Nwabueze Akabogu
The recent summit on the restructuring of the Nigeria organized by the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo at the Ekwueme Square in the Anambra State capital Awka indeed marked a turning point in the current quest for equity, justice, and fairness as well as the attainment of egalitarian society within the political entity called Nigeria.
The historic summit which was attended by prominent Igbo leaders across the globe as well as other ethnic nationalities such as the Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, the Middle Belt Leaders of Thought, the Niger Delta leaders among others was described as timely and a huge success despite the rather orchestrated threat by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) which had labeled the Ohanaeze leadership as “Traitors and enemies” of the Igbo cause.
Our indefatigable Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State must be highly commended for the wonderful organization he was able to put together for the historic event. However, the noticeable absence of other South East Governors at the event, namely: Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Umahi of Ebonyi State, Ikpeazu of Abia State, and Okorocha of Imo State was obviously a big minus for the organizers of the summit and had further exposed the apparent crack within the South East Governors’ Forum. The Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership must act urgently and decisively to bring all the South East Governors together and ensure that all major stake holders are carried along on the crucial journey of restructuring the country for the benefit of Ndigbo as a people and Nigeria at large.
The ten points resolution adopted at the summit tagged. “The Ekwueme Square Declaration” had sent a powerful message that Ndigbo could come together as one people and speak with one voice on the current debate on the future of Nigeria as a united and indivisible political entity. The other ethnic nationalities in the country, such as the Afenifere, Nigeri Delta region, as well as the Arewa Consultative Forum among others had equally articulated their various positions on the current debate on the vexed issue of restructuring the country as a way forward for a new Nigeria.
It is worthy of note and a positive development that all the ethnic nationalities seem to be in total agreement for urgent restructuring of Nigeria as the panacea for the nation’s present economic stagnation and gross underdevelopment unlike her peers known as the “Asian Tigers” such as Signapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea who had recorded giant strides in socio-economic and technological advancement since their independence from colonial subjugation.
It is needless to emphasize the point that Ndigbo as a people had contributed enormously to the socio-economic cum political development of Nigeria right from the period of the liberation struggles for independence and emancipation of the Nigerian people and all through the post- independence era when the legendary doyen of African nationalism, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, along with other nationalists from Igbo land such as, Mazi Mbonu Ojike, Dr. K. O Mbadiwe, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Dr. Michael Okpara all of the blessed memory among others were in the fore-front and championed the liberation struggles that later culminated in Nigerian independence in 1960. It is also an incontrovertible fact that only Ndigbo more than any of their contemporaries in the Nigeria project that had demonstrated in clear practical terms their faith and avowed commitment to the Nigerian unity and socio-economic development of the nation.
To buttress this unassailable fact is the Igbo man’s ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that always propelled him to migrate to other parts of the country and adopting his place of abode as his home and also contributing his quota to the socio-economic development of his host community and most often than not to the detriment of his native home. To further illustrate the above fact is that soon after the civil war had ended in January 1970, Ndigbo just emerging from the ashes of the civil war left Igbo land in large numbers and settled in different parts of the country where they engaged themselves in various business activities and contributed tremendously to the economic advancement of their new found homes.
It is no gainsaying the fact, however, that Ndigbo, as a people had paid heavy price and made tremendous sacrifices towards the unity and oneness of Nigeria but regrettably had received little or nothing in return for their uncommon spirit of patriotism and love for the Nigerian nation.
It is equally a matter of deep regret that Ndigbo, who are one of the three major ethnic groups in the country, are today treated as third or even fourth class citizens in a country they had laboured so much with their sweat to build.
The just-concluded Ohanaeze Ndigbo summit is, therefore, a wake-up call on other ethnic nationalities to quickly embrace the ten points resolution of the summit which will obviously guarantee the unity, and peaceful co-existence of the diverse ethnic nationalities that makeup the entity called Nigeria and to enable all the nationalities have a sense of belonging in the scheme of things or affairs of the nation.
The proposed new constitution to be adopted for the nation will enable the country to re-adopt the principle of true fiscal federalism as bequeathed to the nation by her founding fathers.
In conclusion, the heavy security, presence at the Ekwueme Square and environs including the air surveillance by the Police which was apparently aimed at forestalling any breakdown of law and order in the wake of the IPOB threats to disrupt the summit was a welcome development. However, the deployment of a large contingent of policemen and other security personnel as well as armoured vehicles stationed at strategic locations around the square was absolutely unnecessary and could simply be described as an over reaction or “overkill”.
At this critical period when the nation is facing monumental security challenges occasioned by the wanton killings of innocent people and destruction of property by herdsmen terrorist gangs, rampaging the entire Middle Belt region and other Northern States, the authorities ought to have deployed the large contingent of policemen to the extremely volatile states such as Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Taraba where the presence of the security personnel are urgently needed and certainly not in Anambra State that is calm and relatively very peaceful.
Akabogu writes from Enugwu-Ukwu, Anambra State