VOBI 11 20 09 ARE THEY WAKING UP AT LAST OR WHAT?

             When we read in Vanguard Newspaper of November 14 2009 a statement credited to the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo Chief Ralph Uwechue: “Igbo marginalization can break up Nigeria” we couldn’t help but experience a fleeting moment of satisfaction and even relief. At last, an Igbo leader is stepping up to the plate; at long last an Igbo leader is showing some spine and may be even balls. May be an Igbo leader will stand up and speak truth to corrupt power; may be Igbo leaders will rise from their moral death beds; may be; just may be.

The statement by Chief Uwechue is really not such an earth shattering revelation, or even such a big deal especially as everyone knows that Nigeria is already dead and just waiting to be buried, and especially as Chief Uwechue is still talking about building the “Nation” called Nigeria, whatever that means. However, the mere fact that Chief Uwechue pointed at just a tiny fraction of the horrific bad faith which the Sokoto Caliphate, and the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy have displayed towards the Igbo in the half a century existence of so called independent Nigeria is worthy of note. That such a tiny and non-threatening statement evoked even the slightest notice by anyone tells us a lot about the depth of despair the Igbo has suffered in Nigeria. Can you imagine what would have happened if the Cardinals and Bishops in all our churches, world acclaimed international writers and intellectuals, top military brass serving and retired, international civil servants, world renowned inventors and scientists, top journalists, actors and musicians from Igbo land in particular and Eastern Region in general all have with one voice been speaking up forcefully in various international forums against the persecution and enslavement of the Igbo and other people of Eastern Region. Can you just imagine how the world would have rallied to our defense and support?

When you talk about the evil that the Sokoto Caliphate and the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy hiding under the umbrella of satanic One Nigeria have perpetrated on the Igbo and their brothers, it is clear that Chief Uwechue did not even scratch the surface of that evil. We will just scratch that surface for you.

The fight for Nigerian independence was carried almost entirely by the Igbo and other people of Eastern Region and a handful of Lagosians like Herbert Macaulay. The NCNC the only truly national political party that carried the fight for independence was lead for one year by Herbert Macaulay who died the same year, 1945. Thereafter Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected the leader of the NCNC and with other people of Eastern Region including Prof. Eyo Eta, Alvan Ikoku, Nwafor Orizu, M. I. Okpara, Dennis Osadebay, Akanu Ibiam, Anthony Enahoro and others forced the British to grant self government to the three regions in Nigeria, East, West and North and eventually independence to the country. While the East and West accepted self government but insisted on full independence the North insisted on remaining a colony of the British government. The North delayed independence for everyone for another three years as Azikiwe and the NCNC begged the North to accept freedom for their people. By the time the Northern feudalists accepted to be part of independent Nigeria, they insisted on having half of the seats in the Federal House of Representatives. Azikiwe and the NCNC acquiesced. Then they insisted on producing the executive prime Minister and gave Nnamdi Azikiwe the holder of a Bachelors degree from Lincoln University and a Masters degree from University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university, the ceremonial office of Governor General without any powers. Azikiwe acquiesced. Thus throughout the whole of West, East, Central and Southern Africa the only person who led his people to independence and freedom but was denied the opportunity to head the government at independence was Nnamdi Azikiwe who even until his death was continually denied that opportunity to put his ideas into concrete reality. Rather, Alhaji Mallam Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a grade two teacher and one of those who opposed independence was handpicked by Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sarduana of Sokoto and sent to Lagos to become the prime minister of Nigeria. Judge for yourself what damage he and his Sokoto Caliphate rulers did to Nigeria. 

Before independence in 1946, the British colonial government had completed plans to establish apartheid system in Jos, Northern Nigeria. They had segregated certain areas of Jos for Whites only and started building schools for Whites only just as they did in South Africa. It was Nnamdi Azikiwe who organized protest movements and forced the British to abandon the establishment of apartheid system in Northern Nigeria. How did the North pay Azikiwe back?

In all the efforts to organize a meaningful census in Nigeria, the North has always inflated its population to dizzying figures thereby specializing in what will euphemistically be called “fuzzy math.” The West soon joined the North in doing the same thing. That practice has continued till today and has resulted in census figures that indicate that Kano alone has more people and therefore more local governments than all of Igbo land. As laughable as this is to any sane man or woman it is still the official census figure of Nigeria today. The Igbo acquiesced.

In 1964 the premier of Eastern Region, Dr. M. I. Okpara argued that revenue allocation should be on the basis of derivation – that is that the people from whose land the revenue is generated be allocated that revenue. The government of Western Nigeria joined the North in opposing this; which was the return to the way revenue had always been allocated when Groundnut and Tin was king in the North and Cocoa was king in the West. The West and the North then insisted on land mass and fake population as criteria for revenue allocation. The East was defeated.

