Igwe Boniface Ibekwe is the Eze Ndigbo (Sarkin Igbo) of Kano State. He is also the President of the Association of Ndi Eze Igbo N’Uzo Ije (Nigeria and Diaspora). Igwe Boniface has been up and about since the Kaduna Declaration by some Hausa youths threatening all Igbo people, (whether of South East or South- South origin) in the North to leave the region latest by October 1. He maintains that Nigeria belongs to all and says that the Igbo are not leaving the North. While rooting for peace and stability, he stresses the need for an open conversation that would address the reasons for the cries of marginalization in the East and in every part of Nigeria where there are genuine cases for redemption and redress. He spoke to DESMOND MGBOH in Kano.
About two weeks ago, a coalition of Hausa youths issued an ultimatum to Igbo people resident in the North to leave the region on or before October 1, are there plans to comply?
Well, we are still where we are in the sense that we have made it clear that we are not leaving the North. In the same light, I must say that we are working with the good people of Northern Nigeria to see that there is peace among all of us and we are also in constant touch with the leadership of Igbo people in Nigeria who are committed to seeing that there is peace in the whole of Nigeria. So, we can say that everything is okay for now. Let me say that IPOB is not the leadership of Igbo in Nigeria. The leader of the Igbo people in Nigeria is His Excellency, Chief Nnia Nwodo and matters affecting the people of Ibo extraction should naturally come from him, not IPOB. So, whatever would bring peace in Nigeria, whatever would result to fairness to all, equality of all and justice to all Nigerians, without particular favour to one ethnic group above the others is where we stand and we are working fervently towards the realization of this time tested philosophies of justice, fairness and equality of all in the development and access to the benefits of Nigeria. What is responsible for these agitations from different groups, I want to say that everybody already knows and what I think Nigeria needs today is for everybody to come together and sit down and discuss honestly about how to address some of these issues. Running away from them or saying everything is perfect is not a solution. From my own understanding, everywhere you go in Nigeria today, there are issues of complaints by roughly all the regions and groups in Nigeria. Whatever are the complaints of a people living together should be brought to the centre table for everybody to look at it and discuss it and resolve it.
The move by the National Assembly asking the executive to give them the resolutions of the 2014 National Confab has been described as the first step to this kind of conversation. Do you think so?
At times, I had issues with those who criticize the National Assembly unjustly. This is because if you look properly at the calibre of people who are in the National Assembly, I think they are capable of solving the Nigerian problems if given the right support. But the problem is politics, politics interfering in their assignment. And now, that they have called for the 2014 National Confab report, I believe that document has a number of answers to the problems affecting us today, the document contains genuine attempts to address some of the burning issues and exigencies of different groups and interests in Nigeria. I want to appeal to all Nigerians that there is no any great country with population in the world that does not have issues. Yes, size matters. There is greatness in population. China, America, India and even Brazil are all well populated states and countries and you can see that they are great. America would even give you visa to come and become their citizen if they guess that you have something to add to them. So I repeat that the size is not the problem, it is the quality of governance and the sincerity of the people that matters. All these still boil down to creating a just and equitable society for us all to benefit from and contribute equally to. Like this issue that has come out, you can see the way the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been sincerely discussing with all groups and interests in the dispute, calling people of goodwill to come and they are discussing. And I want to tell you that this open-minded and very rich consultations that he had made so far have helped immensely to douse tension across Nigeria, whether here in the core-North or elsewhere. In summary, I will say that it is better and of benefit to all of us to remain as one Nigeria.
Justice for all and equal treatment of all have been described as the way forward in Nigeria. You also agree with that?
