By Okey Anueyiagu

I believe that the Igbo child, is a child of providence that is betrothed onto the threshold of history, and a child destined, by the crucible of the relentlessly unyielding pains and agonies of being born a Nigerian. That this child from birth to eternity, will witness a lasting and frightening reality of devastatingly sordid sufferings. And, that also, this child will along the way, acquire a resolution of an unwavering courage filled with an abundance of valor to wade through the uncertainties and the darkness that this child's country unwittingly serves and which have become the child's bane and burden.

I was this child through and through. Together with many others, we have witnessed and have been through perilous mental and physical struggles, and have grappled with the pains and horrors of being citizens in a country that may have had other plans, other than good ones for us. But we are blessed with the possession of transformative powers of perseverance by turning these pains and sufferings into strengths in endurance.

Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s we relied on our parents to do so many things for us. And they did. From teaching and showing us how to be responsible persons, to how to be good and upright citizens. This was the benchmark upon which our parents formed The Ibo Union, one of the most powerful socio-cultural organizations known to mankind. It became a tour-de-force, resembling, if not surpassing the Jewish League. I grew up under the Ibo Union fame and pride of the Igbo.

I can write and speak authoritatively about the Ibo Union because my father was one of the Founders, and subsequently, became the Chairman. This organization, the brainchild of men and women of vision, became the apogee of lgbo ascendency to unity, togetherness, success, and pride and joy. The Agenda of the lbo Union was clearly defined as an organization to promote and preserve the culture of the lgbo, and to ensure the development of the social and economic advancement of the people. 

Even as politics was front and center in the activities of the Igbo, The Ibo Union concerned itself with issues other than those of politics. They built schools, gave scholarships to students, sent brilliant students overseas to acquire better education, The Ibo Union settled disputes between Igbo communities and individuals. They promoted cultural exchanges, with emphasis on how to develop and sustain the Igbo language, songs, folklores and festivals. The Ibo Union did so many things, especially, in the fostering of unity amongst the diverse groups within the lgbo tribe, and also extended hands of friendships and cooperation to the other many ethnic nationalities and groups within Nigeria and internationally.

It is very critical to note and appreciate the history, politics and culture of the lgbo which bear the very profound imprint of their ancient origin that stood them out as a distinct and progressive unit until the advent of disruptive and destructive depredations of the tribal killings, and with it, the civil war interregnum. The decentralized nature of the Igbo society did not help matters, as the decimation of its people, began piecemeal by piecemeal.

The unprecedented catapulting of the lgbo to lofty heights after independence through grit, industry and intelligence, and through the pursuit of Western education, moved them to the domination of the social, political and economic landscape of modern Nigeria. This consequently, bred fear, resentment and hatred of the lgbo. Their acculturation to success became a deadly impediment to their survival.

To embrace this historical fact about the lgbo, is to recognize and proudly hold on to the testament of the genius and resilience of a tribe like no other; a tribe that was ahead of others, showing then, that no other African group, or other black group in the face of the earth in modern times have shown or displayed such serendipity and strength in endurance as the lgbo tribe. This fact is indisputable.

As many were contemplating the major challenge that posed problems for the lgbo on how to reconcile their drive and appetite for progress and for those desired good things of life, with discretion, cautiousness, and tolerance of other people’s ways, it became apparent that this balance was not achievable. The result was the indescribable avalanche of vitriolic and hate directed in the direction of the Igbo. 

Then came the war that vanquished not only all that the lgbo had gained, but took the lives of well over 3 million of their own. With this, came the demise of the Ibo Union. The lgbo postwar position was made so pitiable as it presented serious lack of strategic thinkers and a complete failure of purposeful leadership. We could not reposition ourselves, and invariably failed to recognize the new dynamics of Nigerian politics. We began to work against one another, and against the rebuilding of that threshold level of unity, solidarity and social bonding that were the hallmark of our past common purpose. The unfortunate and predictable consequences were the cultural and socio-political distortions, the enthronement of individualistic selfcentered goals and aspirations that relegated communal dispositions to the background. It thus became difficult for the Igbo to return to their old ways of success; to be able to rebuild the infrastructure of lgbo values that showcased our zeal, our competitive spirit, and our can-do attitudes towards merit, integrity and excellence. This is a brief summary and an insight into the Igbo predicament in Nigeria.

The desire of the Igbo to return to its glorious days birthed The OHANEZE NDIGBO WORLDWIDE, a replica umbrella organization to replace the now moribond Ibo Union. Instead of replicating the laudable actions of The lbo Union, Ohaneze, over many years, and through many leaderships, became a whimpering and stagnating broken vehicle that mostly produced clandestine manipulators of important Igbo positions and underpinning nothing but contemptuous tendencies that were antiIgbo with facile rationalization of untenable and even contradictory positions from the desired common good of the generality of the Igbo people.

