By SKC Ogbonnia
October 8, 2019.
The recent harassment or detention of human rights activist, Dr. Chido
Onumah, by state agents is not only a sign that Nigeria is drifting
towards full-blown dictatorship, the incident also goes to expose the
hypocrisy of Nigerian leaders. Onumah’s crime, according to the state
agents, is that he was wearing a t-shirt with the inscription: “WE ARE
ALL BIAFRANS”, being the tittle of his best-selling book.
In the book, Onumah analyzed the myriad of challenges facing Nigeria, to
posit that “the different manifestation of Biafra may well be a
metaphor and, to that extent, we are all Biafrans as long as we seek to
confront the clear and present danger.” The book, of course, had been
launched since 2016, with the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, and a
number of government officials gleefully in attendance.
Therefore, Onumah’s ordeal is nothing but a growing sense of
intolerance or, rather, what Wole Soyinka referred to as an
“unprecedented level of paranoia” being witnessed in the current
regime, while he was condemning the unwarranted detention of another
activist, the Nigeria’s foremost anti-corruption crusader, Omoyele
Sowore.
Biafra re-emerged as a hot topic since a group from the eastern section
of Nigeria, under the aegis of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),
heightened its demand for freedom from Nigeria, not long after Muhammadu
Buhari assumed democratic power. Central to their grouse is a history of
bad leadership in the Africa’s most naturally endowed nation. Instead
of dialogue, as in the case of other recent insurgents in the country,
the Buhari regime not only clamped down on the Biafran activists with
brute force, it also branded them “terrorists.”
Interestingly, however, as Onumah had long professed, all Nigerians have
become Biafrans, by consequence. This view is consistent with an ardent
admonition by the venerable Balarabe Musa, which holds that the
perennial tendency to ignore the social challenges in the Biafran area
is tantamount to ignoring the Nigerian future. Today, most of the
problems enumerated by IPOB for its agitation, including acute poverty,
massive corruption, injustice, kidnapping, lawlessness and lack of free
speech are now being felt by the generality of Nigerians.
A perspective by the Afrobeat Prince, Seun Anikulapo Kuti, is profoundly
instructive. In a recent interview, Kuti inferred that, like the Biafran
agitators, every Nigerian actually wants freedom from the country, due
to the worsening state of affairs. To nail the point, he asserted that
the entire citizenry would not hesitate to “escape” from Nigeria, if
the international community dares to leave its border wide open. And
Kuti was on point! Today, there is mass exodus of Nigerians to both
richer and poorer countries, and they never hesitate to dump their
Nigerian passports to acquire the citizenship of their host countries.
Some are even willing to embrace the harsh conditions in immigration
jails in the foreign land as more hopeful than the situation in our
native land.
No person has demonstrated more fancy for freedom from Nigeria and its
failing amenities than the country’s president, Muhammadu Buhari. For
example, though Nigeria has its own assortment of holiday resorts,
Buhari is always in hurry to vacation abroad. Though the country has a
national hospital building, which can be equipped to an international
standard within six months—to also serve other Nigerians, President
Buhari readily opts for foreign clinics. Instead of Nigerian higher
institutions, he prefers foreign schools for his children. Instead of
promoting made-in-Nigeria automobiles, which can help spur employment
opportunities for the teaming youths, the country’s president uses
only foreign cars. Needless to mention that, to him, rule of law in the
country no longer means a thing.
But Muhammadu Buhari is not alone.
Other Nigerian leaders are equally guilty. In short, the sole reason
they still associate themselves with the country is the unhindered
opportunity to loot the resources needed to sustain their affluent
lifestyles abroad. The worst is that these Nigerian leaders stash the
looted funds in foreign banks, at the cruel expense of the masses. Only
people who despise the citizenship of their country exhibit such
patterns.
Even if the Nigerian leaders somehow happen to love the country, besides
its money, the phobia with Biafra is insincere. Progressive nations
witness calls for secession from time to time, especially where some
groups feel oppressed. What matters is how the leaders address such
demands. Moreover, the history of secession in Nigeria did not begin
with Buhari or Biafra nor will end with Biafra or Buhari. Groups,
particularly, Oduduwa, Arewa, and Niger Delta had at one time or another
threatened secession from the country. Yet, such terms have not been
deleted from the human history. The truth is that Biafra has come to
represent a people. Its agitation has come to serve as a threat to the
gross misrule in Nigeria.
At the same time, while the calls for equitable and just government
deserve every commendation, outright secession is not the panacea to the
problems; after all, the leaders of Biafran descent themselves,
including governors and legislators, have not been able to show the
desired example within their states. Yet, the current approach where
anything associated with the term Biafra is disparaged with impunity
only goes to grow the agitation. As Senator Ben Bruce once appealed at
the floor of National Assembly, the dictatorial attempt to efface Biafra
or its history is far from the solution.
The solution is an equitable, visionary and dynamic leader, who has the
zeal, the competencies and capacity to unleash the abundant potential of
Nigeria to greatness. The solution is a true democracy where government
can thrive through inclusiveness, free speech, and dialogue.
SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Enugu State, Nigeria.