posted
Igbo and Ijaw and others can work together to stop the nigerian vandals from continuing to steal from their land
Point Counterpoint: A Rebuttal to Kevin Ani By Priye Torulagha.
It is always a pleasure to hear from you, even though we disagree on the fundamental issues. I respect your dedication to your cause, even though I might disagree with some of your views.
Increasingly, as I read your postings to me, almost on weekly basis, I begin to sense that you have elevated your ideological war by becoming very propagandistic in the way information is selected about the issues concerning Ijaw and Igbo relations. In the process, you are contradicting your positions in so many ways.
1. Ijaw Marginalization, Suppression, and Exploitation:
Even though there is an indisputable fact that the Ijaws and other minorities were severely marginalized in Eastern Nigeria, you refused to acknowledge the fact. Instead, you attempt to wipe out the historical fact by superimposing what is going on in the Niger Delta today on the past in an effort to create the impression that Eastern Nigeria was a paradise for all ethnic groups. Please read the article titled Again Agitation for Ogoja State stirs C/River, reported by Joseph Ushigiale on This Day of April 16, 2005. In the article, it is stated that one reason which led to the creation of states was the abuse of minorities in Eastern Region by the regional military government.
2. Throughout your commentaries, you have castigated the Ijaws for acting anti-Igbo. Yet, you have not made any effort to analyze the reasons why the Ijaws tend to act in that manner. An objective analyst will try very hard to find out or hypothesize or theorize about the reasons why the Ijaws behave the way they do. Of course, I know that you will never try to do so, fearful that the facts could unravel your ideological position. As a result, you feel more at ease hammering at the Ijaws without making any effort to find out the reasons for the behavior. As I stated before, the Ijaws do not hate the Igbos. However, the Ijaws are wary of being too close due to their bitter experience in Eastern Nigeria. If they were treated fairly, there is no doubt that the Ijaw behavior would have been different. You are quite familiar with this fact, yet, you do not want to acknowledge it.
3. Pictorial Images of Development: In the last one or two months, you have been sending me pictorial images of high-rises in Lagos, Abuja, Onitsha and other places and tried to compare them with the abject poverty in Ijawland. Although, you intended to mock the Ijaws the effort actually contradicted your positions. Contrary to your intended message, the pictures clearly support the indisputable fact that the IJAWs are marginalized, suppressed, and exploited; hence, even though the bulk of oil feeding the Nigerian stomach comes from their land, they are deprived from enjoying the fruits of their land. How do you explain the fact that the people from whose lands the bulk of the wealth of the country is derived from are the poorest and those whose lands have no such wealth are the richest. Please explain the logic to me. Therefore, you actually do the Ijaws a great favor by projecting the truth about what is going on in Nigeria. By so doing, you have given credence to the reasons why the Ijaws have been acting “aggressively,’ using your terminology. In fact, I will actually use your pictures to tell the world about what is going on in Nigeria
4. Lazy/Hard-working: On many occasions, you have inferred that the Ijaws are lazy; hence, their unquenchable appetite for trying to take other peoples lands, cities, and properties. On the other hand, you have repeatedly used the hyphenated word hard-work to describe other Nigerians, I still remember informing you that for the last thirty or more years, wealth in Nigeria has been accumulated not through ‘hard-work’ but through outright embezzlement of public funds, fake contracts, 419s, illegal drug dealing, and personal connections. Events in the last one or two months are proving me right. The BIG HARD-WORKING elements are being caught one after the other. Therefore, the fact that some one is a multibillionaire does not mean that the person is a hardworking citizen. Likewise, the fact that some ethnic territories are shining with modern high-rise buildings does not mean that the people are hard-working, especially, in NIGERIA. Most of those developments are the products of looted oil wealth that comes from the oil-producing states. You know it, I know it, and everyone in Nigeria knows it.
5. Ijaw Shakara: You used the word “SHAKARA” to describe the Ijaw effort to liberate themselves from the exploitative political and economic systems that have choked them. By using such a word, you are dismissing the fact that the Ijaws are being exploited and have a right to fight for their rights. In other words, you do not recognize the Ijaw right to a fair deal.
This is unfortunate because by dismissing the Ijaw effort, you are also dismissing the efforts of other oil-producing communities that are suffering like the Ijaws. In fact, barely a week after you made that statement, a Nigerian newspaper reported that militants at Aba had occupied an oil flow-station, complaining of marginalization by Shell. If you follow the news very closely, you will also realize that the oil producing communities in Igboland are also suffering from exploitation, marginalization, deprivation, and environmental pollution. In short, throughout the oil producing communities, the youths are restless and increasingly militant, whether in Ijaw or Igbo or Itsekiri or Isoko territory. Of course, you cannot accept this fact because acceptance will nullify your ideological position on Ijaw/Igbo relations.
Again, your “Shakara” actually contradicts your argument about the Ijaws being kicked in the anus. If you make the claim that the Ijaws are merely engaging in Shakara over oil, then you automatically nullify your argument that the Ijaws are being treated unfairly by their Hausa and Yoruba friends. It is not possible for someone being kicked in the anus to shakara. A person who is being kicked in the anus will fight to gain his/her rights. That is exactly what the Ijaws are doing, using political, legal, and militant means, depending on the circumstances, and not shakara.
6. Odioma: The Chicken has come to roost: Here, you have a right to your views. I cannot take that away from you. However, you are jumping the gun by presuming that the Ijaws had it coming to them since they joined the Yorubas and the Hausas against the Igbos during the civil war. The presumption is an oversimplification of the civil war situation. Again, if I may ask, why do you think that the Ijaws opted to be on the other side during the civil war? Don’t you think that the Ijaws felt oppressed and deprived in Eastern region, hence, their desire to unshackle themselves, at the time? Do not forget that the powers that be virulently opposed the Calabar Ogoja Rivers State, hence, many of the minority leaders ended up staying in Lagos, at the time.
You seem to say I told you so.” Again, if that is your presumption, it is inappropriate because the Ijaw experience in Nigeria has been very unrewarding. The Ijaw struggle for freedom began even before independence. They knew prophetically that a country dominated by three major ethnic groups would create political and economic problems for minority groups. That is why the Ijaws began to agitate for constitutional guarantees during the Willink Commission Hearing in 1958. The three ethnic groups opposed such guarantees and independence was rushed. Since independence, the minorities have suffered while the three major ethnic groups have dominated every facet of life in the country. Therefore, it is of no use trying to imply that the Ijaws would do better if they join one major ethnic group against another. Indeed, the Ijaw experience in Nigeria is a very bitter one. Balkanized into the Eastern and Western Regions, they were automatically rendered powerless.While they were utterly neglected in the East, in the West, particularly, around Warri, the Western regional leaders imposed the Itsekiris on the Ijaws and the Urhobos by superimposing the Olu of Itsekri as the Olu of Warri, even though Warri is made of three ethnic components. Apart from the regional neglect, the Federal Government has consistently ignored the Niger Delta while transferring wealth from the region to build other parts of the country. The high rise developments that you showed pictorially are products of federal policies intended to pauperize the Niger Delta so that wealth transfer can take place. Consequently, the issue of the chicken coming to roost does not arise. The Ijaws and the minorities will always pay a high price for being around three uncontrollable elephants in Nigeria. The situation is worsen by the fact that Ijawland is in the heart of the oil business.
