It is time to elect a new leadership for apex Igbo mouthpiece, Ohanaeze. This time, the pendulum swings to Imo state to produce the President after John Nnia Nwodo had successfully led the organisation through what I believe was a reformative period which placed it on a pedestal and elevated its vision and engagements to a new high. Implication of Nwodo’s achievement is that Ohanaeze cannot go under the bar he set in strategic and constructive leadership engagement. There are arguments that Nwodo was a success because he had been exposed to political leadership of the country at the highest level where he served as information minister among other national assignments. I subscribe to the argument. That exposure empowered Nwodo with the necessary credentials, including networks and mindset, which made his leadership of the Igbo nation impactful.
Going forward therefore, the Igbo nation cannot, and ought not to, return to a position where its leadership is placed in the care of persons who lack the capacity for strategic engagement and impactful discourse. The Igbo now need persons of history, diplomacy and tact to lead it into a future that strategically engages other nationalities for results. It is trite that every war is resolved on a table. It thus means that leading a people who had been clearly ostracized and chastised by policies that seek to asphyxiate their economic strengths, demands deeper insights into how to win diplomatically, not by the guns.
The Igbo nation is renowned for commerce. What its people seek is a playing field where everyone is free to do business, trade and win using their endowments. They have always fared better, and built the economic fortunes of states where they reside. They are known to have invested hugely in the development of homes far away from their homes. And they settle freely wherever they find welcome. It is believed that the Igbo people have more investments in other lands than in Igboland. That speaks to their free spirit, living free and bearing no ill notions against their hosts. However, they have been greatly misunderstood, chastised and abused for being who they are, a reality they have no control over. This creates a lacuna in their leadership. Nwodo started the journey towards addressing this issue by creating a new lever of understanding between the Igbo and other nationalities in Nigeria. The response was understandably overwhelming. This is therefore not the time to lose the momentum.
Therefore, my vote for Prof. George Obiozor satisfies my feeling that the Igbo need to diplomatically engage more with other nationalities to achieve their social, political and economic visions. Brawn will not win. Prof. Obiozor is not only credible; he is also doubly suited to even be consensus candidate of Imo state for the top job. As a diplomat, he has all the necessary credentials to network the Igbo into its next future. As an academic, he has the knowledge base to help restructure education in Igboland for skill based orientation; that is, if that is part of the Ohanaeze mandate. As an Igbo son, he is deeply ‘Igbotic’ that even his exposure as professor at Columbia University could not alter his Igboness. Simply put, there is no aspect of the Igbo political, economic and social life that has not felt the Obiozor touch as an ambassador to Cyprus, Israel and the United States of America. There are numerous testimonials from Igbo people who had felt his impact. I guess that was why he described those seeking to pull him down using a clearly forged letter falsely credited to Miyetti Allah, as “pharaohs that don’t know Joseph”.
The leadership of a people, as sophisticated as the Igbo, requires a very deep understanding of history and diplomacy. It requires the vital tool of networking to help build trust to invite and attract the Igbo and the non-Igbo into efforts by the Igbo to turn around the negative political narrative against them. This is a narrative that had been made worse by youth radicalism which blinds itself to possibilities. Like the Igbo say, what an elder sees sitting down, the youth will not see standing. Therefore, while a new broom would sweep clean, an old one knows all the corners and understands the floor better. I believe that the wisdom of old age is what the Igbo need most at this time of its political re-alignment for 2023 and beyond. The muscle of youth will not answer to the demand for inclusion by the Igbo nation.
Obiozor is not a man of too many words. He is not loquacious. He is precisely tactful. He has promised to “assemble Igbo talents and experts to cater and defend the destiny of Ndigbo with appreciable success and diplomatic dexterity, decency and decorum. And Ndigbo will never be victims again, of Nigerian tragic circumstances which they did not create nor can they control.” No leader will achieve this promise if he/she does not have the necessary networks. These cannot be networks built on the job, but ones built following years of trustworthy association, engagements and relationship.
Like I had argued earlier on this space, the desire of southeast to produce Nigeria’s next president, equitably sensible as it is, cannot however be won by threats and insults. Prof. Obiozor spoke to this fact when he said “specifically, we seek unity but not unity of slaves and masters, and we seek peace but not peace of the grave yard. We seek justice because we know that throughout history those denied justice have had no interests in peace. As it stands now, it seems Nigeria and Nigerians would engage themselves in something like penalty shootout, every group must be careful in selecting their kickers/strikers. What is at stake requires the combination of the talents of the lion and the fox or the eagle and the dove. Who, or the team that represents us matters for that will determine much of the destiny of Ndigbo in Nigeria or what follows. Our position should therefore begin with efforts to effectively re-integrate Ndigbo into Nigerian political process effectively, significantly, and relevantly. This will require a serious diplomacy and not confrontations or conflicts. Power elites reward their friends and frustrate or punish their enemies. Diplomacy’s greatest lesson is to know how to “choose your enemies wisely and your friends carefully”. And most intriguing is how to make “your enemy” your friend for specific objectives. In fact, in politics and diplomacy, it is the identity of interests that are the surest of bonds between states and individuals in critical circumstances and moments as we are now.”
He further stated that “ours is a righteous cause. Those who oppose us will be defeated, for unlike them, we do not seek to dominate, control or humiliate our fellow citizens or fellow humanity. Instead, we seek and must at all times seek a world where justice and fairness for all prevail, charity to all and malice towards none. The Igbo struggle for justice and equity in Nigeria has been long and torturously agonizing, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, as Nelson Mandela said “it looks impossible until it is done”. With our new narratives of courage without rancor, wisdom without arrogance and intelligence with humility, we will meet our detractors and adversaries or rivals with offers they cannot resist, and situations that compellingly encourage taking right actions for the right reasons.”
Something of an insight into how his mind is working.