By Chidiebere Udeh Ibe
Biafra is a legitimate agitation of a people who have been and felt neglected and despised by their fellow countrymen; a people who have invested all that they have – their energy and ingenuity in building a united and prosperous country – a country they believed in and loved; being the only ethnic nationality that lives and invests in any part of the country notwithstanding how remote and difficult the place is; people who love to build and make the community they find themselves a comfortable place for themselves and their hosts; a people who have been hated for their industry and belief and pursuit of good life and prosperity; people who have lost everything they worked for because they dared to dream and be hard working; and who have started again to rebuild from nothing to greatness to the admiration and astonishment of those who wanted them annihilated.
These people are also the easiest to forgive and forget the ills done to them; they nurse their wounds, heal themselves albeit with bold scars and come forth again and again to embrace their adversary – as many times the Igbos have been attacked and destroyed in many parts of the country, the many times they have gone back to their attackers to live with them and serve them with their industry and undying zeal for success in their spirit of love and oneness.
Biafra is too small for the Igbos. Igbos should not wish for Biafra for the sake of Biafra but, for Biafra as part of Nigeria. Yes, Igbos can carry the identity of Biafra but as Nigerians.
Nigeria cannot be Nigeria without the Igbos. The Igbos have consistently reaffirmed one thing – that they need Nigeria and are willing to serve and die for Nigeria; indeed they have died many times for Nigeria. And, indeed, they are better off with one united “big” Nigeria; but Nigeria does not want Igbos but seems to say “even though we don’t want you, you must stay with us whether you like it or not; we know you have talent, we know you are resourceful and though we do not want to make use of your talents, we will not also allow you to develop your talents for yourself – you must be stultified!” The Igbos say “we want to live and work with you but, we need to be treated fairly, we need to be allowed to be the people we are and use our God-given talents to develop ourselves and the country”. Can somebody tell me the offence of the Igbo?
What I hear is that the Igbo like to dominate their environment. I ask “do they use arms or trickery to do this?” They work hard, they like challenge and they are their best at “fair” competition. When they win somebody says “no, they should not have won they have dominated; and indeed we should not create an environment where these people are allowed to compete, let’s use other means to sideline them even though the country suffers from mediocrity and underperformance”. Then, we turn back and say we are underdeveloped, we are poor; we run cap-in-hand to other nations for help!
I am not in support of the Igbos seceding from Nigeria. But, the question of the Igbos should be examined broadly beyond the Igbos, to the project called Nigeria. How does Nigeria want to develop? How does Nigeria want to utilise its resources and peoples to develop? How does Nigeria want to treat its peoples (rich in diversity and talents)? I don’t think there is anything wrong with our structure as a country but, I think there is something wrong about our love and perception of our country as “a people”. A country is only but “a people” – a people bound and united in one destiny and one purpose to love and help each other to the finishing line, even though we may be different. Nowhere on earth will you find a country where people are not different, yet they see (perceive) themselves as one (“a people”).
The ill that has befallen our country is this lack of “a people” perception. Therefore, we must look for ways to reinforce this reality – accept our differences but nonetheless accept our oneness, and treat each other with love, justice and fairness; to be happy to explore not exploit the talents of each other, to complement each other – for the short be carried on the shoulders of the tall to reach to the top, for the weak to be borne in the arms of the strong, for the rich to enrich the poor, for the faint-hearted to be consoled and strengthened by the brave, for us to walk together arm-in-arm side-by-side each other, to go not only fast but far.
This is my dream of my country Nigeria, this is my dream for the people that live in the bight of Biafra, this is my dream for those who live in the plains of the plateau and hills of the Mambilla, this is my dream for those who live on the grasslands of the Sahel; this is my dream for those who live in the hot climate of the Sahara, this is my dream for those who live in the creeks of the delta and rainforests of the Atlantic coast. Nigeria is our country, we will love one another, we will be one; we will be great!
Ibe writes from Lagos