By

Ubanese Nwanganga

ubanganga@yahoo.co.uk.

There is a saying amongst Ndiigbo that when a sane, sober-minded person ignores the rules of decent behaviour and engages in a fight with a mad person the public usually finds it difficult to make any distinction between them-both of them are taken to be mad. For close to one year I deliberately withdrew from making any contributions to the Igbo Question in contemporary Nigeria and adopted late Uncle Bola Ige’s approach: siddon look. My decision then was informed by the personal hurt I received from a four-part serial in which Peter Opara called me all manner of unprintable names. I did not withdraw because I had run out of steam. In fact, I have several essays I wrote during the one-year hiatus. I have decided not to publish them because they have been overtaken by events. However, early this year I resumed writing. I did two articles on homosexuality and the Middle Belt Identity. Then, I followed them with three articles, one of which was the subject of Peter Opara’s rejoinder. I am not in anyway surprised at his recent outing. I saw it coming. I knew that in his characteristic manner he was going to come charging like a bull. I knew his mindset way back in 2003 or thereabout when in response to my article, “Peter Opara, Ndiigbo Are Not North Koreans”, he sent a personal mail to me in which he warned me not to think that I had had the last laugh. I was shocked that he could trivialize the issue of Ndiigbo in contemporary Nigeria to such an absurdity. I knew then that his so-called crusade for Ndiigbo was no more than attempts to draw attention to himself. I mean it became obvious to me that Peter Opara was posturing to massage his ego in the guise of a true Igbo son. Otherwise, how can such important business of finding a lasting solution to the unenviable situation of Ndiigbo in Nigeria since the end of the war be reduced to who laughs last among Igbo sons and daughters, who voluntarily took the stand, without coercion, to proffer solutions? How sad! I am not paid for my contributions, no matter how good or bad. I chose to be counted because one way or the other I am affected or my children will be affected. Therefore, I do not expect a pat on the back from anyone because I am working for myself. I am working for my family. I am working for Ndiigbo, the stock from which it has pleased God to create me. If I expect to be paid or praised then I forfeit any claim to being an Igbo man. For, Peter Opara, however, what was (and still is) important to him was if he had the last laugh. Could he be less childish, less egoistic? Ndiigbo, na kwa e cheku nu.

However, in expecting his recent outburst, I knew very well that he was not going to restrict himself to ideas and tell Ndiigbo the truth. He was going to tell blatant lies against me in an attempt to deceive. And he did just that. My only concern is that Ndiigbo who have not taken time to ask the right questions are entertaining him. I can understand why this is the case. Our preoccupation with the events of 1966-70 is understandable. The failure of past and present national leaderships to address the problems of Nigeria including those of Ndiigbo reinforces the view that only a separate country can serve well the interests of Ndiigbo. To the victims of maginalizations any charlatan can take the centre stage and proclaim himself the much-awaited messiah. Unfortunately, Peter Opara, unable to present himself as an Igbo leader, for he does not qualify as one, has chosen to be a praise singer in such a foolish manner that calls to question his so called intellectual achievement. In going about his self-assigned dirty job, he employs so much hate language. Any good student of history will not be surprised at the manner he pours venom at others who do not share in his fantasies. Praise singers who never saw anything evil in their actions often helped to create great demagogues in history. When Abacha murdered Kudirat Abiola, Chief Tom Ikimi denied that he (Abacha) was using political assassinations to eliminate opposition to his draconian rule. Idi Amin, IBB, Siad Barre, Mobutu, Ferdinand Marcus, the just expired maximum leader of tiny Togo and other dictators whether in Africa, Europe, Asia or Latin America relied on men without conscience to visit mankind with the worst forms of dictatorship. Peter Opara wants to appear as a worthy Igbo son, which he is not. He is being clever by half and like an intellectual fraud, aware of his limitations, wants to make himself relevant by continuously presenting me as Ojukwu’s enemy. Unable to fault me on ideas he has resorted to calling me names as well as smuggling meanings not in anyway related to what I said into my essays. In doing so he unfortunately portrays himself for what he really is: iti boribo, who has refused to allow his immediate environment to impact positively on him. His intolerance of the views of others is as sickening as his warped sense of history.

Peter Opara claimed, for instance, that I called Biafra “ North Korea in Africa ”. In the piece under reference, I warned him that Ndiigbo were not North Koreans, who allowed eye service to the Kim dynasty to create mass starvation in a country located in the fastest developing region of the world. In case we have forgotten, North Korea is bounded in the south by South Korea . It is bounded by China in the north and west. Japan completes the picture in the east. Since 1979 when China adopted its four modernizations programme and open door policy under the pragmatic leadership of late Deng Xiaoping, its national economy has been growing by leaps and bounds. Although saddled with over population, China is making its mark in the Far East , and indeed the world. It is managing its transition from authoritarianism to democracy to avoid the chaos that consumed the former Soviet Union . Japan provides the engine of growth in the region. South Korea , rescued from North Korea by the American led UN forces, is one of the Asian tigers. Taiwan , Singapore , Hong Kong , Malaysia and Thailand are the rest. Minus China , which has not allowed political pluralism, for obvious reasons, all the prosperous countries in the region are stable democracies. Leadership is not from father to son, as in North Korea . In North Korea , everybody wears the badge of the Great Leader, late Kim Il Sung as well as the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il, the current supreme leader. North Koreans are almost like slaves to the Kim family. Today, they are starving and depend on international food aid, donated by, among other people, their kit and kin who enjoy freedom in the same Korean peninsular, across the 38^th parallel.

Peter Opara, it will be recalled, has worked hard to introduce hero worship into Igbo land and thus prepare the stage to make North Koreans out of Ndiigbo. I pointed this out to him and warned that no matter who the supposed leader could be Ndiigbo would not accept to slave for anybody. There was no room for blind followership among Ndiigbo. Now, imagine how this intellectual fraud has imported strange meaning into my work in order to serve his questionable interest?

