About
Col. Achuzie
Born seventy years ago,
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Prof. Chinua Achebe
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Col. Joe Achuzie
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in the present day Delta
State, Col
Joe Achuzie has been involved in the programmes and activities of Ohaneze
Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organization in Igboland, for the past fifteen years. Since he assumed
office as the Secretary-General of Ohaneze
Ndigbo, he has been distinguished by his frankness in public
communications, and the passion with which he canvases the Igbo position on matters of national and regional interests. He believes strongly in one, united Nigeria, where equity, justice, fairness and mutual respect for one another are unreservedly operational
at all levels of governance and social interactions. He is of the opinion that the deterioration in the country
is as old as the country itself, and that the only way to ensure harmony and progress in the nation is to convoke
a conference of ethnic nationalities where the thorny issues plaguing Nigeria could be properly addressed.
After the Biafra/Nigeria in
which he played a prominent role, he was detained by Nigerian authorities. Fearing he might not survive the incarceration,
he wrote his book, Requiem Biafra, to articulate his role in the war, and check attempts by later writers to, in his own words, “ superimposed falsehood” on him.
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Ugochukwu
Ejinkeonye
Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye has published articles
as well as poems and short stories on various social, literary and political topics, which have appeared in several
newspapers, magazines, journals and internet sites in Nigeria and abroad. The most recent, Jennifer’s
Handbag was featured in Confluences, an anthology of short stories published and launched recently
(July 2005) by the Association of Nigerian Authors, Lagos branch. Educated at the Universities
of Port Harcourt and Ilorin, Ejinkeonye is currently on the Editorial Board of the Independent, a national
newspaper published in Lagos, Nigeria, where he writes a well-read column every Wednesday
WHERE THE RAIN BEGAN TO BEAT US
Q. Sir, do you think it
is possible to identify a particular period in Nigeria’s history when
the deterioration commenced, or should we assume the downward slide is, perhaps, as old as the nation itself?
A. Nigeria, in my opinion, started
deteriorating from day one. The gladiators who fought for our independence made all the classical mistakes. They
failed to understand that those
who pitch themselves in mortal combats to gain independence for the people should quit the stage for peaceful gladiators
to take over. You cannot be a warrior and a peacemaker at the same time. No. But, they tried to combine the two,
and so failed woefully. And we’ve been going down ever since.
Q. Why does your generation
speak nostalgically about the good
old days?
A. The good
old days is a cliché used by people reminiscing about their secure lives as adolescents, and referring to the past as
“the good old days...” The bad
old days then begins when they have to start taking responsibilities. (Laughter)
Q. So, there have been no good old days in Nigeria?
A. No, there has been nothing
like that.
A
PEOPLE AND THEIR LEADERS
Q. Blame for Nigeria’s endless woes has tended to be heaped on its leadership, the consensus being that this has remained
the main source of our problems. What then accounts for our perennial failure to solve a problem we have clearly
identified?
A. Yes, we all know that the problem
of Nigeria is leadership; but as I have said, the gladiators in the field who fought the mortal combats to
get us independence did not realize that their period of leadership ended with the ceasefire. They should have
allowed the peacemakers who were not as battle-hungry as they were to take over. This inability to effect a change
of baton is largely at the root of Nigeria’s leadership problems.
Q. What blame might be
‘apportioned’ to the electorate?
A. You can’t apportion any blame to
the electorate. A lot depends on the mechanism that is in place for elections. Every election requires umpires
that are independent, not subject to any powers, whether high or low. And for Nigeria to have such umpires, may take
years. Unfortunately, elections succeed within a culture that we have not yet imbibed in Nigeria.
Q. There are suggestions
that the most effective way to make INEC truly
independent and free from manipulations, especially from the government in power, is for its top officers -- its
Chairman, in particular -- to be appointed by a body made up of representatives of political parties, and its funding
to come from a consolidated revenue fund.
A. I don’t believe that. My ideal
INEC is an INEC that metamorphosed out of a law that grants it total independence,
and also insulates it from persecution of any type, so that, when we are looking for an INEC chairman, we will go for somebody that meets certain criteria.
