We Must Think Of Options They May Choose

By

Miles   Opara

General Secretary  Igbo union Graz, Austria

milesopara@hotmail. com

The government gestures on corruption may be small but it shows Nigeria at it's best. There's no longer the sense that the job is impossible.  So,  let's have a gentle condemnation on Obasanjo believing his war on corruption  and transparency will extend to his friends soon or at least put them on check . We have had corrupt leaders who didn't  take the war to their enemies. They didn't take the war to their friends and didn't hide being corrupt either.

Obasanjo has tasted success. He has money to the ceiling and has become a traveled man. He could afford almost everything money can buy.

Obasanjo has eaten the best foods and drank the best wines. He has lived in the most fantastic houses. What is it  Obasanjo has had more than his share of all that. Obasanjo has fought in real war and in  Nigeria's  war of corruption  from horrifying to bad. The only thing left for him to do is to build it's systems of sustenance. Obasanjo should build a non corrupt and independent judiciary. He should build a non corrupt electoral commission and enact laws of government funding of candidates and parties for running of parties and campaign on equal basis. The era of rule by rich men and children must stop and replaced by wise men and women. The era of political looters or political godfathers must stop. The election should come comparatively cheap for the candidates. Above all the winners should somehow incorporate the losers. Having done all these, Obasanjo should wash his hands off politics and fade into  background. It will be a major miscarriage of justice for him to change constitution in other to stay longer. If he thinks  power will always carry him, he's misled. Power is only a brief candle, it burns out fast. Man may aim at pleasure peak, that tangential point at which pain is about to begin. However, he must know how far to go and where to draw the line. Only those who have learnt this will continue to enjoy their pleasures because they will not loose their head and allow themselves to be  trapped and then smashed by  consequences of over-indulgence. Obasanjo is an intelligent man. He should not choose his destruction. Majority of Nigerians will oppose him, the whole north, some southwest,  the rest of south and the middle belt. He must think of options they may choose.

I would have endorsed the position that Obasanjo separate reality from rumour. In other words that he confirm, deny or at least shade lights on the issue of third term. But as a human being, he understands his problems more than anyone else, so let it be with him. It will be wrong for the north to indulge in the game that the call for constitutional change is to retain Obasanjo. The southern resolve is there will be no such thing as third term and that the next president must come from either south east or south south. Obasanjo hails from south west. Obasanjo could not have organised the southern conference; you can't pay people to remove you from office. Obasanjo has enjoyed a long time rapport with the north and may not stray far from really committed situations. Information's had it that computations were done assuring all involved that the ocean was not that deep to drown them. Atiku buttressed that by asking his people to support Obasanjo in his re-election and not Ekwueme. Atiku had said to them,  ´´It is better to stay with a sitting friend who has apologised for his past mistakes than to parley with a stranger who may turn to be worse. ´´  If the north along the line miss something with Obasanjo, they will fix it. They are not strangers to each other.

The truth is that the south are tired of the northern games. The middle belts are fade up too. The British who initiated this game are making a rethink. There were faulty foundations in our relationship and we are committed to question that relationship.  We have problems to tackle, until then our friendship must wait. The British who thought that a northern controlled Nigeria will be easier for them to manage,  bloated the northern population and gave them more seats in the parliament than the whole south combined. This brought cheers to the north and tears to the union. It was there our relationship lost steam and became less of a partner and more of a threat since this arrangement allows the north to rule Nigeria forever. This means the north can change things at will. This means that the only way the south can change things unapproved by the north is through violence.  This setting does not approve a peaceful Nigeria. And since 45years the south did not change the direction that was planned for them till date. But now,  the moment of truth has come and the south want to re-define our relationship in the highest tradition of democratic dialogue. Such sudden change from tradition could inflame emotions. What people say under this circumstance may not be what they feel but l expect the north to chill.  The southern threats may be empty but it is wise not to put it to test.

Between major southern  cities one could find numerous smaller cities while between major northern cities are only few settlers but still the north are considered as more populated. The south want to see where these numerous thickly populated  settlers are hiding in the northern forests. The north refused. Some northern elites try to educate the southerners on the difference between population size and population density to show that the north is larger in population but still refuse that we count properly with origin and religion as standard census data. If the northern claim to  60 percent of Nigeria's population and 60 percent of Nigeria's Moslem population  is a fact,  what then are they afraid of ?  If it's not important to determine our religion and ethnicity in the coming census then it is important to cancel all that was done based on them( including created local governments).

