Winning Nigeria; Winning Biafra:
Solutions to Nigeria’s Intractable War for Unity and Progress.
As a young
man, I hated the name Jubril Aminu. Fresh out of Secondary (High) School and
armed with admission letter to the Law Faculty at the University of Maiduguri,
I was told by Aminu, then Vice Chancellor that the few reserved spots for
students from Imo State were filled and only students of Northern origin will
be admitted. I was devastated, angry and swore I will not take JAMB again or go
to University. What use was that if you won’t be admitted anyway? Luckily my
parents did not want any part of my excuses and insisted I must retake JAMB. When
I refused to sturdy my Uncle, then a lecturer at the Federal University of
Technology, Yola intervened and got me application forms to the College of
Preliminary Studies Yola (Now Adamawa State Polytechnic). My outstanding results
at Adamawa Poly earned me admission to the Faculty of Law, University of Jos. I
recount this preamble for the emphasis that so many young people of Igbo
descent have been trapped in this same experience of life in our Country in one
way or the other. For most of them they do not have the support of families
that shepherd them so that their anger and frustration in their Country do not
destroy their ambitions and dreams. At Adamawa Poly and the University of Jos,
I was also awakened to the fact that while my parents mortgaged family land and
borrowed from everyone to pay my tuition and upkeep, my colleagues from the Northern
States received the Bursary payments or full scholarships respectively, not on
the grounds of being indigent, but purely based on their State of origin. These
funds mostly are payments from the Nigerian Federal Government
So, the
question is why is the agitation for Biafra growing louder, half a Century
after Nigerias leaders declared at the Aburi Accord meetings to ”… REAFFIRM
our faith in discussions and negotiation as the only peaceful way of resolving
the Nigerian crisis”. I do not want to rehearse the antecedents leading up to the
Nigeria Civil war or the pogrom of the largest peacetime massacre of Igbo people.
Ojukwu at just 33 years of age was forced to lead a
war of secession from Nigeria to save his people from shame and imminent death.
But the rest is not history … the last thing Nigeria has attempted is any form
of negotiated inquiry into the issues that have beleaguered our Unity as a
Country. As I would soon find out, my anger at Jubril Aminu was misplaced. Aminu
was only one of several Vice Chancellors, Presidents and Permanent Secretaries implementing
a wider systemic discrimination of people of Igbo descent across the Country. So,
my sad story was actually the story of every young Igbo man across the board. Nigeria’s
policy of Quota system and Federal Character were applied in industries, the Military,
Universities and places of employment to deny Igbos who have merited positions
a chance at their dreams or chosen career. I will readily concede that
governments, especially in multicultural or multi-ethnic Countries have an interest in making sure
there are policies in place that favor a disadvantaged group from being
discriminated against by other groups or cultures. In the United States this is
called the policy of Affirmative Action, Employment Equity in Canada, Positive
Action in the United Kingdom, etc. There is a big difference in what is
practiced widely around the world in trying to make sure that the less
advantaged and those who have suffered sanctioned discrimination in their own
Country are given fair and equal opportunity at advancing themselves. Nigeria’s
Federal Character and Quota system could be described as the exact opposite, an
‘Affirmative Action Against Igbos, Employment Inequity of Igbos, Negative
Action on Igbos’ etc because it targets the people who has been the object of
discrimination in Nigeria for further discrimination. The closest analogy I can
use is where a father denies a gifted son an education because his younger one
was born with a learning disability. Igbos have strived and thrived in spite of
the civil war, in spite of the deliberate underdevelopment of the entire
Eastern region of Nigeria and hatred or envy of other ethnic groupings in
Nigeria. Any other group of people that are meted the injustices and denials
thrust on the Igbos would be completely broken and lacking the spirit or will
to survive. Nigeria does not need to hold her best talents down or stop them
from advancing. The disadvantage in educational or other opportunities by
people of Northern origin in Nigeria is not based on any form of
discrimination; after all the North has dominated power in Nigeria. We may need
to create more awareness about the values and opportunities that education
offers in the North, but we do not need to stop the rest of the Country moving
forward in order to do that. There are young people in the North who prefer the
family business of farming and agriculture and there is no amount of awareness
or monetary inducements that can change that. I still remember that at Adamawa
Poly, half of the School enrollment will disappear every year after the bursary
is paid out. They go back to rearing their cattle or other business of choice
after pocketing the federal bursary payments.