I am conscious of my opening statement. It is not my intention to run naked in the public arena with Peter Opara. At the risk of repeating myself, I intend to state my case in the following paragraphs and let Ndiigbo judge.

Before the white man foisted warrants chiefs on Igbo land, the village square served as the court of justice, where ideas and issues contended. Justice was administered there without fear or favour. What made it so was that at the village square the high and the influential as well as the low and the unimportant had opportunity to be heard. Justice was not for sale to the highest bidder. It was available to all and sundry irrespective of social status. All shades of opinion were considered and any decision arrived at was in the over all interest of justice and fair play, without bias. By so doing society catered for all.

I have since deciding to take a stand in the ongoing debate concerning Ndiigbo in contemporary Nigeria believed that like the village square of old, the Internet is a market place of ideas where issues of importance to our people are freely discussed. I use this opportunity to convey my sincere gratitude to the owners of kwenu and gamji websites for offering users such tremendous opportunities to air their views as well as have access to the views of others on issues of our times. I am aware of other websites, which the owners have also devoted to sharing ideas on any issues under the sun. Although I do not use them all the same my warm congratulations to their owners for their selfless service to the public.

In all my essays I have tried to be civil in my language and as much as possible restrict myself to ideas. I do not claim that my ideas are the best. Rather they are the little contributions of a man whose father’s name does not ring bell in Igbo land and by extension Nigeria . In presenting them to the reading public I am humble enough to recognize the right of others to hold contrary views to mine. I do not claim to know it all because no man knows it all no matter the dept and profundity of his knowledge. It was in appreciation of these facts that I started by giving my background in my first outing so that I would not be misunderstood. However, in saying so I did not present myself as a dunderhead or intellectually lilliputian who could not hold any personal opinion. In all my essays I have been consistent in my advocacy of realism as opposed to euphoric idealism in Igbo politics. In doing so, I hold the view that Ndiigbo must know where we are coming from. We know where we are. We also know where we want to be. Our problem, it would appear to me, is that we are not agreed on where we are coming from. Therefore, when we realistically agree on where we are coming from having known where we are, we will be able to get to where we want to be. If I am dubious for saying so, let Ndiigbo judge.

I am an Igbo man and a Nigerian. I have said this over and over again for those who are in doubt about my origins; I mean those who think I must fit into their warped idea of me. I have a good understanding of Nigerian politics, both contemporary and otherwise. I have watched and witnessed Nigerian politics as well as read some from the pages of books, magazines and newspapers. I can recall with clarity political events, which took place since I began to read and write. I was a young man when the Nigerian civil war broke out. Like most able-bodied men in Igbo land then, I answered the call of duty to defend my people from extermination. I did not do it half-heartedly. I threw in everything into it with the hope that all would be well in the end. Unfortunately, in the end we were all disappointed. The war ended in 1970. Since then I have come to appreciate certain things which as a freedom fighter I did not know from the trenches about our struggle for independence. Besides, since the end of the war I have watched with shock the consequences of the events, which took place between 1966 and 1970. Worse still, the dismal performance of our leaders in Nigerian politics has left many wondering where the pragmatism of Ndiigbo for which we were known before the war had gone. If this makes me dubious, let Ndiigbo judge.

No Igbo man, no matter his disagreement with the Biafran leadership, was happy that we lost the war. As a person, I had no political quarrels with anybody during the war. I carried out instructions given by my superior officers. Besides having to stop schooling for the period of the war, my family lost its third son in action. My twin brother was near fatally wounded in the neck. I was wounded in the stomach. My father’s sixth son was wounded in the leg. Shrapnel lodged there remained until his untimely death in 2000. In my wildest imaginations, I am yet to discovered what any Igbo man stood to gain from the collapse of Biafra . If anything, whatever such Igbo man stood to gain was no more than crumbs from the table of the north and Yoruba land. Events after the war proved this beyond any reasonable doubt. In any case, I am not one such Igbo man. My involvement and that of my family was total. We supported Biafra till the end. If I am dubious for supporting the Biafran cause till the end, let Ndiigbo judge.

In the run up to the general elections of 2003 many concerned people assessed and freely expressed opinions about the performance of the various ethnic nationalities including Ndiigbo. One will call to mind here that incumbent president, Obasanjo, had sought re-election. Former military head of state, Buhari, was also seeking election on the platform of the All Nigerian People’s Party, ANPP. His choice as the party’s flag bearer left many top Igbo notchers of the party in the cold. The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, fielded Obasanjo. Then, several politicians of Igbo extraction who did not find accommodation in the PDP or the ANPP decided to go their separate ways and floated their own parties and eventually became their flag bearers. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Ikemba Nnewi, erstwhile Biafran leader, floated the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and expectedly became its flag bearer. Ojukwu’s formation of APGA coupled with the emergence of several other parties led by Igbo politicians raised concern among several people who felt that the elections could become inconclusive and eventually lead to a run-off between the two candidates with the most votes. Then it was widely believed that going by the conduct of the party’s primaries the ANPP was the party of the north. On the other hand, the PDP had been adopted by the Yoruba, not on principle but on circumstance-they had suddenly realized that Obasanjo was one of them. The Yoruba made it clear that they would vote for Obasanjo to ensure his victory. As a result, AD would not field any presidential candidate. On the other hand, the PDP was bound to benefit from the Atiku factor in the north. Therefore, while the PDP would sweep the southwest because of the capitulation of Yoruba politicians in AD, the party was guaranteed a foothold in the north. Predictably, ANPP and PDP would win the most votes and then go for run-off since neither of them could win outright in the first round of voting. Fears were expressed that in the event of a run-off, ANPP could win. And victory for ANPP was not considered to be in the best interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. The reasons for this conclusion were not far fetched. One, Buhari’s romance with the advocates of sharia in the north left many wondering if his mission was not to capture power for Islam in a country with more than one faith. Recall here that he was reported to have advised Muslims not to vote for anybody who did not share their faith. Two, victory for Buhari would return Nigeria to the intimidating power of the mallam who ruined Nigeria under IBB and Abacha. Buhari, in spite of his pretensions to discipline and moral rectitude, was a staunch supporter of the Abacha family in their fight to retain the loot of our collective wealth by their father. Three, returning power to the north through Buhari was not in the spirit of power shift to the south after many years of monopoly by the north. Four, our democracy was too young and fragile to hand over to a man whose iron fist rule of the country in uniform evokes nightmares.