7. WAZOBIA: In one of your recent commentaries, you vehemently denied the existence of WAZOBIA. Of course, territorially, there is no such thing as Wazobia. However, it is a political _expression intended to forge alliance among the three major ethnic groups. In the First Republic, the three ethnic groups conspired to dominate the three regions, to the exclusion of the minorities. A prominent Northern leader theorized the formation of the “Iron Triangle of Ethnic Politics in Nigeria” when he divided three major functional areas of Nigeria among the three ethnic groups. According to him, the Hausa-Fulani should control the political realm, the Yoruba should lord over the administrative realm and the Igbo should control the economic realm. During the short-lived National Identification Card program, efforts were made by some people to categorize every ethnic group in the country under the three major ethnic groups.
In the Fourth Republic, the three major ethnic groups continue to be the main beneficiaries of the oil revenue. Two years ago, the OPC, IPC, and the APC met to strategize and find common grounds. They did not invite movements from the minority groups to the conference. Do you notice that the position of the Senate President has been repeatedly given to someone from the South East zone? Do you notice that almost all the major banks in Nigeria are led by members of the three ethnic groups? In fact, there is a website devoted to WAZOBIA. Your denial of the alliance is not grounded in political reality.
8. Living in A Glass House: You seem to act like someone living in a glass house. You only see the problems in Ijawland without making any effort to see the problems in your own land. To me, that is a great flaw since it is capable of leading you to make erroneous assumptions. Your house is as problematic as my house. Consequently, in order for you to talk about my house, you must first take care of the problems in your own house. Honestly, for every bit of news story about Ijawland, I can also send you hundreds of news stories about the South-East but I do not want to engage in such a wasteful exercise. Every part of the country has problems. It is of no use since it does not contribute to communication. We need to communicate rather than throw mud so that both can understand each other’s positions.
9. Name Calling: Since we began to communicate, you have persistently use derogatory terms against me and the Ijaws generally. You have no qualms characterizing all Ijaw elites as fascists and hate-mongers. The Ijaw nation has been characterized by you as “terrorists, lazy, expansionists, land-grabbers, aggressors, occupiers, abandoned property, cowards who turned tail and run etc. Ijaw territory has been persistently referred to as a ‘Wasteland,’ godforsaken swamp etc. However, when I pointed out to you that the Ijaw topography is the most sought after property in the world (swampy and waterlogged coastlines like Florida, the Caribbean Islands, the Mississippi Delta, the European Mediterranean etc. I realized that you have stopped referring to Ijawland as a swampy wasteland. Moreover, you have persistently failed to answer my cardinal question about why migration is always downward, toward the ‘swamp’ and not toward the heavenly paradise of the ‘hardworking beings.’
10. Hausa and Yoruba Friends: I have noticed your increasing use of “your Hausa and Yoruba friends” in referring to the Ijaws. There is no doubt that your description is an exaggeration intended to magnify your argument. Your so-called “Ijaw friendship with the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba” is not greater than the friendship between the Igbo and the Hausa or Yoruba.
Please, look at the following facts:
a. In the First Republic (1960-66), the National Convention of Nigeria and the Cameroon (later, Citizens) (NCNC) formed alliance with the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) and ruled Nigeria. This is why Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the president and Alhaji Abubakar Tafewa Balewa became the prime minister.
b. After the January 15th military coup, Maj. Gen John Aguiyi Ironsi became the first military head of state in Nigeria. The North felt that the Unitary Decree initiated to centralize the country was intended at empowering the Eastern control of Nigeria, hence, the countercoup. Moreover, only military and political leaders from the North, West, and the Mid-West were eliminated in the abortive coup.
c. After the countercoup of July 29, 1966, the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba formed alliance to rule Nigeria. This relationship continued until 1979 when Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari.
d. After the civil war, Chief Ikemba returned from the Ivory Coast and joined the National Party of Nigeria.
e. In the Second Republic (1979 – 1983), the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) ruled. The president was Shagari and the vice president was Dr. Alex Ekwueme. This was an alliance of the Hausa/Fulani and the Igbo.
f. In December 1983, President Shagari was overthrown by the military. The Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba ruled again when Lt. Gen Muhammadu Buhari and Brig. General Idiagbon took over power.
g. In 1985, under the Third Republic, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida took over power. This was a mixed system of authority.
h. In August 1993, Ernest Shonekan and Gen. Sani Abacha took over under a caretaker regime after the departure of Gen. Babangida following the annulment of June 12, 1993.
i. Gen. Abacha staged an in-house coup to take over power from Shonekan and served as a full-fledged dictator. Here, the Yoruba and the Hausa/Kanuri alligned.
j. In the Fourth Republic, the three major ethnic groups are the main beneficiaries; hence, their members are the main policymaking and implementation groups. They have captured the financial market by being the controllers of the major banks in the country. They have also capture the bureaucracy which is the main apparatus for running the affairs of the nation. Politically speaking, he/she who controls the financial pulse and the governmental bureaucracy effectively controls the state.
k. During the presidential elections of 2003, the flag bearers of ANPP was Gen. Buhari and Dr. Chuba Okadigbo. The flag bearers for the APGA were Chief Ojukwu and a Northerner.
1. The South-East has a very sizable population in Yoruba and Hausa lands than the Ijaws. Chief Ani, please tell me, which ethnic group has benefited more by forming an alliance with the Hausa, is it the Ijaw or the Igbo? Has any Ijaw been appointed or selected as a vice president due to forming an alliance with either the Hausa or the Yoruba? It is obvious that the Igbos have formed a greater alliance with the Hausa than the Ijaw. Therefore, stop saying your ‘Yoruba and Hausa friends’ because it is a misrepresentation of the political facts. If the Hausa and the Yoruba were the friends of the Ijaws, why would they strangulate the economic and political aspirations of the Ijaws? Why did they send troops to destroy Odi and Odiama? Why do they refuse to annul the intolerable Land Use Decrees and the Petroleum Act? Why did it take more than forty years to create an Ijaw state when the Ijaws were one of the pioneering groups to agitate for the creation of states during the Willink Commission Hearing in 1958? The two states that have directly impacted the Ijaws most, namely, Rivers and Bayelsa, were created by Northern minority leaders – Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Abacha.
In any case, the Ijaws have a right at any moment in time to associate with any group for its strategic considerations, just like the Igbos, Yorubas, and Hausa/Fulanis etc.
11. The Value of Education: From your writings, I can deduce that you continue to put so much value on the notion that the accumulation of artificial intelligence is tantamount to good leadership.
As a result, you throw mud at Isaac Boro and Asari Dokubo. If I can recall, the late Sardauna of Sokoto made a mockery of that tired argument that good leadership must be based on the accumulation of Western education. My honorable friend, good leadership has nothing with the accumulation of Western education.
Therefore, whether a person completes a university degree or not is irrelevant to good leadership. I should remind you that in the 1960s, throughout Africa, it was generally theorized that the reason why Africa was not developing and modernizing enough was due to lack of trained manpower. On that basis, governments frantically sent their youths everywhere to attain Western education. After 40 years, with more educated elite, Nigeria seems to have more problems than when Nigeria had less educated people. In addition, in Nigeria, the Islamic North with less Western education has done better than Southern Nigeria with more education. Even today, the North continues to dominate the educated South. So, what does that say about your education? Northern leaders have developed a natural mastery of leadership skills than Southern leaders, with all their accumulated artificial intelligence in the form of Western education.