Baby killer, Yakubu Gowon, working for the Sokoto Caliphate and the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy cut off oil bearing Igbo communities in Southern Igbo land and merged them with other ethnic groups. Then the evil government of Nigeria commenced pressuring them to deny their Igbo identity. It bribed their leaders, cajoled, and even threatened them. Some communities acquiesced, denied their Igbo identity, and started bastardizing their names and the names of their communities. Baby killer, Yakubu Gowon even confessed that the reason why he created states in 1967 was to subvert the identity of the Igbo and undermine the unity of the people of Eastern Region. Now we ask you, did he succeed?

In 1965 the Sokoto Caliphate and the Nigeria federal government of Mallam Abubakar Tafawa Balewa subverted the Yoruba and made them engage in an internecine war in which they slaughtered themselves in large numbers and burned down whole communities in what was called “operation weitie.”  The Caliphate had also imprisoned Chief Awolowo the leader of the Yoruba and thrown Yoruba land into anarchy. The Igbo were horrified. Then the premier of Eastern Region Dr. M. I. Okpara sent help to rescue the West from the Caliphate. Maazi Ukonu, an Igbo man was broadcasting the authentic results of the Western Region election from under the table in Awolowo’s house as the Hausa Fulani and their ally S. L. Akintola were announcing fake results, slaughtering Yoruba men and women and destroying Yoruba land. This eventually lead to the coup of January 15, 1966 whose goal was to release Awolowo from prison and install him as prime minister of Nigeria. The Yoruba joined the Hausa Fulani in dubbing the coup “Igbo coup,” though Major Adewale Ademoyega, a full blooded Yoruba officer confessed that he was one of the five majors who planned and executed the coup and that their goal was to release Awolowo from Calabar prison and install him as the prime minister of Nigeria.

Ojukwu released Awolowo from Calabar prison. On getting home Awolowo declared his support for the Aburi Agreement one of whose clauses was that Northern soldiers occupying Western Region must return to their homeland in Northern Nigeria. Awolowo then issued this famous statement: “If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation.”  Northern Nigeria soldiers refused to leave Western Nigeria; Awolowo who was saved by the Igbo formed alliance with the Hausa Fulani who had been killing his people and occupying their land; and in one of the most dastardly acts in history urged his Yoruba people to join the Hausa Fulani in slaughtering thousands of Igbo and other people of Eastern Region living in Western Region and starving to death millions of Igbo children. 

In 1983 the Sokoto Caliphate and the Hausa Fulani Yoruba oligarchy organized a coup to topple the government of Shehu Shagari. Umaru Dikko, minister of transport in Shagari’s government later confirmed that the only reason they planned, and executed the coup was to make sure that Alex Ekwueme then Vice President of Nigeria would not become the president of Nigeria after the termination of Shehu Shagari’s second term as president. Buhari and the Sokoto Caliphate dumped Ekwueme in Kirikiri prison, Lagos and sent Shagari to his home in Shagari village, Sokoto.

When Ibrahim Babangida the snake annulled the election of Abiola as president of Nigeria, Ndigbo were in the forefront of fighting for the restoration of Abiola’s mandate. When Abiola thought that he had finally concluded his secret treaty with the Caliphate and the Hausa Fulani he immediately told Ndigbo that he did not need the Igbo to be president of Nigeria. The Igbo licked their wounds and shut their mouths. 

When the Hausa Fulani and other Northerners fell on the Igbo and slaughtered 100, 000 Igbo and other Easterners living in Northern Nigeria between May and October 1966 what did the Yoruba do? They sent Yoruba Obas to tour Northern Nigeria and thank the Northerners for not killing the Yoruba when they were slaughtering the Igbo and their kin from the Eastern Region.

There are literally scores of examples of bad faith, treachery, and cowardly exploitation of the Igbo and other Easterners by the Hausa Fulani and Yoruba. Anyone with common sense, not high sense should know never, never to trust Hausa Fulani, and Yoruba in discussions, negotiations, treaties; never, never to trust their public declarations and pledges of loyalties because once the chips are down they sell you down the river.

The Igbo and their kin in Eastern Region must realize that the only agenda of the Hausa Fulani Yoruba is to dominate you, exploit and use your resources for their benefit, and enslave all you people of Eastern Region, Biafra. The only survival strategy for the Igbo and their kin in Eastern Region is to fight back, to push back as fiercely as ever against this evil plan. Unless you push back ever so aggressively, you will be enslaved. A bully responds to nothing other than aggressive counter attack. You have been complaining about resource control. We ask you just one question. If this oil and gas were to be located in Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, or Maiduguri all of you from Eastern Region will be begging for the issuance of visa from Arewa country to travel to Kano, Jos, Maiduguri, Katsina, Bauchi and even Makurdi. There wouldn’t even be talk of One Nigeria. Ndigbo onye mara asu ya suo n’odo, onye amaghi asu, ya suo n’ala.

May God bless the smart people of Biafra and the sovereign independent State of Biafra!