THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF NIGERIA ?

 Ozodi Thomas Osuji

         It seems that we are now witnessing the beginning of the end of Nigeria ! Since Obasanjo and his handlers have decided that they should crown another northerner as Obasanjo’s hair apparent, they have probably rang the bell for the dismissal of the school for scandal called Nigeria .

       Obasanjo’s behavior is baffling. It is baffling because statesmen are supposed to be political realists who take the political lay of the land into consideration before making decisions; folks who do not make decisions on sentimental and or idealistic grounds.

        In the context of Nigeria , political realism demands that Nigerian statesmen, through projective identification (human beings can project themselves to other people and imagine how they would feel about any particular situation) imagine how Igbos would feel if continually they are shut out of executive power in Nigeria . Igbos would feel like orphans in the Nigerian polity. Orphanage is not exactly the preferred state for any one.

        Nigeria gained independence in 1960, thanks to the struggle of Nigerian nationalists (who were predominantly Igbos). But since then no Igbo has had the opportunity to be the executive ruler of Nigeria . (Through a fluke, Major General Johnson Thomas Umunna Aguiyi Ironsi, who had not sought power, was the interim leader of Nigeria for seven months in 1966, before, as Major Yakubu Gowon said: power returned to northern hands, where, apparently, he believed, it belongs.)  Beyond the Ironsi interregnum, no Igbo has had the opportunity to rule Nigeria .

        (To pacify Igbos, the Hausa-Yoruba rulers of Nigeria throw some crumbs to Igbos, such as, make an Igbo the deputy of the designated ruler: Abubakar Tafawa Belewa-Nnandi Azikiwe; Shehu Shagari- Alex Ekwueme; Umaru Yar’Adua- Peter Odili.  Apparently, in their minds, Igbos can only play second fiddle rather than the key role. I say, shame on those Igbos who undertake to accept and perform such humiliating roles for their African colonial masters.) 

       All indications are that there are three, more or less, equal tribes in Nigeria : Hausa 24 million, Yoruba 22 million, Igbo 20 million. (Source: World Almanac.)

        Given this population parity, it would seem that common sense dictates that all efforts are made to accommodate the feelings of these three dominant groups.  Peace in the polity would seem to depend on how the three dominant groups are treated.

       Political realism dictates that rulers take into consideration their opponents feelings, assuming that they desire peace and stability in their country.

          Apparently, the Hausa and Yoruba, the rulers of Nigeria , consider the Igbos a defeated people and do not take Igbo feelings into consideration in making political judgments in Nigeria .

       I believe that this is an egregious mistake. If come next year, another Hausa president becomes the leader of Nigeria , we might as well kiss Nigeria good bye. Nigeria probably cannot survive another eight years of continued marginalization of the Igbos.

       Those of us who have struggled to avoid joining the Biafra crowd will certainly see no hope in Nigeria and will make decisions that serve our best interests.  We cannot afford to be second class citizens forever and ever, particularly if those who are appointed to rule us are most likely to accomplish nothing significant for Nigeria .

        If one may ask: what good is it to Nigeria if Igbos are continually alienated from the country?  Common sense (which, apparently, is a scarce commodity among the rulers of Nigeria ) suggests that all people in a polity be made to feel a part of that polity.  Allowing people to participate in all facets of national life is one way to get them to feel that they have investments in the polity’s welfare. Those who feel invested in a polity work for its survival.

       On the other hand, if you systematically give a group of people the impression that they do not belong to the polity and are, at best, tolerated as second class citizens, what exactly do you expect them to do?  Laugh and smile and go along with you?  Do you expect them to be satisfied because you treated them as dogs?

        Do slave masters expect slaves to be happy and contented? Or do they invest in police (and other so-called law enforcement agencies) to control the restive enslaved masses? And how long can they control people? Forever?

         Human nature disposes people to seek freedom and self governance. Like birds, human beings may be caged for a while but the moment they have opportunity they fly away to freedom.

        Nigeria is increasingly becoming like a cage for Igbos.  Nigeria is increasingly a place where Igbos freedom is curtailed.

         It seems that Igbos are relegated to second class status in Nigeria .  Black on black colonialism, that is, Hausa-Yoruba domination of Igbos, would not be tolerated for long, for it is unnatural to subjugate a group of human beings to other groups’ perpetual rule.

