Foremost nationalist and First Republic Minister for Aviation, MBAZULUIKE AMAECHI, is one of the surviving members of the Zikist Movement who literally put their life on the line in the struggle for the country’s independence. Fifty-four years after statehood, he laments that this is not the Nigeria they fought for. He also talks on the Civil War and demand for reparation by Ndigbo, in this exciting encounter with Special Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO.
Demand for reparation to Ndigbo over the civil war
I am the chairman of the Reparation Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. My committee had started before the issue became an agenda at the national conference. My committee went into research to find out what injustices, what atrocities had been committed against Ndigbo in Nigeria, not just during the civil war but also before the civil war.
The serious and mass killing of Ndigbo started in 1953. Tony Enahoro moved a motion in the House of Representatives asking for the independence of Nigeria, and Northern members of the House of Representatives under the leadership of Sardauna of Sokoto, vehemently opposed the motion and even threatened to take the North away from the country. The NCNC (National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons), the NEPU (Northern Elements Progressive Union) and the Action Group (AG) aligned to demand self-government for Nigeria. NPC (Northern Peoples Congress) under the leadership of Sardauna of Sokoto broke away and left the conference. Then after that, S.L. (Samuel Ladoke) Akintola went to Kano to deliver a lecture on the need for independence. In the course of the lecture, he probably said something the Northerners did not like and so it led to riot. They did not kill Akintola, but they pounced on the Igbo and over 300 Igbo were killed. The colonial government only admitted that 27 people were killed and 227 wounded. Yet there was no action, no compensation for the Igbo.
Then, in 1966, the military unpatriotically struck and took over the government of the country in a treasonable coup d’’tat killing the Prime Minister. This action was taken by Majors in the military, not just the Igbo, because there were Yoruba and Hausa involved. Again, the whole evil was visited on Ndigbo – the massive killing of Ndigbo in the North, the West, particularly in Ibadan and Ikeja cantonments – and eventually Nigeria imposed a civil war on Biafra.
The Igbo said if you do not want us in this country, allow us to go away, and in the process of going away, the military government of the time declared war on Biafra and fought a war of many weapons, which included all weapons of war, diplomatic weapon, economic weapon and that of starvation. They used economic blockade against Ndigbo, against any contact with the outside world. There were massive killings of Ndigbo in churches, markets and other places. All these cost Ndigbo nearly two million lives.
Before these, when the riots were organised in the North, we published details in a book, where the Igbo were killed in railways in Kaduna, Kano and at Kano Airport where they were assembled to be flown down to the East. They were asked to assemble, so that they would be taken down to the East, but they were all killed – men, women and children.
After wars, everyone who fought and was victorious would later go back to pay war reparation and for rehabilitation. This happened after the World War II when American government went to Germany to effect a Marshal Plan. In the case of Nigeria, Biafra was forced back to the country, and Yakubu Gowon said he had declared a policy of No Victor No Vanquished. But since then, punishment against the Igbo has continued. The Igbo said they were going to demand reparation for all these atrocities on their people. That is the committee of which I am the chairman. Igbo delegates at the national conference wanted the memorandum that we had written; we gave it to them and they presented it at the conference. That is where we are.
Loss to Igbo and amount demanded
It is impossible to quantify the loss of the Igbo. Would you quantify human beings killed? Would you quantify opportunities lost? Would you quantify Igbo properties that were seized in River State under the obnoxious policy of Abandoned Property? There is no way we can quantify these things, but what we are demanding just to touch the minds of Ndigbo and various families affected is N400 billion per state – Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu including Delta because of Anioma citizens. Their people were also killed massively during the civil war.
Response from federal government
We forwarded our demand formally to the president on March 15 this year. The same day, we delivered copies to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Till now, neither the president nor any of these government functionalities has had the courtesy, the simple etiquette, of acknowledging receipt of that. But we are still waiting and it would not be too long a time.
Policies of the 3Rs (Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation) and No Victory No Vanquished not solving the problem
It has not been implemented, let alone solving the problem. You said “no victor no vanquished” and you turned back and took away the wealth of Ndigbo and said that all money belonging to Ndigbo during the war were cancelled and valueless and Igbo adults were given 20 pounds (N40 then) each to start life. Everybody who was an adult that was rich started with N40. After the war, you said “no victor no vanquished”, but you excised two oil-producing areas – Egbema, which was part of Oguta in Imo State, and Andoni, which was part of Ogbaru division – to River State because you do not want any part of Igbo land to benefit from the oil production revenue.
