The world is a dangerous place not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing – Albert Einstein
It is a thing of great astonishment that while concerned Nigerians are fervently praying for an end to the protracted feud between two former governors of Abia State, Theodore Ahamefule Orji and Orji Uzor Kalu, the youth arm of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, of all people, is busy fuelling it. Otherwise, how do we explain the action of those elements of the Ohanaeze Youths Council (OYC) who, according to report in the Daily Sun of August 26, 2015 (page 4), had no qualms declaring before Kalu that Orji was the brain behind OYC’s “past attacks” on him? Without holding brief for either Orji or Kalu, any rational observer would not but wonder what else those young men were up to other than real mischief.
That is not the role we expect our youths to play under the circumstances in which the two Igbo leaders find themselves today. For goodness’ sake, if our youths cannot help raise the value curve in Igbo affairs and politics, if they cannot help us put out a raging but avoidable fire, please let them not stoke it. Let them steer completely clear for the main body of Ohanaeze to step in as a matter of necessity. Obviously, the protracted misunderstanding is not only a disgrace to Ohanaeze but also signifies a major distraction which the people cannot afford at this point in time. While calling the errant youths to order, Ohanaeze should prevail on the two warring men to cease hostilities and embrace peace; not only in their own interests but also in the interest of the generality of Ndigbo, whose attention ought not to be diverted from political developments on the federal scene.
Kalu, in particular, as an entrepreneur with further interest not only in Abia and federal politics but also global, should be more circumspect to understand the futility of politics of attrition or what the Yoruba call rofo-rofo fight, which is what he and Orji are engaged in today. It is not good for anyone who is looking forward to climbing greater heights in politics. Unrestrained politics of attrition creates a negative image for its practitioners who are usually looked upon by rational observers as habitual troublemakers who are unworthy of any major elective office. Of course, after serving Abia people as governor for eight years, Kalu, I believe, would like to move further to the Senate and other posts. Ndigbo would appreciate it if in no distant future he is elected as leader of the prestigious Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) whose members are always meticulously cautious in choosing the occupant.
Of course, it is on record that Kalu also has his eye on the office of Vice President of Nigeria and by extension the presidency itself. As a successful football promoter, he is also interested in the office occupied today by Sepp Blatter at FIFA. But I wonder whether he can smoothly achieve any of these amid endless political rancour and pull-him-down skirmishes in Abia, his home state. A man, as Woodrow Wilson pointed out, is not as big as his belief, but as big as the number of people who believe in him. To achieve their respective heights in Nigerian politics, Aminu Kano, Waziri Ibrahim, Solomon Lar, Olusola Saraki and Joseph Tarka could not but carry their respective states along.
To get to where he is now, Sepp Blatter certainly did not emerge from any background of political crisis in Switzerland in 1997/98. To be where he is today, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), through the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), had firm support from the people and government of Nasarawa State. To get to where he is today in the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki had counted fully on the loyalty of the people and government of Kwara State. Ditto for Atiku Abubakar who has now repositioned himself properly for any presidential contest of the future by winning control of Adamawa State. Undoubtedly, without a firm grip on Lagos State and its politics, Bola Tinibu wouldn’t have achieved the very unique place he occupies in national politics today. To catch a monkey, as the saying goes, you have to behave like a monkey and not like a hunter.
Kalu should therefore put on his thinking cap and re-strategise, with a view to achieving full cooperation in Abia politics which may be impossible under the existing atmosphere. In the absence of any mediation, certainly the quarrel with Orji, who is widely viewed as the underdog, will only fizzle out the moment Kalu takes the decision in that direction.
Without going into what one may call the nitty-gritty of the quarrel, my advice for Orji, on his part, is that Kalu deserves his respect. Let bygones be bygone. Beyond all this, however, there is also the issue of overall interest of Ndigbo. The Kalu/Orji conflict is a veritable clog in the wheel of progress in Abia, and seriously negatively impacting on Ohanaeze’s attention at a time like this in Nigeria’s history. In other climes, if personal political interests clash with the overall group interests, the former gives way almost mandatorily.
This was the crux of Aristotle’s message when he discussed “politics as a science that studies the supreme good for man”. In plain language, the foremost Greek philosopher advised that “if the good of the community coincides with that of an individual, it is a greater and more perfect thing to achieve and preserve that of the community for, while it may be desirable to secure that of an individual, to do so in the case of the community or state is something finer and more sublime”.
It was perhaps based on this Aristotelian dictum that at the outset of World War II Winston Churchill mortified his rigid anti-communist flesh to accommodate the Soviet Union for the purposes of a military alliance in the face of the monstrosity of Nazism. Today, despite their bitter ideological differences and ceaseless rivalries, America, Russia and China would quickly jettison their differences should the earth be invaded by aggressors from Mars. In fact, researchers have conclusively proved that external threats or aggressions tend to dissolve or obliterate barriers between or among people who get reconciled and united at least momentarily to tackle a common foe. A word is enough for the wise.
I cannot end this piece without a final word for the younger generation of Ohanaeze because tomorrow belongs to them. Therefore, if I may parody Steven Wright, may I appeal to the apex Igbo forum to whack those fawning youths who may still be regaling in hibernation and soporific slumber in dark corridors of politicians, thinking it is not yet morning. Let’s tell them without equivocation that it’s already tomorrow in other zones; it is already tomorrow in Ibadan, in Kaduna, in Benin and even in Ado Ekiti and Jalingo. Fanning the embers of the unfortunate misunderstanding between TAO and OUK is simply wicked, callous and criminal.
