Chief (Mrs) Calista Nkiru Adimachukwu (Mmilioma), National Women Leader,
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, speaks on the regret, gains and expectations
of Ndigbo from the president-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.Many Igbos
are disappointed that President Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential
election. What is your perspective?
The Igbos are the highest contributors to Nigerian independence compared
to other regions. It is sad to note that since independence in 1960,
other regions have countered Igbo objectives. The Igbos have not been
given the opportunity to taste solid leadership in Nigeria. Even after
Nigeria got independence, Dr, Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo, was made a
ceremonial president whereas his NCNC and Awolowo’s AG were capable of
forming a solid government and producing the Prime Minister. But Azikiwe
sacrificed that for the peaceful existence and unity of Nigeria.
Although Azikiwe had support from Awolowo, he reasoned that if the West
and East teamed up against the North to form a government, the nation
may lose its equilibrium as the North might feel short changed.
Therefore, Azikiwe sacrificed that chance for the unity of Nigeria.
In fact, Igbos do not even want to talk about the circumstances
surrounding the death of Major Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi. Even in the Fourth
Republic, Dr Alex Ekwueme contributed immensely to the formation of the
PDP, thinking that probably the Igbos might get the chance to control
the central government. The Igbos hoped that Ekwueme would be made
the presidential candidate of PDP, but there was gang up by the military
against the Igbos, and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the presidential
candidate of PDP. Obasanjo’s candidacy was the continuation of the
defeat of the Igbos because the northern oligarchy never wanted an Igbo
man to be the president of Nigeria.Even before that episode, the Igbos
voted for Chief M.K.O Abiola, but when it came to the time when an Igbo
person needs votes from the West and the North both in primaries and
main elections, the Igbos are usually disappointed. The Igbos have
sacrificed a lot for the political development of Nigeria even to the
extent of supporting a northerner in the Second Republic and also gave
Sir. Tafawa Belewa support to be Prime Minister in the First Republic.
The Igbos have been disappointed time without number whenever they
needed support from other regions. This is one of the reasons the Igbos
want the Federal Government to implement reports of the 2014 National
Conference in order to end the issue of junior and senior partners in
the Nigerian project and also to check-mate any gang-up against the
Igbos now and in the future.
There is no doubt that the Igbos are disappointed because President
Goodluck Jonathan lost the election. This is because the Igbos believed
that since he was the one that instituted the National Confab in and
received the report, he would have been in a better position to
implement it. Again, the President has shown the Igbos that he has their
interest at heart. Because of him, the Igbos now have international
airport and other developmental projects in the region. I believe that
he could have done more if he won in 2015 election. There are also other
projects in the South East which he started that are still unsung. The
Igbos have no regrets voting for President Goodluck Jonathan and will
do the same again if the need arises. Notably, in the 2011 presidential
election, similar thing happen where the North East and North West voted
massively for Gen Buhari, and he lost in that election. However, those
who voted for him then had no regret. They repeated the same feat in
2015 and he won. The president did a lot to ensure that the 2015
elections went well without violence. He should however be commended for
his efforts in the 2015 elections.
All said and done, the Igbos will continue to hope that their contributions to national development will be remembered by all.
Some Igbos called for support for Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) during his
campaign and they said it was for the good of the Igbos. Do you think
that the government of Buhari will benefit the Igbos ?
I am aware that some individuals in the South East called for Igbo
support for Buhari prior to the 2015 elections. There was even a blame
game against the Igbos for putting their eggs in one basket. It is too
early to judge Buhari or know his mindset on Igbos, however time will
tell. President Jonathan lost the election and Igbos feel bad but we
lost nothing because we gained the brotherhood of the South South.
When Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was alive, he visited the Alafin of Oyo and
the Ooni of Ife to extend hand shake across the Niger. His action was
misunderstood, but he explained that if there was an understanding
between the South East and South West, it was the beginning of political
wisdom. He also explained that the personalities he went to visit in
the West were the greater authorities he had to meet to forge a
political understanding. However after the Igbos had tried in the First
Republic and other periods in the political history of Nigeria, they had
a change of mind. The Igbos reasoned they had supported the North and
the West in the past, and that partnership failed. The Igbos even
reasoned that since Ojukwu’s idea of a handshake across the Niger did
not work, a new political partnership was necessary.
More recently, the South South, South East and South West Assembly was
formed aimed at securing support from these zones for Jonathan and
also in case an Igbo man decides to contest the presidential election in
future. Meetings were held in Enugu, Asaba and some other places.
Ekwueme, Chief ABC Nwosu, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife and a host of others
attended some of the meetings. Also Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s call for support
for Goodluck Jonathan was done after wide consultations from traditional
rulers and important personalities. However we will still enter into
political understanding with the Middle Belt and the North after wide
discussions. We will let everyone know the reasons while the South East
will vie for president and expect wide support from other zones.
Nevertheless, after we try all these things and they fail, the solution
lies in the implementation of the report of the 2014 National Confab.
If there is any Igbo personality that is begging for recognition and
position from the government of Buhari, that person is insulting the
Igbos. What we expect from those people is for them to tell Gen.
Mohammadu Buhari point blank to implement the reports of the National
Constitutional Conference of 2014.
You have emphasized the report of the National Conference. Do you think it remains the solution to the agitations of the Igbos?
Before the National Conference, slots were given to political parties.
However APC did not send representatives and they made no contributions.
All the geo-political zones sent delegates and appreciated that
conference as well as saw its relevance. They finally came out with a
masterpiece and powerful document on how Nigeria can live together
peacefully. Till now, APC has said nothing about that constitutional
conference and it remains suspicious. So if any person starts asking
questions about the reasons the Igbos supported President Goodluck
Jonathan, that person is not a student of history.
Ndigbo supported Jonathan mainly because of that conference. Therefore
any Igbo personality that meets Buhari should urge him to implement the
report of the National Conference for equitable Nigeria. When the dust
settles down, Ohanaeze Ndigbo will go and meet Buhari with a powerful
delegation to discuss a way forward and also about the report of the
National Conference.
Do Igbos have any regret?
Yes, the Igbos have three regrets. The first is the non-implementation
of the Aburi Accord. The second is that the Igbos have not gotten any
meaningful gain after their foremost contributions to Nigeria’s
independence. The third regret is that the East and West delayed
Nigeria’s independence for the North to meet up with the pace of
independence. It was because of this that Whitehall imposed federalism
on Nigeria. Sadly, our sacrifice is not appreciated.
source:Vanguard
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