Recently, the Yar’
Adua Foundation organised a colloquium
on “Biafra: 50 Years After’’ . Held at the Shehu Musa Yar’ adua Centre, Abuja,
it was attended by a cross section of
political leaders which included former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji
Ahmed Joda. The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Dr. John Nwodo,
leader of Ohaneze, the Pan-Igbo socio-cultural organization presented key note speeches.
The contents of their thought are reproduced below.
OFFICE OF THE ACTING
PRESIDENT - PRESS RELEASE
BIAFRA: 50 YEARS
AFTER: WE ARE GREATER TOGETHER THAN BEING APART – OSINBAJO
BEING THE TEXT OF THE
SPEECH OF HIS EXCELLENCY, ACTING PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, AT THE COLLOQUIM
ON BIAFRA: 50 YEARS AFTER ORGANISED BY YAR’ ADUA FOUNDATION ON 25TH MAY, 2017
GREATER TOGETHER
THAN APART
The conveners of this event, the Yar' Adua Memorial Centre,
the Ford foundation and the Open Society initiative West Africa, have done us
an enormous favour by offering us the platform for this profoundly important
conversation. They deserve our deep gratitude for this opportunity for
individual and collective introspection.
 |
| Pro. Yemi Osibanjo |
Introspection is probably what separates us from beasts.
That ability to learn from history is perhaps the greatest defence from the
avoidable pain of learning from experience, when history is a much gentler and
kinder teacher. Indeed, the saying
experience is the best teacher, is incomplete, the full statement of that Welsh
adage is that experience is the best teacher for a fool. History is a kinder
and gentler teacher.
I was ten years old when my friend in primary school then,
Emeka, left school one afternoon. He said his parents said they had to go back
to East, war was about to start. I never saw Emeka again. My aunty Bunmi was
married to a gentleman from Enugu, I cannot recall his name. But I recall the
evening when my parents tried to persuade her and her husband not to leave for
the East. She did, we never saw her again.
I recall distinctly how in 1967, passing in front of my home
on Ikorodu road almost every hour were
trucks carrying passengers and
furniture in an endless stream heading east. Many Ibos who left various parts
of Nigeria, left friends, families and businesses, schools and jobs. Like my
friend and aunty some never returned! But many died. The reasons for this tragic separation of
brothers and sisters were deep and profound. So much has been said and written
already about the ``why's and wherefores’’ and that analyses will probably
never end.
This is why I would rather not spend this few minutes on
whether there was or was not sufficient justification for secession and the war
that followed. The issue is whether the terrible suffering, massive loss of
lives, of hopes and fortunes of so many can ever be justified.
As we reflect on this event today, we must ask ourselves the
same question that many who have fought or been victims in civil wars, wars
between brothers and sisters ask in moments of reflection....``what if we had
spent all the resources, time and sacrifice we put into the war, into trying to
forge unity? What if we had decided not to seek to avenge a wrong done to us?
What if we had chosen to overcome evil with good?’’
The truth is that the spilling of blood in dispute is hardly
ever worth the losses. Of the fallouts of bitter wars is the anger that can so
easily be rekindled by those who for good or ill want to resuscitate the fire.
Today some are suggesting that we must go back to the ethnic nationalities from
which Nigeria was formed. They say that secession is the answer to the charges
of marginalization. They argue that separation from the Nigerian State will
ultimately result in successful smaller States. They argue eloquently, I might
add that Nigeria is a colonial contraption that cannot endure.
This is also the sum and substance of the agitation for
Biafra. The campaign is often bitter and vitriolic, and has sometimes
degenerated to fatal violence. Brothers and sisters permit me to differ and to
suggest that we’re greater together than apart.
No country is perfect; around the world we have seen and
continue to see expressions of intra-national discontent. Indeed, not many
Nigerians seem to know that the oft-quoted line about Nigeria being a “mere
geographical expression” originally applied to Italy. It was the German
statesman Klemens von Metternich who dismissively summed up Italy as a mere
geographical expression exactly a century before Nigeria came into being as a
country. From Spain to Belgium to the United Kingdom and even the United States
of America, you will find many today who will venture to make similar arguments
about their countries. But they have remained together.
The truth is that many, if not most nations of the world are
made up of different peoples and cultures and beliefs and religions, who find
themselves thrown together by circumstance. Nations are indeed made up of many
nations. The most successful of the nations of the world are those who do not
fall into the lure of secession. But who through thick and thin forge unity in
diversity.
Nigeria is no different; we are, not three, but more like
three hundred or so ethnic groups within the same geographical space, presented
with a great opportunity to combine all our strengths into a nation that is
truly, to borrow an expression, more than the sum of its parts.
