Just recentLy, there was a boisterous call by some Northern elements of Nigeria to the people of the south-Eastern extraction to vacate the Northern zone within the period of three months, giving the ultimatum to expire exactly on the 1st of October, 2017, the official date when Nigeria celebrates its independence from the British overlords. Though the consequence of the quit notice if flouted was not clearly spelt out, the implication was that in the event of any flouting, there might be forceful eviction of the tenants. This notice has birthed national outrage even by the Ibos who had had been agitating for secession from the country. There were chafed by the effrontery and brazen ridicule of this confrontational sacking order of the Northerners who themselves had maintained offensive relationships throughout the nooks and crannies of the nation where they are enjoying unfettered and luscious accommodation by their hosts in spite of their recent characteristic hostility to their host-communities. The Ibos anger was further kindled by the fact that the Northerners had no moral justifications to mock at them since they too are 'secessionists' through the Boko haram devilish escapades.
Historically,
the Ibos have been on the vanguard of a divided nation. Shortly after the
independence of Nigeria, they possibly and quickly discovered in their own grand and intelligent
calculation, that the contraction called Nigeria was not worth federating with,
agreeing with the submission of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo that
Nigeria was best described as a notion
because it best existed in mental conception. Irked or inspired by the
submission of this sage, the Ibos first disrupted the national cohesion of the
country by staging a bloody coup in January 15, 1966. They hated with passion a
contraction called Nigeria before their so-called theory of marginalization
which they now flaunt contemporarily as the basis of their secession. The Ibos
do not believe in ONE Nigeria ab initio. This
may because they felt that they may not realize their full potentials as a
nation if they flocked with what constituted the Nigerian nation as badly
constructed by the British enslavers and colonialists.
On the other hand, discontented
with the irritating, recycling, and cataclysmic calls for secession coupled
with celebrated frustrations of the economic punches from every side of
existence and the ravaging customized boko haramists, some of the Northern elements
under different Groups issued a frustrating statement asking all the people
from the South-East of the country to vacate the Northern geographical zone
within a specified period of time. This is clearly to ventilate their all-round
saturated frustrations. From the political angle, the North may also have
viewed that that the East which did not vote substantially for the Buhari (a
Northerner) administration are also the ones calling for the dissolution of
Nigeria to further display their hatred for the North. In the days of the President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration, the cry for secession was never heard from the Ibos.
This position could be viewed by the North as a clear affront to them and their
collective psyche.
Psychologically,
the quit notice by the North was to “assist” the Ibos in getting their
independence since all the agitations were only been mouthed. So sending them
off will expedite the struggle for their long-desired independence. The call
could also influence the North-led administration of Buhari to grant the Ibos
the rights of a referendum cheaply and easily without the undue strains the
Ibos are presently going through. But this ‘assistance’ had been rebuffed by
the Easterners describing it as an affront and that the North cannot constitute
themselves into the federal government and that their agitation was not
directed to them but to the federal government of Nigeria. They therefore
unequivocally asked the North to withdraw the quit notice order. The North has
not yet done that. This is what is trending in the political space for now
There
are certain facts that everyone is missing out here. One, in the Nigerian
constitution, Section , 41. 1. “Every citizen of
Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to
reside in any part
thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from
Nigeria or refused entry
thereby or exit therefrom”.
• Freedom of movement. Everyone Nigerian is entitled (not privileged)
to live in any part of the country, transact any legitimate businesses there
and can marry and raise up a family there. By this, no individual, group or
section of the country has any right whatsoever to ask another citizen of
Nigeria to forcefully stay or leave any part of Nigeria at any point in time.
The quit notice given, therefore, to the Easterners living in the North is a
gross violation of that section of the Nigerian constitution. Those violators
must be arrested and prosecuted as rightly advocated by the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. Though
the Police said they were still looking for those who signed the quit notice
order, the truth remains that this subterfuge of the Police does not and cannot
justify this ill-fated call by the Northerners. I can’t comprehend how the
Police are still looking for a popular group, like Arewa Consultative Forum
amongst others.
It
must be clearly stated here and now that in the history of revolutions of
nations, no part of a sovereign nation secedes on a platter of gold or by mere
noise-making and toothless agitations as being deployed by the Nnamdi Kalu-led secessionists
Group. Though he has been verbalizing war, I pity his ignorance about war
especially in an already volatile Nigeria of today. If there is war, there will
be no Ibo nation he is canvassing for; there will be no Nigeria to vaunt his
dream-victory upon. General Odumegwu Ojukwu, an intelligent Army Officer knew
decades ago that the only way, and of the course the REAL way to liberate a
people in secession is through war. He engaged the Nigerian state in armed
struggle for thirty bloody months. He did not succeed. The Ibos could not
secede. It was a war of attrition, a war not to be contemplated for a repeat, a
war that had set the Ibos against the Nigerian state to now emphasize their
marginalization. A history of war that is now taught in schools that had made Nigerians
knew how sacrosanct and indispensable the oneness and indivisibility Nigeria is
to everyone. However, the only way for the Ibos to go is through another war
that will birth destruction of unimaginable proportions on Nigerians and the
entire nation, worse than as ever recorded in the 1967-1970 war.
Nigeria
can remain one and insurmountably prosperous entity. Nigeria will not go to
war. We have super-abundant resources to cater for our various needs in all the
geo-political zones of this great country. The Ibos are great people, very
enterprising and industrious. The Northerners are hardworking and committed,
friendly and accommodating people on a good day. The Westerners (the Yorubas)
are rich in culture. They are people of natural kindness and characteristic
hospitality to everyone. They are intelligent and very peaceful people. I have
lived with them.
The
only problem we need to handle collectively is the grand corruption of the
elites of Nigeria. They are the common enemies of all Nigerians. Corruption is
the enemy of Nigeria: corruption, not only in the public sector as erroneously
believed, but also in the private sector. Yes, the private sector of the
economy is stinking corrupt as well! If all these energies for quit
notices, secession bids, militancy boko haraming etc, are legitimately deployed
to curb the corruption of the political elites no matter their level in the society, whether
it is the President, Governors, Judges, Managing Directors, Armed Force,
Academia; if there can be coordinated revolution against all these ills as it
was in the case of Ghana and Egypt in the recent past, then there will be a new Nigeria for all
where everyone has right and access to the commonwealth, then we can build a
stronger and more prosperous Nigeria. I call on all committed Civil Society
Organizations in Nigeria to champion this ‘revolution’?
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