For some time now, there have been desperate efforts by some persons to reconstruct the Igbo as the only divorce-seeking spouse in the Nigerian project, and their agitation against perpetual injustice and inequality whimsically dismissed as a ploy for power grab.
Those that make this mischaracterization seem to have deep knowledgeable in the art of power grab. The Igbo world view is built on intense competition and not to be pampered with unmerited favour. The agitation for justice is real. Every self-respecting person knows the old Eastern Region has been badly maltreated in this polity, especially by the current regime. And we want an end to the dehumanisation.
It’s fair and in the best interest of our wobbling union to try the Igbo with leadership, having tried all the other regions. Hopefully the union can be salvaged by the Igbo miracle. There are three types of Igbo; the Igbo who believe in the status quo Nigeria, the Igbo who want out of Nigeria and the Igbo who want a restructured Nigeria. The Igbo who believe in status quo Nigeria are in the minority while the other two are split down the middle, with maybe a slight majority wanting a restructured viable federation similar to what the North demanded and got in 1953.
My point is that not all the Igbo believe in Biafra or death as being championed by some group. Not all Igbo subscribe to IPOB and MASSOB. It is wrong for anyone to characterize the Igbo as Nigeria’s only divorce-seeking spouse. At various time, other tribes had romanticized with secession due to fear of being dominated by others. However, beneath the Igbo agitation is the belief in Nigeria that is working for all in fairness, justice and equity, a Nigeria where opportunities are created for the present and next generation, a Nigeria which will create more of good citizens than good criminals.
Those that loathe the Igbo because of the separatist agitation of some groups had, at different times, themselves threatened secession. Notably, the North. On the occasions that the North had threatened to leave Nigeria, it was the Igbo that had always bent backwards to concede to their demands in the spirit of being a ‘brother’s keeper’. Why then are they not listening to our grievances and maybe meet us halfway?
For those with short memories, let me remind us that Araba is not an Igbo language but Hausa word. Araba is Hausa word for secession or separation. Araba was first introduced into Nigeria’s political lexicon by the North in 1953 during the Kano riot. Araba was again the issue in 1966 during the counter coup that led to the gruesome massacre of over 30, 000 thousand Easterners. History recorded it that the 1966 counter coup was executed for the purpose of ‘araba’ by the North.
It was also the North that first set conditions for true federalism, something akin to restructuring after the 1953 Kano riot. Surprisingly, they have abandoned both separation and restructuring agitation for the South.
Life, indeed, is full of ironies. And one of such irony is the fact that those that killed tens and thousands of people in their quest for ‘araba’ also ended up killing millions of people to keep Nigeria one.
‘After the North first declared Araba or secession in 1953, the NPC issued a list of demands, and said they would not return to the Federal Parliament in Lagos unless their demands were met. The demands included autonomy for each region with respect to all matters except defence, external affairs and Customs. The demands were met.’
Interestingly, the same conditions are the same things those asking for restructuring are demanding, which the North is now opposed to. What’s wrong with the black man?
I will explain while quoting extensively from Cheta Nwanze’s ‘Echoes of 1953 Kano riot’.
‘On March 31, 1953, Anthony Enahoro moved the motion that Nigeria should become independent by 1956 at the Federal Parliament in Lagos. The motion was supported by Action Group members and majority of the members of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons. However, the Northern People’s Congress did not accept the motion for self-governance, as Northern politicians felt that their region was not yet ready for self-government, and essentially torpedoed Enahoro’s suggestion that independence should happen in 1956.
‘Ahmadu Bello, the NPC leader, proposed an amendment, saying self- governance should be granted “as soon as practicable” replacing “in the year 1956” in Enahoro’s bill. This led to disagreements and resulted in a strain on the relationship between Northern and Southern leaders. A Northern member of the House moved a motion for adjournment, a motion which both the AG and the NCNC viewed as delay tactics, leading all members of both parties to walk out of the House.
‘When the Northern delegates left the House, they were confronted by hostile Lagos crowds who jeered and insulted them. Members of the Northern delegation were embittered and in an “Eight Point Programme” in Lugard Hall, Kaduna, they sought secession.
‘Undeterred, and refusing to listen to the concerns of their Northern counterparts, a delegation of the AG and NCNC led by Samuel Akintola, went on tour of the North to campaign for self-government. The tour was the immediate cause of the Kano riots.
‘There was already tension in the region because of the hostility faced by the Northern delegation in Lagos who objected to self-governance when Akintola’s tour arrived Kano on Friday, May 15, 1953. An initially orderly demonstration by NPC supporters took place that day, which was quickly followed by small skirmishes on Saturday, May 16. The disturbances that led to the riot started out at the Colonial Hotel that Saturday. The hotel was the venue of a meeting by the AG. On the morning of the meeting, the Kano Native Authority withdrew permission for the meeting, and a mob gathered outside the hotel and started stoning people. During the fracas, two Southerners were killed. The mob then moved on and attempted to gain entry into Sabon Gari but were subdued by the Native Authority police.
‘The situation became a more serious inter-ethnic crisis on Sunday, May 17, when mobs from Fagge, an area dominated by Northerners, attempted to break into Sabon Gari with some success. It is important to note that though the mobs’ original chants were against the Yoruba, the casualties in the Sabon Gari area were mostly Igbo, because the rioting soon deteriorated into looting. The skirmishes spilled into areas such as Fagge where small unorganised ethnic clashes occurred. The Native Authority Police and the Army were called upon and they prevented further degeneration.
‘On Monday, May 18, 1953, the colonial government declared a state of emergency in Northern Nigeria and troops were deployed to Kano. Forty-six people were killed during the riot, which was pronounced as an ethnic clash by the Colonial Government, but downplayed by the local press as “a political riot between those who wanted self-government in 1956, and those who wanted imperialism to continue.’
‘The issues which caused the Kano Riots of 1953 still exist in Nigeria today, largely, fear of domination, refusal to be compassionate for the other and the distrust between the North and the South and I dare say has got worse in the last half decade’.
In 2014, Northern Governors met and issued a declaration that presidency must rotate to the North and most of the Northern leaders, irrespective of party affiliation, worked towards achieving that singular objective. This 2021, Southern governors met and declared that presidency must rotate to the South and the North is upset. We should be doing better than we are doing. The North and the South can co-exist and live in peace by observing democratic principles and the rule of law. If we try a little harder, we can meet up with the challenges of today and the future. We can build consensus and reach common grounds on common issues. We can in the interest of peace and stability agree on justice, equity, rotation and fair play.