Another one is that you said there will be no more generation of electricity in Igboland and so the Oji River Power Station, which was built to use coal to generate electricity, was closed down and that led to the closure of Enugu Coal Mine, sending about 10,000 workers into the labour market. Then Afam Power Station, one of the biggest power stations in the country and which was part of Aba Division, was taken away and merged with Rivers. That is what Nigeria has done to Ndigbo, but they tell you “no victor no vanquished”.
In political appointments in Nigeria, as well as promotions and developments, the Igbo were discriminated against. This continued and former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed the Oputa Panel, and the commission went into these and other atrocities. The Oputa Panel made several recommendations for compensation to Ndigbo, but Obasanjo refused to implement any of them. The Oputa Panel report is now gathering dust.
The present government is still carrying on the discrimination against Ndigbo. For example, earlier this year, the federal government said it was going to carry out an assessment of the mid-term of Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. So they went to find out economic development effected by the Jonathan’s administration. What were the figures that appeared? Total investment in the North Central was N495 billion; North West N297 billion; South West N215 billion; South South N212 billion; North East due to the activities of Boko Haram N114 billion and total investment in South East was N74 billion. That is the present government of Nigeria led by President Jonathan. The South East gave him that seat he is occupying now, and still Ndigbo are still campaigning for Jonathan to go for a second tenure. How can we justify that? So you see that the wounds of the civil war have not been healed; the wounds have not even been treated.
South East not keeping to Okpara’s philosophy
Michael Okpara’s policy did not anticipate a situation like this that we had after the civil war. Okpara inherited a policy from the late Nnamdi Azikiwe, and that was the policy of industrial development of the old Eastern Region including the South South. Okpara laid special emphasis on agricultural development. It was not in anticipation of anything. They were just running a nationalist government.
After the civil war, the federal government, for 38 years, decided to deprive the Igbo people every opportunity of making wealth. But the Igbo are people that you can never hold down. Out of their own personal initiatives, they have managed to succeed. When Obasanjo took over as a civilian president, he continued that same policy of crushing Ndigbo and this has continued. They have always deprived us of every opportunity of achieving what other parts of Nigeria are achieving. It is for Ndigbo to fight back. Ndigbo must fight back to get their rightful position in a country they contributed more than others to actualise.
Accusation of Australian negotiator, Steven Davies, that Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika and Ali Modu Sheriff are Boko Haram sponsors
First of all, how many people could say exactly what Davies said? How many people saw Davies to ask him questions? After Ihejirika retired, the Northern hawks demanded that because he unleashed soldiers to attack Boko Haram, he should be taken to international court to answer for it. Few months later, an Australian was said to have gone to tell Nigerians that Ihejirika was part of the sponsors of Boko Haram.
What would be Ihejirika’s gain? Ihejirika is a Christian, an Igbo man, and head of the army. So what will he logically or sensibly gain by sponsoring Boko Haram? This argument is a laughable nonsense that goes to no point. People should not pay any attention to it. When did an Australian begin to negotiate for us? Why would a whole president of Nigeria go to Australia to hire a negotiator to negotiate with mad men in Borno State? How about now? The Nigerian Army now build up armoury in army barracks somewhere in Borno and put a lot of men there. When these boys (terrorists) approach, somebody would sound the warning that Boko Haram boys are approaching and the Nigerian Army would run away and leave the whole armoury for these boys? They know what they are doing in the North. Their political, economic and military leaders are financing the Boko Haram. If the presidency denies knowledge, it is only being economical with the truth.
Nigeria at 54, how well?
I worry as much as an old man would worry in a situation that cannot be helped. I have found out that what people are pursuing now are not the things we fought for. These were not the programmes of things that we had in mind while fighting for Independence. We had done our own things in our own time. Let them keep doing what they are doing now in Nigeria.
Today, a subject like History has been stopped in our schools. The government had said that History should not be taught in schools; simply because soldiers were in power for 38 years and they do not want true history of the country to be told. So they abolished History in schools. Yet when a civilian came to power, an academic, it did not occur to him to force the introduction of History. So people have no pride. When people like us come out to talk, the young ones would say, “who are these foolish old men?” It is because they were not taught about the history of this country and they do not know anybody or anything about those that fought for the independence of Nigeria. In fact, Nigeria has forgotten people like us, and I do not know how many of us are still alive, strong and healthy enough in this country.
Assessing Brig-Gen. Benjamin Adekunle
At the time of the war, he was just a man that was killing people recklessly. He used the gun like a mad man would use a gun. He introduced the idea that everything that moved in Igboland should be shot down. Kill everything; if you see a goat moving, kill the goat; if you see branches of trees, fire them. Later, retribution came to him and he became poor till he died. He should not be celebrated in the first place. What are you celebrating? Are you celebrating madness? Are you celebrating the man who killed you?