By Iyke Obi Durumba
Recent events in the Nigerian polity have thrown up decades-old questions about the marginalization of the South East from the main power centers of Nigeria. Several seismic movements in the polity have called into question the political dynamics of Nigeria vis-a-vis its disposition towards one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria.
The Igbo constitute the largest non-indigenous ethnic group in any given location in Nigeria. They are found in every nook and cranny of the diverse country, usually as businessmen and petty traders. This willingness to participate in the life of every geographical location of Nigeria is not matched by political participation at the highest level as the Igbo have not been given the opportunity to produce the President of Nigeria, a privilege which all other major ethnic groups have tasted. Rooted in this marginalization is the specter of the bitter Biafran Civil War.
Following a military coup in 1966 and the anti-Igbo pogroms which attended it, the Igbo were forced to flee to their South Eastern region and declared an independent state of in 1967. A brutal Civil War followed at which nearly 3m Igbos and other ethnicities were killed.
The events of 1967 to 1970 remain an unhealed and unhealthy scar on the body polity of Nigeria. This was demonstrated recently at a gathering of Igbo leaders and captains of industry on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. Called the ‘Never Again Conference, they voiced out deep concerns about the persistent marginalization of Ndi Igbo from the centers of political power in Nigeria.
In spite of the wide and deep integration of the Igbo into Nigeria’s business and cultural fabric, there has never been an acceptance of the Igbo into the political leadership of the country, especially at the very highest levels.
Nigeria’s Head of State during that war, Yakubu Gowon, acknowledges this shut out of the Igbo. In a recent documentary, he said, “unfortunately after the change of government, with the programs we had which was going to allow them (Igbos) to be equal in all respects, unfortunately those that came after us did not have the vision that my government had in order to ensure fairness to every part of Nigeria.”
The complete integration of the Igbo into Nigeria’s mainstream politics at the highest level has only been achieved up to the point of producing the Vice President, Alex Ekwueme between 1979 and 1983. Beyond that, the wall of exclusion of Igbos has been rigid and sometimes, bigoted. This has led to several calls against this marginalization of a highly productive and diligent ethnic group which make up,one of the tripod of major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
In his own opinion, Nigeria needs to reach beyond the psychological and offer Ndi Igbo a genuine reintegration. In his own opinion, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu, Past President Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and a Civil War veteran says this is very important to prevent a recurrence of the past. He said, “It is important for government today to look into the sociological integration Igbos into Nigeria because the causes of that civil war are still happening today.”
Other analysts say this sociological integration can only be complete when Nigerians entrust the leadership of the country into the hands of a President of South Eastern extraction. They think Gowon’s Three Rs of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Reintegration would be fulfilled at such an event.
However, the political route to Nigeria’s Presidency has been made tortuous by the country’s power structure. Since return to civil rule in 1999, Alex Ekwueme, second republic Vice President lost the PDP presidential ticket to Olusegun Obasanjo who was just out of Abacha’s gulag. Being content with the Senate Presidency, no other South Easterner has achieved higher office, a situation which politicians from the region and others have claimed questioned the citizenship of the Igbo in Nigeria.
The activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, an Igbo secessionist group, have raised deeper question into the Igbo citizenship in Nigeria. Querying the marginalization of Ndi Igbo, the group seeks a referendum to determine the Biafra question once for all. However, their activities were declared illegal, the group proscribed and their leader Nnamdi Kanu incarcerated. Released on bail, he fled the country after an attack by the Nigeria Army killed several IPOB members at his Umuahia home.
The rearrest last week of Nnamdi Kanu brought a sudden swerve to his running tirade against the Nigerian State. The loud demands for a referendum to determine the Biafran Question has been at the forefront a gathering groundswell of discontent in the South East. This discontent has as its major catalyst, the perceived psychological support of the Buhari Administration to Fulani herdsmen in the region. The insecurity created by the attacks and killings of Ndi Igbo by these Fulani herdsmen has generated deep feelings of distrust for the FG among the Igbo. IPOB, using the mounting insecurity as a call to arms, established the Eastern Security Network (ESN) for the defence of Igboland. The Nigeria Police Force has however, accused the ESN of attacks on Police formations, Correctional services and other security installations which have cost dozens of lives of security agents across the South East and the South South. Dubbed ‘Unknown Gunmen’ (UGM) by social media , the Imo state Police command alone lost at least 21 officers in four months.
These attacks further strained relations between the region and other geopolitical regions. The North especially felt threatened as the attacks became reminiscent of the events that led to the Civil War.
The Igbos, however, through their leaders, reaffirmed their commitment to one united Nigeria under a platform of justice, equality of rights, fairness, love and respect. Chairman South-East Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi, who read the resolutions of the leaders in June assured all Nigerians living in the South-East region that they had no reason to fear or leave the region. They denounced IPOB’s secessionist aims and insisted on the promotion of equity among constituent groups in Nigeria. Furthermore, they demanded a restructuring of the polity to grant greater autonomy to the constituent groups.
The Igbos are making a case for one from the region to be given a fair shot at the Presidency. Leading Igbo sociocultural organization, Ohaneze Ndigbo has repeatedly made pitches for somebody of South Eastern extraction to become President of Nigeria. The group has called for the support of other regions to actualize this. Across the major political parties, Igbo politicians have begun the networking imperative to the realization of this objective.
However, political watchers say one of the major challenge to the Igbo ambition is that the political acceptance of the ruling party is thinly spread in the South East. Out of the five states in the region, only two are held by the ruling APC, and both by default. Of the other three states, one is held by All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and the other two by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. How far the region will go in consolidating its political structures and forming the necessary alliances will depend on several factors. First, the willingness of the people in the region and elsewhere to come out to vote bearing in mind very low interest in elections among the people. Second, the harnessing of the huge number of Ndi Igbo who live outside the South East and converting same numbers into votes. Third, the willingness of other regions to collaborate with Ndi Igbo to actualize the Presidency and fourth, the sustenance of peace and security in the country as it grinds towards 2023.