 With this artificial population, the north has ruled Nigeria for 35years out of Nigeria's 45years. Some northerners argue that most of these rule were military but refused to see that even though at that,  a combination of all rules have given them a lion share,  call it civilian president, military head of state, military president or prime minister. Some even went further  to say they regretted allowing power ever shift to the south. What these people forgot is that  whether with northern agreement or not,  power would  certainly have gotten to the south at some time in future. You must think of options they may choose. The coups of 1966 and 1990 are a few example.

The Obasanjo agreement on power shift with the north became dubious on his denial and the north compounded the matter even more. While some northerners claim the agreement was made during Abdusalam Abubakar´s regime, others insist it  took place when Obasanjo was already in government and was facing impeachment threats. Assuming Obasanjo's claim as a born again Christian is dubious and that the agreement indeed took place. We should however remember that it was a PDP agreement. And PDP is one party out of Nigeria's  30 political parties. Their agreement is not binding to the rest 29 political parties. But assuming that PDP´s agreement is binding to all political parties in Nigeria,  the  agreement however is not binding to Nigeria itself since there was no mandate to that effect by Nigerian masses.  If  whatever PDP  says is binding to all Nigerian,  then we say,  ´´It is not enough to seek power. One should  first answer the question of what to do with´´. With all these years of northern rule,  the Hausa-Fulani self divine rulers of Nigeria did not use power to better the life  of  their populace. They did not  use power to better the life of other regions. It was a catalogue of corruption and degradation rarely seen in human governance. It was all about poverty and getting used to death. The Hausa-Fulani self divine rulers of Nigeria buried Nigeria's dignity out of sight. If we say everybody was at fault, it means Nigeria had had no rulers and that was not the case. We must re-engineer our systems and abandon those that have failed us. This is a correct engineering position and it applies to all walks of life. Time is what the Hausa-Fulani may  be asking for. And time is what the south and the middle belt are no longer willing to give. Gone may be gone, but there's still fears if we allow them take-over soon, we will  all be in full flow going backwards. And there's no hard evidence we can point to that this will not happen again and again. A typical Hausa-Fulani man want to live and enjoy each day. They don't worry. They don't quite share the concerns of future. The troubles of staying together are many. A sparrow can fall in love with a  whale, but where will they build their nest? . The killing of Igbos in the north started before amalgamation. Our forefathers saw problems and wanted to be part of it.  Time and time again the Igbos recovered from their  wounds but the trauma that your brother want to kill you  remains. This memory follows every Igboman and sometimes too hard to bear.  We can't accept it and we can't wait for God to come and change it. We must think of options to choose. Nigeria did not bring anything  we did not have before,  except poverty. If you have any disagreements, you should feel free to vent. It is your right to reach any decision. You may reach another decision today.  I have no hatred but a complete different view.

During the northern rule, the south had felt they were not part of Nigeria. Southern army generals were not only afraid of  a mere northern major, they took orders from them. Some Igbos had to change names overnight, built mosques and became Alhajis in other to get federal favours. If these are true, who were ruling the country even though they were military rulerships? .  I will not characterise what the north did in the past, but l will reiterate what they are doing now.

The introduction of Sharia by the northern states now the owners of the world are fighting terrorism will certainly set them many more years back.  The northern populace do not only support Bin laden and Al_Qaeda,  they are proud to be identified with them. It's even en vogue in the north to name their little ones Osama  Bin laden. If the northerners  want to be seen as true Muslims, the same Sharia laws that holds against their poor should be extended to their rich at least. The Sharia should be practiced in a way to please Allah. Their Sharia practice of today seem to be designed to checkmate only the poor Muslims. The northern leaders steal a lot of  government money funding expensive life-styles and acquiring more expensive tastes. They use some of these  stolen money to buy houses and cars for their concubines. They use some of these money to fly in prostitutes from abroad,  but we hear only of poor pilferers who's limbs are cut. We hear only of poor women to be stoned to death for adultery. The rich northern Muslims in the north give rides to girls on roadside but it is the poor men and women that are flogged for riding in Buses, taxies or Bikes with people of opposite sex. The wealthy Muslims enjoy alcohol of their choice even publicly in parties. It is the poor people that are flogged for drinking a hard earned beer. My desire is to bring clarity. You can't be passive and allow these to carry on without taking a stand. Most Islamic countries of today for which include Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Irak,  even Saudi Arabia  are mordernising and becoming moderate. This is essential for them to attract investors to boost their economy and better the lives of their people. If you live well in life, you'll live well in after-life. The Arab countries the north tend to look up to and  imitate as hardliners are mere slaves to America and western world and don't count in the world of today. If you confront your masters you are likely to be in trouble. With all these Sharia laws in the north, it will be difficult for foreigners to feel comfortable living in the northern cities of today talk less investing their money there. That means future economic prospects of these cities is zero. That means poverty will increase. That means beggars, robbers, deaths and sicknesses will increase.  I hope the north will learn the errors of their ways. The same fate awaits Nigeria if a northerner takes Nigeria's leadership.