       Africans fought to free themselves from European rule; they did not fight to have themselves ruled by other African groups. Hausa-Yoruba colonialism must be fought as we fought white colonialism.

         In the best of circumstances, those swept under the rug, as is obviously the case of Igbos, fume with anger and bid their time until they come to their own.  All things being equal, Igbos feel not respected in Nigeria and are angry at their continued powerlessness in Nigeria .

       Of course, a few Igbo opportunists, the unprincipled types, pitch their tent with the unscrupulous rulers of Nigeria , hoping to pickup the crumbs of bread that fall from the table as the children of the table (Hausas and Yorubas) eat. These pragmatic, opportunistic Igbos are found in the ranks of the PDP kleptocrats. These clowns are there for their pockets, and not necessarily because they love Nigeria . If some powerful personality makes a move to remove Alaigbo from Nigeria , these Igbo quislings, being amoral and shameless, would redirect their loyalty to Alaigbo.

       The point is that to say that some Igbos are participating in the present keptocracy of Abuja is to deceive ones self, for those Igbos are essentially criminals participating in the looting of  Niger Delta oil revenue.

       In several essays, I pointed out that many contemporary Igbos have a siege mentality. They feel besieged and persecuted by their fellow Nigerians. They feel constantly under attack by Nigerians.  Whereas this social paranoia has some individual causation, yet it has social causes.

        Those who feel attacked, unless they are totally delusional, tend to be attacked. The Jews, another group with a siege mentality, were empirically discriminated by Europeans.  Whereas, Jewish arrogance played a role in their neighbors hating them, the fact remains that their neighbors attacked and killed six million of them during the Second World War. By the same token, Igbo arrogance plays some role in their hated status, but the fact remains that they are attacked, marginalized and frequently killed by other Nigerians.

      The self and other selves are in a dynamic relationship where both affect each other. You cannot say that what happens to the individual is only his fault or the faults of others; it is the fault of both parties. In a General system, everything affects everything; all persons adjust to the behavior (stimuli from) of other people.

       The observable functional paranoia found in many Igbos is partly a product of other Nigerians unwelcoming attitude towards them. (Many African Americans exhibit functional paranoia; this is generally attributed to racial discrimination, to white America ’s rejection of their human hood.) Been shut out of the corridors of power in Nigeria plays a role in Igbos apparent sense of been unwelcome in Nigeria .

     Some of the alienated Igbos work for what they call Biafra . They tend to look with nostalgia at what they believe is the shining moment of their people’s self governance during the Biafra episode. They yearn for an opportunity to return to that brief moment of glory under the sun. They make Emeka Ojukwu, the Biafran leader, a heroic figure and worship him.

      This crowd is largely composed of unsophisticated Igbos. So far, they have not attracted the Igbo intelligentsia.   But the continued maltreatment of Igbos is surely going to make the goals of the Biafra crowd attractive to the Igbo middle class. 

        As the educated class of Igbos join the clarion call of the Biafrans for secession, Nigeria will certainly suffer.  It does not bode well for the continued existence of Nigeria for the rulers of Nigeria to continue to be insensitive to Igbos desire to be associated with ruling their country.

        Obasanja and his handlers insensitivity to Igbo pride is beginning to irritate those of us who hitherto pitched our fate with Nigeria ’s survival.

       If it has not occurred to Obasanjo and his handlers that they are alienating Igbos by returning power to the north, rather than to the south east, I believe that they have sowed the seed for the destruction of Nigeria .      

        Since Obasanjo has decided to have another northerner replace him, as he had one replace him in 1979, and subsequently relegated Nigeria to mediocrity, the time has come to reconsider the Igbos continued association with Nigeria .

       Even though ones particular predilection is for larger political entities, not small nation states, but if the price of staying in Nigeria is the continued marginalization of the Igbos, I say that it is time for this forced marriage to end.

      Nigeria was always an artificial marriage, a contrived social construct with none of the ingredients that make for nationhood. The various peoples of Nigeria do not have similar outlooks on life; the various groups have cultures that are as dissimilar as night and day.  Perhaps, it is about time for each of these disparate groups to go their separate ways and develop according to their nature.