Let me say that there is a solid body of research that shows
that groups that score high on diversity turn out to be more innovative than
less diverse ones. There’s also research showing that companies that place a
premium on creating diverse workplaces do better financially than those who do
not. This applies to countries just as much as it does to companies. The United
States is a great example, bringing together an impressively diverse cast of
people together to consistently accomplish world-conquering economic, military
and scientific feats.
It is possible in Nigeria as well. Instead of trying to flee
into the lazy comfort of homogeneity every time we’re faced with the
frustrations of living together as countrymen and women, the more beneficial
way for us individually and collectively is actually to apply the effort and
the patience to understand one another and to progressively aspire to create
one nation bound in freedom, in peace and in unity.
That, in a sense, should be the Nigerian Dream – the
enthusiasm to create a country that provides reasons for its citizens to
believe in it, a country that does not discriminate, or marginalize in any way.
We are not there yet, but I believe we have a strong chance to advance in that
direction. But that will not happen if we allow our frustrations and grievances
to transmute into hatred. It will not happen if we see the media – television
and radio and print and especially social media – as platforms for the
propagation of hateful and divisive rhetoric. No one stands to benefit from a
stance like that; we will all emerge as losers.
Clearly our strength is in our diversity, that we are
greater together than apart. Imagine for a moment that an enterprising young
man from Aba had to apply for a visa to travel to Kano to pursue his
entrepreneurial dreams, or that a young woman from Abeokuta had to fill
immigration forms and await a verdict in order to attend her best friend’s
wedding in Umuahia. Nigeria would be a much less colourful, much less
interesting space, were that the case. Our frustrations with some who speak a
different dialect or belong to a different religion must not drive us to forget
many of the same tribe and faith of our adversaries who have shown true
affection for us.
My God-son is Somkele Awakalu, his father Awa Kalu, SAN, and
I taught at the University of Lagos. My first book was dedicated to Somkele and
my two other God-children. Chief Emmanuel Dimike is almost 80, he was my
father's friend and business associate in his sawmills in Lagos. Chief has been
like a father. I see him most Sundays, he worships with me at the chapel.
The individual affections and friendships we forge some even
deeper than family ties, must remind us that unity is possible, that
brotherhood across tribes and faiths is possible.
Let me make it clear that I fully believe that Nigerians
should exercise to the fullest extent the right to discuss or debate the terms
of our existence. Debate and disagreement are fundamental aspects of democracy.
We recognize and acknowledge that necessity. And today’s event is along those
lines – an opportunity not merely to commemorate the past, but also to dissect
and debate it. Let’s ask ourselves tough questions about the path that has led
us here, and how we might transform yesterday’s actions into tomorrow’s wisdom.
Indeed our argument is not and will never be that we should
‘forget the past’, or ‘let bygones be bygones’, as some have suggested. Chinua
Achebe repeatedly reminded us of the Igbo saying that a man who cannot tell
where the rain began to beat him cannot know where he dried his body. If we
lose the past, we will inevitably lose the opportunity to make the best of the
present and the future.
In an interview years ago, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu,
explaining why he didn’t think a second Biafran War should happen, said: “We
should have learnt from that first one, otherwise the deaths would have been to
no avail; it would all have been in vain.”
We should also be careful that we do not focus exclusively
on the narratives of division, at the expense of the uplifting and inspiring
ones. The same social media that has come under much censure for its propensity
to propagate division, has also allowed multitudes of young Nigerians to see
more of the sights and sounds of their country than ever before.
And for every young Nigerian who sees the Internet as an
avenue for spewing ethnic hatred, there is another young Nigerian who is
falling in love or doing business across ethnic and cultural lines; a young
Nigerian who looks back on his or her NYSC year in unfamiliar territory as one
of the valued highlights of their lifetime. These stories need to be told as
well. They are the stories that remind us that the journey to nationhood is not
an event but a process, filled as with life itself with experiences some
bitter, some sweet. The most remarkable attribute of that process is that a
succeeding generation does not need to bear the prejudices and failures of the
past.
Every new generation can take a different and more ennobling
route than its predecessors. But the greatest responsibility today lies on the
leadership of our country. Especially but not only political leadership.
The promise of our constitution which we have sworn to
uphold is that we would ensure a secure, and safe environment for our people to
live, and work in peace, that we would provide just and fair institutions of
justice. That we would not permit or encourage discrimination on the grounds of
race, gender, beliefs or other parochial considerations. That we would build a
nation where no one is oppressed and none is left behind.
