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From: Nnaji Jekwu Onovo
Public Forum
Mr. Okeke is right, Okorie is right, Okafor is right, and Mr. Okonkwo is right also. So, Igbo people are righteous people. If we are all righteous, what is causing the mayhem in Igboland? Are the gods angry with us? But they say: righteousness exalts a nation. Who or what do we blame for the insecurity and senseless killings in the Igbo nation? Where are the chief priests of the various oracles across Igboland? Where are the pastors and reverends of the various Christian denominations across Igboland? Is it not time they consulted the gods/God to find solutions to the crisis engulfing Igboland? The cyclone is gaining traction and could drive the Igbo nation to the abyss of no return. Today, it seems violence and strife have exceeded all limits of reason and logic.
The late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu granted an interview to Rudolf Okonkwo on July 9, 2001, in Boston, USA. In the interview, Ojukwu stated: “The failure of Nigeria has created a reflex and that reflex can be called Biafra. That’s why I say that there will always be, if not the Biafra of territory, Biafra of the heart.” He elaborated on the concept of Biafra of the heart: “It is an attitude, a revolution, and a rejection of all the corruption and all the terrible things that you find in Nigeria.”
I make bold to state that Ojukwu will be turning in his grave, as he watches the terrible things, senseless killings and destruction of properties in Igboland. The killings and destruction in Igboland, in the guise of Biafra agitation, have been, as Zimbabwean writer, Shimmer Chinodya, puts it, “A harvest of thorns.”
There is no gainsaying that Ndigbo are marginalized in some schemes in affairs of Nigeria, especially in the political arena. But it is absurd for Ndigbo to turn their guns on one another. Probably, the postulation of Nicolas Cage (Yuri Orlov) in the 2005 film “Lord of War” is right. Yuri Orlov said: “I sell to leftists, and rightists. I sell to pacifists, but they’re not the most regular customers. Of course, you’re not a ‘true internationalist’ until you’ve supplied weapons to kill your ‘own’ countrymen.”
Violence will not bring us closer to our objectives.
I have listened to many Biafra protagonists, including Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who insist the struggle is non-violent. I am convinced that the Biafra agitation is for fairness, equity and justice in Nigeria. When people come together to silently disobey the authorities by various means, they are said to resist passively. Non-violence has been the hallmark that has made it one of the most favourable options. People from different countries have exercised it to protest against their governments and have been successful in doing so. Probably, some Biafra apologists are misinterpreting the briefs of the leaders, thereby embracing violent. I believe some fanatics have hijacked the “Biafra” struggle for fairness, equity and justice; embracing violence and turning their guns on their own people. In the midst of all these, we appear doped, dazed, hypnotized or somnambulistic. The question on every Igbo lip is: where lie our escape from the obvious all-engulfing cataclysm that looms so large on our horizon?
Citizens and residents of the South East are pawns in the supremacy battle between the non-state actors and the state governments who issue orders and counter-orders with regard to the sit-at-home. Ordinarily, sit-at-home is classified as passive resistance/peaceful protest but our brand is a misnomer, as organisers apply force and violence to enforce the order. The ground rule in passive resistance/peaceful protest is to coax, and not coerce, people to join. In our case, the approach is coercion, and that is wrong. I plead with the organisers to change tactics and stop the pains being inflicted on Ndigbo they set out to defend. The present approach is causing more harm than good because lives are lost, businesses paralysed and investors scared from the region. The present circumstance is a harvest of thorns for Ndigbo.
The counter-orders by the state governments have failed to galvanise the people against the sit-at-home. In fact, it is all about show of force, as the state governments threaten to shut down businesses and sack workers who obey sit-at-home orders. Governors, sirs, change tactics and device better ways to handle the situation. I also call on civil society organisations, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to intervene and initiate actions to douse the tension in the region. Nobody should be aloof; all hands should be on deck to save the South East in particular and Nigeria in general.
The fact of the matter is that the crisis revolves around the incarceration of Kanu. Another fact is that Kanu is standing trial in courts of competent jurisdiction, so the federal government would always hide under the independence of the judiciary to avoid political discourse on the fate of Kanu. But his is a case of ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’
Our approach should remain diplomatic, a passionate plea to the Federal Government for the release of Kanu. The governors of the South East states have been pleading with the Federal Government, to no avail; so, we need to up the ante by mobilizing about 100,000 people from the five South East state (20,000 per state) for a peaceful march at Abuja, pleading with the Federal Government to release Kanu. The entire group should assemble and take off from Enugu. The convoy to Abuja would make a strong impression. By and large, everything must be peaceful.
I plead with all agitators and activists in Igboland in particular and Nigeria in general to embrace non-violence and align with Mahatma Gandhi’s creed, which states that, in a non-violent conflict, no rancour should surface, as anger and intolerance are twin enemies of correct understanding; non-violence demands that we seek every opportunity to win over our opponents. Thus, a person who can express non-violence in life exercises a power superior to all forces of brutality. Is our society geared up for this test of fortitude? Following this call in spirit and emotion may well be difficult, even painful, but not impossible.
•Jekwo Onovo writes via: [email protected]
