{"id":68165,"date":"2019-08-06T04:52:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T03:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=68165"},"modified":"2019-08-06T04:52:14","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T03:52:14","slug":"ndi-igbo-enough-of-self-deceit-and-political-schizophrenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/ndi-igbo-enough-of-self-deceit-and-political-schizophrenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Ndi Igbo: Enough of self-deceit and political schizophrenia"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
By Tochukwu Ezukanma<\/p>\n

The Igbo delight in the feeling that they are universally hated in
\nNigeria. We dwell on the hatred of other ethnic groups of Nigeria for
\nus, and make our endless list of Igbo haters. The longer the litany of
\nour inexhaustible haters, the better we feel; it gives us psychological
\nsatisfaction because it panders to our self-deceit and provides us
\nculprits for our blame game. No Nigerian ethnic group is totally devoted
\nto hate and none is totally consumed by love. All of them have the
\ncapacity to hate and love. In their hate, greed and violence, every
\nmajor ethnic group of Nigeria, Hausa\/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo, have
\ncontributed to the problems of Nigeria. So, when we, the Igbo, blame
\nother Nigerians for hating us, but refuse to acknowledge that we have
\nalso, at different times, acted out in hatred for others, we are lying
\nto ourselves.<\/p>\n

When, on January 15th 1966, four Igbo majors and one Yoruba major, in a
\ncoup attempt, murdered the innocent in cold blood, the two most
\nimportant northern Nigeria political leaders (Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa
\nBelewa) and the four highest ranking northern army officers, it was an
\nact of love by an Igbo-dominated group of coup plotters. But, when in
\nreprisal to the lop-sided killings in the coup and the obvious Igbo
\ninsensitivity to the sensibilities of the aggrieved northerners,
\nnortherners killed Aguiyi Ironsi, hunted down Igbo soldiers and
\nmass-murdered Igbo civilians, it was an act of hate by murderous
\n\u201cvandals\u201d driven by their implacable hatred for the Igbo. At the end of
\nthe civil war, the Nigerian government, in its hatred for the Igbo and
\nplanned extermination of the Igbo race, released many Biafran prisoners,
\nboth soldiers and civilians. But the Biafrans had no prisoner to release
\nbecause, in their saintliness, godliness and unconditional love for all,
\nthey had killed every Nigerian soldier they captured. What nonsense? How
\ncan a people be lying, so brazenly, to themselves?<\/p>\n

For our own good, we must stop lying to ourselves. The worst thing
\nanyone can ever do to himself is to lie to himself. It is our lying to
\nourselves and its attendant self-deceit, self-pity and culture of
\nvictimhood that is holding us down in Nigerian politics. It make us
\nnostalgic for that suicidal escapade, Biafra; fuels the neo-Biafran
\ninsanity; makes us believe the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
\nnonsense that the Igbo are enslaved in Nigeria; and makes relevant that
\nconfused confusionist that is disturbing the peace of Nigeria and
\nendangering Igbo lives, Nnamdi Kanu. It has been said that, \u201cmadness is
\ndoing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different
\nresult\u201d. Our self-deceit, blame game and victimhood approach to Nigerian
\npolitics have, for so long, undermined our progress in Nigeria politics.
\nIt is high time we snapped out of this debilitating mindset.<\/p>\n

Most of the times, a man\u2019s problems are not caused by his relatives,
\nneighbors, friends, and even, enemies, but himself. Therefore, progress
\nand success in any sphere of human endeavor usually demand that the
\nindividual cast a critical eye on himself and have the courage to tell
\nhimself the truth: that he has caused his own problems. Those that lack
\nthe courage and gumption to do these refuse to take responsibilities for
\ntheir actions; they blame their blunders and failures on others. Taking
\nresponsibility for your actions is unpleasant but most helpful. On the
\nother hand, blaming others for your problems is gratifying but most
\ndestructive.<\/p>\n

By the time of the 2019 presidential election, it was obvious that the
\nMohammadu Buhari presidency was detrimental to the Igbo. He had already
\ndramatized his anti-Igbo bias in his political appointments. For
\nexample, no Igbo made the list of his thirty eight appointees to head
\nthe different Nigerian security agencies. Secondly, his administration\u2019s
\ntacit support for the murderous binges of Fulani herdsmen has left a
\ntrail of death, destruction, pains and sorrow across parts of Nigeria,
\nincluding the Igbo states. In their periodic blood-spattered sorties
\ninto Igbo land, the killer herdsmen raped women; killed men, women,
\nchildren and even babies; and ravaged and pillaged communities.
\nTherefore, the Igbo should have labored assiduously for the electoral
\ndefeat of President Buhari. Paradoxically, the majority of Igbo
\ngovernors campaigned for the re-election of President Buhari.<\/p>\n

The opposing presidential ticket, Atiku Abubakar\/Peter Obi, provided a
\nrefreshing alternative to Buharism and its attendant obscurantism,
\nnepotism and blunders. Its victory would have brought an end to
\nBuhari-emboldened Fulani irredentism and its associated herdsmen
\nbutchery of the innocent in Igbo land. In addition, it would have made
\nPeter Obi the vice president, and positioned him for the presidency in
\nthe very near future. Perplexingly, Igbo governors rallied against the
\nAtiku\/Obi presidential ticket. These are a few examples of how we, the
\nIgbo, cause our own problems and bungle up our political opportunities,
\nand, in our self-deceit, blame them\u00a0 on the Yoruba, Hausa\/Fulani and
\nother \u201cIgbo haters\u201d.
\nWas it not supremely ironic that the governors of a people that have
\nbeen victims of the killings of killer herdsmen campaigned for the
\nre-election of a president that is supportive of the herdsmen\u2019s
\nbloodshed? Was it not tremendously contradictory that despite our
\nlong-running cries of marginalization, Igbo governors worked against the
\npossible emergence of an Igbo vice president? To shoot ourselves in the
\nfoot and blame \u201cIgbo haters\u201d for it is self-deceit. To lament the
\nmurderousness and criminality of Fulani herdsmen in Igbo land and the
\ndwindling political lot of the Igbo in Nigeria, but campaign for a
\npresident that supports the herdsmen and undermines the political
\nsignificance of Ndi Igbo is political schizophrenia.
\nTochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
\nmaciln18@yahoo.com<\/a>
\n0803 529 2908<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tochukwu Ezukanma The Igbo delight in the feeling that they are universally hated in Nigeria. 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