IGBO PRESIDENCY: The mystery of a ‘forbidden’ aspiration

The constitution of Nigeria stipulates the criteria for becoming the president of the country. It never forbids any region or tribe of the country from mounting the seat of power.

Going down memory lane, since the advent of the 4th Republic, different individuals from different ethnic climes have been elected presidents. Late Umar Yar’adua, Mohammadu Buhari of the Northwest region, Olusegun Obasanjo of the Southwest, and Goodluck Jonathan of the South-south have all been democratically elected to become Nigerian presidents.

The Ibos are aggrieved, claiming to be marginalised for having not produced a president to lead the country. Why the grievances? Has any aspirant ever been disqualified from contesting for the presidency for being Igbo? Have the Ibos themselves spoken with one voice? Have they ever been serious with such aspiration? How have the Southeasterners fared with other tribes or regions? Is such grievance genuine?

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is in tandem with the Federal Character as a way of promoting equity, justice, and fair play, and giving every constituent of the Nigerian society a sense of belonging.

The 1979 Constitution states “the composition of the government of the federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies” (Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution). Under this, the appointment of Ministers shall reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria…the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each state who shall be an indigene of such state. (section 147 (3) 1999 Constitution). Appointment to the offices of the Secretary to the Government, Head of Service, Ambassadors, and Permanent Secretaries shall have regard to the federal character (section 171 (5) 1999 Constitution). However, no section of the constitution disenfranchises anyone seeking elective positions to incorporate federal character, so the grievance may be watery.

Choosing the flag bearers for the 1999 presidential election, the scheming never favoured the aspiring Ibos, because the Yorubas were seemingly being appeased over the June 12, 1993 injustice – Obasanjo emerged as PDP’s candidate, having enjoyed the support of the northerners the more, while Olu-Falae was to fly the joint ticket of AD/APP. Towards the presidential election, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere had shown much commitment, backing the Alliance for Democracy which won all the 6 states of the zone. Such was never the case in the east! In 2003 when the ballot was thrown open to all and sundry, Biafran warlord, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu threw his hat into the ring but even the Ibos did not reckon with him. The ballot had 6 different other Ibos apart from Ojukwu, splitting the fortunes of the zone:

Ojukwu (APGA) 1,297,455

Jim Nwodo (UNPP) 169,609

Arthur Nwakwo (PMP) 57,720

Emmanuel Okereke (ALP) 26921

Kalu Idika Kalu (NNPP) 23830

Iheanyichukwu G. Nnaji (BNPP) 5,987

Harmonisation of efforts then could have proven a point but it was like the people of the region did not know what they wanted. Rather, all the 5 states of the region voted for the candidate of the ‘Fulani-owned party’, the PDP.

How have the Ibos fared with other regions?

The Ibos have appeared so inimical to the rest. The tribe remains the only one that has gone into civil war with the federation in a failed secession bid. To an average Ibo man, who is oblivious, ignorant of, or mischievous about the generational fold of events in the country, the Yorubas are forbidden traitors, the Fulanis, useless cows, and the Hausas, intruding parasites,…

At the inception of the country’s self-rule, in 1959 precisely, Nnamdi Azikwe orchestrated the grip of power by the Fulanis over other tribes – the 12th December 1959 parliamentary election was with no clear majority to form a government: Zik’s National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) polled 2,594,577 with 81 seats; Awolowo’s Action Group (AG) had 1,992,364 with 73 seats; Ahmadu Bello’s Northern People’s Congress (NPC) came third, polling 1,922,179 votes with 134 seats. An alliance had to be formed to form a government. Approaching NCNC, Awolowo humbled himself, accepting the slot of Deputy Prime Minister or Finance Minister, ceding the position of Prime Minister to Zik’s NCNC, for having secured more seats and votes. Zik called for coalition talks between the 2 parties in Asaba, the diameter of the Southwest and the Southeast. While awaiting the NCNC delegates in Asaba, the AG heard in the news that Zik had gone ahead to form an alliance with the Northern People’s Congress. Zik ceded the position of Prime Minister to Tafawa Balewa, accepting the figurehead position of Governor-General. He had cunningly outsmarted Awolowo by distracting him from going into alliance with other minority parties ahead of him. Zik justified his action in his autobiography, where he referred to an issue he once had with some Yorubas, including Olufimilayo Ransom-Kuti, Prince Adeleke Adedoyin, and Dr. Olohunnimbe, in the NCNC. Then, he had the resolve that the Yorubas would never rule the country. He had thought he could easily manipulate the Hausas/Fulanis, which could not easily do with the sophisticated Yorubas.