Therefore, to prevent Buhari from winning power was the desire of many who wished Nigeria well, i.e., those who were opposed to Buhari’s agenda for Nigeria . One way to stop him in his tracts was to ensure that the southeast with its sizeable population should vote for the PDP to give it victory in the first round. However, this could not be possible if Igbo votes were to be split among the several Igbo contestants. That was why Professor Omo Omoruyi characterized the Igbo contestants as spoilers, if they were bent on contesting. I agreed with him. In agreeing with him, I was conscious of the above reasons why Buhari should be stopped from winning the election in addition to the fact that although Ndiigbo tended to believe that the north ‘loved’ us the bitter truth was that it was under the leadership of the north since the end of the war that Ndiigbo were systematically marginalized in Nigeria. How many times have we been dispossessed and killed in the north? The records are there for anybody to see.

Also, in agreeing with Omoruyi, I argued that presenting several presidential candidates was a manifestation of poverty of leadership, which had been our bane since the end of the war. I gave instances where Ndiigbo lacked effective leadership in national issues of importance to them. The indigenization programme of the early seventies, the creation of states, managing our relationship with our neighbours in the former eastern Nigeria , Igbo obsession with Lagos , etc, were cited. Besides, I did express my disappointment with the role of Odumegwu Ojukwu in the attempt to foist Buhari on Nigerians. I bemoaned the fact that in spite of our past achievements in education, bureaucracy, commerce, science and technology, and even the military before the war, Ndiigbo were being asked by a Bini whose contemporaries were among the second or third generation of Igbo intellectuals to put their house in order to enable them achieve their potentials in Nigeria. If my analyses in the preceding three paragraphs make me dubious, let Ndiigbo judge.

By the way, what is wrong with Ojukwu’s bid for power? Democracy, they say, is a game of numbers. Since the colonial days, the north has arrogantly claimed superiority in numbers compared to the south including Ndiigbo and the Yoruba. Any head count in Nigeria , which did not allocate more people to the north was rejected. And since the north has controlled the levers of power no accurate head count has been carried out in the country until today. The attitude of the north to the national ID card scheme speaks volume about their desire to use sparsely populated large landmass to determine the population of Nigeria . Consequently, the numerical ‘superiority’ of the north has been used in the past to determine the outcome of national elections. There was no reason for anybody to think that 2003 would be an exception.

Secondly, pre war eastern Nigeria in which Igbo influence held sway no longer existed. The old east had been carved up into nine states four of which were dominated by forces hostile to Igbo electoral interests.

Thirdly, to non Igbo Nigerians, Ojukwu was and still remains the arrowhead of Igbo assertiveness, which they are unwilling to accommodate or tolerate. To these Nigerians, Ojukwu’s quest for power could not be for anything else but to advance the cause, which he had pursued in the past. Let me explain further here. I am aware of non Igbo Nigerians who admire Ojukwu’s intelligence, guts and foresight. These Nigerians, unfortunately, are not found amongst those who determine the course of events in our country. Even though they constitute the majority, their powerlessness vis-à-vis those who wield state power and in consequence take decisions on their behalf makes their perceptions and desires irrelevant. In other words, the outcome of any contest for power in a developing country such as ours is not determined by the actions or inactions of the voiceless majority. This is the sad reality of our situation today. Those who decide for the rest of us do not want Ojukwu to steer the ship of state. Gowon said as much on a BBC programme. In recognition of this fact, late Philip Effiong, erstwhile second in command in Biafra , did not present himself as a leader to his people let alone Nigeria . Although Ojukwu and his former deputy may not be match in leadership attributes I consider Effiong more realistic in his assessment of post war Nigerian contest for power.

My argument was that Ojukwu could not win, even if the silent majority of Nigerians, Ndiigbo inclusive, voted for him. Let Ndiigbo judge if I am dubious for saying what I said above.

For saying so, Peter Opara descended on me and called me names. I was conflicted, efulefu, of unknown pedigree in Igbo land and much more. I was a bastard and Igbo in name only. He wondered why I should talk about Ojukwu and went to town to remind me of Ojukwu’s background-son of Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, the first indigenous millionaire in Africa; born with silver spoons in his mouth; the first Igbo man to attend Kings College, Lagos as well as Oxford University in England; the Igbo essence whose wisdom could rival that of King Solomon; eloquent as Cicero; and anointed by God to rule Ndiigbo and indeed Nigeria. He gave me a lengthy lecture on the civil war and how against all odds Biafra prevailed over the combined military might of former Soviet Union , Britain and the rest of Nigeria minus Ndiigbo. Ojukwu prosecuted the war with his father’s resources. Who else could speak and lead Ndiigbo but him? If I doubted him I should consult the verbatim reports of the Aburi negotiations where Ojukwu distinguished himself.

I was shocked. I read his essay over and over again to understand the thrust of his argument. When I realized that all he was after was to be counted among Ojukwu’s fans and praise singers, I sent a satirical rejoinder to him in which I praised his ‘hero’ to the high heavens. I thought that would make him happy and send him running after his ‘hero’ like a drenched chicken pursuing its owner for a morsel of food. No, that was not enough. Anybody who made any mention of Ojukwu without ascribing the creation of Ndiigbo to him had not done enough and became a ready target of abuse by Peter Opara. Any regular visitor to kwenu website will confirm this. As he abused so did he curse those he disagreed with. Calling others unprintable names became his past time. Yet, peter Opara laid claim to much learning in United States of America where he is domiciled. He is a communications consultant, a media analyst, an author, an expert on military strategy and history and of course the only living authority on Ndiigbo and Ojukwu. I thought learning freed the mind from ignorance and polished individuals. Not for Peter Opara. Even without much learning environment alone can influence people. Therefore, if he has lived in the US for God-knows-how-long, how come the most enlightened environment in the world has not affected him? Is there any difference between him and the wine-taper in his village? In spite of his claim to much learning he is, to me, a Danda in a public arena.