In fact, such a person, under normal circumstances, should be equal to the task if the mantle falls on him to lead
the country. It is such a person that can be an independent INEC chairman. And I don’t think you can get it by the amorphous contribution of every political party.
Neither can you get it by involving the president in the nomination process.
HIS IDEAL NIGERIA
Q. What would be your
ideal Nigeria? Indeed, what is it that seriously tasks your faith in Nigeria -- something that demoralizes you when you think about
the country?
A. What pains me is the issue of ethnicity. However, I am a chieftain of my ethnic group, because
I wanted to insulate my people against the various attacks arising from the multiplicity of ethnic groups in a
country like Nigeria. For this country to move in the right direction, instead of all these conferences that have been
so far convened, there should be a conference of ethnic nationalities, where we are able to identify and consolidate
those things that bind us together, and jettison those things that continually divide us. Until that is done, all
talk about one
Nigeria is fairy tale.
Let’s face it.
Every group is suspicious of the other. We must realize that nobody is a fool. Platitudes cannot put food into
one’s stomach. Platitudes cannot give us good roads. Platitudes cannot put our children in good schools. Platitudes
cannot find our children jobs after their national service, and these are largely due to ethnic issues that must
be solved first before any person envisions ruling Nigeria. You cannot say -- Oh, ethnicity doesn’t exist, or I don’t want it. And if you claim that you don’t
want it, then what are you doing about it? The only person I will consider capable of telling me about the issue
of one
Nigeria is someone who, tomorrow, is ready to call a meeting of ethnic nationalities in order to resolve
the issue of ethnicity once and for all.
This is what
plunged us into the first coup, pushed us into the civil war, and directed the activities of the military through
the civil war. It continued to direct the activities of the military after the civil war, and continues to direct
the activities of the political parties in the country today.
OHANEZE AT NPRC
Q. Ohaneze Ndigbo, whose Secretary-General you are, sent representatives
to the just concluded National Political Reforms Conference (NPRC). What
made you think any good would come out of that Conference?
A. Ohaneze didn’t send representatives to the Conference. For Ohaneze Chairman (Prof Joe Irukwu)
to be there was an imposition by the presidency on Ohaneze.
We didn’t take kindly to it, because he did not impose on the conference, the president of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the president of Afenifere, or the others. Why must it be the President of Ohaneze that he had to ask for? For that, we call it an imposition. Prof. Irukwu had no option, but to attend.
Q. A call to national
duty?
A. That’s right. So, people shouldn’t
be saying that Ohaneze sent people to the conference.
Ohaneze did not send anyone there.
Q. Now assuming there was
a formal request for you to send representatives, would you have obliged?
A. If there was a formal request we
would have sent people who would represent us adequately; because the leadership of Ohaneze, we believe, should remain in the background, directing the affairs of the body.
Q. There were newspaper reports that you were dissatisfied with the
performance of the group that went there. Was that true?
A. Yes. I said I was disappointed,
because there was no cohesion. Those who attended the conference, though NdiIgbo and even members of Ohaneze, were sent by their governors. And instead of carrying out Ohaneze’s
programmes, they carried out
their governors’ programmes.
That was my grouse.
ETHNICITY AND DISCONTENT
Q. What, in your view,
is the cause of so much discontent in the nation? Do you think that fairness and justice and equity are well …?
A. Yes, like you said,
fairness, justice and equity, are what everybody wants. But fairness, justice and equity cannot exist in a multi-ethnic
environment; hence I have said that until Nigeria solves the issue of ethnicity, it cannot be one country. Either ethnicity takes a back seat, or
all groups must be fused together to give a semblance of one ethnic whole.
Q. Apart from convening a conference of ethnic nationalities, what
other things do you feel can be done to adequately solve the ethnic tension plaguing the nation?
A. You cannot just remove ethnic tension, because it is only when a person from one ethnic group sees
himself as part of other ethnic groups that he will be able to regard everything that reaches him as fair.