       Perhaps, it is time the Igbos are no longer weighed down by uncompetitive peoples who do not seem to realize that what makes for progress is the unfettered competition for the allocation of resources, and the most competitive, the fittest allowed to win, but share their wealth with the weakest…hence mixed capitalist-socialist economy.

         Perhaps, nature and nature’s God does not intend for the people of Nigeria to stay together in the same polity?  I speak for me: if the Hausa and Yoruba scheme to foist another incompetent northerner on Nigeria , hence relegating Nigeria to another era of political and economic irrelevance, I am in support of Igbos leaving Nigeria . It is time to take the idea of The Republic of ALAIGBO seriously, and stop fooling ourselves into thinking that a moribund colonial construct can be put on a proper footing to make a difference in the world?

Ozodi Thomas Osuji

December 17, 2006

Robot  Villager

# 1 THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF NIGERIA ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 17.12.2006 12:04

Obi  Villager

# 2 Dr. Osuji, Hummm..Odi egwuo! CAGE! That is what Nigeria is actually to your people. It is really sad. It would not be long before Igbo-speaking people are turned to permanent refugees in Nigeria. Anyone one that tells you that it will get better, is yet to see the big picture. Obasanjo's decision to return power to the caliphate is a serious sign; the death of the tripodal foundation of Nigeria. Failure by the middle and the upper middle class Igbos to find a solution to this indefinite siege, will be too high a political albatross to bear in the not too distant future. Now is the time to close ranks. I'll not hold the Yoruba race responsible for the actions of one man. I recall very well that Odili's ambition was supported by a good number of highly placed, progressive Yorubas. It is just that the flash backs of the civil war, and the not-so-good relationship that Obasanjo had with the elite Igbo officers prior to the war, have continued to traumatize his poor mind. Posted by Obi| 17.12.2006 13:46

demonteufel  Villager

# 3 Perhaps, nature and nature’s God does not intend for the people of Nigeria to stay together in the same polity? Exactly my thought.....! Posted by demonteufel| 17.12.2006 13:57

alagemo  Villager

# 4 Lamentation is good. It is good catharsis but it would be important to remember on whose back Obasanjo rode to power in 1999 when then the Yoruba progressives had presented other alternative. Posted by alagemo| 17.12.2006 15:18

pukpabi  Villager

# 5 Folks, First of all, I'd like to welcome my brother Osuji back to sanity. Ndeewo Nwannem. My people, here is the deal; Nigeria is dead. Long live Biafra. I have always explained to people that I do not hate Nigerians; I just dislike the Nigerian arrangement. I have always been told to give Nigeria a chance to right the wrongs. Someone told me that Obasanjo, with the power of hindsight, will take a bold decision not to return pwer to the North, but this fellow forgot that Obasanjo still has Yoruba blood, never to be trusted. My fellow Igbo, this is the time to join MASSOB enmasse; but this time, everything will be well planned. From today, my loyalty to Nigeria is gone, and forever. Any Igboman who describes himself as a Nigerian is eternally condemned. Folks, the civil war is still raging, so go back to the woods; this time not the physical woods, but the intellectual woods. Biafra must stand, and I will fight to die. I will prefer to die than to be a slave to my inferiors. Any body can say whatever he or she likes, but from today, I declare Nigeria my number one enemy: I either succeed or fail, but I will never live to see the status quo maintained. God bless you, as you participate in the struggle. Paschal Ukpabi, J.D. Michigan, USA Posted by pukpabi| 17.12.2006 15:26

ula-lisa  Villager

# 6 Here goes another cry baby! The Igbos are very smart and some of my best friends, but they know next to nothing about politics; i.e. one group engaging the other to wrest power. Qtn: 1. Would you say OBJ caused Anambra wahala or fellow Igbo sons? 2. Who were the Igbo candidates? Did you support them within the PDP? Kalu was laughed to scorn. I mentioned Ngozi, I was shouted down as if Liberia is more sophisticated than Nigeria. Who did Ndigbo chose to put forward? Nobody. Exactly. 3. Was Odilli a secret Igbo candidate, no? 4. Paschal - what would Igboland benefit if they split off now? What would they do to themselves that they are not already doing to themselves? Are the Uba Brothers Hausa men from Kano? Is Nzeribe from Zaria or the Assembly men of Anambra from Katsina. Will these persons behave different if they are called BIAFRA??? 5. Is PDP Nigeria???? Can Ndigbo ever unite to negotiate? If it is individual deals why the complaint? Accept some responsibility for speaking too much gramma and not doing wise politicking. Abegi. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Posted by ula-lisa| 17.12.2006 16:48

