126 the Travails of the Igbo Ethnic Group in Nigeria

126 THE TRAVAILS OF THE IGBO ETHNIC GROUP IN NIGERIA AND THE INDISPENSABILITY OF THE TRADITIONAL SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE RESTORATION OF THE MUCH-NEEDED UNITY Chidi Mike Amaechi Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Enugu State, Nigeria. Abstract The Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria has been groaning under the colossal weight of injustice, criminal neglect and institutional marginalization especially since the end of the Nigerian Civil War. This is more apparent in the composition of the military, political appointments, provision of social amenities and infrastructure, and choice of official policies. The psychological effect is even more traumatizing and debilitating. In a state of confusion, despair, and hopelessness, the average Igbo person is politically disoriented and manipulated and the age-long flaunted culture of ‘unity of purpose’ has been abandoned together with the traditional socio-cultural practices that anchored the people’s high moral standards and unsullied sense of dignity. Moreover, at the detriment of Igbo group interest, the political elite now revel in selfish individualism as a result of inferiority complex and have not been able to, early enough, analyze situations and take a firm stand on issues, as each situation demands. In support of the view that the marginalization of the Igbo stems largely from internal disunity, and in addition to other views on the solution to this problem of Igbo disunity, it is the position of this paper that the revival of those traditional socio-political cum cultural institutions and values which sustained the bonds of Igbo unity in the face of the seemingly acephalous and segmented nature of the people, would go a long way in restoring this much-needed unity. Key words: Introduction Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the progression of the Igbo on the marginalization ladder and towards martyrdom has been a steady one. It is not surprising , therefore, that fifty years after the independence of the country, the Igbo, a major ethnic group, is ‘begging’ to be accommodated in the scheme of things, even behind the minority groups. The people have been groaning under the colossal weight of stupendous injustice, criminal neglect and institutional marginalization, and no longer see the Nigerian state as a refuge. No doubt, there have been cries of marginalization from virtually all the constituent parts of the country, as noted by Ikejiani-Clark,20 but it would be atrocious to attempt to confuse the gory state of the Igbo with such cries. While some of these ‘cries of marginalization’ are genuine, others are deceptive and emanate from the inability of such ‘devouring’ groups to find ‘preys’ as usual. Besides, the issue of marginalization, real or cloaked, generally goes further to reveal the inability of the Nigerian state to guarantee the attainment of the expectations of the various ethnic groups.21 Though all-pervading, the marginalization of the Igbo is more apparent in the composition of the military, political appointments, provision of social amenities and infrastructure, and choice of official policies. This gruesome treatment of the Igbo in Nigeria becomes more horrendous when weighed on the ’input and reward’ scale. This is because the Igbo, both individually and collectively, contributed more than any other ethnic group towards the independence of the country and have continued to make sacrifices towards its stability, in spite of all odds. From independence to the pre- civil war years, the Igbo dominated the political, economic, social and technological activities in Nigeria. They Nsukka Journal of the Humanities, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2015 127 championed the struggle for self-determination. The entrance of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe into the struggle blazed the trail of Nigerian nationalism. With his West African Pilot and other publications, he created much awareness on the evils of colonialism and the need for emancipation. Moreover, he mobilized his Igbo kinsmen like Mokwugo Okoye, Osita Agwuna, Dennis Osadebe, Mbonu Ojike, Akanu Ibiam, Alvan Ikoku, Nwafor Orizu, Michael Okpara, K. O. Mbadiwe and many others, who gave their ‘all’ without ethnic biases in order to achieve a free, strong and united Nigeria. Azikiwe eventually became the first Governor-general and later the ceremonial president while Nwafor Orizu became the first senate president. In the military, the Igbo held sway. They produced two out of every three commissioned officers in the Nigerian Army and eventually produced the first General in the person of J. T. U. Aguiyi Ironsi. In spite of the fact that the Igbo were the last to come into contact with Western and other external influences, they caught up and even overtook other groups in so many aspects of human endavour, to the advantage of the emerging nation. How else can one express their exploits in western education than to remind Nigerians that the Igbo produced the first indigenous Vice Chancellor in the country in the person of Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike. In terms of human capacity, the Igbo produced the bulk of the personnel that powered the nation during the period. They were active in the railway stations, the mines, post offices, hospitals, government bureaucracy, public works departments etc., both in Lagos and every part of the country. Economically, the Igbo were not missing either. Their palm products initially sustained the economy of the country before the era of cocoa and groundnut. Besides, the Igbo penetrated every nook and cranny of Nigeria. Equipped with determination and good wishes, they established the economic foundation of their host communities. According to Ezima, “it is said and accepted without challenge that any village in Nigeria where there is no Igbo man will never see the light of development.”22 It could also be deduced from the above that the Igbo contributed to the unity of the country more than any other group. Their readiness to live in and develop any part of the country signified their acceptance of the historical reality of Nigeria. Unfortunately, instead of commendation, this has continued to attract envy and hatred from the other groups. The psychological effect of the marginalization of the Igbo is even more traumatizing and debilitating. In a state of confusion, despair, and hopelessness, the average Igbo person is politically disoriented at present and, as has been noted, the people “have all of a sudden, become an other- directed individual, whose locus of control is now externally located,”23 and the age-long flaunted culture of ‘unity of purpose’ has been abandoned. At the detriment of Igbo group interest, the political elite now revel in selfish individualism as a result of inferiority complex. Such renegades awfully believe that they must ‘eat’ or undo their brothers in order to succeed. In the 1979 elections, many notable Igbo politicians deliberately ‘worked’ against Igbo group interest in favour of either Alhaji Shehu Shagari or Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In 1983, Azikiwe lost even his own Anambra State to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in a humiliating manner. This was wholly actualized through the effort of his own brothers. At the 1999 PDP Convention in Jos, Dr Alex Ekwueme was ‘sacrificed’ by his own kinsmen on the altar of selfish individualism. The experiences of Evan Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo, Pius Anyim, Adolphus Nwagbara and Ken Nnamani as Senate presidents between 1999 and 2007 are still fresh in our minds. The list is endless. Actually, especially by virtue of the republican nature of the Igbo, it is not wrong for the people to nurture different political ideologies, belong to different political parties or even pursue differing ambitions. What is worrisome is the inability of these Igbo political desperadoes to recognize where individual interest should end and Nsukka Journal of the Humanities, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2015 128 where group interest commences. In the south-western part of the country, Yoruba group interest reigns supreme. When you see them in a different camp or political party, they are just there as ‘bench-warmers’. Some even join the ranks of their opponents in order to steer them towards pre- determined paths, to the ultimate advantage of their own kinsmen. Irrespective of the ill-feelings harboured against Chief M. K. O. Abiola by his kinsmen, as a result of the often drummed-up rift between him and Chief Awolowo, the Yoruba gave him all the needed support that led him to victory in 1993. When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Olu Falae emerged as the presidential candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) respectively, both the conservative and militant factions of the hitherto irrepressible Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) repositioned the organization immediately. Instead of the earlier quest for a Sovereign National Conference and outright secession from the Nigerian federation, their mission statement was altered to accommodate the ethnic group’s insistence on ‘a Yoruba president’. It is also possible that the Yoruba deliberately allowed Chief Falae and Chief Obasanjo ‘alone’ to compete for the same position, being sure that the group interest is protected, either way. Upon the fact that their party’s (AD) candidate lost the election, the group threw its weight behind Obasanjo. In 2003, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), irrespective of its ‘progressive’ stance, resolved not to field a presidential candidate, in favour of Obasanjo’s second tenure. What else is ‘common sense’ and supremacy of group interest? In the case of the Igbo, old wounds hardly heal, and most Igbo politicians see their brother’s weakness, either real or cooked-up, as an opportunity to actualize their ambitions, as in the Senate presidency cases. It is quite unlike what obtains among other ethnic groups. Both Chuba Okadigbo, the then Senate President, and Ghali Na’ Abba, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, were indicted by the same Kuta Panel.

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