In what could be described as being vindictive, Zik, historically, manipulated Tafawa Balewa to arrest Awolowo in 1962 and get him jailed in 1963. He also influenced Balewa to remove from the Western Region, Edo, Itsekiri, Western Ijaw, and Urhobo which account for 70% of the oil wealth of the country, and create for them, the Mid-West Region. Zik’s hatred for the Yorubas, no doubt, gave the Fulanis, the impetus to lord over other tribes.

When it was discovered that the Fulanis were even smarter than they thought they could be, and they no longer could be tamed, the Ibos resorted to the 1966 coup, the first-ever in the country, tagged ‘Igbo Coup’, in which numerous Northern and Southwest leaders were brutally killed while many Igbo leaders were spared. This was the remote cause of the civil war which was also initiated by the Ibos.

The Ibos’ hatred has always been so deep that, believing the direction of the Yorubas, they have remained conservative. In 1993 when in the then two-party system – MKO Abiola and Bashir Tofa were the flag bearers of the Social Democratic Party and National Republican Convention respectively, the Ibos, as usual, went their Fulani way, giving block votes to Tofa, jettisoning a co-southerner. Even as MKO won convincingly in some Northern states, including Tofa’s Kano State, the Ibos never spared a state for Abiola, as the whole 5 states went to Tofa massively. In the 2019 election when two Fulanis, were the major contenders for the presidency, the Ibos massively threw their weight behind the one that had less backing from the Yorubas. It was believed that Bola Tinubu, a leader in the Yoruba Race had much stake in the APC so Atiku Abubakar of the PDP got 100 % victory in the entire 5 states of the east.

The Yorubas might be waiting, one day, for a pound of flesh, paying the easterners back in their coin. Though a sociocultural group, Afenifere, of the Yorubas has frequently drummed support for an Igbo presidency the question to ask is ‘How relevant are such clamour and the group clamouring?’ Tinubu’s political empire has recently thrown the group into oblivion. The group is understandably having personal beef with Tinubu, and as such, it has always been antagonistic to his aspirations.

The post-Zik/Ojukwu era generation Igbo, in most cases, has seen the Hausa/Fulani or/and the Yorubas as their predicament. They see the Northerners as being domineering, clinching on to power. They see the Yorubas as those who have been harbouring the northerners, aiding them to win elections. In this era of social media, the ‘battle’ is widely discussed. A good example, as observed in an empirical work are archived tantrums of Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpe, agitating for Biafra:

“These criminals cannot be stealing money belonging to everybody. These same men cannot be responsible for the length and breadth of the depth….”

Facebook: (Nnamdi Kanu, 2014.)

“They have no sea but they are in charge of all seaports in the south.

They have no single drop of oil but they own all oil wells in the south and are in charge of NNPC.

“They score lowest in every exam, yet they are Chief Justices, AGF, Supreme Court Judges, and Army Generals.”

Facebook (Nnamdi Kanu, via Inside Biafra, May 25, 2021.)

“The more you keep supporting evil in the zoo

The more your land will be taken from you;

The more your daughters will be raped and abducted;

The more your sons will be slaughtered in cold blood.”

Facebook (Nnamdi Kanu, addressing the Yorubas, via World Around Us, June 2, 2021).

“Oduduwa must now understand that the war is real. 6.6.2021.

NSA orders dismantling illegal security outfits nationwide to enable Fulanis to overrun Nigeria.

Okonjo Iweala is now a target as Fulani accused her of IPOB.”