Tony  Villager

# 7 @Ula-Lisa: With all due respect, you dont seem to have noticed the trend in Nigeria. Truth is; even if all Ndigbo united behind a single Igbo candidate, (which they did anyway under Zik) the powers that be will still not allow an Igboman for now, to become president for obvious reasons. When you talk about the Igbo ability in politics, dont forget that Zik was one of the greatest politicians of his time. So many other Igbo politicians, i.e Ozumba Mbadiwe, Mbonu Okije, Nwafor Orizu etc in the first republic were shrewd and highly succesful politicians . It would be wrong to assume that Ndigbo are not good politicians because of present day drawbacks. If you are familiar with Igbo political history, you would appreciate that what set Ndigbo back is the civil-war. Unfortunately while most Ndigbo have moved on, the Nigerian establishment have refused to move on. Nobody can deny that Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe carried the whole Igbo population along, but he never became president. Chief Awolowo carried the whole Yoruba along but never became president. This happens because the Northern post-war superpower decides and selects who will rule Nigeria. This has been the trend, and Obasanjo has reinforced it for those who had any doubts. The South-south in particular had enormous sympathy from wide sections of the country in their presidential campaign. Even Ndigbo made it clear that the presidency should be with the South-south or Southeast. In other words Ndigbo were ready to give up their run for the South-south. Inspite of the popular and overwhelming campaign of the South-south, the Nigerian establishment has demonstrated that they ultimately decide who rules Nigeria. In 1999 Ekwueme was the clear front runner, before the jittery Northern establishment brought Obasanjo from prison, and selected him to become the president, even when he hitherto had no political structure, because he was the one they could trust. Ekwueme and co. who had laboured to build the PDP from scratch was rigged out by the establishment. Abiola the only candidate who surprised the North by winning an election they thought Tofa would win, was prevented from getting to power by all means. As Nigeria is today, and given the mindset of the powers that be, no amount of fielding a single candidate, or cohesion can give you the presidency unless the powers that be decide to give you power. There is no democracy in Nigeria. What we have is a caliphate selecting people on tribal grounds. Except there is change to usher in a Nigeria of equals, Nigeria's days are numbered as the Americans have predicted. Posted by Tony| 17.12.2006 19:31

emj  Villager

# 8 Perhaps, nature and nature’s God does not intend for the people of Nigeria to stay together in the same polity? I speak for me: if the Hausa and Yoruba scheme to foist another incompetent northerner on Nigeria , hence relegating Nigeria to another era of political and economic irrelevance, I am in support of Igbos leaving Nigeria . It is time to take the idea of The Republic of ALAIGBO seriously, and stop fooling ourselves into thinking that a moribund colonial construct can be put on a proper footing to make a difference in the world? Na wetin una still dey do here wey una never go since........i bin think say una bin flash us una brake lights. Nobody schemed the igbos out of anything that they didn't want to be schemed out of.........enough of your whinings. Did you present any credible candidate?.......noooooooooo If yes, did you with one mouth support him or her? Did you encourage the caricature postures from your representatives?.>......Yesssss So quit whining and let us hear word ojare:rolleyes: :cool: It is never over for nigeria, it can only be over for lazy people.......the battle for the soul of Nigeria has only just begin.........it ain't going be easy, but something will definitely give. Posted by emj| 17.12.2006 20:26