While you put so much stock on the acquisition of western education as a yardstick for able leadership, the Ijaws tend to divide intelligence into two: (1) natural intelligence and (2) artificial intelligence. Natural intelligence (kili kili) is associated with wisdom and artificial intelligence is associated with the programmatic acquisition of knowledge through education, especially, western education. Therefore, in Ijawland, even if a person has ten PhDs, if the person cannot demonstrate that he or she has natural intelligence, the person’s PhD would be considered worthless. On the other hand, if a person has natural intelligence and can use the wisdom very well, the person is viewed as being ‘sharp-minded.” Generally, good leaders have wisdom, not necessarily extensive artificial intelligence. A reading of the history of the world shows that some of the best leaders in history barely had any formalized education. Again, even the best of the scholars today still have much reverence for philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle etc. whose writings tended to be based on wisdom rather on formalized education.
Therefore, to argue that Ijaw leaders are semi-literate, hence, do not know what they are saying is a gargantuan oversimplification of what it takes to be a leader. Despite the oppressive political and economic environment that the Ijaws have been placed, Ijaw leaders have been able to paddle through the rough seas without having to entangle the ethnic group in a major politico-military disaster.
I do not think that the Ijaws will allow themselves to be misled by those who think that they are smart because they have acquired artificial intelligence that bears no resemblance to the reality on the ground. This is why Ijaw culture calls for humility, respect, honesty, and consensus, not based on arrogance and ego. The Ijaws appreciate both natural and artificial intelligence and encourage their youths to go to school, yet, they do not blindly put their faith on the view that leadership must be based strictly on the acquisition of artificial intelligence.
Again, good leadership has nothing to do with the acquisition of artificial intelligence. For example, Mr. Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University and became the owner of the richest and largest computer company in the world (Microsoft). By the way, Mr. Gates is not the first and will not be the last of those with natural intelligence that have changed the world. Mr. Henry Ford of the Ford Motor Company too was semi-literate, to use your words. Genghis Khan ruled over the largest empire in the entire world.
Perhaps, to conclude this section, it is necessary to retell a recent conversation. About two months ago, I had a conversation with a naturally gifted fellow from Okrika with extensive knowledge of the activities that transpired immediately before, during, and after the civil war of 1967-1970). He narrated that before the war, the civilian former governor of Eastern Nigeria, Dr. Francis Ibiam visited Okrika to seek support for the impending civil war. As he was addressing the crowd, an uneducated fisherman raised his hand to ask a question. When permitted to do so, he asked:
Who are you?
The governor responded by describing himself.
The fisherman asked, have you visited Okrika before?
The governor replied no.
The fisherman added, you are visiting us now because a war is coming. When there was no war, you never bothered to visit us. So, now that it is time to fight and die, you remember us.
The governor did not respond.
The fisherman continued, by the way, who started the killing of political and military leaders in the country to instigate the coming civil war?
The governor did not respond.
That was the end of the governor’s effort.
I am retelling this story to inform you that in Ijawland, the fact that a person does not have a college degree does not mean that the person is a nonentity. The fisherman, being an Ijaw, asked direct questions as any naturally gifted intelligent Ijaw person would do. Therefore, do not come to Ijawland and assume that due to lack of sufficiently acquired artificial intelligence, the people can be easily duped. Ijaw silence on any matter is always tactical and not based on foolishness or ignorance. That is why when they react, the process is volcanic.
12. Dismissive Attitude Toward Ijaw Concerns. Having communicated with you for sometime, I can say with much confidence that you have no regard whatsoever for Ijaw concerns at all. As a result, you have a tendency to off-handedly dismiss Ijaw concerns as if they do not matter. This behavior resembles the behavior of the Eastern Nigerian political establishment, which never took the minorities in Eastern Nigeria very seriously. This is unfortunate because the dismissive attitude makes it very difficult for inter-ethnic relations to develop or materialize in a positive manner.
13. Ijaw Origin: In your typical style, you quickly doubted the origins of the Ijaw ethnic group ‘since they do not relate to any of their neighbors.” Quite often, it is on this basis that you have characterized the Ijaws as aggressors. A little historical secret might help to clear the air. Quite contrary to your view that the Ijaws are strangers who try to grab other people’s lands, it actually makes more sense to say that other people have used their political connections to grab Ijaw lands in Nigeria.
Historically, the Ijaws are one of the oldest ethnic groups in West Africa. In fact, they were one of the earliest Oru settlers to settle in the Nigerian region.
The Ijaws claim their origin to the ancient Oru, one of the oldest African ethnic groups that inhabited the Nile Valley. The Igbo and the Yoruba too have Oru connections. The Oru people began to migrate when the Arabs started to advance toward Egypt and Sudan. The Oru migration toward Nigeria included settlements in the Lake Chad region, the Nupe, Borgu, and Bussa region of the Middle Belt, and later, Ile Ife. Oduduwa, an Oru religious priest and political leader, formed the first political dynasty in the Ile Ife region. Oduduwa’s real name is Adumu. Adumu is the Ijaw word for the python or boar constrictor. The religious order that Oduduwa was associated with had connections to the python/boar constrictor. His first son was called Ujo. Ujo was a military commander who led his followers to settle in the Benin area. Ujo left Benin and moved to the Niger Delta region.
Ujo can be identified as the immediate ancestor of the Ijaws because he helped to unite the Orus in the region and form the Ijaw nation. Later, Ujo’s younger brother, Igodo, left Ile Ife and settled in Benin. The first Benin kingdom is named after Igodo, the son of Adumu (Oduduwa) and the younger brother of Ujo, the founding immediate ancestor of the Ijaws. Another Adumu’s son, Nana, moved from Ile Ife and headed toward the present day Ghana. Likewise, the Beni people of Niger State and the Ijaws have strong Oru relationship.
Some of the earliest Benin towns and villages have Ijaw names due to the Ujo and Igodo settlements in Benin before the movement into the Niger Delta. In Ijaw, Ile Ife was called Wari Ife or Warige. One of the Ujo settlements in Benin is known as Uzama (Ujama) and Ogiama.
Of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria and elsewhere that owed their origins to the Oru/Kumoni people, only the Ijaws are now directly associated with the ancient people. The Ijaws continue to worship Oru, hence, the word “ORUKARI.” There is also a section of riverine Igboland that has some connection to the Oru people, hence, there is the Ohaji-Egbema/Oguta/Oru West Federal Constituency in Imo State. It is not a coincident that there is Ijaw Egbema and Igbo Egbema. It is believed that the branch of ancient Oru people which the Ijaws are connected with were highly spiritualistic or mystical and tended to live around riverine areas, hence, the modern Ijaws too tend to live around riverine topography.
As you can see, the Ijaw Oru are very ancient. Therefore, it is understandable they are in much conflict today with their neighbors. If territorial claims were to be made strictly on early settlements, the ancient Oru people of Nigeria will claim the right to all lands in the South-Western and the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
I am quite convinced that you will scream ‘Holy Mary’ and ‘Na lie o’ after reading this rough historical depiction. However, if you really care, you will know that Oduduwa was merely a nickname for Adumu. Likewise, the names Igodo, Adumu, Uzama etc. are still in current usage in Ijawland. The Ijaws also use the word ‘Ala’ and ‘Dani’ from which the Yoruba Alafin emerged. In some Ijaw clans, the python is considered to be sacred because it is connected to the Supreme Intelligence for which Oduduwa was a chief priest.
