RAPHAEL EDE reports the renewed quests for political power by Ndigbo in Nigeria, using the platforms of three political parties; All Progressives Grand Alliances (APGA), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and United Peoples Party (UPP).
The marginalisation of Ndigbo in Nigeria and a call for synergy among Igbo groups for development of the South East Nigeria is the hallmark of the just concluded Igbo World Summit organised under the auspices of Igbo Awareness For Development Initiatives (ADI), also known as Igbo Awareness Movement (AM), held in Enugu, penultimate weekend.
The Chairman of Board of Trustees, BoT, of IADI, Chief Larry Iloh who made the clarion call at summit condemned what he described as a proliferation of Igbo groups, each trying to outdo the other in showmanship rather than substance.
This has to stop, he warned, adding that time has come for the people in the South East to speak with one voice for a better tomorrow. “We can do this. We can transform South East even with deliberate institutional scheme to marginalize us. Starting from carving out Rivers State and Cross River State from the old Eastern region, there has been deliberate political calculation by the federal government to frustrate us and weaken our potentials.
“We can no longer afford to wallow in self pity and expect a miracle to happen, especially when our own leaders now collaborate with the powers that be to sabotage our collective interest and development”, he told the gathering comprising of Igbo town unions leaders, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and representatives of Igbo groups, among others.
Speaking also, the chairman of Igbo Political Renaissance committee of the Igbo Awareness Movement, lAM, Dr. Robert Dikeukwu, while describing the summit as a resounding success; noted that is aimed to address numerous problems the Igbo people have with particularly reference on leadership problem.
Dikeukwu encamped the problems in tripod: economic development, political emancipation of Ndigbo and the resuscitation of Igbo development unions.
He explained that on political and economic aspect of it, IAM, believes that “we (Igbos) should tell ourselves the truth, our political leaders, to use the resource which they get on our behalf from Abuja, the allocations they get, to please use it for the people, to use it to put infrastructures on the ground to attract investments”.
“We have this philosophy called ‘Igbo think home, invest home and develop home’ but we also realize if the political leaders do not provide proper and adequate infrastructure to attract development it may be difficult for Igbos to invest at home or even to attract others to invest in Igboland. So we decided that the solution to the economic problem of Ndigbo is also the political”.
He said apart from urging our brothers and sisters to invest home we are urging our political leaders to utilize the resources they are getting to develop Igboland.
“We have come to realize that not only that the federal government is marginalizing us, our own political leaders are marginalizing our people even more. So on the political angle; we are saying that the only thing that will liberate the Igbos is for Igbos to unite and have one strong voice; that is why we are calling the margin of core Igbo political parties into one. That is while we have developed this compendium of Igbo political renaissances agenda. In this book it contains the road-map to address the situation of Ndigbo both socio-economic and political”.
In this book, he said “we have Igbo agenda, Igbo manifesto, we have Igbo political mandate. But we have realized that we leave this in the hand of a selfish politicians, so we are calling on them to merge and have one political structure for Ndigbo and we will support them to have this as a guiding principle”.
“We said that if at the end because of selfishness and internal ranging they failed to merge together we the common people in Igboland will cause them to raise a new political party starting from the grassroots. This is why you didn’t see any governor here or any big man with siren here, we wanted the grassroots to hear us first, and we want this message to round the grassroots and the big once because the big once will get it when the time comes”.
Meanwhile, in a communique issued at the end of the summit and jointly signed by Chief Larry Iloh, BOT, Chairman, Dr. Robert Dikeukwu, Chair Summit Committee, and Mitterand Okorie, Secretary IADI Board of Trustees, the group resolved to pursue Igbo Political Renaissance and Sustainable Development through a formidable political force with bargaining political influence that can no longer be toyed with, regionally and nationally.
According to the communique, there was need for strong Igbocentric political platform that will not only be capable of winning elections in the five South East States, but will also serve as a strong bargaining tool for the advancement of Igbo interest in Nigeria.
“The harmonization of diverse interest groups amongst Ndigbo under a common, purposeful and deeply insightful leadership such as merging APGA, PPA and UPP. “Nominate and elect Igbocentric leaders in the various appointive and elective positions available to, and in the zone.
“Vigorously pursue in Nigeria, a level playing field for equity, justice and fairness for all nationalities. “Institute security of lives and properties of Ndigbo all over the earth, starting in Nigeria.
“We adopted ‘The Great Triangle Developmental Plan’ that will quickly facilitate economic and infrastructural development in Igboland. “The revival of Igbo Town Unionism as the vehicle to drive Igbo Agenda and Leardership.
To develop and pursue a strong Igbo media machinery that will bridge the gap and provide the missing links among various segments of the Igbo society. The revival of Igbo Language, History and Culture”, the communiqué read in part.
We call on our political leaders to give up their ego to take Igbo issues serious. “Let us come together and negotiate our settlement. Let us start by asking All People’s Progressive Alliance, United Progressive Party (UPP), and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) to come together and give us a strong political voice.
Earlier, a paper presentation by National Chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie titled : Igbo Political Renaissance and Rescue; noted that place of Ndigbo in modern Nigerian politics will be a necessary prelude to any meaningful discussion on the Igbo Political Renaissance and Rescue.
