RESTRUCTURING NIGERIA: 10 EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE IGBO POSITION

Crux of the Matter – And Igbo Appeal for a Sympathetic Hearing

Beloved compatriots, the blockade imposed on Igbo and East in 1967, involving the closure of Eastern, especially Igbo coastal ports of Port Harcourt, Bonny, Opobo, and cutting the Igbo into different pieces, cruelly subsists till today, compelling a shift to kindly Lagos for maritime business. This blockade is 99% reason for the de-industrialization, impoverishments and frustrations among the Igbo.

Restoring the Igbo coastal ports for the Igbo and other Nigerians would be a civilized affirmation of gratitude for the role of those oil cities in prospering the nooks and corners of Nigeria, same way same Igbo ports did for over 500 years in propagating and developing the Americas, and with palm oil, kernels, coal and other exports oiled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and parts of Europe; and, these, not forgetting the various countries on the Atlantic African seaboard with ancient Igbo imprints in their evolutions.

That is why any old or new governance model, constitution, restructuring, zones, states, regions or maps that sustains the blockade or pretends to Igbo “landlocking,” is for the Igbo a continuation of same story of injustice, curtailment, containment and marginalization.

Igbo seek the emancipation of all Nigerians, starting with a true national reconciliation expressed in lifting the blockade to end their sufferings.

10 EXPLANATORY NOTES

1.The ports blockade and impoverishment of the Igbo spilled over into a practical blockade and impoverishment of the eastern half of Nigeria, because key to the fastest triggering of new poles of development in the Middle Belt, through Northcentral to Lake Chad lies in the direct Eastern, not the circumnavigating Western/Lagos ports. So, punishing the Igbo has unintentionally punished other Nigerians.

2.It is not for anyone to merely tell Igbo to “go resolve your boundary issues with your neighbours,” because ports are an exclusive federal responsibility, and it is not Igbo neighbours that promulgated the Abandoned Property, abandoned lands, and abandoned ports and blockade policies against the Igbo. Neighbours were merely helpless pawns in a vicious divide-and-rule chess game from elsewhere. Hence, once Nigerians engaged in restructuring, new constitution, and so on decide on a course of fairplay, even “reluctant” neighbours would invariably return to the same path of fairness.

3.What is anyone gaining by locking out the Igbo from their ports? Like the Igbo, all Southerners opened own ports: Rightwards: Yoruba/Apapa, Lekki, Tin Can, etc; Bini/Ughoton, Gelegele; Itsekiri/Ogidigben, Koko, part-Warri; Urhobo/Sapele, part-Warri; Ijaw/Burutu, Akassa, Nembe, etc; Ogoni/Onne; Obollo/Ngo, etc; AkwaCross/Ibaka, Oron, Calabar, Ikang, Bakassi, etc. All these ports should start functioning to re-trigger progress and prepare Nigeria for the AfCFTA.

4.Reopening the Igbo etc ports would ease the gridlock, overhead, inter-ethnic and other pressures on Lagos, and enable a more unhindered development by our kind Western brothers upwards to a Sokoto pole of development.

5.Those sponsoring “South South” region or “geopolitical zone” should look at the awkward V drawing called “South South,” with a “Southeast” “dot in a circle” emboweled inside it. They know there cannot be a contiguous “South South” without an unjust cutting-off of Igbo communities into it and breaching the Igbo contiguities (Port Harcourt to Bonny, and Azumini to Opobo) to the coast. Igbo position is a continued respect for each other’s contiguities to the coast, and not to rob Peter to pay Paul. So-called Six Geopolitical Zones and its “South South” anything, were by the way expressly forbidden as bases for any restructuring; so, why are some people tenaciously latched upon them as fetish? Because it oppresses somebody?

6.European explorers and entire world appreciated Igbo contributions to global maritime civilization, and our Nigeria ought do the same. Even the departing British informed sailors that “Ibo territory . . . divides Ogoni from Brass and Degema,” or that “Ogoni Division is divided from the Brass and Degema Divisions by a broad arm of the sea . . . which culminates in . . . Port Harcourt” (Willink’s Report). Igbo appeal that any constitutional arrangement and maps should reflect these truths. Truth may temporarily hurt, but ultimately harms nobody.

7.Whereas some people justifying the vindictive “Six Geopolitical Zones,” now advocated as “Regions” in “restructured” Nigeria, point to Igbo as the authors and, therefore have no right to complain. Not true. The idea was from a certain Babangida “Group of Scholars” or Professors, some of whom are still alive, who desired to solidify the “achievements” of the ethnic-cleansing programme code-named Abandoned Property. Babangida was still ruminating how to implement the cruel contrivance when he was forced to “step aside.” An Abacha under pressure from all directions, including those who defined their “survival” as preconditioned on Igbo non-survival, had suspectedly pleaded to Ekwueme to sign it to deceive his antagonists and as condition for Ekwueme becoming “President” when Abacha “hands over” – same type of promise Gowon made to sage Awo while seeking his support. Ekwueme signed in possible hope of correcting it as President Ekwueme – and, the rest is history.

8.The Igbo look at restructuring as a means to truly reconcile, harmoniously unite, and peacefully develop Nigeria, not as new opportunity to erect more injustices on top of preexisting ones, or means to postpone substantive change. In this regard the Igbo are not oblivious to the humongous sufferings of the Hausa, invaded Middle Belt, occupied and devastated Andoni-Ijaw-Isoko-Ogoni-Urhobo Niger Delta and other Nigerians, erstwhile crying to the rooftops without a hearing, except through bombs and bullets. Hence, the understanding the Igbo seek for themselves they equally seek for others.

9.The live-and-let-live principles are the bases of the concrete and logical proposals the Igbo have presented to Nigerian governments and peoples for a mature and fair consideration as worthy to be translated into a fundamental law or constitution.

10.We therefore enjoin serious minds to please find time to go through both the updated full Igbo proposal, originally based on our beloved Dr. Fapohunda proposal that sparked the nationwide “uproar,” as well as the summary, both reproduced hereunder.

Prof. Obasi Igwe
Director, Media and Publicity,
United Igbo Elders Council (UNIEC) Worldwide.
July 24, 2024.