Please contemplate on these points very carefully. Of all the groups that are associated with the ancient Oru people, only the Ijaws are specifically referred to in Southern Nigeria today as Oru, Only the Ijaws worship Oru. Only the Ijaws have names for God that closely resembled the ancient Nile Valley names for God. Only the Ijaws openly regard their traditional religion as their major choice for worshipping God. The Ijaws continue to follow ancient religious traditions without feeling confused about it. The Ijaws continue to view their religious traditions as sacred, just like their ancient ancestors. Ijawland is filled with spiritual experiences that are associated with water. The Ijaws continue to use the word TEME which stands for creation and the soul or spirit, just as the ancient people.
In fact, there are many Ijaw settlements that have been taken over by other ethnic
groups in the region. Likewise, there are Ijaws who now speak Igbo. It should be noted that before and immediately after the civil war, the Ijaws used to allow others to settle in their lands without paying anything. After the Itsekiri and Ilaje experiences, there is no doubt that the Ijaws will no longer allow free settlements any more. The Ijaws have connections to the Kru people in Liberia. Due to intermarriages, there is extensive Ijaw relationship with the Isoko, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Riverine Igbos, the Yorubas, the Beni people in Niger State etc. Even though the language grouping might be different, interethnic relationships do exist among the neighbors.. It is fallacious to determine ethnic relationships based purely on linguistic similarities. When a man and a woman from two different ethnic groups marry and have children, the children bind the two ethnic groups together, in a relationship, regardless of language differences.
14; Itsekiri Nation: Since it is a given historical fact that the Ijaws and the Urhobos had existed before the emergence of the Itsekiri ethnic group, how can you justify the theory that Warri is an exclusive Itsekiri territory? The Ijaws and the Urhobos have existed in that territory for centuries, and the Itsekiri nation came into being in the fifteen century, therefore, by what logic can the new comer become the landlord of the territory? By the way, it is also an historical fact that the Olu of Itsekiri used to be known as the Olu of Itsekiri until Chief Obafemi Awolowo helped to turn it to the Olu of Warri. That political trickery helped immeasurably in laying the golden egg for the Warri conflict. You also find it almost impossible to accept the fact that the Ijaws and the Itsekiris have extensive relationship due to the Edo prince marrying an Ijaw to start his nation.
Please carefully read the history before rushing to attack me.
15. Warmongers: I do not take your characterization of the Ijaw as warmongers very seriously since you are not sure of your position on this matter. The reason being that you have called the Ijaws victims, warmongers, and cowards simultaneously. Again, it is not possible for one ethnic group to be three things at the same time. In other words, the Ijaws cannot be kicked in the anus, be aggressors, and cowards, all at once.
Generally, the Ijaws fight as a last resort when peaceful options have been exhausted. They are not likely to go to war when there is a possibility of negotiated settlement. The Ijaws are not afraid to change their minds if the circumstances change, due to ego. They will not fight if a war is not necessary. However, if war becomes the only available option, then war they will fight, as had happened in Warri. In Warri and Ondo State, they were kicked too many times and their willingness to wait for peaceful resolution of the political conflicts were viewed as a weakness. I bet that if not for the Itsekiri and Ilaje conflicts, you wouldn’t have known that the Ijaws also exist in those places. In the Okrika and Ogoni conflict, the border conflict has been going on for sometime, before the physical confrontation.
It appears that you are not happy with the fact that the Ijaws have made peace with the Ogoni, Ilaje and the Itsekiri people. You would have much preferred the conflicts to go on so that you can justify your views about the Ijaws. Sorry for the disappointment that the Ijaws are not willing to go or follow your road map. One thing is very clear, the Ijaws are fiercely independent and do not tolerate an unnecessary interference in their affairs. They are very proud of their cultural traditions. If the Ijaws were warmongers, they would not have waited over fifty years to forcefully express their rights.
15: Ijaw Elites: You have persistently attacked Ijaw elites for not dancing to your ideological road map for the Ijaw nation. You have also attacked them for leading the Ijaw masses astray. I can tell that you are not quite familiar with Ijaw culture. Ijawland is very decentralized and democratic. Decisions are made based on consensus. If any leader arbitrarily take a position and make a decision without proper consultation with the representatives of the people, that leader is going to immediately run into problems, regardless of his/her status in society. There will be an immediate protest against the decision. This is the cause of most intra-ethnic conflicts in Ijawland.
Furthermore, in Ijaw political culture, the notion of checks and balances is institutionalized. This means that the leaders are always checked by the representatives of the people and the elites are always checked by the youths in order to avoid unnecessary abuse of power. Traditionally, the elders are supposed to rule or lead. However, the youths are almost obligated to watch so that the elders do not abuse their positions. Thus, the youths watch over the elders and the elders watch over the youths. The youths do so by putting constant pressure on the elders and the elders make sure that the youths do not become recklessly irresponsible. If the youths feel that the elders are not performing according to expectations, the youths will threaten to take over and the elders will order the punishment of any youth that violates certain standards. It is not surprising that the Ijaws have the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC). The INC represents the elders and the IYC represents the youths.
Furthermore, the Ijaws are socialized to speak their minds due to a certain level of Socratic tendencies. If anyone misbehaves, someone will appear on the scene and talk sense into the person, including humiliating the person in order to lower the person’s ego. Thus, it is not uncommon for the most uneducated person to confront the most educated person and lashed at the person for not behaving in a certain way and it is not uncommon for the most educated person to lash at the most uneducated person. It is also not uncommon for the poorest person to confront the richest person and criticize the person and vice versa. That was exactly what happened at Okrika, as narrated above.
Therefore, Ijaw leaders are constantly under the watchful eyes of the people, particularly the youths. An Ijaw leader could be highly respected in one minute for acting in a certain way and seriously castigated in another minute for acting in a certain manner. Thus, the leaders are compelled to act in a certain way, in order not to offend the sensibilities of the people. Consequently, your views of the Ijaw elites are too simplistic and do not represent the cultural traditions. In Ijawland, therefore, the elites influence the masses and the masses influence the elites in a symbiotic relationship.
In peroration, I will draw your attention to the fact that due to the very ‘Hard working’ nature of Nigerians, $170 billion of the country’s wealth disappeared and ended in the private accounts of individuals between 1999 and 2003.
