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JUNE 18, 2007 VOL. 21, NO. 10

Anger in the South-east

Ikedi Ohakim, Executive governor of Imo State

Strong feeling of utter despair and disillusionment hangs thick in the South-east geo-political zone, as the region appears to have no reckoning in the nation’s major power circles
By Okechukwu Obenta, Awka
n Tuesday, June 5, 2007, the dominant mood at the popular Aroma junction, otherwise known as “Freedom Square” in Awka, the Anambra State capital, was unusually that of utter despair, disenchantment and disillusionment as the people who gathered, including the young and the aged from various social strata, engaged each other in discussion on the latest political developments at the nation’s seat of power in Abuja. Instructively, the analysis centred basically on the distribution of key political positions among the various geo-political zones and the manner the South east lost out of serious consideration within core power circle of the nation under the emerging administration headed by Katsina State-born Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, President and Commander-in -Chief.
Under the new arrangement , the South east zone, which hitherto is counted among the three major political blocs within the nation’s power calculus since the country’s independence in 1960, about 47 years ago, can no longer gain recognition when the first four citizens of the country are mentioned. Based on the new distribution of key political positions , the North produced the President of the country; Western zone, Speaker of the House of Representative, while the position of the Senate presidency headed by Senator David Mark from the North-central geo-political zone, is viewed by curious Igbo political watchers as being to the advantage of the North.The Vice-Presidency and the Deputy Senate positions that went to the South south and South east zones respectively, according to the analysts, do not really accord the zones any serious reckoning in the nation’s power equation, as both positions are in the main mere spare-tyres. So, the South east and South south under the current dispensation have been schemed out of the nation’s major power calculus where critical issues of national significance are determined.
In the views of Chief Nobis Enendu, a 41-year-old lawyer and politician who spoke to The Source, judging from the power distribution at the federal level, the South east has been consigned to political insignificance. The zone, otherwise known as the Igbo nation, as far as he is concerned, is no longer a determining factor in the politics of the country. Said he: “Igbos as far as I am concerned are no longer in political contention in Nigeria. The straight-forward answer should be that the Igbo race has been consigned to the background.”
But who should be blamed for this sorry pass of the people of the South east which hitherto occupied and exercised a great deal of influence in matters of critical importance in the nation’s socio-political life?
Don Onyenji, a critical political watcher told The Source at the Aroma junction that the latest power distribution among the various geo-political zones at the federal level, is clearly a reflection of the failure of the people of the South east, particularly in the past eight years the country returned to democratic rule, to harmonise their position.
“Igbos should do a re-think and reappraisal of their activities in Nigerian politics as they affect their collective interest. The way they play their politics determines the kind of respect, honour and positions that are accorded them within the nation’s power sharing”, Onyenji said.
Also, Enendu in his own assessment of the development, minced no word in placing the cause of the fast eroding influence of the South east zone in the country’s political and economic chess-board on the people themselves, which according to him, is the result of an apparent lack of a committed leadership, because, as he pointed out, “the Igboman has lost his sense of bearing and direction as a consequence of important and directionless, non-ideological, unpurposeful and selfish leadership.”
Enendu, predicted that unless drastic steps were taken urgently to redress and redirect the leadership rudder of the Igbo nation, “generations after us will have no patrimony in the Nigerian nation”. He was particularly unhappy with those steering the ship of the apex-Igbo socio-cultural umbrella-Ohanaeze Ndigbo, whom he accused of “wallowing in self-aggrandi-sement, sociological and political stupor” instead of pushing for those things that would improve the collective socio-political interest of the people they are supposed to lead.
As far as he is concerned, the South east now exists in “historical antiquity.”
Onyenji shares Enendu’s worries that the political relevance of the South east is being consigned into irrelevance as he pointed out that before the recent partitioning of the federation into six geo-political zones, the collective interest of Nigeria was principally determined between the Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, with substantial accommodation of the minority areas and thus, observed with serious worry that in the current power distribution arrangement when the Hausa and Yoruba nations are counted, the Igbo would be conspicuously absent. And apparently blaming the unfortunate scenario on lack of committed and purposeful Igbo leadership, Onyenji urged that, “Igbos should improve on their lobbying strategy, apply instruments of effective lobbying because the major issue here is, who is talking? Who is negotiating for the collective interest? And what influence and connections does he have in the current power distribution at the federal level among the geo-political zones?”