These are the standards to which we must hold our
leadership. We must not permit our leaders the easy but dangerous rhetoric of
blaming our social and economic conditions on our coming together. It is their
duty to give us a vision a pathway to make our unity in diversity even more
perfect.
Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media &
Publicity
In the Office of the Vice President
25th May, 2017
BIAFRA: 50 YEARS
AFTER: REFLECTIONS AND HOPES – CHIEF JOHN
NNIA NWODO JNR.
BEING THE TEXT OF THE
SPEECH BY CHIEF NNIA NWODO JNR, PRESIDENT
OF OHANAZE NDIGBO , AT THE COLLOQUIM ON BIAFRA: 50 YEARS AFTER ORGANISED BY
YAR’ ADUA FOUNDATION ON 25TH MAY, 2017
PROTOCOLS:
1. I am grateful to Shehu Musa Yar Adua Foundation, Ford
Foundation and OSIWA - the co-sponsors of this event for your kind invitation.
I commend your foresight in convening this conference, the first major
conference discussing Biafra outside of Igboland. Nigeria. In hosting this
conference the Yar’Adua Centre, which is best known for promoting national
cohesion, honours the legacy of a great patriot: Shehu Musa Yar Adua. He died
building bridges of understanding across our nation. I salute his family and
associates for sustaining the legacy of Shehu through the works of this
Foundation.
 |
| Dr. John Nnia Nwodo Jnr. |
2. It is significant
that you have chosen to harvest sober memories of Biafra. By so doing, you help
us to wisely situate today’s talks of Biafra in the proper context: namely, as
an opportunity for nation building; and not - as an invitation for invectives
or recrimination.
3. 50 years ago, Nigeria faced disintegration by the
declaration of the Republic of Biafra. Biafra was born out of the political
crisis which engulfed Nigeria at that time. The crisis began with the struggle
for leadership in the Western Region of Nigeria, the declaration of state of
emergency in the West, the coup of January 1966, the counter coup of July 1966,
the pogroms, the declaration of Biafra and the commencement of a police action
that turned into a three years civil war.
4. I hope that our
gathering today may contribute to the body of knowledge or body of lessons from
the war. Lest we forget, there is wisdom in the words of George Santayana that:
those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. That is why I
thank you for the chance for us to collectively remember, reflect, hope and
seek ways to build anew.
5. My most heartfelt
reflection is that in the Nigeria-Biafra conflict, we can and should
acknowledge the sacrifice - in blood, suffering and toil - by millions of
citizens on both sides of that divide. They shared a common hope for their
sacrifice: namely, that out of that war, we shall build a nation where no man
is oppressed. The only difference was that for one side, Nigeria was that
nation. For the other it was Biafra.
6. Let us spare a thought
for every victim of that conflict and the crises before that: the leaders and
the soldiers, ordinary men, women and children. Each one loved life; had hopes
and dreamt dreams. They died prematurely and often, painfully.
7. For those of us that survived the war and others who came
afterwards, we are both heirs to the sacrifices of fallen brethren. Let us
commit ourselves today and always to their hopes for peace and justice. Anytime
that we are violent, anytime that we are unjust in the exercise of our public
trust, anytime we lower the ideals of this nation, we betray them; and we act
as if they died in vain. As we honour their memory, today my worry is not only
about the rising feeling of marginalization of Igbos or any other group but
that our nation may emerge from this conflict a more united and prosperous
country.
8. At the end of the
war, in spite of a policy of no victor no vanquished by the Government of
General Yakubu Gowon, an unconscionable policy of impoverishment of Biafrans
was unleashed by the federal government. Every bank deposit of Biafrans that
had encountered a transaction whether by deposit or withdrawal was reduced to
£20. Massive savings were completely wiped out. Capacity for investment and
recovery from the war was shattered. Whilst this poverty pervaded, the
Indigenisation Decree was promulgated enabling other Nigerians, except Biafrans
to acquire commanding heights in the indigenised companies which held at that
time the critical and commanding heights of Nigeria’s private economy.
9. Nevertheless, on the issue of reconciliation, we must
give due credit to the resilience of the people from the war affected areas and
the generosity of millions of other Nigerians that opened their hearts and
homes to their friends and neighbours that were victims of war. In many ways,
it was by these incredible citizen to citizen relationships that Nigeria
achieved one of the most remarkable post-conflict people to people
reconciliation and reintegration in modern times.
