Can South East governors save Ohanaeze Ndigbo?

Theodore OrjiSouth East Bureau Chief, Jude Ossai, writes on efforts of governors of states in the South East geopolitical zone to resolve the differences among the leaders of the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, concluding that only a united front can successfully champion the cause of Igbo people.

THE consciousness of having an independent Igbo nation spread among the Igbo people like a hurricane wind immediately after the people of the South East geopolitical zone struggled to survive the 32-month civil war that claimed millions of lives from both Federal Government and Biafran sides.

Since then, various groups have emerged to champion the cause of the South East people so that they could be fully re-integrated into the mainstream of the nation’s body politic. The two main institutions that ought to be championing the Igbo agenda are the governors of the five South East states and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

While the governors are expected to work from the political flank, the leadership of the pan-Igbo group, Ohanaeze, should take care of social and economic fronts; a role it had played from the era it was known as Igbo Union. Other socio-cultural associations are also expected to play auxiliary roles.

It was against this backdrop that the South East governors came together under a platform christened the South East Governor Conference, which has its administrative headquarters in Enugu, the Enugu State capital. The idea of the founding fathers of the conference was to advance the agenda of Igbo people as it was obvious to them that the destiny of the zone lied in them. But between the governors of the South East geopolitical zone and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, have Igbo people faired well? What about marginalisation of Igbo people? Has the contentious issue gone into the dustbin of history? These and more are some of the questions that agitate the minds of the Igbo people in Nigerian and in the Diaspora.

Nigerian Tribune investigation revealed that the division in the leadership of the Igbo union has not helped matters just as the struggle for supremacy among the political leaders militates against the collective interest of the zone. Evangelist Elliot Uko, President of the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), believes these are disturbing signals emanating from the highest portal of governance in the country and that the patience of the people has been stretched to the limits.

“The current government of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua will clock one year in the saddle soon yet, not many Nigerians are exactly privy to the government’s economic vision or direction,” he said. According to Uko, the president had made Nigerians aware of his administration’s intention to implement a seven-point agenda but the people had heard nothing more on it. The Igbo activist alleged that there was a plot to supplant some ministers and other top functionaries of Igbo extraction, mentioning the rumour to oust Professor Charles Soludo, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as an example.

Prior to the outburst, the Igbo youth chieftain and the South East chief executives had moved to save the Ohanaeze Ndigbo from extinction. This could be as a result of the realisation of the Igbo governors that there is need for stronger ties among Igbo people irrespective of their political leaning.

Last January, the governors held a one-day joint meeting with the leaders of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu where they called on the warring factions of the pan-Igbo group to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace. Nigerian Tribune observed that the search for peace is still far in the union as only members from the camp of the Dr. Dozie Ikedife-led faction of the Ohanaeze attended the meeting. At the second jointly meeting held at the same venue this month, only members of the faction attended. It was learnt that members of the Professor Joe Irukwu group were absent at the two meetings; a development that heightened speculations that there was no end in sight for the crisis in the Igbo union.

Rising from the meeting, participants urged the warring factions to withdraw all cases related to the recent internal squabble in Ohanaeze before the next meeting scheduled to hold in a month’s time. The two communiqués issued at the end of the meetings dwelt on the troubled group and stressed that the pan-Igbo group had only one constitution which specified a two-year tenure for elected officers of the union.

But the camp of Joe Irukwu, which members still occupy the Ohanaeze Ndigbo secretariat along Parks Avenue, Enugu, claims that the governors have no business interfering in the internal problem confronting the union. An Ohanaeze chieftain who preferred anonymity explained the reason that the group of Irukwu gave for shunning all the peace talks, noting that the Igbo union was a non-political organisation.

Today, the disunity among the Igbo leaders is taking its toll. “Is the probe of the investment in Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) targeted at the CBN governor?” queried IYM president, Uko. This question also agitates the minds of many Igbo people. Many of those who spoke with the Nigerian Tribune said it was high time they got permanent freedom from the bondage of their oppressors. The respondents noted that some Igbo leaders approached the Igbo problem with gimmicks and deception because of fear of losing face at the national level.

Be that as it may, the hope of the larger segment of Ndigbo is that the governors and the leadership of Ohanaeze should work together with a view to building a more united Igbo nation. The solution to the problems of Igbo people lies squarely in these two institutions.