I challenged Peter Opara to prove that at the time of declaration of independence Biafra was well equipped to take on Nigeria . I reminded him that when the guns silenced on 15^th January 1970 the end was not negotiated. We lost on the battlefield. The outcome of the war made us a glorified minority in Nigeria . As a result, we lost control and influence in the Nigerian armed forces. The fact that young officers of Igbo origin could plan and successfully execute a coup d’etait in Nigeria in January 1966 showed our reach and influence then. In the post war Nigerian military politics we were collectively demoted. A Major represented Ndiigbo in the highest ruling body where the north and Yoruba land could boast of Generals. We lost out in the civil service. We lost the control of the economy. Igbo land, which served as the main theatres of war, did not receive the attention it required to rebuild it, after the war. Our properties in some areas outside Igbo land were declared abandoned and seized. Education lay in ruins in Igbo land. If I have misrepresented the facts, let Ndiigbo judge.

I went on to argue that given the realities of post civil war Nigeria , our approach to politics ought to be defined by our interests, permanent interests painstakingly articulated. Operating from a position of disadvantage, we needed to deploy everything in our wits so that we could have the best for ourselves. Therefore, any group that could serve our interests, so realistically defined, should receive our support. Our interests include political rehabilitation, by which we mean being able to go for and win the highest office in the land, which has been shut out to us since the end of the war; rehabilitation of infrastructure including roads, communications, etc; restructuring the country to reflect a true federation, amongst others. I explained that a realistic assessment of the political situation prior to the 2003 elections showed that tagging along Buhari in the mistaken belief that the north was our permanent friend would not help us. In doing so I was not ignorant of the fact that political predictions were like permutations, which depended on chance. I did not leave any one in any illusion that voting for Obasanjo would transform Igbo land into an Eldorado. My position was that Ndiigbo were faced with two choices and that we should be realistic and objective in making up our minds. To me Obasanjo appeared the lesser of the two evils. Little did Omoruyi or I know that Obasanjo had perfected plans to massively rig the elections. Otherwise, there would not have been any need to advise Ndiigbo on how to go about the elections since the outcome had been predetermined by Mr. Fix it, Anenih. I am not contradicting myself here. I argued above that the silent majority, in our context, would not be allowed to make the difference. Here, let us recognize political tendencies, which make the silent majority irrelevant. In this regard, Buhari represented one faction of the two prominent tendencies in the new north. In my estimation I did not come near to the conclusion that this tendency could so easily be routed by the Yoruba tendency using Anenih as the hatchet man. I expected a tough battle involving the two in which power of incumbency could be applied in acceptable measure to tilt the scale in favour of Obasanjo. Instead, what we saw on 19^th April 2003 was like rolling out the tanks to take on unarmed, stone throwing university students demonstrating against poor feeding. If we had not volunteered our honest advice all the name-calling and curses by Peter Opara would not have arisen. Initially, I thought that our misunderstanding was on facts and ideas and was nothing personal. As such I excused his ignorance of how to conduct himself in public. I pleaded with him time and time again that we were and are still pursing the same objective of finding a lasting solution to the plight of our people in Nigeria . I was not a hireling doing any person’s hatchet job. Sometime last year, Omoruyi advised the governors of the south south to embrace any politician who agrees to their demand for resource control come 2007. He did not exclude anybody. Whoever sees it the way the south south sees it, so be it. That is, he is recommending for the people of south south to pursue their permanent interests and not to fool themselves into believing that A is their permanent friend or that B is their eternal enemy. This is pragmatism. If suggesting that our people should be pragmatic in contemporary Nigeria makes me dubious, let Ndiigbo judge.

What is my offence in taking a stand on issues concerning the future of Ndiigbo? Is it my background, i.e., that I do not hold a PhD or because my father was not a notable Igbo man? With all modesty, I have more learning than some of our current political leaders, who flash certificates purchased from Ochanja market in Onitsha , Dugbe market in Ibadan or kasuwa nama in Kano . Prior to 1999 who heard of Achike Udenwa or Dr. Chimaroke Nnamanni? Was Orji Uzo Kalu’s father a politician? In fact, if we are to face the facts, none of the current governors of the five Igbo-speaking states is the son of a former frontline Igbo politician. At the national level, with the possible exceptions of Saraki (Kwara) and Igbinedieon, the scion of the billionaire family from Okada (Edo) all the governors have humble beginnings. Are we going to diminish their importance and their contributions because they are progenies of unknown political personalities?

On the contrary, I have high regard for Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi. Everybody knows he is a man deserving of respect. His comfortable background, his education and his wartime leadership of Ndiigbo all make him a man deserving of respect. However, that Ojukwu is a respectable man does not mean he is infallible or above mistakes. Only God almighty is infallible. But Ojukwu is human. He is not a god and has not asked anybody to portray him so. Therefore, if he does not regarded himself as a god, why should anybody, in a show of Taliban loyalty, with the mindset of a Muslim fundamentalist, a terrorist and a suicide bomber, portray him as such? I made the ‘mistake’ of saying that with the benefit of hindsight, the events of 1966-70 could have been handled differently. I believe that by declaring independence in response to the creation of states by Gowon, without adequate preparations in terms of numbers of men under arms as well as provision of weapons for our defence, we plunged ourselves into a war. By saying so, I did not imply nor will I ever suggest that we were not entitled to defend ourselves against aggression. Secondly, I hold the view that by declaring independence, we appeared before the international community, as rebels instead of people resisting extermination. I cited the case of the Tamils of northern and northeast Sri Lanka , who have been fighting for an independent homeland for over ten years without declaring independence. Ditto for the people of the southern Sudan who are being forced to accept Islamic ways of life by the Arabs who control power in the Sudan . Being forced back into Nigeria after proclamation of independence with our grievances aggravated led to loss of face.