With this, it appears that the rule of the Hausa-Fulani self divine rulers of Nigeria has reached it's end. All the threat by the north can not change that until people in the likes of col.  Abubakar Umar takes Hausa-Fulani leadership. When you loose, you have to agree to whatever condition as to keep what is left over.  That is what the northerners should be doing. They should be saying´´If there are  failures, it's us and we offer deepest apology. ´´ The only thing that is constant in life is change. The Roman empire ruled the world for about 400years. They even colonised the great Britain. Then the wheel of change turned and it was the British turn to rule the world. They even colonised America. The wheel of change turned again, and that is how America is ruling us today. Afterwards it will be the turn of Asia, then Africa to rule the world. No condition is permanent. It is not a loss to Hausa-Fulani if they are not in charge.  There is no shame to solutions. It is an improvement we share, so that the problems of the past will never repeat. The third world countries are giving their best hands the chance to rule. That is why  a few days ago, Mrs. Michelle Bellet was elected as the president of Chile. That is why a few days ago, Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in as the president of Liberia. Both women including Mrs. Ngozi  Okonjo-Iweala have displayed outstanding ability in financial economy  while working for UN  and world bank. They have the competence, experience, skills that is needed to build the economy and turn around a bad management. Few days ago, Nigeria's economy was internationally upgraded due to  Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala´s unrelenting efforts and skills. Maybe the Igbos should reserve their leadership ability and creativity for Biafra. That is why Obasanjo will not hand over to  the global choice of Mrs.  Iweala who has uplifted our economy. If the Igbos are segregated and not called upon to lead Nigeria and salvage it, we should build our own nation and take our affairs in our own hands. Nigeria needs the Igbos more than we need them, that is why they fought to retain us. But Nigeria doesn't appear very concerned with the Igbos for which our interest in Nigeria has become occasional. The Igbos don't wish Nigeria anything bad, she tried her best.  But Biafra is still the only country where the Igbos could have full  rights. And any Igbo group that dis-associates itself from MASSOB whether it is  faked or genuine does not represent the Igbos. It's the same as in Palestine where Hamas represents the populace more than the Fatah group. Nigeria still treat Igbos as enemies and  therefore can not dictate to us how we  should relate with them. So while joining hands with the rest of the south in Nigeria's power tussle come 2007, the Igbos should not abandon Biafra. It's different fronts of the same war. Ninety percent of American Presidents came from their south who lost their civil war. This was necessary to give them a sense of belonging. But after the Nigerian civil war, the Igbos were relegated to second class citizens and  have leaders forced on them. The most recent being a confessed criminal of dubious popularity who belongs to jail for crimes and damages perpetrate to his own people and democracy. Obasanjo is supporting evil by promoting Chris Ubah to now  determine the faith of the entire Igbos. How can you represent people you don't have support of ?  Our people are screaming and how did the government react?  They took our vocal  leaders and kept them  in custody. Their offence being that they asked for Biafran country. I don't believe that Nigeria's problem can be solved in one way. Any peaceful means still remain a solution. Their agitation is legal in Nigeria's context since Nigeria creates states from regions. Nigeria creates states from states. Therefore,  Nigeria can create countries from country. In interest of peace everything is legal. With this as a reason, thousands of people carried out a peaceful demonstration asking for the release  of Uwazuruike and the others on the 7th of December  2005 in Vienna Austria. People from all over the world participated in that call for his release and for UN to conduct  a referendum if  Biafrans are willing to stay on their own before they start conferences upon conferences on peacekeeping force. Austrian police matched alongside to ensure free flow of traffic. The same peaceful demonstrations took place in some parts of Nigeria, and how did  the Nigerian government react?  Instead of the Nigeria police to give the peaceful demonstrators enough protective gear to ensure safety, they opened fire on peaceful people and killed 11.  The injured are numerous and are still dying till today. It's the same  Nigeria police that run away in the face of robbers. The police commissioner of Delta state Mr.  