Ref: hf/0503/001 To: The Secretary NPRC International Conference Centre Garki Abuja
THE IGBO DEMAND. PREAMBLE - This Memoranda is submitted on behalf of Ndigbo in Nigeria Whereas we have advocated for a Sovereign National Conference along with other Nigerians, President Obasanjo decided to convene a Political Reform Conference. We have observed that many of the delegates who purport to be representing Ndigbo at the National Conference on Political Reform where personally selected by Obasanjo and his governors. These people are not representing Ndigbo because they did not receive their mandate. How many of them took time to go to their towns and villages to ask Ndigbo what they want from such a conference? Did they find out the demands of the people on the different burning issues confronting Igbo existence in Nigeria? Did they do any town hall meetings to ascertain the wishes of the people? No they did not. So whose views are they canvassing at the conference? Because they didn’t care to find out what the Igbo want and demand, we went to work and found out that Ndigbo demand that the delegates take the following positions at the conference. (1) COMPLETE AUTONOMY – This means the freedom for the Igbo to be fully in charge of the day to day running of their affairs including organizing their own elections, choosing their own leaders and running their own government, conducting their own census, organizing their own defense, planning and implementing their own industrial, agricultural, educational, technological, social, and cultural development. Twenty-five million Igbo people do not need or want any non Igbo ever again to dictate to them how to plan and implement their development projects. Ndigbo have the largest pool of highly educated and qualified professional manpower in all fields in Africa and are therefore best qualified to do their own planning and implementation of development projects. Ndigbo do not want to plan and implement development projects for other people unless specifically requested and invited to do so. (2) RESOURCE CONTROL – “All peoples may , for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic co-operation , based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.” (The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). No one can organize, plan and implement their development if someone else is managing their resources and deciding when to give them money, how much and for what purpose. Every Igbo person we talked to demands and insists that the Igbo must exercise full control over whatever resources they have – whether it is Oil, Gas, Coal, other minerals, and most importantly Human Resources - the Creative Genius God gave the Igbo. The Federal government must never be in the business of managing our resources for us. The Igbo managed their resources expertly from before independence to 1970 and we did it excellently. The results speak for themselves. The Igbo don’t want anyone to build their roads, bridges, hospitals, airports, seaports, schools, etc for them. We have world class qualified brains to build these things. (3) REVENUE ALLOCATION - Revenue Allocation irrespective of whatever formula is used is really moronic practice that is bound to generate conflicts and disagreements. It is anachronistic, reeks of injustice, is counterproductive, antidevelopment, spawns uncontrollable corruption, and will never stand up to judicial scrutiny. The federating units will negotiate and agree on percent of a region’s revenue that will be paid to the Federal Government as tax to maintain Federal Government functions. The Federal government will only collect whatever accrues to it as federal tax. The Federal government must have no business managing anyone’s resources or distributing it to whoever it likes. It is not democracy, it is feudalism, and the Igbo do not believe in or practice feudalism. (4) SECURITY – Anyone who has been to Igbo land since 1970 to date knows that the Nigerian Army and Police have behaved like forces of occupation. You will not find even one Igbo person who will testify that the Nigerian Army or Police is there to protect and defend the Igbo. The Igbo do not need Nigerian Army or police in her territory. The Igbo must henceforth provide her own security. The Igbo will recruit, train, pay, and discipline her own soldiers, as well as policemen and women who share Igbo values, beliefs, customs, and traditions. Therefore the Area Command of the army that will be in Igbo land will be made up of Igbo men and women. Their commanding officers will be Igbo. The situation where Nigerian soldiers from other ethnic groups with deep seated hatred of the Igbo are unleashed on communities in Igbo land to brutalize innocent civilians as well as cause havoc and mayhem is unacceptable. The intimidation and extortion has reached an alarming stage. The Hausa/ Fulani/Yoruba Federal Government soldiers and police have wiped out the inhabitants of whole communities, towns and villages in southern Igbo, Ibibio, Ijaw, Efik, Ekoi and Anang. The Nigerian army and police of occupation brutalize and kill Ndigbo at will. The Igbo will henceforth provide their own security. In case of external threat the Igbo will contribute her own forces to the general pool to confront the external threat. (5) SELF DETERMINATION – “All people have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status, and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” (The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). It is the inalienable right of man to determine for himself who he will associate with, and how he will organize his life. Therefore the resolutions arrived at the end of this conference must include the right of any federating unit to unilaterally withdraw from the Federation without seeking the permission of and without prejudice to the other federating units. Those who feel that they are benefiting from the association with the other federating units will be free to stay and those who feel that continued membership of this federation is destroying their society, humanity, civilization, development and is steadily leading to a state of negative entropy for them must exercise their freedom to opt out if they choose to do so. (6) JUDICIARY – The Nigerian judiciary has been corrupted beyond redemption. Not only do judges openly take bribes and hand down outrageous judgments, but we believe that Nigeria has empanelled judges who do not know the law because they did not receive the requisite legal training to enable them become attorneys and justices. Therefore Ndigbo demand that the judiciary be decentralized and that each region organize train and empanel its own judiciary. This way those who want a robust judiciary with integrity manned by justices with international acclaim will have it and those who want something else will also have it. Most importantly, those who want fundamental Islamic law, Sharia, as the cornerstone of their judicial system will have it while those who want internationally accepted Common Law as the foundation of their judicial system will also have it. This will resolve all religious and judicial conflicts permanently. (7) RESOLUTIONS – One of the most conflicting decisions at the conference will be how to arrive at and adopt decisions and resolutions. It is important to note that this meeting is very unlike ordinary meetings. It is a meeting organized under the guiding principle of self-determination. Therefore majority vote will not be binding on minority vote on issues. That is, the minority vote must exercise the freedom to implement its own decisions without prejudice to the position taken by the majority. (8) REFERENCE: “THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF NDIGBO IN THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA (1966 – 1999)” – First thing first. Genuine and sincere effort should be made by the government to appease and reconcile injured people otherwise a political reform will be an exercise in futility. We insist that government should publish the Oputa Panel’s (HRVIC) report and implement it’s recommendations immediately. Therefore “THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS OF NDIGBO IN THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA (1966 – 1999)” a petition to HRVIC by Ohaneze Ndigbo on behalf of the Igbo nation remains a valid document. Whereas Obasanjo’s government decided to put this document in the cooler to appease some sacred cows, we hereby adapt and represent it to this conference as fundamental and the basis for our demand. (due to the volume of this document -100pages, it was not attached, it will be sent to your e-mail address. It is also available on www.ohanaeze.com/human rights violation) Anyone negotiating on behalf of Ndigbo who deviates from these cardinal demands automatically ceases to represent the Igbo his or her manner of appointment notwithstanding. These demands by Ndigbo also strongly reflect the desires of the Anang, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw, Ekoi, and other people of former Eastern Nigeria. These decisions will guarantee FREEDOM, JUSTICE, and SELF-DETERMINATION and subsequently enthrone PEACE and PROSPERITY for all.
Chidi Ofoegbu Friday Ayaegbu ----------------- ------------------ President Secretary
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