For many valuable reasons, I will resist the urge to dwell on the tenures of the many regimes of the Ohaneze. I will attempt instead to dwell briefly with the travails of our today's Ohaneze and how we must all bow our heads in shame as we look back from where we were during that period in the history of Nigeria, proudly referred to as the lgbo epoch.

Because I have been a silent particpant in the affairs of Ohaneze from the eras of Professor J. O Irukwu, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey, Chief Nnia Nwodo, Professor George Obiozor to Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, I feel somewhat comfortable to write, without any sense of recrimination, on today's activities of Ohaneze. I will tactically avoid the politics of the elections of the leadership of Ohaneze, as to elaborate on it, will present certain distractive misgivings and emotions. My feeling without claiming absolute correctness to it, is that we must look beyond the personalities that lead this organization, and focus more on the causes it was created to tackle and make good. I believe that any true Igbo; born strongly with the fire and desires of our brave forebears can run the affairs of Ohaneze. With the exception of a very few, as in all societies in the world, most Igbo will continue to seek the total emancipation of our people from the shackles of marginalization, discrimination and tyranny with all their might and strength, and will carry out all duties required of them to protect the interest of the Igbo, and to ensure their right of life and liberty any where they may dwell in the world. These are the bare minimum expectations of anyone elected to any position in the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide.

Recently, when George Obiozor was elected with his team to lead Ohaneze, it generated, as always, some heat and dissension. Obiozor and I had shared great friendship that spanned decades, and I had worked with him at the 2014 National Conference piloting the intellectual base of the South East (Igbo) delegation to the Conference. I was the Lead Consultant and authored almost all the Position Papers presented by the South East group. It was a herculean task, and it presented me with a firsthand knowledge and insight of the brilliance, unity, and of the formidable togetherness of the Igbo. With the exception of some disagreement, mostly from the Ebonyi State members, it was the best outing that the Igbo have ever had. The Chairman of the South East Delegation, General Ike Nwachuwku displayed a rare quality of uniting our people as we awed and shocked all those expecting rancor and failure from the Igbo group.

We presented outstanding positions on issues of grave national importance by winning over the other groups to agree with us on positions that favoured us and our existence in a united nation called Nigeria. Drawing from my prior interactions with Obiozor, and from our intimate working relationship at the Conference, I was fully confident that he was a good quality and fit for the position of the President of Ohaneze. Fate and the hands of God dealt the Igbo a badhand when Obiozor passed on without achieving his goals with Ohaneze.

Today, Ohaneze under the leadership of Iwuanyanwu is in a state of comatose. And this is not because the leadership is bereft of ideas, but because it has been banished and abandoned by the Igbo. The Ohaneze today, is a far cry from what the Ibo Union was. It has become totally nonpareil, unmatching and unrivaling the actions of the defunct Ibo Union. We have all, without exception, become so insouciant almost to the point of nonchalance with the affairs of Ohaneze, forgetting and forgoing the apotheosis of the quintessential glorious past. The incipient and fundamental platforms and foundations built and sustained by our forebears, have virtually disappeared, as we constantly divagate and drift away into oblivion.

Ohaneze is not without its own faults and follies, but my duty today is not to be censorious, as the time and space for severe criticism, chiding and fault-finding is reserved for the Oha (Ora). The blight of Ohaneze, its impairment, frustration, ruin, decay, scourge and destruction reside with the Oha (Ora), the people of the Igbo tribe. We, from head to toe, have been recalcitrant, non cooperative and not submissive with the authority bestowed on Ohaneze. The Oha (Ora) do not respect or care about the Eze, and the crown on the Eze’s head is full of thorns and scorpions. Things have fallen apart, and the simpletons go blindly on suffering the consequences.

The consanguinity of the Igbo tribe has never been in doubt, but the historical perfidious nature of its people has continued to prevail. Lately, our people especially in matters relating to Ohaneze, have displayed deliberate faithlessness and deceitful treachery. How do we expect an organization like Ohaneze to survive without support? Several years ago, it was decided that each of the 7 Igbo Ohaneze States should contribute one million naira every month to Ohaneze. This amounts to 12 million naira per year for every State, and a round figure of 84 million naira for the entire States for a year. This is an absolute pitiance. It is even more sepulchral going by what I hear that for several years, Abia, Delta, Rivers (for 8 years), and Ebonyi (for 3 years), ceased to pay this meagre contribution. I

understand that as of today, only Imo, Enugu and lately Anambra are contributing their quotas to Ohaneze. The veracity of this statement can only be reliably verified from the Ohaneze Secretariat, as I may not have the full and current facts.

