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Revolution Time: Self Determination; Not Idiot “Power Game” Time

February 23, 2011

Once again, our attention has been drawn to a recurrent subject, this time by an article titled: “Igbo and the emerging power game” by Emma Mgbeahurike in The Nation newspaper ( http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/politics/28845.html) wherein different Igbo “leaders” and other pundits are trying to outdo one another with their lamentations, angst, and  pontifications over what I call “Igbo Presidency of Nigeria in 2015 syndrome.”

Once again, our attention has been drawn to a recurrent subject, this time by an article titled: “Igbo and the emerging power game” by Emma Mgbeahurike in The Nation newspaper ( http://thenationonlineng.net/web3/politics/28845.html) wherein different Igbo “leaders” and other pundits are trying to outdo one another with their lamentations, angst, and  pontifications over what I call “Igbo Presidency of Nigeria in 2015 syndrome.”

If this were the year 2010, we could continue to ignore these busybodies. If this were early January 2011, we could ignore, then, pity them. We could chastise them in their foolishness for having no capacity at all to face the present, fixated as they are with leaping from one election-year (in four-year cycles) to the other, even before the current election has happened; and therefore proving that either they do not have a memory of the past, have conveniently chosen to forget that past or have no capacity to process and deal with the past: that’s the Royal Pity! Because, there is no present: only leaping from one future horizon to illusive horizon, therefore, having no real future, either.

We could remind them that even at that, they, the Igbo so-called leaders, “got no game” at all and do not know how to play it, anyway, assuming that they even know what the game is all about. For example, now that it is obvious that the North will lose out after their blistering ongoing attack of Jonathan, after their threats of violence have been carried out and weathered with more expected but to be met the same way, after their bluff has been called, the same North is re-positioning for 2015. Atiku and the rest of them have now begun sounding conciliatory to the same PDP they were attacking only last week, but only while trying to extract lope-sided concessions serving strictly Northern interests, as always. Atiku’s parasitic and opportunistic political machinery is being re-positioned to control PDP after May 2011, hence to place him as the Presidential candidate of 2015; in the meantime, he and the North are demanding from Jonathan’s putative future post-2011 election administration all the most important Ministries for the North; and they want an assurance from Jonathan that he won’t run again in 2015—do you suppose for one moment that that’s because they are preserving 2015 for Igbo presidency? Fools!  We could remind them of this, but, that would be getting in the same game that we think is stupid, shortsighted, and a huge distraction. It is not a “power game”: it is only an “Idiot Game.” Why a huge stupid distraction? Because, this is a side-show; a gutter-show from yesteryears, at that:  look at the state of the world today, listen.

This is in fact late February 2011. Look around Africa: people fed up with corrupt and dictatorial and oppressive regimes which care nothing about their plight have risen up in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen to sack their governments, and prompted Jordan and Saudi Arabia and a few others to make pre-emptive concessions which will most likely not be sufficient to prevent overthrow by angry peoples. Present holdouts of today like Syria and Iran will be history eventually. In all these places, elements of even the governmental institutions and organs of control, repression and oppression of the people, have shown sympathy for, and sided with, the people, hastening the departure of the hegemony. When their mass protest is peaceful, the angry people have been harassed, tortured and killed in significant numbers by the government: that did not stop them. In Libya where Gadhafi and his son and hegemony are using military airplanes to bomb their own civilian-people-protesters, the people still show courage and press the protest. No one needs to tell these deaf and dumb Igbo so-called leaders these things, except that they are truly deaf and dumb, by their own choice and publicity.