Auspicious  Villager

# 9 =pukpabi;144144>Folks, First of all, I'd like to welcome my brother Osuji back to sanity. Ndeewo Nwannem. My people, here is the deal; Nigeria is dead. Long live Biafra. I have always explained to people that I do not hate Nigerians; I just dislike the Nigerian arrangement. I have always been told to give Nigeria a chance to right the wrongs. Someone told me that Obasanjo, with the power of hindsight, will take a bold decision not to return pwer to the North, but this fellow forgot that Obasanjo still has Yoruba blood, never to be trusted. My fellow Igbo, this is the time to join MASSOB enmasse; but this time, everything will be well planned. From today, my loyalty to Nigeria is gone, and forever. Any Igboman who describes himself as a Nigerian is eternally condemned. Folks, the civil war is still raging, so go back to the woods; this time not the physical woods, but the intellectual woods. Biafra must stand, and I will fight to die. I will prefer to die than to be a slave to my inferiors. Any body can say whatever he or she likes, but from today, I declare Nigeria my number one enemy: I either succeed or fail, but I will never live to see the status quo maintained. God bless you, as you participate in the struggle. Paschal Ukpabi, J.D. Michigan, USA It is perversion - a sickness of a different hue; one that defies all prayers, medicine and magic or what-have-you, that informs the highlighted comments of the author in quotes above. Hopefully, someday, somehow, Mr. Pascal Upkabi will let go of his ethnocentricity so that he can appreciate some facts about his neighbors. For example, he will be able to tell that Olusegun Obasanjo is just ONE Yoruba man amongst the rest of the Yoruba people - a people whose indulgence he (Segun) hardly ever craves; a people who have no say on who he imposes on them as party leaders, governors or future Presidents. Hopefully the day will come, when Pascal Upkabi will decide to cure himself of his negative tribalist outlook and desist from labelling whole peoples as untrustworthy - as a people "never to be trusted". You may welcome Ozodi Osuji back to sanity but you should look inwards and around you; you may be suprised to find out that Osuji has left you far behind in that insanity - an insanity of ethnocentricity. Some of us will take Thomas long before we give Pascal a consideration. As long as hate-mongers like you continue to champion the cause of Biafra, your idea of Biafra will always be a dream that will never be realized. There is nothing wrong in fighting for an identity - there is nothing wrong in figthing for Biafra. But when your dreams are nurtured by hate, unfair labelling and distrust for others, the hate will always be an impediment to realzing your dreams. You don't hate Nigerians, you said, but you don't have any problems describing the Yorubas, your fellow Nigerians, as a people who are not trustworthy. Ukpabi, you better believe this: that is what I call talking through your anus - a.k.a. farting. And gosh, your fart stinks like hell! The Yorubas need liberty, the Igbos need liberty, the Hausas need liberty. The people under whose shackles we are as individual enthnic groups are within us. They are your Igbo leaders, your Yoruba leaders and your Hausa leaders - who live amongst us everyday! Stop pointing fingers at others, you tribalilsts! If you are not a coward, if you are not just another of those revisionists who recyle expired rhetoric day in, day out, you will get out of your comforts in Michigan and take to the streets in places like Awka, Owerri, Abakaliki, Onitsha and environs to defend yourself and yours against the activities of the charlatans and whores who call themselves your local leaders. I speak of the likes of Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba - that thief, that liar who is helping the man whom you think speaks for all Yorubas (Obasanjo) in sodomizing your people with impunity. And I hiss! All these fake liberators -- wannabee liberators; all these ethnicists masqurading as emancipators...they make one want to puke! Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 17.12.2006 21:12

ula-lisa  Villager

# 10 @Tony PDP is not Nigeria. What stops Ndigbo from negotiating and taking over one political party if all are united with their 20 million as someone mentioned. If south-south is with Ndigbo and I know that the middle-belt had reached out a hand of friendship, was it accepted? Politics is a game of numbers and inclusion. Some southerner on these boards was already cedding territory (instead of including) and calling Zaki-Biam North. The so-called owners of Nigeria may be less than 10 million, but they include each disparate tribe under Hausa/Fulani. Tiv is closer in customs, religion, work ethics, ideology and even physique to Ndigbo, but the so-called Ndigbo act like they are God's gift to Africa - This repels even friends. Politics is a give and take. If you take money from the mallams, they know you have a price. That is what has been happening. Hint, no one can rig elections where they do not have local kingpins in their pocket. Zik and the rest are gone. Look ahead. Who could have imagined that IBB would ever run away from Asorock? He was bold enough to fly a kite we shot down this time. Politics is evolving quit crying Ndigbo. Nobody gives power, power is schemed, negotiated and grabbed. That line about God giving power is a lie. People scheme for power, God allows them get away with it if we do nothing. Ultimately even if a bad man rules, God allows him to punish the deserving indolent persons. Posted by ula-lisa| 17.12.2006 21:18

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