When one considers the obnoxious behaviour of our politicians towards Ohaneze, it appears that the Igbo people have reached a deadly crossroad, with a clear confirmation that God may have created us to suffer persecution, not only from our known enemies, but also from our own kind. Only a few weeks ago, Ohaneze organized an important retreat in Enugu to discuss series of issues of grave Igbo concerns. All the Governors and the other politicians were invited. The Governors shunned this meeting. Only the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, I think, was in attendance. With this disrespectful attitude, how can we expect Ohaneze to succeed and be impactful? 

Being aware of the enormous financially dependent activities before Ohaneze, it is obvious that the organization is despondently in trouble. Now, with the benefit of prospicience, and the act of looking forward, how do we save Ohaneze from its state of impecuniousity and from the clutches and claws of our governors and politicians? How do we ensure that this cherished organization ceases to be a beggary, pauperized, and a destitute one? Let us go back and do what our lbo Union founders did. The wise men and women utilized the egalitarian culture of the lgbo by strengthening the local organizations from the villagers, the farmers, to traders, the town unions, the students and the youth organizations, by levying them very small amounts which they put in a common pool. The rich amongst them matched these funds which they then deployed expeditiously and frugally to the lofty and impressive projects that benefited many lgbo and others. They did not wait for the politicians to be the only ones funding and supporting their projects.

In the attempt of this essay to appear proficuous, a schema is necessary. I will present a plan in the form of a model that Iwuanyanwu’s Ohaneze should deploy to become solvent, and effective. Imagine that there are about 10 million taxable adults in lgboland and in the diaspora, and they are levied N100.00 per month. In a year each patriotic Igbo will pay N1,200 amounting to about N12 billion per annum, all accruing to support the many important activities of Ohaneze.

The nugatory or the futility of my theory is very apodictic. It is clearly established beyond dispute, that there are inherent difficulties in achieving my dream proposition. This is so, because of the questions of lack of visibility of the organization, the absence of trust and integrity, and the immiscible state of our people. The Igbo need to be sensitized about the objectives of Ohaneze and enlightened about their past, present and future programs and the benefits to Ndigbo.

Ohaneze Ndigbo must leave politics alone and focus on how to help us validate our Igboness by retuning us to our historical, structural and cultural ways of life. They must embark on a program to teach our children that to repudiate their identity as lgbo is a seriously problematic tendency, and will invalidate who they are forever.

Ohaneze must use all the resources at its disposal to unravel the dynamics of the distortions on the question of being Igbo or not, and tackle the dichotomy of the sensitivity of a Mr. Nwigwe calling himself Wigwe, or Nwike, a Wike, both strange words in any lexicon.

Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide must explore and recognize the growing anti-Igbo sentiments, confront them with the formation of a multipolar Igbo unity that will battle the prevailing ideology of hate and exceptionalism which have undermined and undergirded Igbo cohesion. The organization must become the torchbearer seeking to interrupt anti-lgboness by exploring and consolidating the values that bond and bind us together.

The Ohaneze should awaken and rebuild the spirit of resilience in us, as we proudly proclaim a reaffirmation of who we are, and reclaim our rightful place and position in a country we tirelessly created and sustained. It should exorcise from us, that selfdeprecating and overzealous disposition, and bring back those exploits that made us great and the envy of many. Ohaneze should lead the way in reversing our slide in education, civil service and commerce, by championing the withdrawal of our young ones from being street side vendors and middlemen, small time contractors and commission agents. We should return to our positions in finance, manufacturing, banking, telecom, oil and gas and other purpose-driven and sustainable ventures.

Once Ohaneze is fully empowered with moral and financial support, in addition to all the expectation that I have listed, it will embark on a massive program on how to redirect, refocus and reposition the economy of the East towards a sustainable basis of wealth creation and the eradication of poverty for the employment of our youth.

We can only achieve these goals by collectively contributing to the elevation of Ohaneze from its travails. The duo of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Ambassador Okey Emuchay, and their team, are capable Igbo sons and daughters. They have been doing their best within the very limited support both human and financial available to them. With an envisaged support from our people, if we may hearken to my admonition and plea, the reinvigorated Ohaneze will bring the Igbo to regain equanimity in the wake of the unspeakable atrocities and dehumanizing scars that have been inflicted on them.

A strong and virile Ohaneze will rekindle the hope and aspiration of that Igbo child to feel a sense of belonging, by banishing negative thoughts about his/her country, and discarding that long-held sense of hopelessness and despair in a country they call their own. By following the path of profound love of one another regardless of the insidious past and present prevalent anomalies, we shall all return to our lost glorious past. 

OKEY ANUEYIAGU

A Professor of Political Economy

And the Author of

Biafra; The Horrors of War,

The Story of a Child Soldier