There are challenges in all parts of Nigeria I guess. Not one part. For instance, if you go to the people of Niger Delta, they have their own complaints and they want resource control. That is what they agitating for. In the Southwest, they are agitating for restructuring and all that. In the South East, you will see some people talk of more states and you will hear some youths talk of going their separate ways because they are being marginalized in the context of the whole of Nigeria, that they are not getting a fair share of the resources of the country. And they may have a point in their cry for better treatment. If you go to this year’s budget, for instance, you will see that the distribution of annual national resources, what was allocated to the South East was the least of all the regions. If you notice, you will see that in the Northeast, there are concerted policy actions to revive the economy of the region following the problems that erupted there, to lift them up so that the people can live comfortably. But the South East, up till date, you still have five states at a time all other regions and geo political zones have six and seven states. And having fewer states means lesser number of local government areas in the region as a whole. And you know that the states and local government areas are the channels of the distribution of the national resources from the central purse. So, I am saying that we should try to balance wherever there is imbalance and give everybody a sense of equality and justice.
There are arguments that many Igbo people living in the North had been here for years, coming to the North several generations ago and should be seen as Northern Igbo. Why would the Arewa youths ask them to quit?
First, let me say that some of us feel Northern, as much as any other Nigerian in this region. Our parents were here before the war, some of them came to reside in the land long even before the time of the civil war. And so you may be right to say that some of us are at home here. Again, if I don’t feel at home here I cannot invest here. I will take my money to somewhere else. But because I believe that the progress of Northern Nigeria is the progress of the country, and it is my own progress too, because this is where I live and bring up my children, I feel also that this is home. So, as a result of all this, it is better that there is peace in this part of Nigeria and everything that would make this country to be in peace should be the primary concern of all those living in this area. That is our position.
So, that means that the Igbo in the North are not living the North by October 1 as instructed by the coalition of Arewa youths in Kaduna?
No! No! We are not leaving the region, leaving to where? Leaving to where? Let me tell you, even when I travel down East , hardly do I stay for two weeks or three weeks before I come back . Here is where I invested my money and here is where I will stay and I will continue to contribute my own quota to make this area great. All my children were born here likewise so many other Igbo people in the region. All their children were born here and so, we are part and parcel of this setting. We are not going, we are not leaving, we are going to stay in the North, we are going to live together and contribute our share to make where we live better and prosperous.
Up till this moment, the Arewa youths behind the quit notice are still walking free, despite the pronouncements of the governor of the state and the Inspector General of Police to arrest them.
We were, days ago, reassured by the governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru el Rufai that they would be arrested and made to face the law of the land because if they are not arrested, it may encourage some others to do similar things or even worse things. You can see that what they have done has created a lot of tension across Nigeria. All over the country, the leaders and the government were all busy striving to see how they can bring down the tension as a result of the statement issued by how many people. So we had a meeting with the governor and he has promised that those people that caused this tension in Kaduna must be brought to book so as to discourage the breach of national security by any other group in the future. We believe him and we trust his words and in our interaction with him, we also assured him that we are not going anywhere. We are Igbo in the North and we will continue to do our best to see that Northern Nigeria progresses.
Some people down South, especially in the South- East and South- South, the two regions, which have population of Igbo speaking people are still concerned that there is tension in the North. What is your assurance to them in respect of their fears?
Well, I want you to be mindful of the fact that everywhere in this country, there are people who do not want peace and they can go to any length to see that they destabilize this country. This sort of people exist among Igbo and Hausa, and even among some of the people of other regions who are not directly involved in the current dispute but have their agenda. Recently, if you look at the net, you will agree with me that some people do not want peace in this country. You will see a lot of false information which are even shared by people who know the facts. Some pictures depict false information about what is happening in the North. All these things are lies. In the release issued by the DSS the other day, they said that the luxury bus accident that happened sometime in March, they went and got the picture of that incident and started posting it on the net and as a result of that, a lot of tension was further generated down East. Therefore, I want to appeal to our people and anybody responsible for exacerbating the tension in the land to stop that henceforth. If there is a war, nobody knows how it would end. The issues of inciting statements, hate speeches, inter- ethnic insults from all quarters and from all regions should stop henceforth. IPOB, Arewa Youths or Forum, they should all stop. Elders from all divides should rise up and be counted for peace and stability . Nigeria belongs to all and no particular group is more Nigerian than the other. God made Nigeria a great country and by the special grace of God, nothing will divide us.