By JAPH AZUBUINE
IT is understandable that Nigerians are vibrant and gregarious, culminating in the now forceful way of seeing things done whether they are allowable or not. This protocol or routine is always misunderstood by others, especially in this era of suspicion, mistrust and distrust. Another inelegant scenario in this manner of doing things is that these people who go by different names like activist or enforcers of democratic norms step into areas where there are legitimate organs of government to raise such issues.
The more than two weeks public gathering and demonstrations by the body called “Ourmumudondo” and its supporters beats imagination. I can state here without fear or favour that this type of demonstration in these periods are ill-timed and could be misunderstood. This is because, various people of various organs of government have visited President Buhari in London and each came back with the cheery news of his fast recuperation from his ailment.
The Charley Boy-led group should be informed enough to know that the National Assembly is the appropriate organ that should question the legality or otherwise of the president’s long stay in Britain on medical ground. The National Assembly, particularly the Senate, has severally come up with this position that the president has breached no law and I do not know of any organ that should defend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria more than the elected representatives.
One of the things Mr. Charles Oputa (a.k.a Charley Boy) should do is to go through his representatives in the National Assembly and lodge a complaint. He could also ask all the members of his group to engage their various representatives in the National Assembly to raise the issue of Mr. President’s long stay in London. Charley Boy and his group can also go to court and ask the court to interpret the letter and the spirit of the constitutional provision on issues like this.
Charley Boy is an Igboman from an enlightened family for that matter, at least I knew the father for his intellectual and judicial prowess. In 1981, the father, the ebullient Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (late) was the Chief Judge of Imo State. President Shagari paid an official state visit to Imo State, Chief Sam Mbakwe (Phd) was the governor of Imo State. At the banquet at the end of the visit in what was then called Multipurpose Hall, the official hall for the Imo State government then, Justice Oputa was called up to propose the toast. He stood up and made a speech that was later reported to have lasted for two hours ex-tempore, that is, without reading it.
The speech was so laden in English literature, Latin, Greek and more with quotations from Shakespeare’s books that, even though I was in my second year in a higher institution studying a health science course, I nearly decided to re-take JAMB to do a course that could make me know a lot of quotations. That was the extent of the Oputa intellectualism.
I am not saying here that activism is not good; any activism that will involve violence and that would lead to shedding of blood is condemnable. Look at what happened at Wuse market, if the security forces had not intervened early and some lives were lost, the thing had the tendency of escalating to other parts of the country. Whether we like to hear it or not, the Igbos are the single ethnic group that are more in every part of this country doing one legitimate business or the other. In a situation of violence and anarchy, these people who are living/residing in other people’s places will lose more in terms of loss of lives, loss of property, psychological trauma and more. I do not know the type of legacy he would like to leave. Will he like to be remembered for causing trouble that will put Nigerians in jeopardy, especially the Igbos?
It seems that our prominent Igbos are not talking, I mean the ones whose voices could he heard and taken seriously. Honestly, we are not advising, we are not directing and we are not leading. Except for Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, former Governor of Abia State and Chief Rochas Okorocha, the present Governor of Imo State, our other leaders are not courageous enough to talk and advise. These two Igbo leaders have shown enough courage in speaking for unity and for strategic engagements by our people. At any stage of a troubled Nigeria, we will tactlessly be the arrowheads. In the end, we will be seen as the “trouble makers” while our rivals will benefit from it. It does not show us as prudent, introspective, tactful and strategic. They take it that we make noise and leave the substance. They take it that we have not learnt our lessons and that we are too stubborn. These traits which are ascribed wrongly to us hide and becloud, the real progressive, itinerant, friendly, approachable people that we are. We should understand our unifying position in the country and positively consolidate that. We are the “wheel of progress” of the nation but we need to engage strategically. If the ethnic groups in Nigeria are counted one after the other judiciously, the Igbos, that are in South-East, South-South, part of North Central will outnumber every other ethnic group apart from the Hausa-Fulani combined.
Our people should always subscribe to legitimate organs of governments. We have our elected representatives in properly elected governments. Whatever grievances we have should be channeled through them. We should have a way of making them present our matters on the floors of the National Assembly.
Where they fail, we wait for them during the next elections and vote them out. During subsequent elections anybody who would not tackle our problems on the floor of the house and be prepared for their being supported should not seek election in Igboland.
Dr. Azubuine, a consultant optometrist, writes from Kano