Remarkably, Aroma Junction is fast transforming into a political hub of the South east. The area occupies a unique geographical position because it provides a common rendevous for Igbo business operators going to Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra State as well as those traveling from the western axis to their various homes in other parts of the South east zone.
Already, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, factional national chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-political body had expressed his disenchantment over the manner the Igbo nation was left out in the distribution of key political offices that accord the respective major political occupiers a critical role within the nation’s mainstream power circle. He nurses deep ill-feeling that the South east has not been fairly treated in the scheme of affairs, “Ohanaeze is only angling for fairness, equity and propriety, things that are good, gold and noble. These are what Ohanaeze is angling for. We are not particularly mindful or care about who becomes the President (of the country) or governor as such as an individual”.
The Second Republic Presidential Laison Officer in the old Anambra State emphasised that the Ohanaeze was not disturbed by the emergence of Yar’Adua as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. What is uppermost in the mind of the apex-Igbo socio-cultural body, Ikedife stated, is that “equity and fairness” be applied in distributing the national resources among the various components. “Give to the people of South east, the Igbos and people of Eastern region what is due to them. We don’t want special favour (or) coming to beg. But we will come to demand what belongs to us and insist that it be given to us. What we want the Federal Government to do is to recognise that people from the South east are bonafide Nigerians; they have contributed in the planting of the corn, gathering the maize and preparing the maize for baking the cake and putting fire on the cake. Having baked it, they deserve a fair share of the cake, not crumbs. As a right, they deserve a fair share of the cake, not crumbs – begged or borrowed.”
Also, the Anambra State chapter of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), has reacted to the current power sharing formula at the federal level and described it as a negation of the principles of equity and fairness. The human rights agency was particularly critical of the recent choice of Mike Okiro as acting Inspector-General of Police, instead of Ogbonnaya Onovo who the organisation pointed out was the senior in the force to Okiro.
According to the CLO in a press statement on Tuesday, June 5 and made available to The Source, “Ordinarily, it is not the business of ours in Anambra CLO to determine who becomes the IGP (Inspector-General of Police), but we are deeply in pains to observe a situation where an unwarranted war, which cost millions of lives of Nigerians, especially the people of the South east-about 40 years ago – is still being executed by denying them meritorious federal appointments and their share of our national patrimony.” Both the state chairman and the Publicity Secretary of the human rights organisation, Emeka Umeagbalasi and O.J. Daniel respectively, signed the press statement.
From the content of the press statement, the CLO was of the view that the choice of Okiro, who hails from the South south geo-political zone instead of Onovo, who hails from the South east as the new IGP by the Federal Government, was principally to make sure that no Igboman was allowed into the major political power circle of the country under the emerging Yar’Adua presidency.
The CLO asserted that the organisation is not against the choice of Okiro as an individual, but is opposed to the circumstance of his appointment which it said was rather “suspect and unconstitutional.” According to the human rights body, “apart from the fact that the 1999 constitution did not allow that,” the acting position did not take into consideration the Nigeria Police Council which ought to comprise the President as chairman, chairman of the Police Service Commission and the governors of the 36 states of the federation before appointing Okiro as acting IGP, notwithstanding that Onovo is his senior in the force. “Since it appears that various plum elective positions in this dispensation do not favour the South east geo-political zone, principles of fairness demand that key appointive positions should be given to credible and qualified sons and daughters of the zone, in order to keep their faith and hopes alive in the Nigerian project and Nigerian democracy,” the CLO stated.
In line with the CLO's reasoning, a group identified as the Igbo Progressive Community (IPC), has vehemently condemned the appointment of Okiro as the acting IGP, as against Onovo, the the most senior police officer, describing it as a move that "subverted due process and order of seniority of the (police) force".