Okorie said barely eight years after the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates by the British Colonialists under the watch of Lord Frederick Lugard in 1914, Dr. Herbert Macaulay, a Surveyor from present day Lagos assembled his Yoruba associates to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1922. It was not clear from available records what significant role Igbo people played in that formation, but what is a historical fact is that at the point of the metamorphosis of the Nigerian National Democratic Party into National Council of Nigeria and Camerouns (NCNC) in 1944, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igboman had joined the party where he was elected its Secretary General. Dr. Azikiwe’s renowned political sophistry, intellectualism and charisma combined to make him easily the most visible and indeed the face of NCNC nationwide. Dr. Macaulay, the founder and national president of the party equivalent to what is today called national chairman and Dr.Azikiwe along with other leaders embarked on nationwide tours to canvass for the awareness of all Nigerians on the need to secure political independence from Britain based on concerted action and consensus of all sections of the country.
UPP chairman stated that it was in the Second Republic which began in 1979 about nine years after the end of the Nigeria-Biafra War, political activities resumed under the template set by the Military Government of General Murtala Mohammed/General Olusegun Obasanjo regime. Five major political parties were registered by the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), namely the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP). He said that despite Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe earlier announcement of his retirement from partisan politics. But something happened that aroused him back to action in spite of his age. Igbo people were glad to play second fiddle. None of the political leaders had the courage to present himself even as an aspirant for the office of President on any of the registered political parties. Dr. Azikiwe was unable to bear the timidity of a race that played very major role in securing Independence for Nigeria, the loss of the Biafra-Nigeria War notwithstanding. after studying the terrain he joined the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and declared his intention to run for the office of President on the platform of the party. It was his decision that made Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, the founder of NPP who was desirous to contest for the office of President on the platform of a political party he founded, to decamp from the party with his followers and promptly founded and got registered the Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP). It was after founding GNPP that he declared that he was an apostle of politics without bitterness.
This was to underscore the fact that he did not want to engage Dr. Azikiwe in what might turn out to be a bitter struggle for the presidential ticket of NPP.
While Dr. Azikiwe of NPP chose Professor Ishaya Audu from the North as his vice presidential candidate, Igbo political leaders were comfortable being vice presidential candidates in the other parties, namely Alhaji Shehu Shagari/Dr. Alex Ekwueme for NPN, Chief Obafemi Awolowo/Chief Philip Umeadi for UPN, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim/Dr. Nnanna Ukegbu for GNPP, and Mallam Aminu Kano/ Mazi S. G. Ikoku for PRP. Expectedly, overwhelming majority of Igbo electorate voted for Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and NPP candidates for other elective positions. NPP did not win the presidential election but effectively controlled the old Imo, old Anambra and old Plateau states which had each been split into two or more states, at the last count of states creation.
Although Ndigbo did not produce Prime Minister or President of Nigeria in the First or Second Republics but no government was formed without going into alliance with the political parties they dominated. The NPC/NCNC Coalition of the First Republic and NPN/NPP Accord of the Second Republic quickly come to mind. These alliances ensured Igbo relevance as a critical factor in the political equation of Nigeria of that era.
Nigeria’s journey back to democratic rule was rudely interrupted by the Military coup of 31st December 1983, which ousted the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari and foisted on Nigeria the military government of General Muhammadu Buhari. General Buhari’s government was short-lived as it was in turn overthrown by another military coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida on 27th August 1985. It is relevant to the subject of this paper to recall that only the military governments controlled by the North created States that reversed the political structure of Nigeria in favour of the North. General Gowon altered Nigeria’s regional structure to 12 States, with Six States in the North and Six States in the South. General Murtala Mohammed increased the number to 19 States, with the North having advantage over the South by creating 10 States in the North and 9 in the South.
Between General Babangida and General Sani Abacha, the number increased to 36, giving the North 19 States and the South 17 States. This is in addition to the fact that the Federal Capital Territory enjoys the status of a State in the Nigerian Constitution. It is to be noted that no person from the South has been substantive Minister of the Federal Capital Territory since it was created till today. About the same time of deliberate restructuring of Nigerian political equation to transfer power to the North permanently, the Military Junta set up the Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Committee that carved up Nigeria into 774 Local Government Areas. The South East geopolitical zone has 95 Local Government Areas while the North-West geopolitical zone has 188 Local Government Areas. To complete the marginalization of the Igbo people of the South East, and their artificial reduction to a minority race, these lopsided LGAs, national population which has always been manipulated in favour of the North and Nigerian land-mass which includes uninhabitable desert areas were factored into the revenue allocation formula of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the Revenue Allocation Formula that used to be 50% by derivation before the outbreak of the Nigeria-Biafra War was at some point reduced to Zero percent, and later to three percent and much later under the Obasanjo Presidency, increased to 13%. Of course, there were several obnoxious policies that are still in place that are obviously targeted at halting or slowing down the advancement of sections of the country so that other backward sections may catch-up. All these should be juxtaposed with the fact that by 1963 Southern Nigeria had 21 Provinces viz: Eastern Nigeria 12, Western Nigeria 7, Mid-Western Nigeria 2. While Northern Nigeria had 14 Provinces. This post-Independence Nigerian political structure was what the military junta with a stroke of the pen reversed in the manner described above.
Chief Okorie noted that Ndigbo can only survive Nigeria if and only when all eligible Igbo men and women begin to actively participate in the electoral process, wherever we are domiciled in Nigeria.