And now the issue of Eze Igbo Gburugburu. I have had occasion to question the wisdom in crowning himself Eze Igbo Gburugburu by Ojukwu. I am an Igbo man, as I have said over and over. I am entitled to express my opinion on who represents me, in whatever capacity. Elementary Igbo history shows that Ndiigbo did not have strong centralized traditional authorities like the Yoruba. However, Ndiigbo woke up one morning to hear that Ojukwu had crowned himself Eze Igbo Gburugburu. When he was asked to explain how he came about the title he answered that he found it lying waste and decided to pick it. Is that not being clever by half? Where on earth do people find titles lying waste like that? And in any case, Eze Igbo Gburugburu has never existed before. So the question of it lying waste would not arise. If it were lying waste, who was the last occupant? As the title connotes, an Eze Igbo Gburugburu is the father of Ndiigbo. Every Igbo man, including yours truly, should owe allegiance to the holder of such title. All the countless traditional rulers in Igbo land with the exception of a few were created by the British colonial administration. None of them can lay claim to being the father of Ndiigbo gburugburu because they do not qualify as such. If none of them can do such a thing, how can somebody without any trace of even the white man induced blue blood lay such claim? If Ndiigbo decide to have a strong central traditional authority, there is nothing wrong with it. Our society is not static. Our egalitarian past cannot hold us hostage today. The truth, however, is that at no time did Ndiigbo decide to have such strong central traditional authority. Even at a smaller unit, no decision was ever taken by, say, the people of Anambra state, his home state, to crown him Eze Igbo of Anambra state, not to talk of Igbo Gburugburu. As far as I can remember, it is only among the Bini, the Idoma, Igala, Tiv, Itsekiri, Nupe, Angas, Ebira, Birom and countless ethnic minorities that such centralized traditional authorities exist. Even then these centralized traditional authorities have been in existence for quite a considerable time. Besides, these are small ethnic nationalities, not comparable to the Igbo, after all Ndiigbo know their peers in Nigeria. The Hausa/Fulani do not have Sarki Hausa/Fulani duka (I am not sure of the word.). The supreme position of the Sultan of Sokoto derives legitimacy from religion. All Muslims regard as well as revere him as the spiritual head of Muslims in Nigeria and even beyond the borders of this country. Nor do the Yoruba have Oba Yoruba Gbuegbueru (?). Yet, they have long history of strong traditional authorities. We are all aware of the rivalry between the Ooni of Ife and the Alafin of Oyo over who is supreme in Yoruba land. Therefore, for one man to wake up to declare himself Eze Igbo Gburugburu is an insult to our collective identity, for a number of reasons. In the first place, Ojukwu’s Eze Igbo Gburugburu has no palace. It is not located anywhere in Igbo land. Secondly, it has no authority and therefore does not enjoy the loyalty of its supposed subjects. It cannot speak for Ndiigbo without challenge. Thirdly, Eze Igbo Gburugburu as a traditional institution is not and should not be involved in active politics. The occupant is a father to all Igbo sons and daughters. He cannot run them down publicly. As a chicken protects its brood with its wings, he protects all of his subjects. Errant ones are pulled to the palace and corrected. His involvement in politics can only be covert. He is expected to work behind the scene to promote the best for his subjects. Fourthly, he cannot go on errands for government of the day in his private capacity. When he is called upon to undertake any assignment for the government it is taken that Ndiigbo gburugburu are on assignment for the government. Ojukwu lives in his family house at Enugu or in Lagos. He is an active politician whose political interests often conflict with those of other politicians of Igbo origin. Ojukwu enjoys little if any leverage over these Igbo sons and daughters who see him as rival.

Therefore, my grouse with the Eze Igbo Gburugburu title is that it compounds our identity crisis. Today, when an Igbo traditional ruler duly chosen by his people is not donning a Yoruba Oba regalia, he is wearing a Bini Oba own or that of the Emir of Zauzau! Let us see this Eze Igbo Gburugburu for what it is: our brother, our leader loves controversy. Otherwise, if he has to be king of Ndiigbo on account of his comfortable background and his role during the civil war, does he realize that Ndiigbo are not done with the wars of survival? Do we know who our next leader will be? What will be his price? Anukwu Ngwudungwu, anukwu no n’azu!! If I am dubious for saying so, let Ndiigbo judge.