The group which described the South east as one of the "tripods of the Nigerian federation," tongue-lashed the People's Democratic party (PDP)-led central government for acting as if the people of the zone are not relevant in national issues.
"We are appalled that the new leadership of PDP are behaving as if the people are irrelevant in their calculations, which raises the question on whether they are interested in the consolidation and sustenance of democracy or not," the IPC said.
The group's chairman, Emma Ukaegbu, told journalists in Abuja during a press conference recently, that the occupation of the topmost political seats in Abuja by zones outside the South east, indicate "the total marginalisation of the Igbo in the protocol order of precedence."
For fiery Lagos Lawyer and human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi, who took a swipe at the appointment, the Igbo, since 1914 when the Nigerian project was packaged by Lord Lugard have been inexplicably denied the right of being the helmsmen of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
Fawehinmi said that over the past 93 years which the country has existed as an entity, "the leadership of this force has consciously or deliberately eluded the Igbo who constitute one of the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria."
In a widely circulated statement, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), listed the 13 IGP appointments since April 1, 1964, a few years after Nigeria's independent in 1960, and said that none of them was from the South east geo-political zone.
He, therefore, averred thus: "I consider the exclusion of Igbos from the leadership of the Police as unfair, unjust and unconstitutional".
Quoting from section 14 (3) of the 1999 constitution which states that "The composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity and also command national loyalty...", Fawe-hinmi urged that the above constitutional provision be used as a guiding principle in subsequent appointments of police bosses and other national officials.
While the present development at the federal level, as it concerns the apparent failure of the South east to secure any political point of influence, notwithstanding the Deputy Senate Presidency that went to Ike Ekweremadu from Enugu State, South east zone, virtually all those who reviewed the situation were unanimous that the sad situation was self-imposed due to the selfish disposition of a few Igbo political leaders and other leaders of thought.
The development, opinion leaders posit, therefore, calls for self re-appraisal and a re-think by the people of the zone, with a view to enthroning a committed, selfless and purposeful Igbo leadership.
But inasmuch as Ikedife shares this position, he also believes that the Federal Government deliberately introduced certain policies to marginalise the people of the South east zone in the distribution of infrastructure and also to undermine the economic progress of the people of the South east.
Ikedife has the following posers: “The fact that Nigerian government is planning the introduction of new railway lines and not one millimeter of it is in the South east or South south, what do you think?” The fact that in the South east, there is no power generating station while most other states have some power generating units, what do you think? In the South east, a road contract awarded by the Federal Government in 2002 (Onitsha-Owerri Road) flagged off by the then President on the eve of his campaign for second term or third term, up to now has gone only five good miles, what do you think? The fact that Savanah Bank, owned by mainly people from the South east was sunk even before the merger of the big banks, what do you think? The fact that Ibeto cement factory sited in Port-Harcourt and with the amount of money invested in that factory has been lying unused all these years, what do you think? The fact that SLOK airlines, Sosoliso airlines are not flying and their flight records are not the worst in the whole country, what do you think? In the whole of South east, there is no single international airport, what do you think?
There was a promise or indication that River Niger would be dredged, so that we have a river port at Onitsha but up till now not one cubic inch of sand has been removed in the process of the drainage of the Niger, what do you think? The fact that there has been talk of a second Niger bridge at Onitsha and it has been like a big joke and if you go through that road, particularly during the festive period like Easter, Christmas, August home visit and during the raining season, you will really suffer so much and that suffering goes on, unabated, to the extent that the Benin/Ore Road which these vehicles pass from Lagos to come to the east, the Federal Government said it has no money to repair at one time, because it leads from the West to the East, what do you think?”
Instructively, the Nsukka-Odolu federal road contract awarded in 1999 under the first tenure of the immediate past president, Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration which today is reviewed to the tune of N1.1billion to Master Holdings Construction Company, has uptill now not been completed. Reason for the non completion of the construction of the road, The Source gathered, was non-release of funds to the contractors by the federal government. Apparently, if this road was not in the South east, it would have been completed. There is, indeed, anger in the South-east zone – one threatening to boil over with each passing day, and with more and more instances of official non-recognition of Ndigbo by the Nigerian establishment.