Gradually, we are approaching the end of the Civil War, fifty four long years after General Philip Effiong took the bold step of formally surrendering and renouncing Biafra before his erstwhile junior, General Yakubu Gowon at Dodan Barracks.
The signing into law of the South – East Development Commission (SEDC) bill by President Bola Tinubu is a sharp departure from the past when even those whose wives bore Igbo blood could do little when they were in power as president of Nigeria.
Credit for this victory should go to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives Benjamin Okezie Kalu and his group of legislators that promised to shake the table and delivered this pleasant surprise. Let us just make some noise for them.
Until Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu emerged as Deputy Speaker, not much was known about him except when he interfaced with the media under former Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as House spokesperson. You could just call him one of the members representing Abia State.
Since he became Deputy Speaker, Kalu has shown determination to make a mark. He is not the first Igbo man to occupy that position. And the legislator is not the first from the South – East to have the ear of the President. The difference is that others did not do what this man has done.
The Nigerian government has been unfair to those whose land became Biafra in 1967. It did not even matter if you were active on the Nigerian side during the Civil War. Gen. Ike Nwachukwu could have been Chief of Army Staff under President Ibrahim Babangida.
Babangida retired Nwachukwu and chose Gen. Salihu Ibrahim, of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course (RC) 1 as Army Chief. The name Ike Omar Sanda suddenly became suspect, when it was time to crown a man from Ovim, with Katsina maternal links, simply because of his Igbo roots.
Not that Babangida hated the Igbo. His wife, Maryam, a proud Asaba daughter had a very special place in his heart. That could have given Asaba advantage over Warri in the choice of picking the capital of Delta State. However, History proves that IBB could have been right.
Asaba was strategic to the British and the Royal Niger Company used it effectively. An Asaba man, Dike Okwuosa, was the official driver of Frederick Lugard for donkey years. He later retired to Sokoto to work with Sultan Abubakar and ended up as Bada Mafara.
Babangida had his first son in Umuahia, was trained as a boxer, by an Umuahia man, Abraham Tonica Nwachukwu and his 44 Battalion chose the nickname, Rangers, during the war. There was a Biafran Recce group called Rangers and after the war, Enugu Rangers Football Club emerged.
With all this love for the Igbo, IBB could not bury the ghost of the Civil War. He took a very bold step by appointing Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe as the first and only Igbo military officer to rise to the position of Vice President ( Chief of General Staff).
Ukiwe faced rough times from Generals Domkat Bali and Sani Abacha, simply because of his Igbo background. They were most uncomfortable with him. The naval officer refused to be be diminished and chose to retire honourably.
Trust Babangida. After Ukiwe’s exit, he hurriedly summoned Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu to Dodan Barracks to be sworn in as a member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council. The Ovim man tried to outsmart the President by not turning up with his reading glasses. When it was time to sign, IBB willingly offered his own glasses to Kanu.
That has remained the lot of the Igbo since the war ended in 1970. Deprived, humiliated, dumped and hounded. It began with 20 pounds for millions and massive poverty through the Indigenisation Decree, at a time Gowon was flashing his Three Rs of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.
Fact is, Nigeria cannot not do without the Igbo. When they wanted to go, Nigeria ganged up against Biafra. After conquest, the Federal Government has continued to pathetically neglect the South – East. Those who blame the South – West and North for under developing the Region should tell us what our brother, Dr. Azikiwe Jonathan did better.
That Kalu could get SEDC approved, shows that leadership goes beyond fraternising with presidents. It is about the people. The Deputy Speaker was not born during the war. He came after. Now he has carried the consequences on his head and is winning.
I advise Kalu not to relent. The SEDC must not be used as a dumping or settlement ground for failed politicians. He has to get even closer to the South – East governors.
The SEDC is the Marshall Plan that Tinubu has offered to Ndigbo. It should be the Economic Recovery Act. When US President Harry Truman signed the European Recovery Programme in April 1948, his country moved today’s equivalent of 173 billion dollars to Europe.
Benjamin Kalu should continue discussion with the Presidency. SEDC needs proper funding and sound management. Anyone who wants to play politics should remain in Abuja. What the South – East needs is massive infrastructural development.
The Deputy Speaker should also say hello to the Igbo people of Delta. A handshake is enough to show that whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. The Civil War affected those on the East of the Niger and those on the West. It is dancing time…gwo gwo gwo ngwo.