In history, those they led, sacrificed for and were even ready to lay down their lives for them have recognized selfless leaders. In this class was the rugged revolutionary Ho Chin Minh who led the North Vietnamese against a formidable enemy, the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America. In recognition of his vision and selflessness, Saigon, former capital city of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chin Minh City. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were all great American leaders who were honoured by their country. Bismarck, Churchill, Ben Gurion, Atarturk, Mao Zedong, etc were great leaders who were also honoured by their people. His country has honoured the greatest African in living memory, the African living legend, Nelson Mandela. Now, compare these names with Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, Jeremiah Useni, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Oladipo Diya, Mike Akhigbe, and the coterie of self-seeking leaders who imposed themselves on Nigerians from 1985 to 1999. They went about naming all manner of monuments after themselves without regard for the judgement of history. What makes Ojukwu different from them, if he has to choose how Ndiigbo should honour him? No matter his shortcomings, Zik was a humble leader. In any case, what we often refer to, as his shortcomings are nothing more than his refusal to be a tribal leader. If his vision for Nigeria had been allowed to flourish by the caliphate there would not have been any agitation for Biafra. He lived ahead of his time. He was humble enough to reject the idea of naming UNN after him. He built the university. Even his national outlook showed eloquently in the choice of name for the only university in the east then. He could have called it Nnamdi Azikiwe University as Ahmadu Bello did in the north. He could have called it University of the East or Oriental University or simply University of Nsukka. Zik sited the university at Nsukka, a glorified village then, instead of his hometown of Onitsha. Many leaders who came after him behaved differently. The only grievance Ndiigbo hold against Zik is that when he realized that Awo and Ahmadu Bello were pursuing ethnic and regional agendas instead of national he should have made a u-turn to concentrate on his immediate constituency. Whatever we may say against him one thing is certain: he was genuinely a humble man. He did not proclaim to the rooftops that he knew it all and that only him had the answers to the problems of Ndiigbo in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s leaders since the end of the war have come from a particular part of the country, the north. All of us are not happy with it, hence the cries of maginalizations from the aggrieved quarters. The sustained campaign to make this a national problem earned the Yoruba their present privileged position in the country. Naturally, Ndiigbo expect that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. They want a shot at the highest office in the land. But the president of Nigeria from Igbo land will not be president for Ndiigbo only. His constituency is the entire country, which will elect him or her. Now, the question, which arises, is this: Is the best Igbo material for this exalted national office Odumegwu Ojukwu? My answer now as in the past is no. In saying so, I do not in anyway question Ojukwu’s sterling leadership qualities. Rather, what I am saying is that Ndiigbo have to be realistic. Ojukwu as an Igbo leader is not in doubt. He has a place in the history of Ndiigbo and indeed Ndi Nigeria. But I hold this opinion that the events of Biafra, unfortunate as they were and justified to us, count heavily against Ojukwu’s leadership aspirations. Therefore, his choice as the Igbo president of Nigeria begs the question of his acceptability to the establishment. Ask our former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon. I was careful in my choice of words here. Like I said earlier, if the silent majority of Nigerians were allowed to freely choose their leaders Ojukwu would beat IBB in Minna! But that Nigeria, the ideal Nigeria, is still a dream. Therefore, the odds are heavily stacked against Ojukwu’s leadership aspirations. Although I will vote for him any day the population disadvantage of Ndiigbo makes my vote of no effect. I will therefore not be surprised if IBB beats Ojukwu come 2007. In fact, only IBB and Atiku are being mentioned as candidates to watch in 2007. That will tally with the desires of the establishment. Hank Eso recently categorized Ojukwu’s expected participation in the political process come 2007 a recurring decimal. If I am dubious for making these points, let Ndiigbo judge.

If Ojukwu is ruled out of the contest for Nigerian leadership on behalf of Ndiigbo for the reasons given above, does it mean we cannot produce a leader acceptable to the establishment? We can and should produce him/her so that the argument of the establishment that our material is unacceptable will be deflated. By so doing the truth will be established that the establishment does not want an Igbo man, Ojukwu or anyone for that matter, there. But right now, with Ojukwu active in the field of play the argument is that we are not serious. Let us do the right thing and deny our opponents any justification for excluding us from national leadership. But when we continue to brand our emerging young leaders 419ners because they are not Ojukwu we play into the hands of our opponents. Let Ndiigbo judge if this makes me dubious.

Nobody chooses his neighbours. We are stuck with the reality that our neighbours happen to be the Ijaw, Ibibio, Efik, Ogoja, etc. These ethnic nationalities shared the same region with us before and after independence. The civil war ended all that. I support improving our relationship with them. They are not happy with us. Whatever are their reasons our leaders should engage their leaders.

The bible enjoins us to live in peace with all men. I believe that there is no human problem that cannot be solved by humans if only we adopt give and take. Our neighbours are important to us as we are to them. They may not have realized this. We were before the war one leg of the tripod. In spite of being sidelined by official policy of neglect we are still a formidable force. Notwithstanding, their handicap and our weakness relative to the north and Yoruba land are worsened by lack of unity between us. Together, we produce over fifty percent of Nigeria’s oil wealth. Yet, less than twenty percent of it is utilized in the east. Is this in our best interest? Definitely no. Therefore, let us put in motion machinery for resolving our differences. There may actually not be anything of substance dividing us. It could be mere misperceptions. Let us reach out to them. I do not recommend prostrating to them or any group for that matter. By the time they realize that working with us is in our mutual interests then we will no longer allow ourselves to be exploited. The rumblings in the Niger delta provide us with a golden opportunity to exploit to straighten our relationship with our neighbours. If preaching understanding is being dubious, let Ndiigbo judge.

I have said elsewhere that politics is a game of numbers. We do not have the population strength to win power on our own. We must reach out to others whose numerical strength could be of help to us. An alliance between the Yoruba and the north could be detrimental to our political aspirations. We can forestall this by embracing both sides.

What is wrong with putting our house in order? The Yoruba are doing just that. They want a Yoruba Oba of Ilorin. They are reaching out to the Yoruba in present Kwara and Kogi states. Even the Hausa/Fulani, aware of the importance of unity, are busy trying to reinvent the old north that intimidated the rest of Nigeria. Arewa was formed to reverse one of the most tangible gains of Obasanjo’s presidency: the middle belt identity. The political and military strength of the north lies with the middle belt. Arewa is a serious business as is its brief. That explains why political strange bedfellows such as MD Yusuf, Balarabe Musa will find a common ground with such political extremists as Umaru Dikko, Wada Nas, Tanko Yakassi, etc. If all these understand the importance of unity what is wrong in uniting Ndiigbo? If unity is no longer strength, then I am dubious.

After the election of new leadership of Ohaneze Ndiigbo under Professor Irukwu troublemakers went to town to say that Ndiigbo across the Niger are not of the Igbo stock. In response I argued in a letter to Honourable Emma Okocha that Ndiigbo know themselves because Igbo blood flows in their veins and arteries. Besides, if other Nigerians know them and treat them as Ndiigbo especially during crisis, was it not futile denying their origins? Why should the collapse of Biafra cause Ndiigbo to feel ashamed of their Igbo identity? I dismissed the idea of mainstream and periphery Ndiigbo as unrealistic and uncalled for because Ndiigbo no matter where they come from are one and the same. If my position here can be faulted, then I am dubious.

