Writing on the
marginalisation of the Igbos, Etcetera goes down history lane and asks a
very pertinent question amongst several others, 'Why alter demography
just to make the Igbos a minority in a region where they were the
majority?'
"The Igbos are the
wandering Jews of West Africa… gifted, aggressive, Westernised; at best
envied and resented, but mostly despised by the mass of their neighbors
in the federation – Henry Kessinger (famous American diplomat)
Back in the days, men
made fortune out of war, war was business. But today, the Igbos are
making fortune out of business, because business is the new war.
Before we talk about the
plight of the Igbos in Nigeria, let us start by defining a word that
has been frequently used by the Igbos to define their situation in the
country, marginalisation!
According to a good number of dictionaries, to “marginalise” means “to treat someone or something as if they are unimportant.”
It also means “to take
or keep somebody away from the centre of action.” Another dictionary
defined it as “relegating someone or a group of people to a lower or
outer edge of a community or society.” For so long, the Igbos have
bitterly cried out against apparent marginalisation by the Federal
Goverment of Nigeria.
There is almost a zero
federal presence in the east, despite the fact that the eastern region
is the most technologically advanced of all the regions. This suggests
unequivocally that the Igbo-speaking Nigerians have been unjustly
treated. There is a well calculated ploy by the powers that be from
other ethnic nationalities to ensure that the Igbo region stays
perennially underdeveloped.
What the Igbos are going
through can be traced to none other than Yakubu Gowon. Gowon should
explain why a people who were by far the dominant majority ethnic group
were suddenly relegated to only one out of the three states created by
him in the old Eastern region. Why alter demography just to make the
Igbos a minority in a region where they were the majority? Since then,
the Igbos haven’t been able to get this injustice reversed and till
date, they have seen more states and local governments created in other
regions across the country.
Nigerian historians are
unanimous that the 1963 census remains the most transparent in the
country till date. The 1963 census stated that one out of every four
Nigerians was an Igbo, which means that if things were done equitably in
this country, the Igbos should have a 25 per cent representation in all
federal institutions as well as a 25 per cent share of all states and
local governments created since independence.
We must tell ourselves
the truth and stop living in denial. Nigeria as it stands today is
sitting on a keg of gun powder and if we must stay together as a
country, we have to sit down and discuss the terms and conditions of our
coexistence. No section of the country should be treated better than
others. I have heard some northerners mutter several times that power
belongs to them. “Born to rule,” the old Sokoto State slogan is a clear
confirmation of what has been psyched into the system of every
northerner.
And they keep saying
“One Nigeria?” Isn’t it obvious that the northerners are more Nigerians
than other Nigerians? That’s why they could openly threaten the nation
with violence like they did in the just concluded presidential election.
It was peddled about that if Buhari had lost the election, there would
have been trouble in the country and as a result, a lot of people voted
against their wishes especially in the north. So many issues need to be
addressed in this country. For example, how do you explain why Arabic is
on the naira when the official language of the country is English? How
do you explain why an Hausa man is allowed to carry daggers freely when
others get arrested for carrying a razor blade?
Please, can someone
explain to me who the real Hausas are? I have travelled to virtually all
the northern states and in most of the states, the people I met claimed
not to be Hausas but from other tribes. According to them, that they
spoke fluent Hausa doesn’t mean they are Hausas. Nancy who’s from Kaduna
always makes it known to whoever cares to listen that she’s not Hausa
but Zango Kataf. My guitarist who’s from Nasarawa State grumbles
whenever I call him an Hausa man. Amina, my Fulani neighbour screams and
curses whenever I call her an Hausa lady. So who then are the real
Hausas?
What states are they
occupying? Stop using politics to bamboozle me that Hausa is a majority.
Stop using politics to lump Hausa and Fulani together because you want
me to think you are highly populated.
In the just concluded
presidential election, Katsina State had over two million eligible
voters, I have been to Katsina several times and I can’t remember ever
seeing so many people there. How did they come about the figures in the
presidential election? May God save this country from desperate
politicians because it doesn’t make any sense politicising the
population of the North when we see otherwise each time we travel
there.
It is in the same light
they claimed Kano was more populated than Lagos in the census conducted
during Obasanjo’s regime. We are tired of these lies. If we must remain
an indivisible country, the true population of the Hausas, Igbos and
Yorubas and every other ethnic group in this country must be made public
as well as the number of Christians and Muslims. Enough of the
Hausa-Fulani scam or the Zango Kataf man being counted as Hausa.
Finally, the fact that
other ethnic groups see the marginalisation of the Igbos as relative or
just a perception and not based on the objective realities on ground is a
shame. The Nigerian army today cannot produce a bullet but the boys in
Awka are producing not only bullets but guns. An unbiased Federal
Government would have taken advantage of that and create employment as
well as exporting to generate money for the country.
With a little government
encouragement, Aba can easily rival the industralised nations of the
world in production. If Ndigbo won’t be allowed to enjoy the freedom, to
develop and maximise their collective and individual potential through
unfettered access, use and exploitation of God-given resources – human
and material, the country might soon be plunged into another years of
Biafra vs Nigeria and this time around, there will be a victor and a
vanquished."
Everyone trying to gain popularity by replying the Oba..Abeg enough already!
Enough!! Enough!! Enough!!!
What do you stand to gain by revisitng this issue over and over again?
Afterall the igbos who
were present when the Oba made that speech laughed..call them out for
laughing and leave this thing alone...Create a meme from it and move on!Naso dem go start fight..#SHORONIYEN#
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