Ndigbo, particularly the political elite, should wake up to the ugly developments in the South East or get prepared for worse occurrences ahead.
By Igbonekwu Ogaziomrah
“The Igbos are a race of extremists…they have not yet learned the art of Middle of the road…if they copy, they out-do the originators”…Col. Ben Gbulie.
“The Ibos are extremists…they sapped Western education as if it was invented for them…” Sir Rex Niven, former High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria.
Igbo vocal persons once proclaimed: “…such camping in the forests and beheading of human beings will never happen in Igbo land because we are so civilised and we do not even have such vast forests for any dissident group to build camps. But today, there are no less than 15 such camps in the South East alone and killings and beheading are taking place.
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At present, we still thumb our chests and yell, “no Igbo man will ever be a suicide bomber or killer.” But once recently, a caller on Internet radio whose name is Igbo pleaded to be told how to be a suicide bomber.
You see, the Igbo leadership and elite classes have taken their environments for granted for too long. You amass wealth, seize people’s lands, oppress people with sirens, show off wealth and privileges. We never thought of establishing that which would keep the millions of youths employed. Every governor, senator, House of Representative member, Local Government Chairman, etc, finishes out as a billionaire and he shows it with impunity.
In 1997, I pointed out in my little book, ‘New Roads to Biafra…the Igbo man’s burden’, that Igbo leaders would be foolhardy not to realise that Igbo youths, coming of republican cultural background, are a creative-impatient people. If you leave out any conscious plan to absorb their endless energy, that would be proclaiming the doom. Probably, that doomsday is here.
Prof. Michael Echeruo, in his Ahiajoku lecture once said, ‘the Igbo are not like the Hausa and the Yoruba. They fear no God and they are not held back by any tradition or deference to a supreme King. They are free range.
The Igbo situation at moment has ballooned, but one measure to commence a containment is to govern well. Let the governors release the resources of the States to economically activate the the environments. Ignore what obtains in other states of the Federation and release the funds meant for the local governments, rather than becoming overnight lazy billionaires.
It shocks us that beheading is now alive and pervading in Igbo land. Too bad. The real threat is in what follows because as they say, he who is on the ground fears no fall. The Igbo youths are poor, oppressed, hungry, angry, frustrated and hopeless, so what is death to somebody so decimated.
In 1968, Gowon and his gang believed that hunger and deprivation would cause the Igbo to abandon the Biafra struggles. He learnt to his chagrin that it was then that the fighting intensified and hardened. The Igbo would say, hunger and lack are the best natural catalysts.
Still having not learnt his lessons, he worked at putting the Igbo down with 20 Pounds, Abandoned Property Policy and Indigenisation. Successive administrations followed by refusing the establishment of any economic ventures in the South-East. We are now reaping the fruits.
Igbo leaders, you ought to have started yesterday, but it is still redeemable, even if tomorrow is another country!
Ogazimorah, lawyer and former Newspaper Editor, wrote from Enugu
