‘WHY AN IGBO PRESIDENT IS DIFFICULT’:- hief Chekwas Okorie is founder and former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He is also the founder and current national chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP). In this interview, he speaks on the plight of the Igbo in the Nigerian political landscape. Excerpts: The Igbo ethnic nationality has been agitating for power shift to the zone for quite some time now. What do you think is the major stumbling block? It is sad that this is happening. The military government of General Sani Abacha in 1995 convened a national constitutional conference. Igbo leaders rose to the occasion just as they are doing now in an attempt to redress the many imbalances and lopsidedness of the Nigerian political structure. At the end of the day, a strong case for the adoption of six geo-political zones in Nigeria as federating units and other laudable provisions were adopted by the conference. The sudden death of General Sani Abacha did not allow his regime to incorporate these proposals into a new Nigerian constitution. The General Abdulsalami Abubakar regime that took over came under the heavy influence of the Northern and South-West conspirators to perpetuate the subjugation of the Igbo people of Nigeria. The outcome of this conspiracy is the 1999 Constitution which has left our people in a virtual state of comatose both in the area of participation and involvement at the highest level of Nigerian politics and its economy. An example of this conspiracy to alienate Ndigbo from effective participation in the affairs of Nigeria is the provision in the Electoral Act 2010 that stipulates in Section 87(4)a (i-ii) that delegates drawn from all the 774 local government areas and 36 states of Nigeria shall form the major delegates that will elect presidential candidates at the national convention of political parties. With this provision and in consideration of the ethnic and religious sentiments that still characterize Nigerian politicians and delegates to presidential primary elections, it becomes obvious that no Igbo man no matter how laudable and credible his CV and political profile, will ever stand a chance of becoming a presidential candidate of any notable political party in Nigeria. Another clear example is the provision in the Nigerian Constitution on the creation of states which the General Abdulsalami Abubakar military junta enshrined in Section 8(1) (a-d) of the 1999 Constitution that makes it easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a new state to be created under the impossible provision. It is for this reason that no new state has ever been created in Nigeria outside the 36 states created through executive fiat and decrees under the military governments controlled by the military and political leaders of Northern Nigeria. Do you mean political parties including the PDP have not been fair to the Igbo? What is very clear from the brief historical account of the evolution of political parties before and during the First Republic is that the Igbo political leaders did not see the need to form any political party to address their peculiar political circumstances in Nigeria. If it was not for the political sagacity of Dr. Azikiwe, Ndigbo would have simply dispersed into political parties formed by other people like sheep without a shepherd. Some people believe that the Igbo achieved its domineering presence in every facade of our national life, especially in the First Republic through the instrumentality of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who on November 16, 1960, succeeded the out-going Sir David Robertson as the Governor-General of Nigeria. In 1963 when Nigeria became a Republic, Dr. Azikiwe was sworn-in as the President of the Federal Republic while Chief Dennis Osadebe, an Igbo, a national vice president of NCNC succeeded Dr. Azikiwe as the President of the Senate. In September 1963, Chief Dennis Osadebe and the NCNC succeeded after a highly successful plebiscite, in the creation of the Mid-West Region for the people of Benin and Delta Provinces out of Western Region which then was under the control of the Action Group (AG) led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. At this point, the conspiracy by the major ethnic groups that felt intimidated or threatened by the steady progress and relevance of Ndigbo in Nigeria had reached an all-time high. The 1966 military coup led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, an Igbo, provided the Northern political class the opportunity of a life-time to cut the Igbo to size. It became very convenient for them to tag the military coup an Igbo coup, targeted at Northern leaders. Common logic showed that the Igbo leaders did not need to carry out a coup or shed anybody’s blood to sustain their momentum in sustaining their dominant role in the economy, politics and bureaucracy of Nigeria. The reprisal attack on the people of Eastern Region was well planned and coordinated, the series of events which culminated in the 30 month fratricidal Biafran-Nigerian war provided the Northern political/military leadership in conjunction with their Yoruba counterparts the opportunity to consummate their conspiracy to subjugate the Igbo people to permanent irrelevance and servitude. But many Igbo are living in the north peacefully… It can be argued strongly that the Igbo race settled in Igbo land long before other ethnic groups arrived in parts of what later came to be known as Nigeria. I state this unequivocally because in November 2000, I was in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State as a Special Guest of the Igbo Community in that area at the occasion of their Igbo cultural day celebration. It was in the course of my interaction with the Igbo leaders in Gusau that I stumbled into a revelation that Igbo people, mostly of present Mbaise stock, had settled in Northern Gusau for over 400 years. This means that Ndigbo were in parts of Northern Nigeria for centuries before Othman Danfodio the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate migrated from Mali to Niger and later settled in Sokoto, a city not far from Gusau. Ndigbo in their commercial and trading adventurism limited themselves to their businesses and concerned themselves with profit making while distancing themselves from the politics of the environment where they lived. This culture of strict mercantilism appears not to have been tempered by modern day realities to enlighten ourselves that economy, religion and politics are interwoven and difficult to be compartmentalized especially in Nigeria. What is the focus of your struggle for Ndigbo? By the special grace of the Almighty God, we have initiated and formed another political party with the same vision and thrust of the moribund APGA registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with the name United Progressive Party (UPP) with the head of the tiger as its symbol. The motto of this party is Love and Unity. I wish to believe that hard lessons had been learnt. This is not the time to wallow in self-pity, sulk all day in lamentation or embark on the unhelpful search for whom to blame. This is the time for a new beginning. Some of us that started this struggle at very young age are already getting old. We are disturbed that at this time there is not much we can boast of as a legacy for the young, upcoming Igbo men and women who are presently dejected, confused, disillusioned and tasting for purposeful leadership and direction.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:31:43 +0000
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