2023: Where does the Igbo nation stand?
5 min read
2023 promises to be a year that will most appropriately define, determine, and direct the political, national, and economic roadmap for the Igbo nation. It is a year of decision for the Igbo which may end up as ‘uhuru” or a bigger disaster for the them. As at today, there are three different political agitations among the Igbo which in the views of many elites, politicians, and more, will most certainly end up as Long Walk to Freedom! First, the apex socio-cultural organization in Igboland, Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, is against all odds, agitating for a total political restructuring of the country. In the views of Ohaneze, this is the only solution that will guarantee the corporate existence of Nigeria as a nation, as every other thing has totally fallen apart. With the Ohaneze’s position, each of the six geopolitical zones of the country will determine its fate and build the region because “every generation must out of relative obscurity discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.”
Ohaneze and the apex Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenefere, and some other groups from the Middle Belt, and South South, are also advancing the call for restructuring. Trade unions, and other professional bodies and NGOs have unanimously registered their support the restructuring projct. The call for restructuring got the ears of PDP under, former President Jonathan who set up a confab on the matter. After many deliberations, the confab report was submitted to the Presidency for implementation. As the PDP lost the 2015 presidential election, APC, entered and discarded the report. In fact, General Buhari was quoted to have said that he would not even read the report, let alone implementing it. From that time till date, the clamour for the implementation of the report seems to have fallen on deaf ears as APC has always claimed that the restructuring of the country is not a part of its manifesto.
There is another group of people which is predominantly made up of politicians, especially some political jobbers from APC, PDP, etc, and is seriously agitating for Igbo presidency. This group believes that if an Igbo man is not made the next president of Nigeria come 2023, it can then be said boldly that the Igbo have been pushed to the wall. According to the position of this group, for over 50 years and still running, no Nigerian politician of Igbo extraction has either been elected or appointed to rule the country, and this, in the eyes of the group, is a pure case of injustice and marginalization against the Igbo.
Last week, a viral report circulated over the internet which outlined how the Igbo have been totally sidelined in the corporate existence of the country. The report, which a copy of it was obtained by Umuaka Times reads:
“For the last 50 years, here is a regional summary of leadership in Nigeria (military and democracy)
NorthCentral – 14 years and 201 days
NorthWest – 14 years and 179 days
SouthWest – 11 years and 341 days
SouthSouth – 5 years and 25 days
NorthEast – 4 years and 203 days
SouthEast – 0 year and 0 day
Supporting a Nigerian president from the South East in 2023 should be the responsibility of all patriotic Nigerians, not just those from the south East. According to the holy books, the principle of fairness and inclusion is an essential part of nation-building.”
Umuka Times gathered that the clamour for Igbo presidency has actually advanced with electrifying effects from both the organized private sector of the Igbo and more. A website, www.nigeriapresidentialproject2023.org has been created. One of the major objectives of this website is to advocate for the actualization of the three Rs which was pronounced by Gen Gowon immediately after the Nigerian Civil war. Another objective of the people behind the website is to persuade political parties to zone their presidential positions to South East Nigeria, and finally, to mobilize the Igbo across the world for the Igbo presidency project.
Already, some top Igbo men are kicking against the project. Last week, Arthur Eze, a top politician and businessman was quoted as saying that the project may not work because in his own views, the Igbo, hate themselves. He concluded that it was only God that can guarantee Igbo presidency due to the ssue of hatred he mentioned. As usual, many Igbo people from both APC and PDP have condemned in outright terms, the statement of Arthur Eze.
Chukwuemeka Nwajuba, the current Minister for State for Education, was also quoted last week where he cautioned the Igbo people calling for Igbo presidency to trade with caution because there is nothing like Hausa presidency or Yoruba presidency. U muaka Times observed that there are indications that some APC politicians of Igbo extraction may not be in support of Igbo presidency, unless they, will be the people to be anointed as the presidential candidates.
The third agitation is the radical approach to the Nigerian 2023 question led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Indigenous People(s) of Biafra IPOB. According to IPOB, enough is enough and Nigeria has since expired as a nation since 2014 and does not exist any longer. IPOB says that for the last 50 years and more, Nigeria has failed totally to protect the people of Biafra and the injustice against the Biafran citizens will continue as far as the illegal occupation of Biafran territories by the Nigerian forces is still very much visible. The solution according to IPOB is nothing than to divide the country and let each region go its separate way and become a country of its own. This in the views of IPOB, will encourage healthy academic, commercial and technological competition among the new nations that will emerge out of Nigeria.
From the findings made by Umuaka Times, it is almost impossible for the Igbo to achieve any of these dreams due to some certain reasons. APC, as the ruling party does not fully believe in the restructuring project of the country. The Igbo people have no deep romance with the APC as against its long term romance with the PDP which totally created the restructuring project. These, many observers believe, pose a serious lockdown to the project as APC has its own manifesto.
The Igbo presidency so far remains a mirage for the Igbo. From 1999 till date, the project has seemed unrealizable. Some people who have so far expected it have died while waiting. Even the 2023 year may not still bring it for the Igbo following the body language at the presidency today. Recently, a former aviation minister, Chief Femi Fani Kayode, made a video broadcast where he outlined all the odds against the Igbo presidency come 2023. Some people are of the view that the Igbo are also contributing to the failure of the actualization of the Igbo presidency. In their opinion, the Igbo politicians are the people who are not coordinated enough to present one candidate for the position.
2023 does not in any way seem to have an answer for the Igbo question of marginalization. It appears that as the year draws nearer, the issue seems more complicated. The Igbo must decide on what they really want. Be it Biafra, restructuring or Igbo president, what follows next if the Igbo fail to get the restructuring agenda or Igbo president? Will they continue to campaign for it or join the Nnamdi kanu alternative?
This is just the beginning of this story.
