| The Daily Crucible | Sunday, April 10, 2022
By Femi Kusa.
I do not know what name the federal government will call the SECOND NIGER BRIDGE. But the noise every where is that it will be named after president Mohammadu Buhari. This is causing agitation in Igboland. Igbos do not hide their dislike for the president either in elections or after. They are showing it, too, in the naming of this bridge which was built by his administration
TOO MUCH NOISE
Forgive me, please, for saying the igbo make too much noise over national questions unfavourable to them, unnecessarily burning up so much productive energy they can easily use for constructive ends that would shame their opponents or even enemies. In the struggles of the ethnic nationalities for self preservation in the unwieldy and defocused Nigeria State, the Igbo of today are less tactical in my view than the Igbo generation led by Dr Nnamadi Azikiwe. There is nothing that has happened to the Igbos in the Nigerian political quicksand that has not happened to the yorubas. Perhaps the only exception in the experiences of both nationalities was the Biafran civil war. This was an unnecessary and regrettable war in which many igbos suffered genocide in the north and many igbos and other Nigerians died in the resultant battlefields over whether the igbos should remain Nigerians or become a free people. In the view of many people, that question remains largely unresolved till this day, 52 years after the war ended with the defeat of Biafra. So, it can rightly be said that the igbos may live with that siege mentality and believe they are not Nigerians until they have had an unfettered opportunity to rule Nigeria through one of them becoming the nation's President. African Americans received that psycho therapy in the presidency of Barack Obama. But Obama became president not through violence or recoil from the State. Germany and Japan defeated by the Allied powers in world war II (1939-45) about 77 years ago, are yet to be vested with the full authority of Statehood.
YORUBA EXPERIENCE
The yoruba political experience in the hands of the Hausa/fulani and the igbo between 1960 and 1966 was enough to lead the yorubas to war against other nationalities. But the events were well managed despite their provocations.
Surprisingly in retrospect, it was during the marginalisation of the yorubas by the coalition federal government of the Hausa/fulani and the igbos in which the igbos were a junior partner than the Opposition and marginalised yorubas flowered the most. The yorubas did not vote the Hausa/Fulani so, they did not cry wolf when the election result did not favour them. Chief Obafemi Awolowo went on under all sorts of provocations to build a region that is the envy of other regions today. What are some of these achievements in opposition? Chief Awolowo built Nigeria's 25 storey building, cocoa house, in Ibadan. He built Liberty Stadium, Nigeria's first stadium, in Ibadan. Bodija housing estate, Nigeria's first housing estate sprang up in Ibadan. Chief Awolowo built the University of Ife before the Eastern region built the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the northern region built Ahmodu Hello University. Both regions controlled the federal government, but their combined energy could not match that of the Opposition Western region, which became the leader region. Chief Awolowo was not done. Western Nigeria television(WNTV was the first in Africa). To create jobs, he built Ikeja industrial estate, Illupeju industrial estate, Yaba industrial estate, Isolo industrial estate, and Apapa industrial estate. He wished to turn ilaje in bariga and ejirin, near Epe, to sea ports. But the destabilisation of the Western region by the envious northern and Eastern regions which led to his arrest, trial and imprisonment under flimsy charges of treasonable felony eclipsed this dream.
I have sighted a few of the achievements of the Western region in Opposition which the other regions in government could not match only to suggest that noise making under provocations does not always provide beautiful solutions to challenges protested. It is more likely the channeling of productive energy to useful ends that solves undesirable problems.