===========
Point Counterpoint: More Notes for Priye Torulagha - Mazi Kevin Ani
Thank you for your essay which held a great promise of answering some of the vexing issues in Ijaw-Igbo relations, the subject of our ongoing discussion. Just to put the whole matter in context, please note that most Igbo were minding their own businesses, trying to grapple with the challenges of everyday life in the failed state of Nigeria. No one disturbed your peace before you made an incredible debut into the political space with a highly partisan essay titled No War No Peace: the Great Issues of Eastern Nigeria. In that essay, you sought to demonise the Igbo and blamed them for everything that had gone wrong in Ijawland. You even ended up calling on obassanjo to intervene in order to halt or restrict Igbo freedom of movement which you saw as a threat to peace. It was this highly offensive essay that prompted us to continue to draw your attention to issues in the Nigerian political economy that daily contradict your deeply entrenched views. If you find these matters disquieting, why did you choose to stir up the issues in the first place? Perhaps you had thought that the Igbo would sit down and tolerate your vile propaganda which as you know is capable of inciting murderous hatred against their race. You are grossly mistaken, for this is not about to happen! Now permit us to respond as follows:
1. Ijaw Marginalization, Suppression, and Exploitation:
Throughout our discussion, the fact of Ijaw marginalisation and exploitation has never been contested. That marginalisation of course deserves utter condemnation. What is being debated is the nature and proportionality of Ijaw response to their plight. Of particular interest is Ijaw marginalisation in the Eastern region and their reaction to it in comparison to continuing Ijaw marginalisation and their reaction to the same phenomenon in the post-eastern region Nigeria. You have persistently referred to Ijaw bitter experience in eastern Nigeria which you once operationalised as the denial of development projects. For that reason, the Ijaw not only declared the secession of the Niger-delta republic, they also joined Hausa and Yoruba in a war that ultimately dismantled eastern Nigeria and freed the Ijaw from Igbo oppression. Fair enough.
The question you have persistently refused to answer relates to the proportionality of the Ijaw response to marginalisation and oppression. It has been pointed out to you that the eastern region lasted for a mere 6 years (1960-66). Whatever crimes the Igbo committed ended in 1967 and yet the hatred of Ijaw “bitter experience” persists till today. Ironically, the overthrow of the Igbo has not ended Ijaw oppression, by your own admission. Since 1967 to date, Ijaw marginalisation and oppression has in fact increased over 1000 fold and yet none of the actions and hatred which one has come to expect should accompany Ijaw oppression and marginalisation have been seen. For example, in one of your lucid moments, you claimed that US $170 billion of oil money disappeared and ended in the private accounts of individuals between 1999 and 2003, long after the fall of the Igbo and the eastern region. This amount is clearly over and above the budget of the eastern region throughout its existence, and yet no Niger-delta republic, no recounting of “bitter experiences” against the non-Igbo perpetrators of this crime, no nothing. This observation has led us to conclude that the charge of “Ijaw bitter experience in the eastern region” is just a convenient cover to rationalize your continuing rabid and virulent anti-Igbo hatred.
2. Pictorial Images of Development.
You lied in fact when you included Onitsha among the areas where there have been any developments. Onitsha today is in a state of decay, unless you are being sarcastic. The primary areas of contrast must be and have been Abuja (Hausaland) and Lagos (Yorubaland) where oil money has been heavily invested. The pictures of Abuja and Lagos are contrasted with the rape of Ijawland in order to demonstrate the futility of your position. These pictures dramatically illustrate the impoverishment of your ideas about Igbo oppression. If you are miffed about the images you see, do something about them, don't just sit there. And since you have been so bitter about oppression in the eastern region which lasted for a mere six years, one would expect a more robust action from you in view of the present long-lasting oppression which is pictorially illustrated. Why blame us for uncovering the truth about pictures that already available in the public domain? Ultimately the fact that the people from whose lands the bulk of the wealth of the country is derived from are the poorest and those whose lands have no such wealth are the richest is an exacting logic which only Umaru Dikko et al can answer and they have been doing so rather well lately without our help.
3. Lazy/Hard Working
The dichotomized category above is entirely your own creation, probably not worthy of further interrogation. For whatever it may be worth, please be reminded that the stock characterization of national groups in Nigeria was your idea in the first place. In your seminal essay already cited, you set the trend by portraying the entire Igbo as grasping, greedy coveters of Ijawlands whose hordes were migrating southwards “to seek access to the sea”, the ultimate threat to world peace, remember? You had no qualms when you wrote those lines but you have hurriedly become defensive when the role is reversed and you become the object of a national misrepresentation. If you feel miffed about these unfair representations, then in future, think long and hard before you tar an entire national group with the same brush. Your cynical construction notwithstanding, the Igbo are not about to sit there and stomach further racist caricatures which can in fact lead to their massacres in Nigeria as you are well aware.
4. Oil Shakara
Shakara, the Yoruba concept of pompous and pointless posturing is apt in describing the present state of fight over oil in Nigeria precisely because resource control flows from the barrel of the gun and the fuselage of Russian Migs. If you have them, flaunt them or shush. This is what Umaru Dikko, Yadudu, Mustafa et al have been telling you lot. Whether or not we recognise the Ijaw right to a fair deal is beside the point and would not influence the ultimate outcome of the ongoing saga. But at the risk of further infuriating you, let us re-state our argument:
Despite the pogroms that claimed over 100,000 Igbo lives in 1966, you lot have always insisted that the Biafran war (1966-70) was fought to control oil. By your own admission, one million lives were lost in that war. Biafra (read Igbo) lost while Nigeria (read Ijaw and their allies) won. The decision rule is simple: to the victor belong the spoils of war. You gloat over Igbo defeat and yet you continue to pretend that the winners of the oil war and their local and international supporters would give up oil control without a fight or just because somebody walked out of some blooming meeting. Can't you for once see the absurdity of your stance? If you want to control oil, go back to Russia and buy the latest Migs, go to Egypt and hire pilots and Britain to get arms, then fight to dislodge your former allies, the way Biafra and the Igbo were dislodged, otherwise na shakara loje! Your belated admission that Igboland is also suffering from exploitation, marginalization, deprivation, and environmental pollution is a contradiction and a great U-turn. Your usual mantra has always been that the Igbo were hell bent on controlling “the oil resources of the Niger-delta. It does not make sense -if the Igbo do indeed possess oil - to include the same Igbo as among your exploiters. If you now accept that Igboland does in fact possess oil, then you are making a great progress in your political geography lessons.
5. Odioma etc.
Once again, we did not utter this phrase, but when you ascribe the assertion “I told you so” to us in respect to the Odi and Odioma tragedies, you seem to forget that you richly deserve this response and the evidence is in your essay No war no peace. Therein you admitted that over 1 million Igbo lives were lost in the Biafran war (1967-70), but you blamed the Igbo for bringing it on to themselves. You scornfully dismissed the massacre of over 100,000 Igbo throughout Nigeria which sparked the war and praised the Nigerian army and its leaders- adekunle, obasanjo, muhammed etc. as nigerianists who joined forces with Ijaw youths to teach the Igbo a lesson (your phrase), remember? Is it surprising that now the same Nigerian army supported to the hilt by the Ijaw having gotten away with the murder of 1 million Igbo without any consequences whatsoever have graduated to a higher level of genocide and turned on their Ijaw former allies, destroying Odi, Odioma etc. with psychopathic impunity? Had the perpetrators of earlier Igbo genocide been punished, there would never have been Odi or Odioma.
It gives us no joy to say it, but the point at issue here is the need for you to think long and hard before you write certain things. Does Igbo opposition to state creation in the former eastern region justify your collusion in the murder of 1 million Igbo? Where is the proportionality? Perhaps your belated stance that it is of no use trying to imply that the Ijaws would do better if they join one major ethnic group against another would have served you well had you resisted the temptation to teach the Igbo a lesson by joining hands with the Hausa and Yoruba to murder over a million people in the period 1966-70. Why close the stable gate when the horse has bolted?
