By SUNNY IKHIOYA
The complexities of Nigeria as a nation are made more complicated by ethnic and religious mindsets. So, there is no way you rationalise a position on relevant national issues without receiving some flaks in return. The subject of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is one of such.
In the course of my working sojourn, I was at one time the branch manager of Fototek Industries Limited, then the biggest photographic company in Africa, Port Harcourt branch. The man who handed over the branch to me and became my immediate boss as regional manager of the entire South-East and South-South regions, happens to be an Igbo man from Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State. He is Mr David Ahamdi Amadi, a simple, unassuming, and intelligent gentleman.
My relationship with Mr Amadi has continued until this day, because he was a very nice boss to work with, even though the establishment then did not reward him enough for his contribution to the success of the company. We were covering the whole South-East, as well as Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers states from Port Harcourt on a daily basis. When I saw that video on @Kayhickersclub trending, I immediately sent it to him for his views. I am quoting the lady on the video verbatim here, for a full comprehension of the message she is sending across: “…From the men at the top who are Igbos to come speak about Nnamdi Kanu’s issue or involve themselves, I laugh!
The Igbo people are one of the smartest people. We are not just book-smart, we are street smart and we are business smart, ok! You are telling someone to come and support a movement or talk about a movement that he initially is not wanting to be part of. The Biafra movement is not something that all Igbos are in support of, so I need people to stop trying to march us into one. There is a divide already on this movement. Before IPOB, there was MASSOB. How did MASSOB run their agenda so peacefully, but when it was time for the IPOB, we are having chaos? The East is not what it used to be. We can’t travel anymore.
The UGM’s are in play, the ESN, my state is in shambles, because I am from the same state as he is. You cannot come out on Mondays anymore because if you move, you get killed. Why is nobody saying anything about that? We are more worried about one man who put the whole of the East in disarray for doing the wrong thing. There is tyranny and treason. Are we going to advocate for a tyrant. You want a succession, you did not go about it the legal way, and you put everybody’s lives from the East into problems, then, you want us to stand behind violence. Any of you taking the time to listen to Nnamdi Kanu’s radio channel for one hour and hear the amount of hate, the hate!
I don’t speak on this because it pains me to my blood, I know what we are facing. The civil war is still a mark, and my father was one of them. He will tell you, anything you do in life, do not advocate for a war. The General who started it, God rest his soul, and he came out to say he regretted his actions. He wasn’t even here when the chips were down, and you think Kanu will be here when it sets? Are we kidding ourselves? What are we saying? There are a lot of us who are not in support of the movement, and that is fact. And, you cannot force it upon anybody, whether as a leader, or a statesman, or whoever hierarchy. If I am not in support, I am not in support. You cannot use my political stance to hold it against me for not speaking up. We are choosing to stay silent, and the people who have chosen to stay silent should not be bullied..”
I sent this to my Oga, Mr Amadi, and his response is as follows: “The Igbos are not in support of anything secession, neither are they afraid of it. What they are against in the country is being singled out for special hatred and obvious marginalisation. Nnamdi Kalu’s character is bad, but what I know is that some people are using the opportunity to vent their feelings not on his character, but character notwithstanding, he should have been treated like any other person or criminal and not treated as an Igbo man under a different law, while others have their different laws. Look at the extreme criminal activities going on by the so-called bandits, and no serious actions are being taken. The main issue is that there are great differences in the country over non relevant issues such as tribe and religion that have been made to control our sentiments and politics in this country. Opportunity of developing and moving forward has been missed and continue to be missed. Are we going to continue this way as a country or nation?”
When you read Mr Amadi’s response, you will see how bitter the Igbos feel about the way they are being treated in Nigeria, and nobody can dispute this. But I feel that the Igbos must have to recalibrate their strategies on how to get back to the top again in Nigeria; they used to be number one before the civil war, and to regain the top, they must do this strategically and intelligently like the Jews.
There is a time to go low and a time to assert yourself. Adopting the strategies of the Fulani herdsmen through unnecessary killings and propaganda will not win them this war. Armed Fulani herders have been using the seed of destruction since the colonial times; it is deeply embedded in our foundational structure and cannot be removed forcefully, because they are heavily backed by international forces. Our colonial masters have not left us, the herders in our forests are dancing to the drums of certain reactionary interests, both local and foreign and you can see how difficult it has been for state institutions to eliminate them.
What the Igbos should do, therefore, is to use their intelligence, physical and natural resources to build a strong nation, rich in commerce, industry, technology and researches; that will be the envy of all and attract people to the region. They do not need to go cap in hand begging the Federal Government for handouts. They have the capability and must unite in this regard. If they go on with the blame game and rely on their politicians, they will continue to struggle. I have heard Blakey Ijezie talk about the “think home philosophy.” It is the solution to their wilderness. Until the Igbos unite on a common goal and purpose, their lamentations will continue.
• Ikhioya wrote via: http://www.southsouthecho.com
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