Nigerians have been traumatized over the years by inefficient, inept, corrupt and rapacious leadership. The citizens have been taken for granted for far too long. Series of broken promises that has led to a disconnect between the government and the governed. Over time, Nigerians have been asked to make sacrifices for the betterment of the country. Ironically, while this call is being made and religiously headed by the populace, the leaders have continued to live in affluence that defiles rationalization. The gap between the rich and the poor has continued to widen by the day and highly unbridgeable. Those elected into office as public servants, turn into masters with a strong distaste for service. It therefore became obvious that this order could not continue ad-infinitum ( indefinitely).
A change became necessary. A change was imperative. A change of system, a change of ideas, a change of program, a change in values, A change in priorities, a change in attitude, a change of direction and a change in perceptive. A complete jettisoning of the old order that has made life short, brutish and nasty for a breath of fresh air that will give the people hope in the Nigerian project. A change that encompasses a redemptive action plan, that will extricate the people from the jaws of a heinous, aching and devastating poverty and injustice. A change that will rekindle the fire of optimism in Nigerians, letting them stand tall and towering in any part of the globe knowing that they have a government whom they can lean on and who has their interest at heart. A change that will redefine governance and give development a pride of place without sacrificing it on the alter of aggrandizement and personal comforts.
This is the premise, the platform upon which General Muhammadu Buhari is coming to serve. There is no doubting the fact that the expectation of Nigerians from him is very high. They can not be blamed, especially after several years of broken promises and betrayal of trust. Nigerians see in Buhari the embodiment of their clamour for the restructuring of the status quo. The agent endued with the right experience, exposure and moral values to drive the needed change. When General Buhari put himself up for elections riding on the mantra of change, it was with the understanding that the mandate if given to him will initiate change in all ramifications. On the 28th of March, 2015, the mandate was given. Change is therefore expected. This is an expectation that sycophantic voices in the corridors of power should never be permitted to circumvent. All political appointees must not only be willing to key into the vision of change, they must equally be willing to bring his Excellency back to the part of rectitude each time the vision appears blurred.
While change is being desired and the president elect, his Excellency Muhammadu Buhari is positioned to bring about that change, it must be emphasized that any definition of change that is not encompassing of justice and fairness is bound to run the risk of terminological inexactitude. In fact, change should start with the pilling off of several layers of monumental injustices that has been visited on the Nigerian people especially, the Igbo of the Eastern part of Nigeria.
Forty five years after the Nigerian civil war, the Igbo are still playing second fiddle in the Nigeria narrative. Constantly and consistently reminded, that they were vanquished even if it is done constructively. They have continuously borne the brunt of neglect, abandonment and under development. For forty five years, successive governments have continuously abandoned the program of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction initiated by General Yakubu Gowon’s administration after the civil war. This much has been admitted by General Gowon himself while delivering a lecture entitled No Victor, No Vanquished: Healing the Nigerian Nation, to mark the 6th convocation ceremony of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, COOU, Igbarim, Anambra state. He admitted that the wounds of the war are still very much present and needed to be healed. To have allowed that wound to fester for so long is a great injustice done Ndi Igbo. To redress this therefore, there has to be a deliberate policy of government geared towards massive infrastructural development in the South East and more importantly, a halt to any form of violence to Ndi Igbo in any part of Nigeria.
Recently, there has been a global outcry against Xenophobia in South Africa with the international community demanding that president Jacob Zuma of South Africa, should put in place strong framework to halt the aversion to strangers who are mostly fellow Africans. This advice should resonant well with his Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, who will equally need to put in place framework to halt what I will refer to as ‘Xenoigbobiaâ€. The pathological fear and attack of Ndi Igbo especially in the Northern part of the country. Over the years, Ndi Igbo have been maimed, killed and their properties destroyed by “ Xenoigbobians†hiding under the tattered umbrella of religion. This is a lot more rampant when one of their own is at the helm of affairs. A conscious effort must be made by the Buhari administration to eliminate this. Currently, Justice for Ethnic Nationalities is working with different youth groups and community leaders in the North to achieve this. A bold initiative by the Buhari with his revered followership will help a great deal in reducing the unwarranted attack on Ndi Igbo.
Many political pundits have opined that Ndi Igbo should not expect much from General Buhari’s government because they did not vote massively for him. I am not on all fours with them on this and the reasons are not farfetched. Firstly, after the presidential elections, the winner becomes the president of the entire country and not just those or the section that voted for him. Ditto for Governors in their states and other elective office holders. It therefore follows that the entire country is General Buharis’s constituency of which Ndi Igbo are part of. Secondly and more importantly, General Buhari in the minds of Ndi Igbo is a reminder of those who had victimized, oppressed and marginalized them. This could be a misconception. Just as there has been a misconception of him being a religious fanatic who will Islamize Nigeria if elected president. The onus is on him to prove that he is not only Igbo friendly but committed to the full integration of Ndi Igbo into the Nigerian body politics. Just as the onus is on him to prove that there is no shred of truth in the islamization propaganda that has trailed him over the years. If the mantra of change upon which the general rode to power is to be taken seriously, then the attitude and disposition of his government towards Ndi Igbo should be a radical departure from his predecessors.
I do agree absolutely with General Yakubu Gowon that except and until an Igbo emerges the president of Nigeria, the wounds of the war cannot be said to have healed permanently, We in Justice foe Ethnic Nationalities is requesting the amiable general to tangibly spearhead this initiative. There is no better time to start than now.
Lawrence Umoren.
National Coordinator
Justice For Ethnic Nationalities- An advocacy group of Non igbos seeking justice for Ndi Igbo.
Justice4ndigbo@gmail.com
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