THE IGBO QUESTION
Q. There is what is now
widely acknowledged as the “Igbo
Question”; what actually is
this Question, and how is Ohaneze resolving it?
A. The Igbo
Question or Equation, which ever you choose, is the dissatisfaction
among Ndigbo. This, again,
brings us back to ethnicity, and the fact that, as a group, we are having a raw deal in Nigeria. The war ended over thirty
years ago, yet we are being denied our rightful place within the organized society known as Nigeria. What we are saying, to use
an Igbo adage, is: “Emee
nwata ka emere ibe ya, obi adi ya nma” (If
you treat a child the same way you treat other children, that child would be happy, and would not have any reason
to feel cheated). We feel we are being cheated. We feel we are being marginalized. We feel we are being treated
as the dog of the earth. And we are saying: Enough is enough! We will not have it any longer. And that is why we
are saying that, come 2007, that a Nigerian of Igbo extraction must be given an opportunity to rule this country,
because we feel we are qualified and competent. We have the men. If you don’t find them in the South-East, you
will find them in the South-South. That’s what we are asking for. And any attempt to deny us this will not spell
very good for 2007.
Look at what is happening in Nigeria. The Igbo people are hungry.
They don’t have enough. They see the whole country swimming in wealth, yet only leftovers are thrown out to them.
In every other part of Nigeria, bridges are built all over the place. Yet to spare a dime to build a second bridge over the Niger, so as to relieve the terrible
congestion, has become impossible. Also, to dualize certain highly strategic roads is difficult. The roads that you find in Igboland were built long
before Independence. And note that when we
say Igboland, we mean as far as Agbor,
all the way to the borders of Ikot-Epkene,
and then, down to Ahoada --
all these constitute what is known as Igboland. We are not talking about land mass here. We have no problems with
where anybody comes from. Nigeria can even be divided into two hundred zones instead of the present six zones, we don’t care. They
can go ahead and make a state out of every family; we have no problems with that, so long as each person sees the
other as his brother.
Q. And treat each other
fairly too?
A. Yes, and treat each other fairly.
Q. Now the Biafra/Nigeria
War ended more than three decades ago. Without meaning to open old wounds, may I ask: Why did you go to war?
A. We didn’t go to war, because we
felt we were being marginalized. No. You must separate the problem of Nigeria before the Civil War, and the
reasons why the Igbo fought. The Igbo fought when the pogrom started, and they were being killed and pushed out
of the federation. So, to ensure that they stayed in the federation, they had to fight or else, it would have meant
being dispossessed of their land. So where were we expected to run to when the hostilities started -- to Cameroon? So these were the reasons.
Again, you must try to differentiate the reasons for the Civil War from the reasons why Nigeria had a coup, and some people
carried out “Operation Wetie,” and the civil strife the country has experienced since the
1950s.
Q. So it was merely a battle for self-preservation?
A. Exactly.
Q. Can you tell us, as
an Igbo leader, whether it is true that Ndigbo
are hated by Nigerians of other ethnic groups? Can you confirm the widespread impression that the Ndigbo are constant targets of needless aggression in other
parts of the country? If yes, is there anything about the Igbo that provokes this aggression?
A. If there is any aggression against
the Igbos, I will say that they are responsible for it. Look around, and you will see that of all the three major
ethnic groups, neither the Hausa/Fulani -- that is, the Arewas -- nor the Yorubas,
would go to any part of the Eastern Region to set up a home. It’s only the Igbo that would go to another person’s
land, and make the place his home; even make himself more comfortable than the owner of the place. This has a way
of generating envy and resentment. And that is the cause of what appears to be hatred against the Igbos. Well,
it isn’t hatred, just envy. Go to several Yoruba cities, except recently, most of the houses there were built by
Igbos. Go to the North, the best houses you will see there were built by Igbos. Go to Abuja, almost ninety percent of all the buildings
there, including hotels and everything are owned by the Igbos. How do you expect that there will be any love lost
between the indigenes there and their august visitors --the Igbo?
Q. So what happens to
the quest for a united Nigeria? If Ndigbo are making homes in various parts of Nigeria, is it not a clear indication of their belief in one Nigeria? Or do the others do not believe them?
