Biafra: “Igbo Will Not Beg Buhari for Their Right”, Ohanaeze Chief Calls for Kanu’s Release

Chief (Mrs) Calista Nkiru Adimachukwu (Mmilioma), National Women Leader, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, speaks on the regret, gains and expectations of Igbo
People  from President Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

What is your perspective on the Igbo question in Nigeria

The Igbo are the highest contributors to Nigerian independence compared to other regions. But it is sad to note that since independence in 1960, other regions have countered Igbo objectives. The Igbo  have not been given the opportunity to taste solid leadership in Nigeria. Even after Nigeria got independence, Dr, Nnamdi Azikiwe, was made a ceremonial President whereas his   NCNC and Awolowo’s AG were capable of forming a solid government and producing the Prime Minister.  Azikiwe sacrificed that for the peaceful existence and unity of Nigeria.

Although   Azikiwe had support from Awolowo, he reasoned that if the West and East teamed up against the North to form  government, the nation may lose its equilibrium as the North might feel short-changed.
Therefore, Azikiwe sacrificed that chance for the unity of Nigeria. In fact, the  Igbo  do not even want to talk about the circumstances surrounding the death of Major Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi. Even in the Fourth Republic,   Dr Alex Ekwueme contributed immensely to the formation of the PDP, thinking that probably   the Igbo   might get the chance to control the central government.

Calista Nkiru The Igbo hoped   that   Ekwueme would be made the presidential candidate of the PDP, but there was gang-up by the military against the Igbo, and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the presidential candidate of the PDP. Obasanjo’s candidacy was the continuation of the defeat of the Igbo because the northern oligarchy never wanted an Igbo man to be the President of Nigeria.  Even before that episode, the Igbo  voted for Chief M.K.O Abiola, but when it came to the time when an Igbo person needs votes from the West and the North both in primaries and main elections, the Igbo are usually disappointed.

The Igbo have sacrificed a lot for the political development of Nigeria even to the extent of supporting a northerner in the Second   Republic and also giving Sir. Tafawa Belewa support to be Prime Minister in the First Republic. The Igbo have been disappointed time, without number whenever they needed support from other regions. This is one of   the reasons the Igbo want the Federal Government to implement the report of the 2014 National Conference in order to end the issue of   junior and senior partners   in the Nigerian project and also to neutralise any gang-up against the Igbo now and in the future. There is no doubt that the Igbo are disappointed because President Goodluck Jonathan lost the election.

This is because the Igbo believed that since he was the one that instituted the National Confab  and received the report, he would have been in a better position to implement it. Again, he showed  the Igbo that he has their interest at heart. Because of him, the Igbo now have international airport and other developmental projects in the region. I believe he could have done more if he won  re-election  in 2015.

There are also other projects in the South-East   which he started that are still unsung. The Igbos have no regrets voting for Jonathan and will do the same again if the need arises. Notably, in the 2011 presidential election, similar thing happen where the North-East and North-West voted massively for Gen. Buhari, and he lost in that election. However, those who voted for him then had no regret.

They repeated the same feat in 2015 and he won. The President did a lot to ensure that the 2015 elections went well and without violence. He should be commended for his efforts in the 2015 elections.

All said and done, the Igbo will continue to hope that their contributions to national development will be remembered by all.

Some Igbo called for support for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari  during his campaign and they said it was for the good of the Igbo. Do you think the government of Buhari   will benefit the Igbos ?

I am aware that some individuals in the South-East called for Igbo support for Buhari prior to the 2015 elections. There was even a blame game against the Igbo  for putting   their eggs in one basket. It is too early to judge Buhari or know his mindset on Igbo’; however time will tell. Jonathan lost the election and Igbo still feel bad but we lost nothing because we gained the brotherhood of the South-South.

When Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu   was alive, he visited the Alaafin of Oyo and the Ooni of Ife to extend handshake across the Niger. His action was misunderstood, but he explained that if there was an understanding between the South-East and South-West, it was the beginning of political wisdom.
He also explained that the personalities he went to visit in the West were the greater authorities he had to meet to forge a political understanding.