Ndiigbo are achievers anywhere any day. The presence of Igbo sons and daughters in the United States of America and elsewhere can attest to it. But do we have to shout ourselves hoarse to proclaim to the whole world that we are making progress? Are the Yoruba not making progress? Are the Hausa/Fulani not making progress? Both the Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulani have used the oil drilled in our backyard to better the lot of their people. I do not support blowing our trumpets. It has earned us a lot of hate and suspicion from our fellow Nigerians. Ndiigbo, especially the newly rich, are very noisy. A visit to Lagos will reveal the arrogance of our people. Nigeria belongs to all of us. I agree. But are we saying that Lagos has become our enclave? I do not think it serves our best interest to antagonize those who have allowed us to settle down peacefully in their midst. Why can’t Ndiigbo diversify? The consumer can travel miles upon miles to get a particular product. It does not have to be supplied from Lagos. We have failed to impact positively on the politics of Lagos because of poverty of leadership. Otherwise, with our population strength in the state-we are the second largest ethnic group in Lagos-why have we been excluded from the state’s government consistently? Instead of a pragmatic approach we want to produce the governor of the state. We could not do so in western Nigeria when the presence of the white man was a unifying factor. Now, with heightened micro nationalism, perhaps we can do it and thereafter go for the Obaship. The Nigeria this belongs to is yet to be born. If I am wrong, then I am dubious.

Biafra as a geographical entity does not exist today. Ojukwu has said it over and over in the past. Anybody who believes to the contrary is living in delusion. Biafra is of the mind. But this Biafra of the mind can become territorial tomorrow. In the meantime we have one and only one country we can call our own, Nigeria. We cannot be stateless. We have to belong to some entity, a geographical entity, which provides us security, and other services that a state provides its citizens. We travel on Nigerian passports, for instance. I think we should do our best to make Nigeria work. But it fails to work as evident from the tragedy of leadership that has been its lot, then we will be too glad to sing its requiem. As of now, Biafra will come naturally without firing a shot if all the federating units decide that Nigeria, like a child that has refused to grow, is unworkable. Please, take note of the caveat I introduced for the Biafra of the future to become a reality: all the federating units decide. It is impossible for us Ndiigbo to spring a surprise now to establish our dream republic, without the active support of strategically placed Nigerians who feel as aggrieved as we do. The loss of Yoruba land to the north during the counter coup of 1966 cost us Biafra. Let Ndiigbo judge if I am dubious for saying so.

The important question then becomes, Will those who are benefiting from the current situation in the country agree to dismember it? The obvious answer is no. If you doubt it ask the agitators of the sovereign national conference and the youths of the Niger delta. They are in a better position to speak on it. What is national dialogue? Is it not a smokescreen to buy time for those who have consistently refused to discuss the national question? Let the Ikemba Nnewi, Chekwas Okorie and Ralph Uwazurike lead the Igbo delegation. Peter Opara can join them from US. Like the Oputa Panel Report, students of power politics will consult the proceedings of the national dialogue in the shelves of the Cabinet Secretariat where they will be left to gather dust.

The other point I would like to address here is that Ndiigbo; I mean those who use the Internet, lack tact in their approach to issues. We make reckless statements on the Internet about Biafra. This is not necessary. When we make such reckless statements before crossing the bridge we scare those whose help will be crucial to us in future. Whatever we have in mind concerning Biafra should not be broadcast on the Internet. We should hold it and guard it jealously. Otherwise by making so much noise about it we attract unnecessary attention from our compatriots who have not for one day trusted us. If Obasanjo used the army against the Ijaw at Odi and the Tiv at Zaki Biam, what stops him from being more mean and heartless in Igbo land? Let us not stand in the way of a moving train. If I am dubious for saying so, let Ndiigbo judge.

In my view, it is wrong to think that once a leader, always a leader. The exigencies of the moment determine who leads. In the war situation, Ojukwu had leadership thrust upon his shoulders. The situation is different today. We are looking for Igbo leaders who are young, energetic and schooled in today’s realities of Ndiigbo in Nigeria of today. It smacks of arrogance for anybody to say that only one person can lead Ndiigbo, despite the obvious difficulties. It has been said time and again that Ojukwu steps forward because there is nobody who could lead Ndiigbo. My reading of this statement is that it is a hangover from the Biafran days. Ojukwu has done his bit when duty called. At 70 plus years he should bow out gracefully. Post war realities of Nigerian politics have nothing to do with pedigree or comfortable background of anybody. We are talking hard politics. How do we get Ndiigbo back on the driving seat? This is the question every true Igbo son and daughter have to answer objectively. By saying this I am not ruling out experienced old men and women from Igbo leadership. We mean business. Let us not give the impression that we are only interested in controversies. If calling a spade a spade makes me dubious, let Ndiigbo judge.

We cannot be stampeded into another war when our situation now compared to 1966-70 is utterly hopeless. In 1966 we controlled the whole of the east. Our brothers from across the Niger controlled the present edo and delta states. These advantages, for obvious reasons, did not translate to a separate state for us. Today, we are bottled up in our homeland. Since the end of the war, Ndiigbo from across the Niger are discriminated in recruitment into the Nigerian armed forces. Ask Ngozi Asonya. Until recently, there were only two Igbo speaking states as compared to four for the Yoruba and six or eight for the Hausa/Fulani. Applying quota across the board, for every twenty Igbo sons admitted to train at the Nigerian Defence Academy, the Yoruba could boast of forty and the Hausa/Fulani sixty or eighty. There is more federal presence in Igbo land in terms of security men than in any other geopolitical zone. Strangely enough there is no strategic military location in Igbo land. This is not an oversight. If I have misrepresented facts here I am dubious.

Successive northern and Yoruba governments have destroyed education in Nigeria. Who are the worst victims? How many private schools are in Igbo land today? Ndiigbo who have been empowered by the north or the Yoruba (Ubah, Emeka Offor et al) have no interest in such things. They would rather use their empowerment to intimidate and ridicule Ndiigbo. Yet, the Yoruba, our fellow travellers on the education highway, can boast of more than four private universities while our young men indulge in 419 and drug dealing. But has any society made progress while paying lip service to education? Today, education has taken the back seat to inordinate desire for material acquisitions. Our value system has been turned on its head. Our young men must make it at Ladipo, Alaba International, Idumota and every corner of Nigeria where buying and selling hold sway. Those left out of these places must make it abroad. Ndiigbo are now found in such places as far flung as Albania, Iceland, Laos and even North Korea! Once again, let Ndiigbo judge.