6. WAZOBIA
The idea of Wazobia is a convenient and self-serving slogan deployed by biased commentators like you to obfuscate the political realities on the ground in Nigeria. At one level, you admit that there is competition for state resources among the three components of your wazobia schema. Then you turn around and imply collusion among them. Please make up your mind, about which is which. In any case, the truth is that Ijaw intervention in Nigerian politics has always been aimed at removing the bia component of the wazobia schema. Not a few Ijaw gloated immediately after the war in the 1970s about the minoritization of the Igbo, an outcome for which they were greatly over-joyed. Seeing that the Igbo have not been minoritized, the discredited concept of wazobia is now chiefly used to obfuscate political realities in Nigeria. You claim that the Igbo have been minoritized and neutralized, yet by wheeling in the Igbo factor into the Ijaw oppression equation, you lot seek to escape the responsibility of confronting directly, the feudal forces that stole your oil, devastated your environment and stand vehemently opposed to resource control and other sanctified project of yours.
7. Living in a Glass House
Once again you are reminded that you started the present exchange with your essay No war no peace. And yes every corner of Nigeria has problems. The Efik for example are grappling with theirs (cf. Obong of Calabar etc.). But no Efik has written an article about "the great issues of eastern Nigeria", accusing the Igbo of everything from being landlocked to stealing their chicken. You did precisely that on behalf of the Ijaw thereby inviting a closer scrutiny of Igbo-Ijaw issues and a most robust interrogation of Ijaw vulnerabilities. I do agree that we need to communicate rather than throw mud so that both can understand each other’s positions. At the same time, such an understanding should not be misconstrued to mean that the Igbo seek alliances with you. Such an alliance would be a pointless waste of time. Even the material basis for it has evaporated after over 40 years of pillaging of your much vaunted oil wealth. So it is a case of to your tents o Israel!
8. Name Calling
Again the point of departure for this discussion was your essay No War, No Peace. In that essay, you set the tone for our subsequent correspondence when you characterized Igboland as landlocked, Igbo people as greedy land grabbers seeking access to the sea etc. Igbo leaders- Zik, Okpara, Ojukwu etc. were mercilessly ridiculed. That essay has been duly archived for reference purposes. Now you seem peeved when Ijawland was characterized as an inhospitable wasteland. You seem quite contented to sit down and demonise the Igbo and expect no proportionate response. Unfortunately, Igbo demonization quite often lead to Igbo massacres in Nigeria and would not be tolerated, even from you. Anyway transforming wetlands into sought after property can only be achieved through the free market, something that is anathema to you given the Igbo vigorous involvement in that department. While we are at it, your pet anti-Igbo taunt of being landlocked appears to have mysteriously disappeared from your lexicon since it was made clear to you that the introduction of hydro-politics in eastern Nigeria would expose your own vulnerabilities and that preventing Igbo access to the sea (your pet threat) would not be a priceless piece of cake.
9. Hausa and Yoruba Friends.
Your analysis here is quite interesting, possibly correct in some contexts. This is an interesting topic in the light of new developments in Nigeria arsing from the so-called political reforms conference. It is perhaps better to let Umaru Diko, Yadudu, Mustafa et al who have developed a natural mastery of leadership skills (your term), Yoruba Council of Elders, Babatope etc. to take us through this side of things as it develops. Suffice it to say that in the context of our discussion, you cannot honestly justify your role in the murder of over 1 million Igbo (1966-70) in the same way as you would an NDC/ NPC or NDC/AG and other political alliances. Although the full meaning of Awolowo and his Dina Commission in altering the revenue allocation formula that was inherited at independence, Petroleum Act, Land Use Decree are becoming clearer to you today, please do not forget that these were originally meant as Igbo containment measures which drew massive Ijaw support at one time. Whatever happened to the mantra go on with one Nigeria. What was one Nigeria if not altered revenue allocation, Petroleum act etc? Anyhow, how come you have not found fit in your numerous essays to comment on other fascist measures meant to stifle education and social development in Igboland after Biafra - quota system, federal character, educationally disadvantaged areas, boundary adjustment etc? Ostensibly these measures are acceptable as long as Ijaw remain unaffected by them. Shortly before he left office in 1978, Mr obasanjo in addition to the Land Use Decree rushed through a decree which banned the challenge of the abandoned property scam in the law courts in Nigeria. Where was the outrage? Zilch! Indeed, he was applauded by the Ijaw who were blissfully ignorant of the cunning man's antics. Of course I agree that the Ijaw have a right at any moment in time to associate with any group for its strategic considerations, but the Ijaw must also face up to the long-term consequences of such associations. Is that too much to ask?
10. The value of Education.
Once again you initiated the practice of pouring scorn at Igbo leaders, but when the Igbo responded, you start sulking. For example, Sir Francis Akanu Ibiam whom you have consistently and unjustly maligned was one of the most respected Igbo of all times. If you were to write half of the things you have written about Ibiam about Awolowo or any Hausa or Yoruba leader, god knows where you would be today. One thing is sure, you won’t live to tell the story. Asari Dokubo tried it on Awolowo recently and we saw what happened. You lot continue to abuse Igbo accommodating and lessez affair attitude in Nigeria often with disastrous consequences for yourselves. For example, under Gen. Ironsi, Isaac Boro, an Ijaw, was captured, tried and convicted in an open court for treason for which he was convicted to hang. Even though Ironsi could have easily hanged him, he (Ironsi) spared Boro and put him in protective custody, making sure that no harm came his way until Boro was released and murdered by the Hausa and Yoruba army. Ironsi and the Igbo never got any credit from you lot of course. By contrast, when Ken Saro-Wiwa tried the same under Abacha, we saw what happened to him. Unfortunately, the Igbo do not speak the language of utter brutality which seems to impresses you and your ilk. At least Dr Ibiam had that conversation with an uneducated fisherman at Okrika. I doubt whether you can say the same of your very model of good leadership, Sardauna of Sokoto, or the imperious obasanjo who recently told Efik/Ibbibio/Ijaw elders pointedly: “you are lazy”, and insulted traumatised victims of shell explosions by ordering them to shut up! Your memory seems to have failed here, but if the Igbo were involved, the hatred will last forever. Finally, it is good enough to sit pretty with your PhD and speculate about the value of non-education. If illiteracy were such a good a state to be in, why don’t you renounce your PhD (no you won't because you flaunt it at every opportunity) and head towards the polluted fishing ponds of the delta to lead? It is precisely this type of slick talk that cast doubts about your sincerity to the suffering masses of Ijawland.
11. Ijaw Origins
By going directly to your next point, we are ignoring your assertion about dismissive attitudes. It is sufficient to say that you displayed that attitude with careless abandon when you downplayed the bestial massacre of over 100, 000 Igbo prior to the Biafran war in 1966. You showed no sympathy at all. Instead, you blamed the Igbo for the war, accused them of fighting to control oil. You went further to justified the murder of additional 1 million under the guise of teaching the Igbo a lesson (your exact phrase). Besides, you initiated the concept of abandoned property, thereby pioneering the idea that one can be a citizen to a state but the state cannot protect ones life and property, an idea which Umaru Dikko, Yadudu et al have developed to fine art in Nigeria today. From here onwards ethnic relations have taken on a different and difficult meaning which cannot be glossed over or romanticised.