10. Before the war national unity was the norm. A Biafran
was a member of Northern Nigeria House of Chiefs. Biafrans lived freely and
invested in all parts of Nigeria. In Lagos Dr Azikiwe was elected leader of
Government Business. Mbonu Ojike was elected Deputy Speaker. In Enugu Alhaji
Umoru Altine, a Fulani man was elected Mayor of Enugu. Mr Willougby a Yoruba
man, was Accountant General.
11. On the economic
front, the economy was buoyant. Import substitution industries grew rapidly and
were more profitable. In the North, groundnut production and export fuelled
economic growth. Textile industries flourished, agriculture boomed. Ahmadu
Bello University thrived with outstanding international reputation.
12. In Lagos and the
entire Western Region growth was phenomenal. Cocoa was a dependable foreign
exchange earner. Cement, soft drinks, rubber, beer, soap and other import
substitution industries grew phenomenally. Lagos, Ibadan and Ife housed
universities of world standards. The first television station in black Africa
was built. The first stadium in Nigeria was also built in the West.
13. In the Eastern
Region palm produce grew the Eastern economy. Coal was mined and exported. Beer, cement, cashew nuts, tyres, aluminium,
steel and soft drink factories grew rapidly. University of Nigeria was built
and run by Americans.
14. Reflecting on 50 years after the Nigeria-Biafra
conflict, it would seem to me that we have made very elaborate efforts:
constitutional, political and administrative to ensure a united Nigeria. We
must not shy away from giving our nation its due credit, after all, some other
societies with challenges like ours did not fare as well as we did.
15. However, we should not rest on our oars. Unity is not an
end in itself; and ultimately, the best way to sustain our unity is to apply it
to achieve a higher objective; namely, nation building.
16. Our political system is jaundiced, unfair, exploitative
and unsustainable. Since attainment of independence the civilians have not been
able to agree on a political structure. Our present constitution and the
previous 1979 constitution were impositions of the military – an
unrepresentative and dictatorial corps whose decrees were seriously influenced
by the lop-sidedness of their composition.
17. The economic and development data from Nigeria is
unencouraging in many sectors. Our law and order system including the police,
the court system and the penal system has been characterised by impunity,
incompetence and indiscipline.
18. On the global Terrorism Index Nigeria ranks 3rd after
Iraq and Afghanistan and ahead of
Pakistan and Syria. The World Economic Forum ranks Nigeria 127 out of
138 on the Global Competitiveness Index. The UNESCO ranks Nigeria with Chad,
Pakistan and Ethiopia as the worst educational system in the world. Nigeria,
according to the report, has the highest number of children out of school and
one of the world's worst education systems due to a combination of corruption,
conflict and lack of investment. In the Human Development Index of the United
Nations Development Program, Nigeria ranks 152 out of 188 countries and is the
lowest among OPEC countries. The data points to a bleak future as we march to
post-oil world without a coherent plan to reduce conflict and build a new
national consensus.
19. On the positive side, there is a global consensus that
Nigeria is highly potentiated. With a population of about 182 million people,
by current estimates; and with our vast mineral and material resources; a
well-organized Nigeria should be a land of plenty that supports its people and
a leader in the comity of nations. Sadly, this is not the case.
20. Almost every Nigerian is agreed that Nigeria is not
working but there is no clear consensus on why; or on what to do about it. Some
say that it is merely a problem of leadership and once that is fixed all other
things will fall in place. Others say that it is a problem of corruption. Once
you tackle that, everything will be fine. Others have said that our problem is
one of law and order; some say it is more fundamental and has to do with
control of resources, structure of the Federation and thus requires more
equitable sharing of revenue and the devolution of powers. Others say it can be
fixed with power rotation and a more level playing field. It has been said that
it could be a bit of all of the above; and that Nigeria cannot be fixed without
a fundamental change of values and attitudes. Whatever the case, it will not
profit us to pretend that we do not face existential challenges
21. These challenges are worrisome; especially to our
younger ones who must face the fact that the next 50 years could be even more
challenging and there is a good chance that we could be left behind if we fail
to take action today. For instance, it is estimated in some quarters, that by
2050 – that is in 33 years’ time – Nigeria could be the 4th most populous
country in the world. That means that
Nigeria, which is just twice the size of
Texas; would be more populous than all the United States of America. Meanwhile,
as of today, we have a GDP that is barely 2% of that of the United States.
22. At the same time,
in the years ahead, we could face very severe ecological challenges that will
impact negatively on our economy. The
desert is encroaching southwards at a speed of up to 6 km per annum. Thus within
33 years we could lose about 200 km of land to the desert - across the north.
This can only exacerbate competition for arable land in the north and elsewhere
– with dire political consequences.