Facebook (Simon Ekpa, June 6, 2021).

“Since the killings by Fulani terrorists, sponsored by the presidency has now spread across Southern Nigeria with the latest massacre of Oduduwa People in Oyo State, the acting president, Garba Sheu is hereby banned indefinitely from entering Southern Nigeria.”

Facebook (Simon Ekpa, June 7, 2021).

Also in another work, it has been documented that 62 % of those who post share like; or pass consenting remarks on such inflammatory ideological outbursts are from the Eastern region. All these have, of course negatively affected the trusts reposed in the easterners by other regions, seeing them as secessionists who could not be trusted with power.

Is the marginalisation grievance of the region, Southeast genuine?

A peruse of the archive may shed some light:

The North-West Region has produced the late General Muritala Mohammed, who was the military Head of State from 29th July 1975 – 13th February 1976 (6 months, 15 days); Alhaji Sheu Shagari, 1st October 1979 – 31st December 1984 (4 years, 61 days); Late General Sanni Abacha, 17th November 1993 – 8th June 1998 ( 4 years, 203 days ); Umar Yar’adua, 29th May 2007 – 5th May 2010 ( 2 years, 341 days); Muhammodu Buhari, 31st December – 27th August 1985, 29th May 2015 – 29th, 2023 ( 9 years, 239 days).

From the North-Central, there have been General Yakubu Gowon, 1st August 1966 – 29th July 1975 (8 years, 362 days); General Ibrahim Babangida, 27th August 1985 – 26th August 1993 (7 years, 364 days); and General Abdulsalam Abubakar, 8th June 1998 – 29th May 1999 (355 days).

Down the south, the South-West has General Olusegun Obasanjo, 13th February 1976 – 1st October 1979 & 29th May 1999 – 29th May 2007 (11 years, 8 months and 12 days); Late Ernest Shonekan, 26th August 1993 – 17th November 1993 (83 days).

The South-South has Goodluck Jonathan, 5th May 2010 – 29th May 2015 (5 years, 25 days).

The South-East has Late Nnamdi Azikwe, 16th November 1960 – 1st October 1963, & 1st October 1963 – 16th January 1966 ( cumulatively, 5 years, 61 days); General JTU Aguyi-Ironsi, 16th January 1966 – 29th July (194 days).

Lastly, the North-East has nobody, and as such, has ruled for 0 day!

Going by this, the only region that should be aggrieved is the northeast, which is the only region that is yet to produce a head of government either as a civilian or as a coup plotter. The South-East had Nnamdi Azikwe who willingly settled as a titular head and Aguyi-Ironsi, the first coup plotter in the country, who though never lasted being in power.

Will the Ibos ever right the wrongs?

The destiny of the Igbo Nation is lying right before them! They should be bold enough and mould their future. If is still secession that they desire, they should get so serious about it, realising that the process is not as easy as bread and butter. They should also realise that violence may not be productive as proven by the outcome of the 6th July 1967 – 15th January 1970, which they activated. They should also be mindful of the fact that social media is not the avenue for a referendum. Making unnecessary enemies is not the best option.

The leadership of the zone should put mercenaries in place to curb the incessant violence, killings, and civil unrest currently being witnessed in the zone; the menace has only been counterproductive so far. In a recent video’ that went viral, the IPOB miscreants went as far as killing Ibo men at the INEC registration center for having flouted the Monday-sit-at-home-order.

The Ibos should for once, prove that they are sincerely consequential by speaking with one voice. They should at this point forget about party politics, harmonise efforts, produce a widely acceptable candidate, and unanimously present them, seeking the blessings of the other zones rather than seeing any as enemies. At present, several Igbo political gladiators have shown interest in running in the 2023 presidency race, and history has it that they have always been divisive.

More importantly, the region should bury the hatchet of hatred lingering since the days of Late Zik as such has always boomeranged, inflicting on them and their aspirations.

This panacea is all that could solve the puzzle of that presidency debacle.

 

 

Kola Adebiyi writes from Ibadan, Oyo State