On Biafra, I am under no illusion about its practicability. And given that the protagonists are men of questionable character I have little doubt that that the hubbub will evaporate as the rumoured IPOB metamorphosis crystallizes further.
“The Igbo historical past is very important and at certain times it has been quite tragic. But we cannot remain trapped in our past and as someone once said, we cannot wish away the war that took place but we cannot continue to move forward with our heads slightly inclined backward. You will either trip or not move fast enough. Don’t forget that you are in a race with other groups. Nigeria of the sixties is markedly different from Nigeria of today and the Igbo nation would have to adjust to that reality and strategize accordingly” ~ Rotimi Amaechi Just yesterday a friend had asked, “who do you think can make the candidates’ list for Igbo presidency?” I was lost for a few minutes before replying Rochas Okorocha. When he asked why I told him that realistically he is the only one that has the chance of getting the necessary northern votes and that despite the perception out there I will personally pick Rochas over Jonathan and Yar’Adua for any top-level job. I won’t bother you with the rest of our repartee but you can be sure my choice of Owelle was not derided as most Igbos would have done. This is a question that regularly pops up in our discourse. Some say that Igbos don’t need the presidency to progress. That what we need is a restructured and equitable nation for the Igbos to excel. I agree. But I equally agree with the reasoning that it will be equitable for Igbos to produce a Nigerian president after all these years.In any case that is just by the way to present some of the discourse that informed this write up. Lately, the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Before the recent legal challenge, he had been controversially mired in what many news outlets sensationally interpreted as a ‘call for coup’. In a ‘sermon’ that saw him mention God over 15 times while commenting on the recent violence in Kogi state, the Senator had asked “Who says that the army cannot takeover in Nigeria? It is possible. Yes it is possible”. Surely James Humes didn’t have Nigerian lawmakers in mind when he stated that “every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership” A lesson or two may be needed from his principal who was dragged around the Code of Conduct Tribunal for several months but never descended to such depths of impolitic flippancy. Being a smart lawyer and an experienced politician one would expect that Ike’s speech will be dotted with properly chosen words, but let us just agree that every now and then we lose it. I had stated then that Ekweremadu’s outburst typified the emotional politics that is, unfortunately, the ubiquitous mindset of many Igbos since the 2015 general elections. Now accused of illicitly acquiring several properties which were allegedly not declared, the suave lawmaker from Aninri is facing an ex parte application filed by the Federal Government seeking the forfeiture of 22 “undeclared” houses in Nigeria and Ohaneze Ndi Igbo is having none of that. Chief Nnia Nwodo, leader of the Pan Igbo Group issued a robust statement in defence of “a revered Igbo son” and accused the federal government of persecuting him alongside others just because they are Igbos. Paradoxically Nwodo is saying this just a couple of weeks after Ekweremadu had dismissed the allegations as “part of the politics of 2019” while stating that the case has further exposed “those who colluded with the dismissed former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Umezulike and his cronies to steal and doctor his will.” Moreover, this is not the first time Ekweremadu has been accused of amassing properties illegally. During the last administration, a certain Mr. Steve Igweze of a certain Enugu Salvation Group had among other things alleged that the Senator acquired the Modotel Hotels, Enugu and 1000 plots of land in Enugu for a private university. So what in the world does Nwodo intend to achieve with his impetuous claims? I am trying to imagine the spectacle we would have been treated to if the ACF had stoutly defended the former SGF Babachir Lawal during his grass cutting days. I bet you are too. Have I in any way suggested that we should throw Ike under the bus? Not at all. He is a fine gentleman who humbly sits in the back row with regular guys like me in church. As a matter of fact, I believe he deserves all the political support he can get from Igbos. For one, he has the experience and connections. Secondly, he is still young and will be around long after Buhari has retired. He perhaps offered the best but unheeded advice during the heydays of IPOB. Those who criticised him then for being a major beneficiary of the political establishment that wouldn’t want his table shaken were simply ignorant of the facts of law raised therein. If Igbos stoutly defended Kanu why not Ike? I would rather have him on a table where political strategies and projections are being discussed and developed. However, the current allegations against him bother on illegal acquisition of wealth and have little to do with my struggles as an Igbo man in Nigeria. They are mere allegations anyway, and until proven beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law Ekweremadu will continue to discharge his duties as the Deputy Senate President. I cannot trust any other politician of South East extraction to wriggle out of such legal issues more than I can trust him. So playing the ethnic card in his defence is not only needless but also an inimical portrayal of Igbos as defenders of corruption whereas I know we are not. Of course, Igbos have been in the front line of Nigerian politics since former President Jonathan providentially assumed power and his defeat in 2015 conceivably pitted us against the victors. Have we handled it well? Opinions are divided but
