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Let me begin by dismissing the issue of locus standi. The South East and Ndigbo are too integral to the corporate existence of our country for any reasonable government to ignore them or for anything affecting them to be ignored, no matter how intricate the issue may be. It will be suicidal to think that one could run a government of the Federation without them. Although a part cannot make the whole, the whole is nevertheless incomplete, and cannot go to sleep, without the part. So the long and short of it is that we are all “involved”, concerned and affected. In any case, the place of birth or of origin of any of us, besides the instrumentality of parentage, is the supreme design of God. I could, therefore, have been born an Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, etc., but God chose Benin and Edo for me. Therefore I feel entitled, or at least not disqualified from speaking on what is, has been and would remain for sometime, the Igbo question.

Next, let me quickly add that many of the issues discussed hereunder could easily apply to other parts of the country where similar experiences have been had, except that facts currently in issue and the dramatis personae on stage are Ndigbo, our neighbours in the South-East. When, therefore, I quarrel with the high level of political jobbery and the accompanying chicanery, I do not mean harm, much less group insult.

Now, this piece is about the two most current, chequered, vexed and disturbing matters in Igbo land, which reverberate across the country, namely: the cry against marginalisation and the genie of Senate Presidency. While there is genuine basis for crying against marginalisation, even though the plague is not of Igbo exclusivity, the high rate of turn over of the Senate Presidency, the number three position in Nigeria’s order of protocol, which is conceded to the South-east through party and political considerations, has become provocative and I believe, embarrassing to Ndigbo. I shall return to this subject later.

The Igbo nation considers itself entitled and best qualified to produce the country’s president come 2003. Well, why not? If the South is enjoying the North’s “concession” for the job of which the South West has taken the first shot, through Obasanjo, then after Obasanjo’s term, Igbos are eminently qualified to run. Afterall, Igbos have paid their dues: for example the political alignment of Zik’s NCNC with NPC which helped NPC to form the government in the First Republic and the accord of NPP with NPN which helped NPN to form the government in the 2nd Republic. The people of South-South are also saying that it would be their turn. They too are qualified. I dare say, ‘’more appropriate and suitable. But one man we must not forget is the one who has followed the principle: “if you must lead, you must first learn to follow”, namely Atiku Abubakar, the Vice President, who is paying the price and can graduate to take over as did senior Bush and attempted by Al Gore. ‘’

But these Igbo efforts, many would argue, have not gone unrewarded. Zik ‘’ became the country’s first president albeit ceremonial, while Dr. Alex Ekwueme became the first civilian Vice President. It should also be noted that it was mainly on account of Dr. Ekwneme’s sportsmanship, magnanimity and loyalty ‘’ during and after the PDP Jos convention that Igbos got the Senate Presidency slot. Elements in the North had argued that when Alhaji Shagari (a Northerner) was President, his Vice (Dr. Alex Ekwneme) and Senate President (Dr. Joseph Wayas) were Southerners. That since Obasanjo, (a ‘’ Southerner) is President, the Vice and Senate President should, conversely, come from the North. Obasanjo handled the issue with commendable ‘’ skill. Thus the allegation of marginalisation would, to this extent, be unfounded.

However, when the searchlight is beamed deeper into the actual composition of the political and civil structure of the Nigerian state; the state of physical infrastructure; the condition of public utilities and the general delivery of democracy dividends, Igbos’ cry against marginalisation would find justification and validity. At the Justice Oputa Commission the other week, Mazi Ukpabi Ukpabi and Chief C. C. Onoh appeared to have spoken from the bottom of Igbo heart. Said Onoh: “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. From what is coming out of Chief Obasanjo’s mouth, it is obvious that he does not want Igbos.” This kind of statement should not be ignored or dismissed. The historical Igbo-Yoruba political animosity and offensive, mitigated by the June 12, 1993 and February 27, 1999 presidential elections, dictates more caution and approachment by the Yoruba in dealing with the Igbo. Let me cite another example: The great Cicero, Chief Bola Ige wrote in “People, Politics and Politicians of Nigeria (1940-1979), page 76:

“In 1952 I strongly felt that the way Action Group blocked the way of Zik going to Lagos was neither prudent, nor just, nor, by any yardstick, charitable. It is over 30 years now and I have no reason to change my view. As a matter of fact, I doubt whether Obafemi Awolowo and his party men would have done what they did then if hey knew what the consequences for Nigeria as a whole, and the electoral fortunes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, in particular, would be what they have since been. For I believe that Zik has probably never forgiven Awo for that 1952 episode. I also believe that Zik and the Igbo must have taken an oath, or something like it, never to give Awo a chance to lead Nigeria and also to sabotage such chance whenever any seemed to appear. That unfortunate, misguided, though politically expedient, action has wrought havoc on Nigeria’s political terrain for more than 30 years. When Awo and Zik attempted to reconcile in 1983 - and they did try - the ghost of 1952 was not far in the background. That ghost must be exorcised. That ghost must be laid to rest. It is quite depressing”.