Udom Ekpoudom whom they say  connive with armed robbers in the state to rob banks,  bragged on the 9th of December 2005 that he will be shooting the Igbos like armed robbers. The man that calls you brother  is prepared to kill you at any price. The prospects of facing it has become everyday reality. In light of this concern, humanity itself is on trial. The Igbos will carry out investigations on Ekpoudum remarks and their findings will challenge Ekpoudom. You can't separate the  Igbos from MASSOB or Biafra. This commissioner must apologise to the Igbos or we shall see how far his Nigeria will protect him. Obasanjo in a CNN  world broadcasted interview on 17th of the same month said, ´´Jonathan! (referring to the CNN interviewer)  Demonstrations, marching are part of democracy´´ if it is so, who is Udom Ekpoudum representing? .  Democracy is created to spread the hope of liberty. Even Atiku had said in September, ´´our commitment to democracy must not be merely rhetorical. . . , the freedom of individual citizens and groups, including the mass media, to freely express their views must be upheld and respected´´.  If it is so, who is Udom Ekpoudum representing?  The Igbos have the necessary leverage to defend itself if Nigeria's democracy can't.  You don't first portray yourself as tough and then go begging for negotiations. That is exactly what is happening in Niger delta when the pipelines exploded and  the hostages cried for help. Then the kidnappers were the ones  that are talking tough  and the government were on their knees. After release of hostages, instead of the government to embark on dialogue with incarcerated leaders, they started talking tough again by way of amassing arsenals in the regions. The situation is changing from tense to dangerous and it will be difficult for Nigeria's military to contain a militarized MASSOB ,  MEND, NDPVF, etc. When all is tried and it failed, rebellion is a right.  We must think of options they may choose. Nigeria started badly and got considerably worse. The package that will provide the lift to Nigeria's greatness is not there. Even people like Babangida that helped in destroying Nigeria's economy is not ashamed to seek for re-election as president. I understand him as an intelligent man but he lacks the theoretical knowledge absolutely necessary for today's leaders. Since no one is asking Babangida to return the remnants of his loots, wisdom demands he stays silently  in Minna and  eschew  the loots. He will be insulting our intelligence to be wanting to come back and destroy the left-over of Nigeria he destroyed immensely. Let us remind him that those who applaud his often tagged ´´Chop  I  Chop ´´ policy are mere illiterates and  semi-illiterates who has no knowledge of  finance economy. The Hausa-Fulanis by no doubt seem not to be ashamed of consistent failures. Even Galadima who said that going to world cup is not Nigeria's birth right seem not to be ashamed of his failures and still poised to hijack our football management to lead it to another mandatory disaster.  If we don't solve our problems, our problems will solve us. Nigeria has caused pain to many, that is why we're concerned. Resource control that will bring competition among member states is being kicked against by lazy states who prefer complete reliance  of begging from federal purse. Our government's lack of foresight makes reliance on crude oil mandatory and even refer resource control  as greed. That is Obasanjo's understanding of economy growth. The regions without minerals resources are even at advantage since  as  a way of survival, they might dabble into technology  which is where sustainable economy lies. Mineral resources could loose it's value or  finish at sometime in  future. Some few years back when coal was relevant like crude oil of today, people  and countries have fought for it. Today, where are the engines that are driven by coal?  Where are the coal miners and coal mines?  Where are the coal cities and the largest exporters of coal? . Engines of tomorrow will not be run by refined crude and  the same fate will hit crude oil   soon. What we can create from our brain is what gives us everlasting economy, not mineral resources that can finish or loose it's value. We are compelled to find solutions. Our people are tired of war, but they are even more tired of fake peace.  Uwazuruike and others are freedom fighters. Uwazuruike may  be incaserated. That is his first steps out to the big time. I see you Uwazuruike shaved, brutalised, obviously unwell. That's their last resort, they have to use it but that will not extend Nigeria's life. It will unite all Igbos in quest for separation.

And with the people that mismanaged Nigeria threatening to take over power again and demanding that the systems that destroyed Nigeria remain permanent,

And with police killings of innocent demonstrators,

And with militant killings of soldiers, police, civilians and hostage intakes and releases,

And with incessant  toppling remarks  of  Obasanjo's government,

Nigeria appears like a painted giant country sank in painted giant swamps. Then Obasanjo came with massive tugs to pull her out of swamps, believing everything is real.