With regards to Ijaw origins, please note that the whole idea that the Ijaw do not relate to any of their neighbours and do not belong to the area is entirely yours. This idea has been pushed by other senseless zealots seeking immediate financial gains to the detriment of Ijaw strategic interests. Sane Ijaw voices have been crowded out or simply pushed aside. Thus in the height of anti-Igbo riots in Kaduna and parts of northern Nigeria not long ago, one Ijaw group took out a newspaper advertorial in which they claimed that the Ijaw had no “affiliation with the Ibo” (sic). An elderly Ijaw who urged caution on the issue was shouted down and brushed aside. Where were you then? Your new claims (Ijaw as relations of Yoruba etc. my-o-my!) are designed to reflect the political realities on the ground in the true tradition of situational ethnicity, not surprising at all. We hope you will (at some future date when the Igbo acquire the much coveted presidential power) be willing to revisit the history of the eastern delta where concerted effort is being made to obfuscate Igbo-Ijaw relations in line with post-war political expediency. In any case, your newfound ethnic relationship theory offers no consolation to the victims of your earlier belligerence; it did not prevent you from seeking to expel the Itsekiri from their ancestral lands, until the OPC intervened. But for whatever it may be worth, your assertion regarding language and interethnic relationships among neighbours represents a dramatic u-turn from the inept macho concept of all-conquering -Ijaw-with -no -relationship -with -their -neighbours -except -no –war-no peace which you were pushing relentlessly. I suggest you take your new sermon on ethnic relations in southern Nigeria to your people as you evaluate Igbo-Ijaw relations in Nigeria in your head before you put out a new essay.
You have written a rather long essay and we admire your tenacious defence of your cause. If you would apply the same rigour with which you address the perceived injustice against the Ijaw to issues affecting your neighbours, you would begin to understand where the Igbo are coming from when they talk about issues of abandoned property, pogroms, genocide and war. Until you acknowledge the pains of others, your plea for an understanding of your condition will ring hollow. Please note further that the days are gone when the Igbo would sit down and stomach vile propaganda from you lot. In Nigeria, history has shown that if such misinformation goes unchallenged, they fester until they stir up intense hatred leading to ethnic cleansing against Igbo people. Sorry if we have not conformed to your imagery of the docile, turn-the-other-cheek Igbo. But if our intervention has prompted you to pay closer attention to what you write about the Igbo and others, then we have made some progress in inter-ethnic relations in Nigeria. We hope you will give our response the same publicity as you gave your supposed rebuttal.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
quote:Even though there is an indisputable fact that the Ijaws and other minorities were severely marginalized in Eastern Nigeria, you refused to acknowledge the fact. Instead, you attempt to wipe out the historical fact by superimposing what is going on in the Niger Delta today on the past in an effort to create the impression that Eastern Nigeria was a paradise for all ethnic groups. Please read the article titled Again Agitation for Ogoja State stirs C/River, reported by Joseph Ushigiale on This Day of April 16, 2005. In the article, it is stated that one reason which led to the creation of states was the abuse of minorities in Eastern Region by the regional military government.
We are to believe this indisputable bunkum without any indisputable proof? Nothing short of primitive nonsense would qualify this article. If these ijaws were “severely” mistreated by the then Eastern government led by the Igbo, how far have they faired in the hands of their lords since the end of the war they stupidly supported against the Igbo? Who is the pint brain that proffered the reason of state creations by the arab north being the “abuse” of minorities by the Igbo? Does this brain-dead fool not know that the reason gowon and his evil henchmen created states was to DIVIDE the Igbo area and satiate our ijaw neighbors into fully supporting the genocide against the Igbo? Check this mess out; “it is stated that one reason which led to the creation of states was the abuse of minorities in Eastern Region by the regional military government.” The dummy believed this reckless crap even when no citation of such abuse was recorded anywhere? How difficult is it to list all these imaginary abuses? The Igbo have endured these types of negative propaganda that no one from the ijaw area is smart enough to condemn on a daily basis. I guess they’re doing ‘exceptionally’ better now that their awusa lords are lording them underground. How many times did then Eastern government carry destructive raids of their towns and villages? How many of their folks were denied access to education that was available to the Igbo? Ken saro-wiwa, Prof Tam David-West and many others were able to secure scholarships that were available on merit to anyone with the brains. In the years to come these wicked liars will in their usual way tell a lie to their clueless offspring that the Igbo were responsible for the denial of their request for 25% resource control. Something many of us (Igbo) have written in support of.
quote:However, the Ijaws are wary of being too close due to their bitter experience in Eastern Nigeria. If they were treated fairly, there is no doubt that the Ijaw behavior would have been different. You are quite familiar with this fact, yet, you do not want to acknowledge it.
What are those “bitter experiences” for God’s sake?? How could one (Kevin Ani) acknowledge something that exists only in Priye’s mind? Someone please tell this dude that the onus to show the world these bad experiences in the hands of the Igbo falls squarely on him and no one else. What’s going on here?
quote:Although, you intended to mock the Ijaws the effort actually contradicted your positions. Contrary to your intended message, the pictures clearly support the indisputable fact that the IJAWs are marginalized, suppressed, and exploited; hence, even though the bulk of oil feeding the Nigerian stomach comes from their land, they are deprived from enjoying the fruits of their land. How do you explain the fact that the people from whose lands the bulk of the wealth of the country is derived from are the poorest and those whose lands have no such wealth are the richest.
Until Priye learns the difference between mocking exchange and sympathetic one, I suggest he quit responding to articles that he does not fully grasp. The pictorials were in my strong opinion meant to awaken his intellectual side to see that the awusa that he, Priye and his people worshipped are the ones responsible for their adversities. His “how do you...” blah blah blah was directed at the wrong guy, he should rather ask the arab north who are responsible for their setbacks that and not Mazi Ani.
I HAVE TO ADMIT I CUT MY READING OF PRIYE’S BOOK SHORT BASED ON ITS OFFENSIVENESS. I FOUND HIS NONESENSE HIGHLY INSULTING AS SUCH I DIDN’T CARE TO READ THROUGH THE END.
___________________ BIAFRA: The land of my ancestors now, yesterday and always. So it will be! Posts: 2482 | From: Ala Igbo | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged
olusegun obasanjo has said that the walk out of the Niger Delta delegates at the recently collapsed conference was "Unfortunate", as in "Too Bad: the british sponsored yoroba/hausa occupation of oil fields in Biafra must continue." I take it you're applauding the leadership skills of the rogue yoroba strongman; afterall ndiIgbo are paying for Ijaw "bitter experience" in Eastern Nigeria. No?
___________________ achieve Biafra and show the difference Posts: 642 | From: Los Angeles, CA | Registered: Nov 2002
| IP: Logged
posted
It is also true the Igbo’s were responsible for Adaka Boro demise. It is also true the Igbo’s were responsible for Wiwa demise, even if he went to Enugu to apologise to them. It is true there is no oil in Igbo land. It is true the majority of the Ijaw’s, don’t have Igbo blood. It is true it is because of marginalization, the first Biafran Airforce chief, ran to Nigeria. It is true that Port-Harcourt is not an Igbo land. It is true the Opkara government did not develop PH, starting with the Industrial unit the city. It is true the Igbo’s are responsible that the area is in a sorry state today. It is true the North financed oil exploration in the East – courtesy Dikko It true Shell first established in Ijaw land, not in Owerri. The truth can go on and on.
