August 17th, 2019, was the day things changed in the political engagement in Biafra land. It was a cosmic turning point. It was the day that ushered in a new way of thinking, a new way of behaviour, a new chapter in the book of the life of this region, if not Nigeria as a nation. 17th August was the day that the mighty fell.
I was in my sitting room with some visiting friends when one of them called the attention of the rest of us that Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu, immediate past Deputy Senate President, had been beaten up in Germany by members of the IPOB, where he went to eat new yams.
Initially, the story and its import, as well as impact did not sink well in any of us in the room. I remember that a lady among us said something about our politicians and their greed and insatiability. She asked whether yams grown in Nigeria were no longer sweet or good enough for Ekweremadu. Some of us in the room who believed we knew better tried to explain that it was Nigerian grown yams exported to Germany that the Senator went to eat…. and the jokes, seriousness, anger and anecdotes on yams and sundry issues continued, until they all left, each person at their own time.
A few years ago, nobody would have dreamt that this type of behaviour against a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic was possible, not even in a dispute among kinsmen. But things have fallen apart and irreparably too.
What happened in Nuremberg, Germany on that day was not targeted at the person of senator Ekweremadu. It could have happened to any highly placed politician, or official of the Federal, or state, especially from the ‘Biafra’ zone of this country.
The youth of this zone are angry, frustrated and literally boiling. Their anger is not only towards the Federal Government of Nigeria but more against their regional leaders and representatives, at all levels. Their region is the least taken care of by subsequent administrations in Nigeria. Their pressure group, the IPOB, was proscribed and declared a terrorist group despite their non-violence declaration. Their roads and highways are garrisoned as if the Nigerian Civil War was still ragging on, their youths are hounded and hunted like rabbits at the slightest provocation, etc, etc. And above all, their so-called leaders simply steal them dry, as if every human being in that region is a zombie.
It is important to stress here that Biafra, to the people of this region, is more in the mind than territorial. More than 90persent of the people of this region are Biafrans by heart, soul and spirit. These people want to answer Nigerians in all its ramifications. Most of these youths were not around during the civil war but they have heard stories. As they view the situation today, nothing has changed for them. It is little or no wonder that their anger and frustration are now boiling over. Care must therefore, be taken to contain them in as much peaceful manner as possible.
At times, one wonders if this nation is moving forward or backwards.
I left Nigeria for further studies abroad in 1977. After my first degree in 1981, passing out in first class, I applied for a Federal Government scholarship, using an old application form. I did not return to Nigeria to lobby or bribe anybody. I did not visit the scholarship board for one day but I got a Federal Government scholarship worth 32,200 Pounds Sterling, for master’s and doctorate programmes.
I returned to Nigeria in 1984, after my master’s degree. During the NYSC orientation programme, I obtained and filled a Civil Service Commission’s job form, which qualified me for an interview by the Commission. I attended the interview during the service year, and here again, without any godfather, bribing or lobbying anyone, I was offered a job as an administrative officer, and posted to the then Cabinet Office, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos.
It is equally important to note here that I met three great northerners who were also employed at the same time with me. These gentlemen remain my friends and brothers till date. While at the Cabinet Office, and until I left the service, we did and shared everything together, and kept everyone’s secrets. I left the service in 1989, and these gentlemen are still my great friends till date. These are people I met just 14 years after the civil war.
My worry is, where did we go wrong as a nation? Who did this to this great country? It is now 50 years after the end of the civil war in Nigeria and the Biafran nation is still under siege. It is still under occupation by federal military and police. Will this ever end? WHEN?
At times, it is very difficult to understand what is going on. A situation where the life of an average Nigerian means nothing, where banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery is like drinking early morning tea, leaves much to be desired. A situation where captured bandits claimed they received arms supplies from a helicopter which drops it for them in the forest, unequivocally questions the ability of our security forces in handling security challenges. This is apart from fear and apprehension which has become daily food to every Nigerian. It is this kind of stories that led to unmitigated speculations concerning herdsmen, bandits, etc, and their activities in Nigeria. It is true that some of the speculations and fake news are miles off the mark and acceptable standards, but they all helped to stem the tide of self-destruction that was starring Nigeria in the face recently.
