The Yoruba elite and area-boy
politics; Igbo marginalisation and the responsible limits of retribution; and
The Yoruba Factor and “Area-boy” Politics.
My views on
the Yoruba political leadership have been thoroughly articulated in some of my
writings, prime among which was” Afenifere: Syllabus of Errors” published by
This Day (The Sunday Newspaper) on Sept 27, 1998. There was also an earlier
publication in the weekly Trust entitled” The Igbo, the Yoruba and History”
(Aug. 21, 1998).
In sum, the
Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has shown itself
over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and
reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other
groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has
its roots in this attitude. The Yoruba elite were the first, in 1962, to
attempt a violent overthrow of an elected government in this country. In 1966,
it was the violence in the West which provided an avenue for the putsch of 15th
January. After Chief Awolowo lost to Shagari in 1983 elections, it was the
discontent and bad publicity in the South-West which led to the Buhari intervention.
When Buhari jailed UPN governors like Ige and Onabanjo, the South-Western press
castigated that good government and provided the right mood for IBB to take over
power. As soon as IBB cleared UPN governors of charges against them in a
politically motivated retrial, he became the darling of the South-West. When
IBB annulled the primaries in which Adamu Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua emerged as
presidential candidates in the NRC and SDP, he was hailed by the South-West.
When the same man annulled the June 12, 1993 elections in which Abiola was the
front-runner, the South-West now became defenders of democracy.
When it
seemed Sani Abacha was sympathetic to Abiola, the South-West supported his take
over. He was in fact invited by a prominent NADECO member to take over in a published
letter shortly before the event. Even though Abiola had won the elections in
the North, the North was blamed for its annulment. When Abdulsalam Abubakar
started his transition, the Yoruba political leadership through NADECO
presented a memorandum on a Government of National Unity that showed complete disrespect
for the intelligence and liberties of other Nigerians.
Subsequently,
they formed a tribal party which failed to meet minimum requirements for
registration, but was registered all the same to avoid the violence that was
bound to follow non-registration, given the area-boy mentality of South-West
politicians. Having rejected an Obasanjo candidacy and challenged the election as
a fraud in court, we now find a leading member of the AD in the government, a
daughter of an Afenifere leader as Minister of State, and Awolowo´s daughter as
Ambassador, all appointed by a man who won the election through fraud.
Meanwhile,
nothing has been negotiated for the children of Abiola, the focus of Yoruba
political activity. In return for these favours, the AD solidly voted for Evan
Enwerem as Senate President. This is a man who participated in the two-million-
man March for Abacha´s self-succession. He also is reputed to have hosted a
meeting of governors during IBB´s transition, demanding that June 12 elections should
never be de-annulled and threatening that the East would go to war if this was
done. When Ibrahim Salisu Buhari was accused of swearing to a false affidavit,
the Yoruba political elite correctly took up the gauntlet for his resignation. When
an AD governor, Bola Tinubu, swears to a false affidavit that he attended an
Ivy League University which he did not attend, we hear excuses.
For so many
years, the Yoruba have inundated this country with stories of being marginalised
and of a civil service dominated by northerners through quota system. The
Federal Character Commission has recently released a report which shows that
the South-West accounts for 27.8% of civil servants in the range GL08 to GL14
and a full 29.5% of GL 15 and above. One zone out of six zones controls a full
30% of the civil service leaving the other five zones to share the remaining
70%. We find the same story in the economy, in academia, in parastatals.
Yet in spite
of being so dominant, the Yoruba complained and complained of marginalization.
Of recent, in recognition of the trauma which hit the South-West after June 12,
the rest of the country forced everyone out of the race to ensure that a South-Westerner
emerged, often against the best advice of political activists.
Instead of
leading a path of reconciliation and strong appreciation, the Yoruba have
embarked on short-sighted triumphalism, threatening other “nationalities” that
they (who after all lost the election) will protect Obasanjo (who was forced on
them). No less a person than Bola Ige has made such utterances. To further show
that they were in charge, they led a cult into the Hausa area of Sagamu, murdered
a Hausa woman and nothing happened. In the violence that followed, they killed
several Hausa residents, with Yoruba leaders like Segun Osoba, reminding Nigerians
of the need to respect the culture of their host communities. This would have
continued were it not for the people of Kano who showed that they could also
create their own Oro who would only be appeased through the shedding of
innocent Yoruba blood.
I say all
this, to support Balarabe Musa´s statement, that the greatest problem to
nation-building in Nigeria are the Yoruba Bourgeoisie. I say this also to
underscore my point that until they change this attitude, no conference can solve
the problems of Nigeria. We cannot move forward if the leadership of one of the
largest ethnic groups continues to operate, not like statesmen, but like common
area boys.
On the Igbo
Factor and the Reasonable Limits of Retribution. The Igbo people of Nigeria
have made a mark in the history of this nation. They led the first successful
military coup which eliminated the Military and Political leaders of other
regions while letting off Igbo leaders. Nwafor Orizu, then Senate President, in
consultation with President Azikiwe, subverted the constitution and handed over
power to Aguiyi-Ironsi. Subsequent developments, including attempts at
humiliating other peoples, led to the counter-coup and later the civil war. The
Igbos themselves must acknowledge that they have a large part of the blame for
shattering the unity of this country.
Having said
that, this nation must realise that Igbos have more than paid for their
foolishness. They have been defeated in war, rendered paupers by monetary
policy fiat, their properties declared abandoned and confiscated, kept out of
strategic public sector appointments and deprived of public services. The rest
of the country forced them to remain in Nigeria and has continued to deny them
equity.
The Northern
Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba Bourgeoisie have conspired to keep the Igbo out of
the scheme of things. In the recent transition when the Igbo solidly supported
the PDP in the hope of an Ekwueme presidency, the North and South-West treated
this as a Biafra agenda. Every rule set for the primaries, every gentleman´s agreement
was set aside to ensure that Obasanjo, not Ekwueme emerged as the candidate.
Things went as far as getting the Federal Government to hurriedly gazette a
pardon. Now, with this government, the marginalisation of the Igbo is more
complete than ever before. The Igbos have taken all these quietly because, they
reason, they brought it upon themselves. But the nation is sitting on a
time-bomb. After the First World War, the victors treated Germany with the same
contempt Nigeria is treating Igbos. Two decades later, there was a Second World
War, far costlier than the first. Germany was again defeated, but this time, they
won a more honourable peace. Our present political leaders have no sense of
History. There is a new Igbo man, who was not born in 1966 and neither knows
nor cares about Nzeogwu and Ojukwu. There are Igbo men on the street who were
never Biafra’s. They were born Nigerians, are Nigerians, but suffer because of
actions of earlier generations. They will soon decide that it is better to
fight their own war, and may be find an honourable peace, than to remain in
this contemptible state in perpetuity. The Northern Bourgeoisie and the Yoruba
Bourgeoisie have exacted their pound of flesh from the Igbos. For one Sardauna,
one Tafawa Balewa, one Akintola and one Okotie-Eboh, hundreds of thousands have
died and suffered. If this issue is not addressed immediately, no conference
will solve Nigeria´s problems. By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Being
Excerpts from A Paper Presented At The “National Conference On The 1999 Constitution”
Jointly Organised By The Network For Justice And The Vision Trust Foundation,
At The Arewa House, Kaduna From 11th –12th September, 1999.
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