A. Only the Igbo believe in one Nigeria, and pay the required dues
to make it work. The others merely pay lip service to one Nigeria, for the purpose of what they call federal character. Put a Northerner in a position within the
governance of this country, and he will surround himself with fellow Northerners. Put a Yoruba man in the same
position, and he will do the same. It’s only the Igbo man whom when put in a position of authority, will not allow
another Igbo man to come close to him. He would rather work with non-Igbo to prove that he is civilized. In fact,
he won’t even speak the Igbo language at work. But how can you be the only civilized person in a country of uncivilized
people? You will stick out like a sore thumb. And that’s what the Igbo are -- they stick out as a sore thumb within
the context of one Nigeria.
Q.Now, given the situation you’ve described, as an Igbo leader,
what is your advice to Ndigbo?
A. As a leader, I would prefer a situation
where even the lion and the lamb can lie down together without any aggression from one to the other. But you see, that is far from reality. A Northerner
will tolerate an Igbo man as long as he (the Northerner) remains on top. A Yoruba man will tolerate an Igbo man
as long as he (the Yoruba man) is on top. But if the situation is reversed, he can only tolerate an Igbo man on
the condition that the Igbo man doesn’t bring another Igbo person near himself. The same too applies to the Northerner
in relation to the Igbo man. So, the Igbo man must learn to behave like the fowl in our proverb. When she finds
herself in a new environment, she will resort to standing on one leg. After she had mastered her environment, she
will then bring down the other leg, and stand firmly. So, each time an Igbo man gets to the North, for instance,
he should first look back and ask himself
how Northerners who live in Igboland conduct themselves?
Do they build mansions? Do they set up business empires? If you realize that
they don’t, then, when you get to his place, you do as they do when they are in your own area. Else, he will feel
antagonized by your presence, because, it would appear you are trying to show him that you are cleverer, smarter,
or more civilized than he is. I would also advocate the same thing, when an Igbo man goes to live in the West.
Q. But what do you see
as the ultimate solution to this problem; this suspicion that is everywhere? What can be done to ensure the total
absorption of Ndigbo,
so they could live anywhere in Nigera without
any fear of molestation?
A. When you talk of the Igbo being
fully absorbed, you make it appear as if the Igbos are a pariah nation, a pariah group. Why should they seek to be fully absorbed in an arrangement they
were party to in the first place? The nation, Nigeria, was packaged by three groups, the Igbo, the Yoruba, and the Northerners, that is, the Hausa. When
the colonial masters were here, this was their interpretation of the arrangement. Why should the Igbo now come
and beg to be accepted? If they don’t want the Igbo, let them say so and the Igbo will go away. But if they expect
that going away means leaving the land for anybody, that can’t happen! Going away means that, the Igbo will begin
to draw boundaries or veils between the belligerent groups that don’t want them.
ABANDONED PROPERTY
Q. What does the phrase,
“Abandoned
Property” mean to you?
A. Abandoned property is a language
coined by people intent on perpetrating daylight robbery. You cannot abandon what you own, in your own home, in
your own land. You cannot live in Nigeria, and tell another Nigerian that he abandoned his property in his own home?
How does property become abandoned in this situation; where is it abandoned -- China, Korea, Kenya or South Africa? Before the so-called
abandoned property issue, the entire Eastern Region
was one; the Western Region was also one. It was the same thing with the North. These three regions came together
to form the country now known as Federal Republic of Nigeria, and by that act of federation, they all became one.
The implication then is that somebody from the Northern Region, for instance, can go to the Western Region and
own some property or to the Eastern Region, and vice versa. Why then should it be that all of a sudden, properties acquired
in the same country are declared “abandoned,” yet everyone is still claiming to be in a federation? Some people
are being told that they “abandoned” their properties and other people, including the government put in place to
protect the people and their property illegally exploit the benefits from those properties. That just can’t be
fair.
Q. How can Ohaneze ensure
that this matter is amicably
resolved?