23. In the South East, we could expect more ecologically-induced
dislocation. For instance, the government of Anambra State estimates that about
40% of the State is threatened by erosion. In the South-South, by 2050 we could
be dealing with the reality of a post-oil economy and yet have massive
environmental degradation that is yet unattended to. There is also the
possibility that much of the mangrove ecosystem could be lost to deforestation.
Lagos could have a population of up to 50 million people and face unbearable
challenges of massive urbanization.
24. We must become more responsive to the world around us,
or we and our children will be left behind. These are some of the fears and
anxieties of our youths. We have for too long allowed the bitterness of the war
and its lingering feelings to dictate our political relationships. The
coalition that fought the war is still in control of Nigeria engaging in
rhetoric that fuelled the war in managing renascent Nigeria. The young men and
women who were not part of the war are frustrated by this impasse.
25. Those who are in the East fuel strong agitations for
separation in the face of clear treatment as second class citizens. War is the primary instrument of military
dictatorship while negotiation and agreement are the essential ingredients of
civilian democracy and political diplomacy.
Nations are not created and sustained by street warfare. The federal
government of Nigeria must instruct its police and army to promulgate a
ceasefire and disengage from further unproductive street warfare with IPOB and
MASSOB. There are no problems which
cannot be resolved by negotiation.
26. We do not want any more wars. We have shed enough blood without producing
corresponding political results. 50
years after Biafra the time is now overripe for a fresh approach. We must immediately commence discussions and
fruitful negotiations about our political future. In the era of asymmetrical warfare, war is no
more an easy option for states, therefore we must negotiate our way out of a
sense of national despair to a new national consensus that unlocks our national
possibilities.
27. Nigeria, blessed as the richest and the most popular
nation in Africa has enormous potentials. Every part of Nigeria can survive as
an independent country. The North with its mineral and agricultural potentials
can build a strong nation. The West with its cocoa, oil, indomitable
intellectual know how and commerce can build another Britain. The South South
with its oil, notwithstanding its declining economic potency can transform its
area before oil ceases to be a major foreign exchange earner. The East with
industry, outstanding innovation and little oil may still emerge as the African
wonder. But none of these little enclaves will rival the capacity of a united
and reconciled Nigeria. We must all rise up and save this nation from a
trajectory that will make a break up a more viable option.
28. The challenges ahead are beyond Biafra. Just like the
challenge in North East Nigeria exploded in our face and has engaged our nation
for almost 9 years; we could face challenges anywhere and anytime. In my view,
if we fail to build a nation that caters fairly for all its citizens; and
prepares us for the world of tomorrow – there will be new challenges in the
future.
29. We must find creative ways to manage a complex multi-ethnic
and multi-religious state. History teaches us that no society is static; the
status quo cannot endure forever. We must find creative ways to promote
political, economic and social justice within a nation and between the people
that comprise it. If not, then we are invariably opening the doors to future
threats of chaos, disorder and societal dislocation.
30. The final challenge of our generation is to show that we
learnt the right lesson from that sad conflict of 50 years ago. We must
bequeath our children with a nation that works for all and one that looks
ahead. We want a Federal Republic of Nigeria which is collectively owned by all
Nigerians as opposed to a Federal Republic that will be perceived as a the
private property of one group or groups of ethnic groups depending on who is in
office. The categorical destination is a Nigeria under the collective hegemony
of the people of Nigeria. In order to achieve this we must have a flexible
federation; strong enough to guarantee our collective defence and protect
individual rights, agile enough to react to emerging tensions and threats, yet
expansive enough to allow each state room to develop at its own pace. We must
create a national order whereby each state bears the primary responsibility for
its development.
31. Today majority of Nigerians are yearning for a
restructuring of the federation. The beneficiaries of our current system are
resisting it. A famous British Prime Minister in the wake of nationalist
struggles in colonial Africa said to the British ‘there is a wind of change
blowing throughout Africa. Those who resist it do so at their own peril’.
32. Nigeria cannot prosper, as it should, unless we redress
some aspects of our current condition. I believe we have enough men and women
of vision and experience, in every part of the country, to help us plot a
bright future. I commit Ohaneze Ndigbo to this path. It may be difficult but it
is doable.
33. True leadership evolves in historical circumstances like
this. Our country is at cross roads. You can feel the tension every day. It is
palpable, it is potent, it is real. Let us wake up to the change imperative at
this moment and claim a glorious judgment by History.
34. Thank You for your kind attention
JOHN NNIA NWODO
PRESIDENT GENERAL,
OHANEZE NDIGBO
ABUJA 25TH MAY,
2017
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