The situation in Nigeria was so bad that someone actually gave credit to social media for rapidly spreading news, photos and videos, whether fake or not. To my mind, this assertion makes sense. It is the social media that spreads information, whether fake or real, such that within a few hours, it has gone round the entire world. Without the social media, it is possible that the planners of whatever was hatching in Nigeria a few months ago would have been successful because people of the southern parts of this country, would have been taken unawares.
Today, the social media is at it again. The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is responding to the mood of the nation regarding the killings and destruction of properties of her citizens in South Africa. This is unlike the government which is usually in slumber on issues like this.
One does not need a soothsayer to know that 90percent or more of the affected Nigerians in South Africa today are from the south of this country. I can safely add that more than 70percent are from Biafra Land. This assumption is predicated on the simple reason that the people of this zone are the endangered species of this great nation. They simply and easily leave home to seek survival anywhere and everywhere.
As already said, what happened to Senator Ekweremadu could have happened to any other politician from Biafra Land. Senator Ekweremadu was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
If I must speak the truth as I see it, the time for political and economic recklessness will soon be over, if not in Nigeria, at least in Biafra land. Soon, ordinary free movement for those who have stolen this country dry and left it prostrate will become difficult not only for them, but their families too. The greed for unnecessary wealth accumulation will go down because it would have little or no attraction. This is my own type of a revolution.
It is not likely that things will improve in this country in the nearest future. For as long as we continue to play politics of tribe, religion, godfatherism, money, name, etc, we will never be able to elect the correct people to lead this country
It is clear to everyone that one thing that is strong in the minds of the power brokers of Nigeria, is to make sure that no one from Biafra land, becomes President of Nigeria. President Jonathan was a misnomer; an accident which should not have happened!
The questions that I ask are: what has the zones and regions that have produced the leaders of Nigeria since independence achieved for Nigeria? What have they done for their own zones and peoples? The only thing I see is looting and stealing; stealing for their families, friends and cronies, leaving the rest of us, especially the teeming strong, intelligent, energetic and resourceful youths of this great nation behind. No wonder their easiest alternative is to resort to crimes of armed robbery, kidnapping, internet fraud, or simply leave the country, inadequately informed, and in most cases end up in the desert, the Mediterranean Sea, or worse, somewhere as slaves, where their vital body parts would be harvested for money. What a country!
I now wish to call out to the people of Biafra land, stop running away from home. As the monkey says, all branch is home. But permit me to add that East or West, home is the best.
This is therefore, my clarion call to the wealthy in Biafra land. Go home and invest. Build industries and factories to absorb your teeming unemployed brothers and sisters. Develop Biafra land to the envy of others. Make Biafra land the cradle of African industrial revolution and development. Resurrect Nigeria, nay, Africa, because Africa died with the defeat of Biafra; Africa died in Biafra… yes, Nigeria died in Biafra!
This call to the people of Biafra land is a challenge. I know you can do it because you have done it before. You are the same people who survived, grew, and created wealth, after the Civil War, with just twenty Nigerian pounds, per family. You can do it again, this time, without bloodshed.
I call on IPOB, both at home and in the Diaspora, to change tactics and focus more on greedy politicians, especially those who have left Biafra land desolate. Work with the elders in many of the social and cultural groups in Biafra land.
To the elders in Biafra land, I plead that you reach out to your children in the IPOB, and other groups. The time to eschew violence and bitterness, in order to concentrate energy on the development of Biafra land is now.
This is not to advocate that the people of Biafra land should abandon other demands and agitation for equity, and justice.
To Distinguished Senator Ekweremadu, this is not the time for bitterness and vendetta. It is a call to service; a call to duty. Your people are calling on you. Reach out to them!
Okey Amuta
Amuta, a criminologist and entrepreneur, wrote in from Lagos
