Why Governor Chimaroke Nnamani

Why Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, Shunned Ogoni & Saro Wiwa In An All-Souths-Unity Congress

Cornelius Dumerene

In a South South, South West and South East congress held in Enugu, which united the Yorubas, Ibos and the Niger Delta politically, the host governor, governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu state, an Ibo man, shunned Ogoni, and Saro wiwa in a celebrated speech he emotionally rained on the impressive congress.

He began his speech by recognizing and welcoming the Yorubas, her ethnic representation and political and nationalist forefathers, welcome the Benin Empire, the Ibos of the West Niger, Efik/Ibibio, Ndi Igbo and the entire Ibo empire. Governor Chimaroke proceeded to Rivers state and say “ from the great kingdom of bonny, Opobo, Nembe, Ishekiri, the land of the Ijaws, Ikweres, Andonis, I welcome you, brothers and sisters”. He carefully excluded the Ogonis.

He did not stop there but proceeded to recognize the political and nationalist forefathers, and the fallen environmentalists of the Niger Delta. In his words, he said the following: “The Niger Delta, despite the assault of environmental degradation, near permanent minority status and difficulty terrain; I salute the spirit of Adaka Isaac Boro, Jaja of Opopo, Dapa Biriye, and Engineer Harcourt. I still salute the spirit of Mongo Park, Dr. Baikie, George Goldie, the lander brothers and the pioneer modernists who passed that region, and set the stage for the mergence of a nation”. Governor Chimaroke Nnamani carefully excluded Ken Saro wiwa’s name from his list, even when, one of the agenda of the congress was resources control of which Ken Saro Wiwa is the ARTHUR, which also made the northern government saw him a threat to the Niger Delta black gold.

The problem of the Ogonis and the Ibos dated back the civil war in Nigeria, when Ken Saro Wiwa, then, governor of Bonny, saw the Biafra efforts as motivated by the Niger Delta oil, and was scared when some Ibos declared that the Ogonis and the Ijaws shall be moved from their God given land to the South East, which shall give the majority tribes, Ibos, access to the natural resources of the south- south once the war is won by Biafra. Wiwa, a brilliant man, thought it would be unfair if he folds his hand and watch his people ushered into eternal slavery and poverty. He was therefore accused by the Ibos to have joint the Yorubas, middle belts and the Hausas to fight for the unity of Nigeria instead of a fighting on the side of Biafra. Though the war took away thirty thousand lives of his tribe’s population and undisclosed number of lives of the Niger Delta people. He was certified that it is rather okay to be with people that will not turn you into slavery than people that were determined to stripped them of their belonging and make them slaves in their land.

After the war, Ken Saro Wiwa and other Ijaws fought for the creation of old Rivers States and ushered in Diety Spief as it first governor. Ken Saro wiwa eventually held an executive position in Rivers State, under the leadership of Spief as the governor. The Ibos already position themselves to take over Port Harcourt and Rivers state, with 80 % of the properties in Port Harcourt, Rivers States, belonging to the Ibos. Governor Spief quickly moved to cut up the occupation threat by repossessing these properties back to the owners and the government. This ended the intended Ibo’s occupation of the Niger Delta.

As for Ken Wiwa, he defeated the occupation threat by the Ibos, but little did he know that 25 years latter, the same Hausas, he fought for, shall hang him and eight of his tribe men for trying to free their environment. In the process, the dreaded government of Abacha lures four prominent Ogoni elites into a deadly trap, killed them and blamed Ken Saro Wiwa for the killing. The Ogoni Land was turned into war zone and about four thousand Ogonis was slaughtered by military occupation. Though Ken and others died, the war against their existences was won by the withdrawal of Shell from Ogoni and the consequent exodus of Ogonis into the United States, Canada and Europe in the 90s where they are waxing stronger.

Odumeku Ojukwu and other Ibos were very pleased with the dead of Ken. An Ogoni man who ran away to a nearby Ibo village, during the great tribulation of the Ogoni people in the 90s has the following to say. “ In 1995, one of my hiding places was in Igbo land (Anambra State, to be precise).

I was opportune to interact extensively with young, intelligent Ibo men and

women. We had series of discussions and arguments on the Nigerian situation and

especially the Ogoni question. Three-quarters of these young men and women were

totally oblivious of the happenings in the country. Guess what? When they

learned that I was an Ogoni and a refuge, they were quick to say "it serves

you right!"

Most of them went on to give me a history lesson on how the Ogoni people had

contributed to their loosing the Civil War and how Ken Saro-Wiwa had helped

enact the act that denied Ibos of their properties in Rivers State. They never

hid their bitter feelings and wished Ogoni was wiped out by the government. I

was shocked. However, thanks to my dearest friend, Chris, who stood up against

them. He demanded an instant apology from them for expressing such a stupendous

sentiment. He questioned their history lesson and demanded that it was time

these young men and women opened their eyes to "the realities of the

moment." It took me more than three hours to open their eyes to what my

friend had earlier on referred to as "the realities of the moment." We

probably took it simply when Ken had said "this is the moment of

truth" huh?”

Another Ogoni boy who was a student in University of Port Harcourt also confessed that, in 1995, an Ibo boy that was in English department, told him in his face that Ken Saro wiwa was a stupid man, and he would not have read his book “Soza Boy” if it were not required by the department, and once he is done with the exam, he will burn it up to show how despicable Ken is to all Ibos.

With his accounts and others that are not mentioned here, it is not strange that Governor Chimaroke Nnamani bluntly refused to include the Ogonis and Ken respectively, in his speech while recognizing tribes from Rivers State and Nationalist who died for the Niger Delta cause.

For the Ogonis, the grudges from the Ibos are irrelevant to them. They love the Ibos, and many Ibos traders reside freely with them in Bori (the traditional headquarter of Ogoni people). Ogonis said if the Ibo must be resented, it should not have been against late Ken but Chief Diete Spief, who was the governor of Rivers State during the subject matter period. The Ogonis are more focus now than ever. It is evidently clear that the only people in Nigeria that show sympathy with the Ogonis are the Yorubas, Ijaws and old Bendel state. The Ogonis would have likely taken it seriously if such unpatriotic omission had come from these groups. But, no matter what has been, the Ogonis will continue to treat the Ibos as their brothers. They also said the claimed of the South South, the South West and South East to forget the past and move forward for one equal Nigeria will not be a sincere one if the Ibos still retain such deep grudge against the Ogonis. Be it what it may, the Yorubas also have to be careful because the grudge that Ojukwu and the Ibos has against Ken and Ogonis today, was because Ken fought on their side, and the smile on the lips of the Ibos today might just be a pretentious one and not true cooperation.

It is also sarcastically bizarre for the Ibos to identify with Ken’s idea (Resources control & autonomy of the south- south) but hate his name and his people, which Ken used as a case study for the problem of the Niger Delta. In the 90s, four prominent Ogoni elites were killed, Ken and eight others were hanged and about four thousand Ogonis were killed to institutes what are today the songs of the South- South and now South East. Let us not be cruel.