I am not one of those that believe that Nigeria must be
split into two or three Countries. I do not believe that Biafra is the best
solution, even for the Igbos. Nigeria can be a great Country where all ethnic
groups can thrive and be proud. But we need to do some work. Too many young
people of Igbo origin are growing up in a Country at war with them. Even those
who did not witness the civil war believe they are besieged, that they cannot
be all they want to b e because their Country will not let them. It is a sad
thing for anybody to know that the next person has been given something he has
earned, not based on merit but because of their geographical region of birth or
religion. For too many, it feels like they were forced into an adopted family
who treats them like slaves and when they beg to go back to their biological parents
they are told they cannot do that either.
Nigeria will need to tell itself the truth. After the civil war, the
leaders declared that there was “No Victor, No Vanquished”. This was a wise
recognition that a war does not end simply because the guns have stopped
firing. Winning Biafra into Nigeria will require winning the hearts and minds
of Igbo people. And all we are asking for is an equal stake in the Country that
fought to keep us here. Igbos are marginalized in every facet of the economy
and always rigged out of the corridors of political power; are not adequately
represented in government or other appointments in industry or administrative
offices. For those who survived the civil war, the scars are still fresh. We
need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to chart the war forward. How is it
that for the first time in the History of the world, a government that was fighting
to keep a group of people whose only crime was to say …”Enough of the killing
of our people, since you do not want us among you, please let us go” employed
Hunger and food blockades as a tool of war. No one has been held to account for
this dehumanizing treatment where you say to another human, I will treat you
unfairly or kill you and if you try to get away from me, I will kill you or I
will make sure that no one can help to feed you. You will die at my hands or I
will force you to starve to death. In South Africa, they recognized the need to
heal the internal scars that a prolonged and systemic maltreatment of another
human can be for the psychology and progress of their Nation. The South African
Truth Commission served for seven years in order to let their Country heal and
move forward as one people. We need a Truth commission in Nigeria and not more
marginalization. We need advancement and equal opportunities for Igbos, not
more ‘Federal Characterization’ of Igbos as the enemies of Nigeria. We need to
include the voice of Igbos in building Nigeria and in the determination of the
future of our Country. What is the reason for excluding Nigerians abroad from
Census counts and the casting of electoral votes other than to marginalize the
Igbos. We have been forced to scatter
all over the globe looking for opportunities to live a descent life and we see
almost every Country give their citizens living abroad the most sacred right of
a vote at elections. If Nigeria values the voice of Igbos in determining how
our Country is governed, this issue of absentee balloting has to be dealt with
immediately. Consider the American Union that was built between a Slave Master
and Slaves from Africa how it has evolved into a more perfect Union. Almost
everyone can succeed and in fact excel if you work hard. Armed with an
excellent education, Barrack Obama whose father came here in search of greener
pastures rose to be the leader of the Free world. America did not do it by
keeping a particular segment of her population down but grants opportunities to
those who were once discriminated while encouraging everyone to be the best
they can be. Consider the number and excellence of Igbos around the globe,
contributing and building other economies because their own Country, Nigeria
would not afford them opportunities to thrive and contribute to the progress of
their homeland.
Buhari and other Nigerian leaders need to realize that the
drumbeats for Biafra is a wakeup call to do the work that should have been done
in order to give every Nigerian a sense of belonging. You cannot kill enough
people or starve enough people or arrest enough people to scuttle an idea.
Biafra needs to be recognized for what it is … an idea and an outcry against
marginalization; an unmistakeable drumbeat for JUSTICE. Justice for the Igbos The
killing of Kenule (Ken) Beeson Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni leaders did not end the
agitation for justice from Ogoni people. This arrest of Nnamdi Kanu as in Ken
Saro Wiwa case will turn only turn Kanu
into a National Hero for Igbos because he gives voice to the pain that all
Igbos feel. The rest of the world work hard at forming a more perfect Union
where everyone thrives but Nigeria believes it can stamp out descent by arrests
and killing of her citizens. Buhari can rise up and etch his name in the
history books by setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to chart a
different part for Nigeria, where everyone can realize their full potentials
and the weak or disadvantaged are helped along to being all they can be. May
God Bless my Country, Nigeria.
Charles Abiahu Esq.