However, let it be stated that the decay of infrastructure and the absence of public utilities are not necessarily products or functions of the Obasanjo presidency. It will be fool hardy to pretend that there has not been a civil war hangover, or that the ghost of mutual suspicion which has been averting mutual confidence, has been laid to rest. After the civil war, while I was Military Governor of Midwest State, I quickly got Chief Salubi and Dr. Nwariarku to assemble in Benin, some of our Igbo brothers who had, through ingenuity, refined petrol through locally made refinery in the East. These people had also converted tipper lorries into armoured tanks, among many other incredible feats. I designed a programme that will ensure the utilization of their brains while they were still fresh and hot, for the good of the country. Surprisingly, I was summoned to the Supreme Headquarters and directed to suspend actions as this may be seen as an attempt to resurrect Biafra. The rest is history.

Gowon’s three “R” programme: Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction, was honest in thought but faulty in execution and ultimately lost to time. It has since not been much different.

What is therefore needed is neither confrontation with government nor a combat with individual occupants of political offices. It is also not a matter of squaring - up with other sections of the country. This is where the leadership factor comes. And this is where I quarrel with the handling of the Senate Presidency, which is averaging a ratio of one person to eight months. Chief Evan Enwerem, a former local government chairman, former State governor was later to be removed from office as Senate President. Had he remained in office, he would have, by now, mastered the art of carrying along his colleagues in dealing with the executive. He was shoved aside. Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, former political adviser to the President Shagari and two time Senator was later to be hounded out of office as Senate President, the same way he had been elected. If he had been tolerated, he would have by now acquired the necessary moderation in doing the job, and the polity would have been better for it.

The question then, has been and remains that if these giants can fall, why can’t Chief Anyim Pius Anyim? This question has been the root of the current schism and disquiet in the Senate. This question has also been the reason why, so many months after, the ldris Kuta panel report metamorphosed in the shape of a white paper from the Senator Oyofo harmonization committee. This question was also what informed the Arthur Nzeribe motion which forced the victim, Okadigbo, to apologise to his “assailants”. My fear is that the question is still unanswered, and Anyim would rightly remain restive until a final answer is found for it.

This brings us to the crux of this article. Look at Afenifere, would they have allowed a Yoruba Senate President to be toyed with and so fragrantly devalued? Remember when Senator Nzeribe attempted to move a motion for the impeachment of the President. It was AD Senators from the South-west that sprang to their feet and physically assaulted Nzeribe. In my article “Lessons From Nzeribe’s Impeachment Conundrum”: April 30, 2000, I wrote, interalia, “Meanwhile, four AD Senators in a fit of rage, attacked him (Nzeribe). They did not want him to table the petition... but one word for them: Chief Obasanjo is not a Yoruba President. I have spent enormous resources- time, energy, etc, harping this on people. The way the accusers pounced on Nzeribe can only justify, though wrongly, some of his allegations”. Yes, what it shows is how far the Yoruba would go to defend their own. Can we say the same about the Igbo? Can Ohaneze perform the same feat? That is not to say that Igbos, or anybody, should support mediocrity and sacrifice meritocracy at the altars of ethnicity.

At the height of the House of representatives face-off with the Presidency last year, Hon. Speaker, Ghali Na’Abba would have caved-in if his colleagues from the North had supported the many plots. In the end, the House has not really the changed its speaker (barring the Toronto red herring), while the Senate has had three. What it tells of the Igbo political leadership is an appalling tale of -3 ephemeralism and opportunism at the expense of a focused political objective that will bolster the political aspirations of the zone and earn the confidence of the rest of the country. I say this because it appears simplistic but relevant and cogent to ask how Igbo hope to achieve the country’s presidency if they cannot keep the Senate’s Presidency. And this is why I say Biko, Nwanyo to our Ndigbo brothers.
Sam Ogbemudia is former Labour and Productivity minister .