Ndiigbo have been strident in their cries against maginalizations. Imperfect as our federation now is, Igbo sons have been at the helm of affairs in the five Igbo speaking Igbo states since 1999. What is their scorecard like? A medical doctor swore to a fetish oath so as to rule at all cost. Barnabas Igwe was murdered with his wife in cold blood because of their views on the disgrace in Anambra state. OGB was murdered at his Owerri residence. He was a former commissioner in Achike Udenwa government. He left the government and declared interest in the Orlu senatorial seat. He had to be silenced. The Ugwu family in Nkanu local government area of Enugu state will not know peace until Chimaroke Nnamani, a specialist medical practitioner turned politician, leaves the government house. Is the story different in poverty stricken Ebonyi state? What of Abia state?

That Ndiigbo had eight presidential candidates in 2003 spoke volume about our seriousness. While the Yoruba were able to rein in their politicians even from different parties the north under the ANPP rallied under Buhari. As 2007 approaches we are busy jostling for the second fiddle. Unfortunately, the Ikemba who has the guts is not a winning material. Have the gods a hand in our predicament? I mean, is our situation not like the proverbial case where the sacrifice is unavailable when the native doctor is available and suddenly appears when he disappears-ahu dibie ahugh okuko conundrum?

Yes, I preach realism in Igbo land. I preach tolerance. I preach peace. I preach pragmatism. This much I have said in the foregoing paragraphs and much more in my several write-ups. If they make me dubious I am glad to wear the tag. I do not advocate that Ndiigbo should prostate to anybody in Nigeria. I understand the importance of political bridge building in a country like ours. No group is our permanent enemy or friend. Our interests, short term or otherwise, should define our relationship with other groups in the country. This is no weakness. Similarly, calling other ethnic groups names, attacking anybody whose views we do not like will not win us friends. It is not a show of strength.

I am convinced beyond doubt that Ndiigbo need deliverance. PDP massively rigged the 2003 elections nationwide except in those areas where they were out rigged as in Lagos and some of the sharia states in the north. Unfortunately, in Igbo land the PDP out rigged other parties. But my concern is with the aftermaths of the elections. In states outside Igbo land, the governors who were rigged into office were allowed to carry on with the business of governance without interference from their political godfathers. It was only in Igbo land that a son of the soil sold his conscience and made his state ungovernable. If I am dubious for saying so, let me wear the tag.

Besides, since January 1966 we have found ourselves in situations, sometimes difficult to explain, with negative consequences for us. From the intervention of soldiers of Igbo origin in Yoruba land purely on patriotism, the hurried declaration of independence, the Midwest debacle, international conspiracy and the predictable outcome of the war, the decisions of the federal government to humiliate Ndiigbo in defeat, the internal contradictions in Igbo land such as the mindless pursuit of money in preference to education, lacklustre leadership, intolerance, a house divided, etc, point to the need for divine intervention in our affairs. Being dubious for saying so? Let Ndiigbo judge.

Today, Ndiigbo like to be called the Jews of Nigeria as well as the Jews of Africa. Can a Jew trick his brother to South Africa and leave him stranded there? Can a Jew strike Otokoto type of deal? Can a Jew destroy any part of Israel because of political investment? The Jews are dead serious with education. They know its importance and can go to any length to achieve it. They combine trading with education. They know that deadly enemies who demand nothing less than their blood surround them. Therefore, they not only go to sleep with one eye open they go on the offensive to avoid mistakes. The Jewish global network is very much alive. It makes friends where necessary. The survival of the state of Israel is its raison d’etre. Now, we have World Igbo Congress, patterned after World Jewish Congress. If the facilitators of WIC were indeed fired by the ideals of WJC I expect them to take far-reaching decisions on behalf of Ndiigbo. Onye zara iheoma n’ahu, ya me we iheoma. For instance, what is wrong in WIC endorsing Ohaneze Ndiigbo as the umbrella Igbo Cultural Organization which every Igbo man and woman has automatic membership? By so doing and attaching itself to the Organization as its intellectually wing WIC will confer on Ohaneze Ndiigbo the stamp of legitimacy, which it presently lacks. I am sure that WIC is full of ideas. But the problem it has with Ohaneze is that preferred Igbo sons and daughters do not belong to the Organization. Besides, I expected WIC to fan out of its base, the US, to other centres of concentration of Ndiigbo. I will be surprised to discover any country in southern Africa without a good number of Igbo university teachers. Why not reach out to them and encourage them to establish branches or chapters of WIC? The contribution of intellectuals (I mean genuine intellectuals, not quacks like Peter Opara) to resolve the Igbo question should not be underestimated. Also, is it not possible to have Ohaneze down to the village level? Village chapters will serve useful roles in steering the Igbo nation out of the morass we have found ourselves in. Education is in dire need of revival. The increasing efflux of Igbo youth from Nigeria requires urgent attention. Everybody has to be rich but must it be at all costs? I wish to recognize the high regard accorded Ndiigbo in the Diaspora, especially those who live in the US. They can contribute a lot to restoring sanity to our land where everybody has become an authority of his own. I know I am treading a minefield here. I am not doing so because I love controversy. I am doing it out of genuine concern for my kinsmen. Let anybody who has superior ideas explain to me and I will be glad to acknowledge it. I will not call the person names. I am ready to learn.

Kwenu reserves the right not to publish me, for whatever reasons. But I owe the website no apology whatsoever. Owners of Kwenu are Ndiigbo. I do not expect them to sit on the fence, no matter how altruistic their mission. This is only natural.

Let me therefore conclude with the following parable. A family was blessed with a very ugly child. Against all expectations, it called the child Onyeoma, the beautiful one. One day, a man from far away visited the family. When he heard the name of the child he wondered how Onyeojo, the ugly one, would look like in the family. If Peter Opara is the best from his stock, which I presume he is, I will not wish to meet their worst.