The Igbo people are truly fed up with Nigeria and fed up with this apology passing for leadership foisted over the Igbo people by Nigeria. None of the always-in-future political calculations and posturing of the Igbo so-styled leaders and their perpetual “Igbo Nigeria’s presidency in year 20xx” talk has done anything to help our people. Our masses suffer all forms of indignity. Our land is occupied by the Nigerian army and government. Our talents are suppressed by the Nigerian government; our resources are confiscated and taken over by the Nigerian government. Nigeria makes every effort to shut the door of opportunity really tight and double-locked, inside and outside, in order to prevent our people from ever thriving. We are cut off from Nigeria by deliberately neglected strategic thoroughfares and bridges, and cut off from the outside world by deliberately denied functional International Airports. Our children are barely able to attend school anymore; when they do, they learn next to nothing because the education system is not functioning; and the basic High School passing-rate is under 10%, finally fulfilling the Northern Nigerian leaders’ well publicized plan for Nigeria to freeze and regress Education in the South until the North, whose real working Mantra is “Boko Haram”, catches up. Where our children manage to get Diplomas and Degrees, these are academically and functionally inadequate, a mere mockery of credentials; and they have no employment opportunities (while a counterpart in the North who manages to get through High School is rewarded with a high-paying, high profile, most likely, government, job financed with the money from our land). Our cities are dirty slums; when we think we have escaped this by moving outside Igboland / Biafraland to parts of Nigeria, we are murderously discriminated against; many change names and will pretend to not speak Igbo at all, but that has not stopped pogrommed and genocidal selective killing of our people in those far-away lands. Our people have not future; our Youth have no future but must hustle and survive like animals where even the urban rodent feasting on the abundant and neglected refuse of our squalor make a better living.

It is high time our Youth started and led a revolution in Igboland / Biafraland, like is happening in Northern Africa now. If other Youth in other regions in Nigeria want to revolt against their own conditions (which they should), that’s up to them; but our Youth must; our Youth should not wait any longer. When they do start the revolution, all Igbo and other Biafrans need to wake up immediately, support and join them in the streets and cities of Igboland / Biafraland. We know that we can always count on our masses, because, in the past, whenever we have asked them to act in the name of Biafra and for the sake of Biafra, they have responded overwhelmingly, going out of their way and sacrificing all—and succeeding in meeting the set goal. In this, we have thus learned what our people really want: Biafra. Nothing positively moves them better, and nothing gets more consistent and widespread positive response like Biafra. Those efulefu who still desire Nigeria and Nigerian presidency can leave and join any Nigerian enclave that will still take them—good luck! The goal of this revolution is Independent Igbo / Biafra; the principle is Self Determination—our right to wrest our own Destiny from the State of Nigeria and from its stooges, and be in full control of our own affairs.

From what is happening in Northern Africa, we see that the world looks favorably on peaceful protests by the people and condemns any government and government leaders who use violence against such protesters. The UN is doing that right now, for example, against Gadhafi and whoever are still in his government, threatening them with indictment for crimes against humanity for their brutal attacks on peaceful protesters—their own people, the brave people of Libya. So, we expect disciplined non-violent massive protests in this revolution—even though the government will lash out and unleash unimaginable violence against the people; the world will be against such criminal acts by any government. We expect courage and stamina: the non-violent protest will have to press on against all onslaughts and against all odds: it must last until the goal is accomplished, thereby outlasting the wicked intent of the detractors and the government to hang on to power and continue peppering the people. Our Youth should lead the protest in every so-called State created by Nigeria in Igboland / Biafraland, and in every Igbo / Biafran city and town. Protest and demand the resignation and abolishment of the present State governments and functionaries in Igboland / Biafraland: we are one Nation, Igbo / Biafra. Demand and insist on the exercise of our full right of Self Determination so that our lot—your future—can be restored and changed for the better and finally, assured.

The Youth of Africa—at least, North Africa—are on the move to change their future. The Youth of Igbo in Igboland / Biafraland should do the same. It is time to oust the present Igbo elite pro-one-Nigeria establishment which has no interest in your plight and has no understanding of your suffering and hope-lessness, using determined, principled, goal-oriented protests against the government. You can’t leave it up to them to rescue you: by where their head is at now with all this talk of 2015, you should be able to tell that, left to their own devices, the current Igbo establishment/government has already sold you out until 2015 at least. Do you really want to want to continue in this status, conditions which only get worse every day, for 4 more years and even longer? You can say, heck, “No!” to that at this time. It’s up to you, Igbo Youth, to say “Yes!” to change by revolution in a peaceful protest format with the goal of Self Determination.

As for those Igbo so-called leaders: show some wisdom now, if you claim to be a leader, and stop all this nonsense about 2015: it is late February 2011 on Planet Earth, same time-frame it is for our suffering Igbo masses. Understand the present time, and act as such. Can you hear what the Libyan people are chanting in their protests and revolution? Permit me to tell you: “Live in Dignity or Die in Dignity.” Can you understand that?

Oguchi Nkwocha, MD
Nwa Biafra
A Biafran Citizen
[email protected]

 

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