By SKC Ogbonnia
June 29, 2020
In the piece, Coronavirus: The Nigerian Dream Cure, I wrote that the
COVID-19, which “compelled people to stay within their nations and
localities, illuminates the genius of the ageless adage: charity begins
at home.” The lessons from the virus also strike a chord with the
famous quotation: the “fierce urgency of now”, where Martin Luther
King demanded action in the face of a looming catastrophe.
Nowhere are these maxims more expedient than Igboland. Despite the
dearth of development in Eastern Nigeria, which has continued to pose
existential threats, the Eastern leaders have made no serious attempt to
harness current resources for the greater good. Instead, the Igbo
politics has been overly consumed with mundane excuses, heightened with
utopian ideas that focus solely on the future, most of which are
envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiments of the gullible masses,
forgetting that the people must first survive before they can prevail.
An alarming reminder is the deplorable state of healthcare delivery in
Igboland. For instance, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no
hospital with a laboratory capable of testing for such deadly disease in
the entire Eastern Nigeria. The plague also exposed the fact that the
East, more than any other region, would have been in grave danger, if
the COVI9-19 national lock-down had prolonged.
The common excuse for the lack of development in Igboland in the recent
times is the structure of the country. Interestingly, the loudest echo
chambers for the current campaign from the East are some of the very
politicians who held sway during the 16-year rule under the Peoples’
Democratic Party (PDP) but did practically nothing about restructuring.
I mean, the very same cabal who are still clad in the same corrupt toga
used in colluding with contractors to loot development facilities in the
region, especially during the economic boom under Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe
Jonathan, “an Igbo adopted son.”
Ironically, some of such looted projects, for example, the Akanu Ibiam
International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, 2nd River
Niger Bridge, Zik Mausoleum, and the major Eastern highways and seaports
are currently undergoing real work under President Muhammadu Buhari, the
perceived grinch. The malfeasance under the PDP becomes more manifest
when considered that the East is witnessing measurable infrastructural
development under the current regime, despite meagre resources—and, of
course, amid Buhari’s misguided vendetta against the region for not
voting him.
Highlighting these missed opportunities must not be misconstrued as an
opposition to restructuring. Far from that! Nigeria, as currently
structured, is a time-bomb. True federalism has the potential to
reposition the country and unleash her abundant resources to greatness,
but the process to the change must not hinder progress. It is also true
that the ageless marginalization of the Igbo by federal authorities
combined to stifle development opportunities in the East. But any
innocent analysis equally begs the questions:
To what extent can we blame others for the lack of unity of purpose in
Igboland? To what extent can we blame others for the failure to
articulate game-changing policies to confront the tap root of the
problem, by provoking the Igbo people to invest in their native land
that is not even up to 30% developed? Worse still, who (or what
structure) is to blame for running aground strategic ventures once
jointly owned by the Igbo states, for example, the Presidential Hotel
Enugu, Nigercem, Golden Guinea Brewery, Premier Brewery, Cooperative
Bank, African Continental Bank, Orient Bank, Progressive Bank, and the
Daily Star, to name just a few?
The simple answer is that mere change is not a sole panacea to progress.
After all, it was not long ago that different groups within Nigeria,
including those in Igbo land, were in wild jubilation for being granted
their own states or local government areas. Despite the fact that all
federal statutory allocations and constituency projects due to the
states and local governments, as well as their internally generated
revenues, have been under the control of the native politicians
themselves, there are no tangible projects to show for the trillions.
Leadership is action, not excuses. The Igbo politicians should,
therefore, not wait till after the restructure of Nigeria before
embarking on an economic a dry-run in the remote semblance of the
preferred structure—at least to stem the existential threat of mass
unemployment and the consequential rising tide of crimes in the region.
Governors Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo and Sam Onunaka Mbakwe did not hide
behind quotidian excuses of the current structure before performing
wonders within just 4 years in the Second Republic. Moreover, the Nnewi
model has since rubbished the common excuse that the Igbo must have a
functional seaport before it can thrive. This goes without saying that
many thriving Igbo destinations, for example, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano do
not have seaports.
The apparent leadership problem within Igboland is neither lack of
people with original visions nor hard work. In fact, there is an
abundance of private sector-driven templates, featuring endearing ideas,
the latest being the South East Regional Economic Development Company
(SEREDEC), led by Barth Nnaji; and the South East Stabilization Fund,
championed by the Ohaneze Ndigbo. Sadly, such visions are always
derailed by an insecure Igbo political cabal.
That is where and why the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) made the
title of this thesis. For sure, the IPOB deserves profound praise for
finally recognizing that the real enemies are within. But the group
should equally recognize that the real battle belongs at the polling
booths. Therefore, instead of banal threats of election boycotts, which
only serve to disfranchise the ordinary people, the IPOB should key into
a growing democratic revolution to uproot the status quo across
Nigeria—to ensure, at base, that good people are elected to positions
of power. These political positions, of course, include the 2023
presidency which, by equitable consensus, is the turn of the South-East
zone.
Further, development has never been the sole province of elected
officials. Thus, instead of fraternizing with the fanatical property
acquisitions outside the Biafra land by the Igbo, paraded under the
façade of quasi-republican capitalism, the IPOB might as well
capitalize on its overflowing influence to mitigate the suffering of its
masses, by leading an investment revolution at home—and NOW.
The gist is woven in an Igbo adage which holds that a child who would
grow to greatness typically shows some sense of acumen at an early
stage. Therefore, before restructure, and beyond Biafra; even as it is
vitally important to admit that the Nigerian leadership crisis is not
devoid of ethnic schisms, where each group and generation potently share
blame, a paradigm shift in perception and approach has become very
imperative. The Igbo must recognize the crying need to persevere and
rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude
needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses
can even survive before the promised land.
*SKC Ogbonnia, A Former Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Enugu
State, Nigeria
Twitter: @ SKCOgbonnia