Even when their own supposed son, Olusegun Obasanjo, denied chief Obafemi Awolowo, their leader, the Presidency in 1979 and give it to Shehu shagari with that celebrated 12 2/3 supreme court judgement ,the yorubas calmly swallowed the bitter pill. When Obasanjo, their supposed son did not kick against the annulment of the election of moshood kashimawo Abiola as President, the heavens did not crash down. When Obasanjo, as civilian President, subdued the yorubas in a government in which the igbos flowered exceediingly, the yorubas did not raise dust. They only called him names. Please remember that Obasanjo denied Lagos State federal revenue allocation for some years simply because the state dared to say it deserved as many local governments as were apportioned to Kano State. Either to, Lagos and Kano had about an equal number of Local governments. By administrative adjustments which were later made Constitutional, the number of local government in Kano almost doubled that of Lagos, whereas Lagos population had tremendously grown . Obasanjo did not examine these challenges. Rather, he put Lagos under the Jackboot and sought to financially strangle it. Trust the yorubas. They did not vandalise or burn federal assets in Lagos. Rather, they brought out from under the bushells various internal revenue generating formulals. At the end of the day, Lagos had more money from these sources than Obasanjo would have given it. Thanks to president Yaradua, a fulani, he paid to Lagos all the allocations Obasanjo witheld. Thanks, also, to governor Nyesom Wike. He has recently won a court case which is paying off not only in Lagos but in all marginalised states.
Some Yoruba critics of Obasanjo say he has Igbo origins. As part of his anti-yoruba testimonial Obasanjo refused in eight years of rulership over Nigeria to repair the delapidated road to his OBASANJO FARMS and the dual carriage way from there to Abeokuta, his home town. He was punishing the yorubas for not voting him. The yorbas happily stomached the viccisitudes because they told him through the ballot that he was not their leader.
Igbos too have been telling president Buhari that he is not their leader. Like the yorubas, they have the right and the duty to have a leader and to reject whoever is not their leader. And, like the yorubas, they should understand the Nigerian political consequences of rejecting a politician who is not their leader but turns up, irrespective of them, to become the nation's leader. Part of this understanding is that they must be capable of existence in a hostile political and financial environment. In yorubaland, we say of the situation: Adie Da Mi Lo Ogun Nu, Fo Fo L 'eyin(i broke the eggs of the chicken that spilled my medicine potion). The yorubas spilled Obasanjo's medicine potion and he broke their eggs. Till today, they keep spilling his medicine potion, but he has no more State power to break their eggs. That situation of spilling the medicine potion and breaking the eggs created the atmosphere yorubas describe as Ara o Riokun, Ara O Ro Adie (A chicken perched on a tight rope struggling for balance is as uneasy and as unbalanced as the tight rope). Isn't that what the igbos and president Buhari have created for themselves?
President Ebele Jonathan was no better disposed to the yorubas.
Like President Obasanjo, he brutally stamped out a yoruba spearheaded demand for a constitutional confrence that would regionalise Nigeria and Grant autonomy to the regions. He carried the hausa-fulani and the igbo states in tow, rejecting any questioning of the 1914 Amalgamation and even dissolution of the Nigerian State. The igbos saw nothing wrong in this. President Jonathan was their son. Even when the yorubas pushed for the return of the regional or state police, did the yorubas almost not stand alone against President Jonathan as they did Obasanjo? Nasiru el-Rufai, was a chief antagonist of the regional police idea. Now, of all the states in Nigeria, his is the most unsafe, most destabilished, most dehumanised. Did he not even try to stop the yorubas from quickly protecting themselves against armed foreigners who are pouring into Nigeria through porous northern borders everyday? Jonathan tried to rename the University of Lagos moshood Abiola University. Much as the yorubas loved Abiola but hated this move, they did not cast stones, let alone hurt bombs, at public institutions to express their shock and disagreement. Rather, they kept calling University of Lagos, the University of Lagos at the emotional level. At the intellectual level, they pointed out to the power drunken President that an Act of the National Assembly set up the University of Lagos and only a repeal of that act could change its name.
Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ) started the sales task in Lagos. With locally generated revenue, he needed only three naira from the federal government for every ten naira his government was spending. A covetuos federal government system pounced on these opposition states and declared sales tax as federal revenue. This meant that if Lagos generated five hundred million naira in one year, it may get no more than 20 million by the time the covetuos federal government shared the money among drone or parasite states which often got higher shares. In the knowledge that whatever is false will inevitably collapse, Lagos and other Yoruba states peacefully soldiered on. It was, therefore, not surprising that Lagos immediately identified with the Rivers litigation which has now gone in favour of the states.