Let me begin by extending my deep sense of gratitude to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, for inviting me to participate in this current series of discussions on, Next Generation Nigeria: Accountability and National Cohesion. The involvement of this reputable British Institute in discussing and proffering suggestions for extant Nigeria’s problems is not only commendable, but I believe most relieving for the British establishment, who must understandably feel a deep sense of vicarious responsibility for putting together a country confronted with such grim future. Nigeria became a united British colony by the amalgamation of its Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914. In 1960 it attained independence, fashioned a federal Constitution which had three and subsequently four regions as its federating units. The pre-1960 and the 1963 constitutions of Nigeria were fashioned by the people of Nigeria as represented by the leaders of their ethnic nationalities. The coup of January 1966 and the counter-coup of the same year occasioned by ethnic tensions and disagreements within the military-led our country to disastrous consequences. Our first Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Tafawa Balewa and the then premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, as well as the then Minister for Finance Festus Okotie-Eboh, were murdered. A massive pogrom was unleashed on South Eastern Nigerians living in the Northern Nigeria. A sitting Head of State from the South East, Major General Aguiyi Ironsi and a governor from the South West Col. Adekunle Fajuyi were murdered. The military suspended our 1963 constitution and adopted a unitary system of government to fit their command and control structures. Opposition to this move by Southern Nigeria led to constitutional talks in Aburi, Ghana. The agreements reached Aburi were jettisoned. War broke out and claimed more than three and a half million lives mostly from the South East. After the war, the military-authored two more constitutions, one in 1979 and another in 1998/99. The two military constitutions were finally approved by the Supreme Military Council. Under military rule, this organ was the highest legislative organ for the country. It was made up of senior military officers, a majority of whom were from Northern Nigeria. The last constitution of 1998/99 which the military approved was the legal instrument that governed Nigeria’s transition to democracy. It is still in use in Nigeria today. It was not subjected to a national referendum. It created 19 states out of the old Northern Region, 6 states out of the Western Region, 2 states out of the old Midwestern Region and 9 states out of the old Eastern Region. An agreement by a constitutional conference convened by General Abacha divided the country into six geopolitical zones. This agreement was never incorporated into a legislation even though it continues to be adopted for administrative purposes by Government and the political parties. The creation of states and local governments in these six geographical areas did not respect any equitable parameter. Our present constitution is not autochthonous. It was not written by the people of Nigeria. It was not approved in a National referendum. In jurisprudence, its effectiveness will score a very low grade on account of its unacceptability. Regrettably, it continues to hold sway and begins with a false proclamation, “We the People of Nigeria….” Our present constitution was written at a time of unprecedented increase in National revenue following the massive discovery of oil in Nigeria and its global reliance as a source of fuel for mechanical machines. It had as its centrepiece, the distribution of national revenue and national offices using states and local governments as units for division. It constructed a federation in name but a unitary government in practice following the pattern enunciated in 1966 from the inception of military administration in Nigeria. Competition and drive for production by the federating units was destroyed. Each state and local government waited every month for proceeds from oil generated revenue to be divided out to them. The Federal Government became enormously powerful taking over mining rights, construction of interstate highways, major educational establishments, rail and water transportation, power and several infrastructural responsibilities previously undertaken by the regions. Competition for control of the Federal Government became intense and corrupted our electoral system. Corruption became perverse as the Federal Government became too big to be effectively policed by auditing and administrative regulations. As I speak to you today, Nigeria has a grim economic outlook. Nigeria’s external debt has grown from $10.3 billion in 2015 to $15 billion in 2017. Her domestic debt has also grown from 8.8 trillion Naira in 2015, to 14 trillion Naira in 2017. Domestic debt component for the 36 states rose from 1.69 trillion Naira in 2015 to 2.9 trillion Naira in June 2017. The Federal government has on two occasions released bailout funds to enable states to meet their recurrent expenditure requirements. Only about eight states in Nigeria namely Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Edo, Delta, Abia, Rivers, and Kwara have their internally generated revenue sufficient enough to cover their interest repayments on their debts without depending on allocations from Federally collected revenue. For the Federal Government close to 40% of its annual revenue was spent on servicing of interest repayments on debts and according to International Monetary Fund (IMF), this percentage is expected to increase further. According to Fitch ratings, Nigeria’s Government gross debts is 320% of its annual revenue!! – one of the highest in the world. In the face of this economic reality, the Population Reference Bureau predicts that Nigeria will in 2050 become the world’s fourth-largest population with a population of 397 million coming after China, India and the United States of America. This is only 33 years away. In 2011, five Colonels in the United States Centre for Strategy and Technology, Air War College did a case study on Nigeria and the global consequences of its implosion and came out with a conclusion that, “despite its best efforts, Nigeria has a long-term struggle ahead to remain a viable state, much less a top-20 economy”. Faced with this grim
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