However, after the Igbo had tried in the First Republic and other periods in the political history of Nigeria, they had a change of mind.
The Igbo reasoned they had supported the North and the West in the past, and that partnership failed. The Igbo   even reasoned that since   Ojukwu’s idea of a handshake across the Niger did not work, a new political partnership was necessary. More recently, the South-South, South-East and South-West Assembly was formed aimed at securing   support from these zones for   Jonathan and also in case an Igbo man decides to contest the presidential election in future. Meetings were held in Enugu, Asaba and some other places.

Ekwueme, Chief ABC Nwosu, Chief   Chukwuemeka Ezeife and a host of others attended some of the meetings. Also Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s call for support for Jonathan was done after wide consultations from traditional rulers and important personalities. However, we will still enter into political understanding with the Middle-Belt and the core North after wide discussions.

We will let everyone know the reasons  the South-East will vie for President and expect wide support from other zones. Nevertheless, after we try all these things and they fail, the   solution lies in the implementation of the report of the 2014 National Confab.

If there is any Igbo personality that is begging for recognition and position from the government of Buhari, that person is insulting the Igbo. What we expect from those people is for them to tell Gen. Muhammadu Buhari point blank to implement the report of the National Constitutional Conference of 2014.

Do Igbo have any regret?
Yes, the Igbo  have three regrets. The first is the non-implementation of the Aburi Accord. The second is that the Igbo have not gotten any meaningful gain after their foremost contributions to Nigeria’s independence. The third regret is that the East and West delayed Nigeria’s independence for the North to meet up with the pace of independence. It was because of this that Whitehall imposed federalism on Nigeria. Sadly, our sacrifice is not appreciated.

What are Ohanaeze   Ndigbo doing about the ongoing IPOB crisis  (struggle forBiafra).?

First of all, I would like to draw your attention to my interview in Vanguard  of May 24, 2015 under the headline, ‘Igbo case on National Conference report for Buhari – Ohanaeze   National Women Leader.

Our regrets as a region in Nigeria’. granted that interview before President Buhari was sworn-in on May 29, 2015. My reason for granting that interview was for him to know the position of Ndigbo for equitable union government.

When he assumed office   and started making appointments, he was supposed to treat all Nigerians fairly according to the oath of office he took; so when he started making appointments, he sidetracked  one of the major blocs that contributed more than any other  region in Nigeria to give Nigeria the fastest independence. That was what provoked the youths to agitate for Biafra, because   they feel that they don’t have any future in one Nigeria.
I am again pleading with Mr President   as a mother to immediately start the process of implementing the 2014 National Conference report for equitable Nigeria, where everyone would have a sense of belonging without fear or favour.
I also use this opportunity to plead with Mr President to grant Nnamdi Kanu unconditional release because he has done nothing to warrant his continuous incarceration.

What is your take on the Patience Jonathan’s issue with EFCC? 
I am not against President Buhari’s   war against corruption through EFCC but, first of all, the war should be fought with sincerity in all ramifications.
If left to me to advise, the President should start the anti-corruption crusade from members of his party to prove to the world   that he is sincere in what he is doing, not only fighting the opposition.
In my own humble opinion, it is a clear cut agenda to bulldoze the opposition. As for Jonathan’s wife, I am not against the EFCC probing her but they should beam their search lights also in former first ladies from the North to prove to the world that they are not just out to fight Jonathan’s family who made sure that there was a peaceful transition to the present administration which was acclaimed world wide.

What   is your view on current recession under the watch of the APC leading government? 
When APC as a political party was campaigning to be voted into power, the leaders  knew very   well that the economy had a problem, so they came up with the ‘change agenda’, that if voted into power, they would restore the economy, that was the reason Nigerians voted for them.
When they assumed office, they started the blame game and that blame game has continued till today, pretending they didn’t know there was a problem before they took office, instead of doing the needful to restore the economy. Based on   that, foreign investors started pulling out their money back to their countries and that is why we are in this present recession.
But all hope is not lost because Nigeria have potentials to be great again even more than before within 10 years. I  remember that after the Nagasaki and Hiroshima   bombings of the Second World War in Japan, Japanese  cut themselves out of the world for 20 years and looked inwardly on how to bounce back.
Look at their economic position in the world affairs now. Nigeria’s case is a matter of 10 years, that is why I am pleading with Mr President to do the needful so that we can have a conducive   environment to move the Nigerian economy forward.