Yorubas are not politically emotional about anything. We can say they have risen beyond ethnic bonding in the course of their inner development. Obasanjo was their son. They nevertheless rejected him at the Polls. Obafemi Awolowo was their leader. They did not turn their land to ash over his incaceration. They knew he would return to them someday. Certainly, they would not want him to return to ashland or a cities of graves. Did he not return to become the second most powerful man in Nigeria after Lt.Col Yakubu Gowon, as he then was as head of state.Operation WETI E was no more than a local protest against vote rigging.
I would like to also mention the THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE. Boot lickers of the Ibrahim Babagida military regime got him to name the bridge after himself as IBB BRIDGE. The yorubas did not quarrel with that. Rather, they kept calling their bridge THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE. The yorubas say ENU ARAIYE L'EBO. That is saying the spoken word has affirmative power.The spoken word is a gift from the Almighty Creator to man.
BUHARI BRIDGE
If the igbos do not want the bridge in their land named after the President they should take an igbo national decision to call it SECOND NIGER BRIDGE. Over time the name Will stick. There is no need to break bones over a Matters this simple to resolve.
IGBOKWENU
It is suprising that the igbos made the second Niger bridge bigger than their capacity to build. In 1992, only the government of Imo state, backed by Imo voluntary donors, built the Sam Mbakwe international cargo airport at a cost of 7 billion naira. The second niger bridge cost N336 billion. Are we saying the igbos could not raise this money, build it and give it whatever name suits them, without waiting for the federal government? The igbos are an energetic and bubbling people. Their preference for the colour red tells it all. They are fearless. There is no where on the face of this Earth the Igbo cannot be found. They may search for sustenance in antholes or live on ice covered mountain tops. From the bowels of Hardy rocks, they can scoop out sustenance. What they seem to have lacked since the departure of persons like Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, Dr Mike Okpara and chief Sam Mbakwe is political leadership. The likes of Peter Obi, Chukwuma Soludo and Dr Godwin Clement Emefiele ought to have been able to accomplish the feat of mobilising the igbos to raise funds to build the second Niger bridge. Although, chief Obafemi Awolowo is gone and we hardly see semblances of his handy work in many parts of the Old Western Region today, Lagos State has not disappointed many yorubas. Epe town is modernising. A cargo airport is going up in Lekki . An Atlantic City is going up on the marina. A huge train project that will link the marina with badagry is under construction. There is a prospect of badagry becoming a seaport town.
How beautiful would it have been if the igbos got together, formed a company to raise money from all igbos at home and abroad to build the second Niger bridge. This bridge does not have to end up in the hands of the federal government like the Sam Mbakwe airport in Owerri. The money's donated to build it may be converted to shares of a company. Token fees may be charged for the use of this bridge. The shareholders, all igbos, will earn dividends from the use of this bridge. Now, rather than do this, the bridge has been built with foreign loan. There is no way a toll will not be charged on it and the dividends from Igbo toil and sweat would not end up in far away China.
A WONDERFUL PEOPLE
The Igbos are a wonderful , industrious, knowledgeable and widely travelled people blessed with the material profit of their foraging away from home. If my memory serves me right, they build Owerri, Airport from levels and voluntary contributions. The second Niger bridge was not beyond to build if their governors stood well on this subject. They could have floated a company in which all Igbos would own shares Nigeria would not have need to borrow a tormenting loan from china. A soft toll could have been charged for use of the bridge. Igbos could have recouped their investment and been making money thereafter. Where are the Peter Obis and the Chukuma soludos and the Godwin Emefieles? Now the sweat of the Igbo would grease the palms of the Chinese!
A mighty people has been befogged with anger and lost a lot in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment