Why the Igbos are Marginalised in the Geopolitics of Governance in Nigeria

by Yahaya Balogun
igbo land

This is the time to strategize and clamor for the emergence of an Igbo president of Nigeria in 2023 after the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari. The real Igbo man or woman should be scouted , and rallied around to be president of Nigeria in the 2023 general election. The Nigerian geopolitical conundrum has never favored or allowed Igbo people to have a prominent role in the affairs of the country.  Sadly, Igbo people have always deprived themselves in the nexus of Nigerian politics. The Nigerian oligarchs have succeeded in weaponizing igbo brethren and youth for their private estate and hedonism. The cabals have always used igboland as a hub for divisive politics, dehumanized trenches, ethnic and religious sectarianism.

The region has also been marginalized for a long time in the geopolitical map and politics of Nigeria, leaving the impoverished populace in the plethora of woes. The misguided brethren from this untapped fertile region are not helping themselves politically. I think it is high time we conscientized our folks from the region known for potential “silicon valley” to discover their regional potentials. They should stop being used as expendable weapons by politicians for political expediency.

The conmen and opportunists scouting around, and parading to represent the people from the Eastern Nigeria cannot lead the good people of the East to the promised land. Imaginative secession or hobnobbing with readily available sociopaths for consolation against a stereotyped enemy cannot produce a future winnable political result.

Resentment of a performing but slow government is not the smart solution to regional problems. The clamoring for secession is not also a problem. If Nigeria is a forced marriage or mere geographic expression that needs divorce, the dissolution must be done in a referendum that will bring all the stakeholders together to resolve the potent issue amicably.

The honest and unblemished truth is that, even though, if my Igbo brethren had succeeded in the expected unholy fragmentation of Nigeria, there will not be a consensus or collective unity of purpose among the present youth to evolve a concise leadership. They’ve always played into the noxious hands of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. They are either used for administrative convenience only to be abandoned by these con political players for political expediency in the end. Now, they are planning to be “Atikulated.”

In technological-know-how, Eastern Nigeria has the compendium ingenuity to siliconize or digitalise Aba, Onisha, Owerri and other parts of the East and Nigeria in general. They only need to re-invent the ingenuity of Philip Emeagwali, a computer guru based in the United States. Philip Emeagwali is a Nigerian computer scientist. He has successfully been living in the United States for many years. An Igbo man born in Nigeria, who won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize for price-performance in high-performance computing applications, in an oil reservoir modeling calculation using a novel mathematical formulation and implementation. He is one of the geniuses and blessings from Igboland, Nigeria and Africa.

Beautifully, innovative Igbo sons and daughters are magnificent representations of the progress of Igbo, Nigeria and Africa in general, but the unfortunate thing is that, most of these young igbos do not know. There’s urgent needs for the responsible and stakeholders of Igbos to speak out now, and with one resounding collective voice to re-orientate our warped igbo sons and daughters. They should stop oozing out abusive languages and the denigration of other ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. It’s not a smart move at all in a world shrinking into smaller village.

Historically, I am impassioned about the entrepreneurship acumen of Igbo people. They have made a quantum leap in the progress of Nigeria through their hard work, resourcefulness, entrepreneurship and innovative ingenuity. Their entrepreneurial signatures have dotted not only Nigeria, but everywhere around the world. The stereotyped mindset of some people about Igbo people being local and international 419ers is a misnomer and nauseatingly unfounded. No ethnic group in Nigeria is exonerated or immune from scams, corruption and other vices that sadly branded our nation-Nigeria.

President Buhari most Igbo people hate with unfounded passion may have his shortcomings, but Buhari is the best to have happened to this country now based on the ossified corruption oozing out of Nigeria, and that unrelenting war against it. Buhari’s administration’s slow pace of policy implementation is a minus and the encumbrance to some of his adversaries in a beleaguered nation in search of her true identity. But the end justifies the means!

Furthermore, the good people of Igbo should advice other kith and kin to stop fighting unwinnable war of imagination. The last real Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the Biafran War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), that consumed between 500,000 to two millions innocent people produced “no victor, vanquished.” Never shall we witness the most senseless war again in our country. Igbo youth should do collective serious self-talk, and stop being a willing tool in the hands of people like absconded Kanu, corruption personified Atiku, Mr. Tortoise Obasanjo and other unidentified sociopaths in APC and PDP who do not have their interest at hearts, but their inordinate political ambitions.  There are so many young intelligent, brilliant and resourceful Igbos who can lead Nigeria efficiently and effortlessly, but there have been no collective and cohesive voice among the Igbo youth.

Take a cursory look at Kingsley Moghalu, a young, vibrant, articulate (not atikulated corruption and antiquity Atiku) intelligent, well coordinated and versed economic guru! The first time I saw the young Kingsley Moghalu speaking, I literally melted in my couch and wept for our people! While the clean and handsome guy was mesmerizing my insatiable mind, articulating facts and figures, his youthful personality, godly, humility and candor sent me back to the good nostalgic periods of vintage Barack Obama of the United States of America. I wept for the igbo youth for a misplaced priority.

The igbo’s youth new found romance and love in Atiku is dwarfing the voice of reason and wisdom coming out from intelligent Kingsley Moghalu. Instead of supporting Kingsley Moghalu, these non correctable zealots are now munching for Atiku Abubakar, a known patron of the cabals and religious entrepreneurs; a man with the baggage of US Homeland security unanswered questions dangling over his head for alleged corrupt practices!

The Igbo people’s stance and utterances in the national, and international community are not helping to foster a platform for the emergence of a true leader from among them in the East to lead Nigeria. Now, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku is trying to appease the noncorrectable individuals and the unsuspecting Igbo people to leverage his political ambition. Igbo people should be wise and avoid to be the willing tools in the hands of Atiku and other professional Talakawas from northern Nigeria. Kingsley Moghalu is a potential president of Nigeria in 2023. I believe and strongly mean it. Kingsley Moghalu has what it takes to lead Nigeria based on my research on his past records so far!

Rationally, Atiku Abubakar is a power monger. Rational mind can easily discern his manipulation of the fragile, dysfunctional and contradictory system. I have never liked Atiku’s con-art of politics. Atiku is a spent political whorelord who shouldn’t even be allowed to get close to the mainstream of Nigeria politics. He will fail woefully in 2019 presidential election. I suspect he is succeeding in using Ibo people to actualize his 2019 political ambition. Igbo people should beware and take heed of him. Atiku’s presidency is caveat emptor (buyers beware) for Igbo people and Nigeria.

My advice to responsible Igbo people is to come together and do a thorough mindfulness with thought provoking deliberations on how to bring other patriotic Nigerians with them to actualize their dreams of producing a president of the federation in the next political dispensation. This writer is more than willing to be part of this campaign of justice, equity and fairness of having Igbo president to bring peace and tranquility to Nigeria.

Nigerian youths from Hausa, Yoruba and other ethnic groups should support their responsible brothers and sisters from other ethnic or geopolitical zones to actualize this laudable dream. Young Igbos should refrain from denigrating their own sons and daughters and others through hate speeches, or unpatriotic posts on print, electronic and social media. You cannot deliberately impugn, hate or resent other ethnic groups and expect them to support you in time of collective national decision for the highest office. This is my honest observation and admonition for true fairness and equity to prevail.

I am a staunch advocate of national cohesion, but we must avoid some parts of Nigeria the monopoly  of power. For peace to reign, we must deconstruct our minds of the nuance of secession and disintegration of Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all of us, Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa and other ethnic nationalities in the country, and we should come together to be a united states of Nigeria.

 

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