A. It is not for Ohaneze to see to how the matter should be addressed. The
balkanization of the arrangement called the Nigerian Federation, has now transferred the responsibility to get
this matter resolved to the various state governments. It isn’t Ohaneze’s
responsibility, because although Ohaneze represents all Ndigbo, it cannot speak for the Igbo in different states on such
issues like the “abandoned properties.” The reason is that by virtue of the creation of states, there are some
Ndigbo located even in some
of the states where the “abandoned property” issue exists.
So what do you do in that case? The issue is the responsibility of those in
authority, in government, like the governors of the various states that feel short-changed by the fact that their
citizens are being denied ownership of properties they acquired in other states.
INTER-ETHNIC
DIALOGUE
Q. Does Ohaneze attempt
to engage its counterparts in other zones or ethnic blocs in meaningful dialogue?
A.
Yes, leaders and executives of the different ethnic nationalities meet from
time to time to exchange notes to see how unity can be fostered. Like I said earlier, the only way to solve Nigeria’s
problem is to let the ethnic groups dialogue among themselves; they should come together to exchange views and
see how to remove those areas that cause discord amongst them, and package together those things that give them
all common relief. Maybe from there we will start thinking in terms of one Nigeria, because ethnicity is fallout
from tribal sentiments.
MASSOB
Q. As an Igbo leader and chieftain of Ohaneze, you are probably in the best position to tell us what
MASSOB means?
A. Well, MASSOB is the acronym for Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra.
For me as an Ohaneze chieftain, it doesn’t convey the type of meaning that should give me joy, for the following reasons:
as elders, we believe that since we quit the battle field, all our efforts should now be geared towards winning
peace, freedom and total integration for our people. That the youths, because of the severe hardship unleashed
in the polity, now feel that they would rather pursue a separatist alternative shouldn’t give us joy, because we
know the consequences of such a division. Hence Ohaneze is still fighting to make sure that there is no more marginalization.
MARGINALISATION
Q.Why do Ndigbo say they are marginalized?
A. The Igbo feel marginalized, because,
in the first place, they are foremost in education. In industrial and technological pursuit, they are on the front
line. In which ever field of endeavor you want to look at, they excel; yet the Igbos have not been given the opportunity
to prove their mettle in any of these fields. Mediocrity is being entrenched in the country; in the place of ability
or competence, we have what is called federal
character. In
other words, once you have, for instance, taken one or two Igbo persons out of ten that are qualified, you must
then go and get ten less-qualified people from other places to make up the number, in the name of giving equal
opportunity to all. To us, this amounts to marginalization of the Igbo.
Again, as you
go towards the East, take a look at the roads. Which leads me to ask -- why must it take the Federal Government
thirty years to start thinking of rehabilitating roads and bridges that were built or damaged over sixty years
ago? Now, erosion is turning arable land in the East into gullies, gutters, and perhaps, tomorrow, a desert. And
you are asking me what is meant by marginalization? And yet, from the same East -- yes, Igboland sits on top of
oil. If you dig on any part of Igboland, you will find oil; however, the Federal Government will say that because
of the cost of exploration there, it should remain as reserve. And yet when they are distributing money based on
what accrues to the nation from oil, the Igbo people are excluded. How can you be sitting on top of oil, and you
are being told you are not an oil producing area? That is marginalization. The money that accrues from all these
resources goes towards developing an arid desert, turning it into an El
Dorado.
Desertification came as a result of excessive dryness, the absence of water,
but today, trees grow in the desert, because there is now water in the desert.
Even the lordly
Niger
can no longer flow, because money from the South-East, South-South, is pumped into the creation of huge dams in
the North. In fact, they are almost creating huge lakes -- I don’t call them dams any more -- all over the arid
land.
So, we are no longer prepared to have surrogates any more. No more imposition
of leadership on the Igbo. The Igbo must search within Igboland for their own leaders. And if by chance or through
error of omission such surrogates are imposed on us, and we find out, our children whose future is being mortgaged
by such means, will rise up and remove such persons. And whoever agrees to be used for such a purpose cannot be accommodated
in Igbo land.