What can you tell a man, the Ijaw nation that is living in denial – the answer my friends is blowing in the wind.
Hot air Priye Torulagha.
Keep blaming the Igbo’s for your despair.
Unfortunately, the Igbo’s are not doing any better; nonetheless they are not blaming the so-called minorities.
posted
Bottom line, Ijaw people came to nigeria from Ghana about 200 years ago on a fishing expedition and need to go back to their country. When you talk with the Urhobo and Itsekiri people, they will tell you stories of how and why the Ijaws are spread all over the niger delta. Once you give them a small docking land, they spread like locust.
___________________ Feel me? Ofu onye ana asi unu abia go. - Ednut Igbo-American . www.airamericaradio.com visit her. Posts: 2447 | From: Mother Earth | Registered: Mar 2001
| IP: Logged
posted
Priye Torulagha political ethnicity is classic case of ijaw man burden.
First, you ignore basic facts - who you are? who your immediate neighbour are? who those that live in the desert are? Why Priye?
The answer Priye is your leadership. And thier propaganda. Edwin clark has done the ijaw a death -political propaganda has only confused ijaw youth.
Population fiction. Historical dreams.
This confusion came clear to me in an encounter at chicago I had with a brass man from Bayelsa. We talked about when we last set feet in biafranigeria.He said that he was back recently to visist his uncle who was married to an ikwerre woman. He said the name of the ikwerre woman and i said, " oh, she is igbo". He said she was not igbo -i told him to ask his new auntie or uncle - if he spoke igbo. He then said to me, strangely, that when he went to Bonny, his counsins could not speak to the people because they said everybody was speaking igbo.
This young man had lived most of his life in the USA. But through Edwin Clark propaganda, whilst chopping money from the people exploiting ijaw people, this man became confused what is what?.
After the political conference, this Clark then say after attacking anything igbo for 30 years, that the south east was the only support they got and the south west did support them. This is after Priye and other propagandist had claimed that they came from Ife via Nupe - therefore implying that they are yoruba and possibly nothern ( may be Hausa/Nupe). May be soon this people will claim to be fulani- oh no, may be not. That would mean that they are settlers.
I hail the the true sons of ijaw, mukoro, umukoro and other ijaws who fought the coloniser and died in the 1991. May yours souls rest in peace.
Either you are willing to fight and die, therefore win your freedom or not – please lets not talk about the fools trying to con money in the creeks.
Hundreds of thousands may die but at least you wiil be free. Time is running out, 20 years and counting.
___________________ Lagos state is where it is at. Posts: 28 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
Why this sudden population change? From 1 million to 10 million in fifty years. If that the case then the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa Fulani would be 100 million each. Is biafranigeria with a population of 400 million now?
Again Priye in some of his propaganda articles uses a term "IGBO SPEAKING BUT POLITICAL IJAW". In the above article he says "Likewise, there are Ijaws who now speak Igbo". The question is how come, propagandist? If the ijaw need population, they should ask the only one of the big 3 with kin in the south south.
___________________ Lagos state is where it is at. Posts: 28 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged
posted
The Ijaw experience under yoroba/hausa rule.
Chief Ani,
Are you denying the fact that all the major banks in Nigeria are controlled by members of the three major ethnic groups? Read the newspapers and check the names of the owners, board of directors and managing directors. Where did they get the billions of naira to open all those banks? Which product or economic activities did they engage in order to accumulate all the billions needed to open multibillion naira banks? Of course, the answer is simple! Looted oil money. This means that a day could come when some people would have to account for where they accumulated their wealth. The Ijaws never forget.
You keep focusing on Ijaw/Igbo political relations without mentioning Ijaw experience in Eastern Nigeria. You do not want to accept the fact that Ijaw political experience greatly influenced Ijaw decisions during the war. If Ijaw experience in Eastern Nigeria was a positive one, Ijaw position on the civil war would have been very different. You intentionally ignore this reality in order to justify your ideological view of Ijaw/Igbo relations. I might even add that the other minorities too had a negative experience in Eastern Region, hence, the decision they took. Similarly, the minority groups in the former Mid-West reacted the way they did due to the consipracy and the destabilization of the ethnic balance of power that had existed in the region. Please, read the interview provided by Ret. Gen. David Ejoor, former governor of the Mid-Western Region region before he was forced to flee.
You are right, Eastern Nigeria existed only for six years. It is also a fact that the region did not have enough resources. However, the attitude of the leaders made the situation worse than expected. As far as they were concerned, the Ijaws were merely "MBAMINI' and nothing more. That attiude added salt to injury. The Ijaws will never forget that attitude.
As you can see, the Hausa-Fulani are displaying that attitude since they are the predominant power-wielding group in the country.
If you are really interested in the facts, then provide all the details and not snap shot propagandistic images to buttress your position. Tell the reader why the Ijaws and other minorities in the region took the position they did.
The question of whether the Ijaws are better of now or before is irrelevent because Ijaw experience in Nigeria had always been a negative one, going way back to the time the British arrived at Ijaw territory. The British deported a number of Ijaw leaders, imposed the Royal Niger Company, and helped to balkanize the ethnic group. The three major ethnic groups then attempted variously to devour the ethnic group through policies, actions, and inactions that deprived the ethnic group the ability to grow.
Consequently, it is of no use trying to say or imply that the Ijaws will be better off being in one camp or another.
For now, you can laugh to your hearts desire. Eastern Ngerian leaders used to laugh at the Mbamini people.
"...on the one hand, you gloat over the Ijaw destruction of ACB (i.e. you took over the collaterals for its loans as abandoned property), on the other hand you accuse the Igbo of owning banks. What exactly do you want? Na which one you dee so?...
"...Rather than confront the Yoruba and Hausa for looting your oil money, you shamelessly claim common origin with the Yoruba because they are in power. Next, you will claim to be the first cousin of the Saduana himself, if "Alhaji" Dokubo has not already done so. No wonder Umaru Dikko called you cowards..." Ani
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sir Priye,
Your ability to fudge issues is legendary. I have said it to you before and I say it again: you are wasting your talents in America. You could be pacified quite easily with a fishing boat if you simply go home and join the propaganda department of some Izon group "fighting" for resource control or even create your own. Alternatively, you could be cruising around in "the glory of all lands" with a Japanese SUV with your propaganda skill of skipping real issues and chasing shadows.
1. Umaru Diko is kicking your butts, Yadudu is feeding you through the anus, Mustapha is calling you senseless and yet you continue to rant about some blooming Ijaw experience in Eastern Nigeria. When are you going to start living in the real world? The Ijaw are not being asked to change their decision about the civil (sic) war. What they are being asked to do is to face the consequences of their choice and stop moaning like wimps. The decision rule is simple and straight forward: to the victor belong the spoils.
2. Ejoor? Yeah right. A cat with nine lives. The man who walked to Lagos, stood there while Biafran soldiers opened fire with Ak 47 on him! The man stopped Ironsi and saved nigeria, even though as a junior officer, a small boy, he could not even stand before Gen. Ironsi (aka Ironside) in the days before the nigerian army was bastardized (Yoruba Generals kneeling and crying before Hausa majors!). What a load of crap!
The trouble with you lot is that you would not admit your error and so you compou
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
