power in Nigeria.
Nobody can ever dash you power. So, for the 2023 presidential election,
the Igbo must field “unique kind of men” that can win the struggle
for power or there will not be an Igbo president. To expect the
emergence of an Igbo president because it is the turn of the Igbo (for
the sake of justice and equity) to produce the next president is
starry-eyed nonsense. But then, why are the Igbo, a proud, enterprising
and innovative people going cap in hand begging for an Igbo president
because it is our turn to produce the next president? Why do we desire
power but want to evade the rigors and demands of fighting for power and
winning the fight for power? Why do we feel like political destitute,
public wards and victims that have to be dashed power or helped to
power? It is because we are haunted by the ghost of Biafra: the fear and
paranoia instilled in us by the Biafran propaganda. For us to have the
guts and self-confidence to lay claim to, and take, all that is
legitimately ours in Nigeria, including the presidency, we must exorcise
from ourselves the ghost of Biafra.
Before the civil war, the Igbo held sway over Nigeria, and the other
peoples of Nigeria lamented “Igbo domination”. This was not because
anyone rolled out a red carpet for us to walk through, and establish
ourselves across the entire range of the Nigeria social life. It was a
feat achieved against a gamut of obstinate impediments: tribalism,
Hausa/Fulani hegemony, Yoruba irredentism, etc. And in the years
following the civil war, from the nadir of powerlessness and
helplessness of unconditional surrender, we, again, successfully dealt
with the daunting obstacles of tribalism, Hausa/Fulani hegemony, Yoruba
irredentism, etc. By 1979, we had made an impressive comeback in
Nigerian politics. This was because the immediate post-war Igbo
leaders’ concept of Nigeria was shaped before Biafra; they were not
persuaded by the misinformation of Biafranism. Therefore, they remained
unambiguously committed to one Nigeria. They understood that by Third
World standards and within the limits of human weakness and the Nigerian
Factor, the Nigerian system works for all Nigerians. Consequently, not
feeling marginalized and victimized, not wallowing in self-pity and
feeling of victimhood and not thinking and behaving like second-class
citizens, they laid claim to all that was legitimately theirs in their
country.
Presently, most Igbo’s concept of Nigeria and the place of the Igbo in
Nigeria were informed and shaped by the falsehood of the Biafran
propaganda. The lingering grip of this propaganda on Igbo minds – the
ghost of Biafra – makes us fearful and paranoid: we see ulterior
motives in every act, no matter how well-intended and benign, by other
Nigerians because we feel surrounded by enemies committed, and united in
a common plot, to our destruction. It makes us believe that despite our
resourcefulness and hard work, we still cannot make much progress
because there is a grand conspiracy by other Nigerians to subvert our
every attempt at success. It is this persecution complex, not tribalism,
Hausa/Fulani hegemony, Yoruba irredentism, etc, that is holding us down
in Nigerian politics.
So, unlike the earlier Igbo power elite that believed that they can win
the struggle for power, and be elected president/prime minister, the
present power elite, in their diffidence, expect presidential power
because it is their turn. Unlike in the past when the Igbo saw
tribalism, Hausa/Fulani hegemony, Yoruba irredentism, etc as
surmountable challenges to success, we now see them as complete barrier
to success. Thus, we blame them for all our problems and failures.
Despite the litany of determined obstacles in our path, with the right
mindset, we can replicate our earlier successes in all facet of Nigerian
public life, especially politics. The ghost of Biafra entraps us in a
political limbo, where we refuse to enthusiastically embrace a real
country, Nigeria, and, instead, pine for an imaginary country, Biafra: a
preposterous, indeterminate state that rejects reality and clings to
fantasy.
Like Biafranism, neo-Biafranism thrives on lies and propagandistic
exaggerations. Neo-Biafranism is reinforcing the Igbo persecution
complex. Despite the danger and disruption of neo-Biafranism, the
Ohaneze and the Igbo political class continue to equivocate on
neo-Biafranism. It distracts, enervates, and confuses the Igbo. If we
are Biafrans or committed to the realization of Biafra, why do we desire
the presidency of Nigeria (a foreign country). And if we are Nigerians
and want to produce the next president of Nigeria, why do we pander to
the forces of neo-Biafranism? Can you, at the same time, be an
unyielding outsider and a consummate insider? The answer is no.
The Igbo must therefore reject the misinformation of Biafranism and its
excrescence, neo-Biafranism, and embrace some incontrovertible
historical facts. Some Igbo, especially, amongst Igbo intellectuals and
surviving First Republic Igbo elite know that Biafraism was reckless and
senseless extremism. It was a foolhardy, suicidal venture that was not
in the interest of Ndi Igbo and the other peoples of Eastern Region of
Nigeria. It was driven by hot enthusiasm of youth and impatient hunger
of selfish ambition. However, most of them lack the courage to state the
facts about Chukwuemeka Ojukwu and his Biafranism because they are
afraid of making enemies among the Igbo and being castigated as
saboteurs and paid agents of the Hausa/Fulani. However, for the good of
the Igbo, they must take the risk of making enemies and being
discredited, and educate the Igbo masses on the realities of Biafra.
The truth about Biafra will rebut the lies of the Biafran propaganda,
lay bare the myth-encrusted image of Ojukwu and expose the deception of
Biafranism. Invariably, it will help immensely in freeing the Igbo mind
from the psychological fetters of Biafranism. It will allow the Igbo
mind to imbibe a new attitude towards Nigeria, an attitude premised on
confidence in Nigeria and the appreciation of the good in the other
peoples of Nigeria, and a resolve to build a peaceful and common future
with them in a united Nigeria. And consequently, Ndi Igbo will feel and
live as bonafide citizens of Nigeria, with the courage and aplomb to lay
claim to presidential power, and not beg for it like political
destitute.
Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
0803 529 2908