I have followed on Facebook the Frances Ashley Media video recording of the review of the new book authored by Hon Chudi Offodile titled, THE POLITICS OF BIAFRA. I believe that Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo did an excellent job of it. Anyone who left the venue still unenlightened and without a burning desire, nay hunger, to lay hands on the book, must gave slept through the entire event.
I was stung by Soludo's accusation that the Igbo intelligentsia, especially the monied elite, have resolutely stayed away from committing to the struggle one way or the other. Most have shied away even from the very necessary intellectual dicussions that should attend such a major potential shift in the way "Nigerians" will relate to one another going forward into the next half century.
I was stung by Soludo's accusation that the Igbo intelligentsia, especially the monied elite, have resolutely stayed away from committing to the struggle one way or the other. Most have shied away even from the very necessary intellectual dicussions that should attend such a major potential shift in the way "Nigerians" will relate to one another going forward into the next half century.
Based on where I am coming from personally, I felt quite sad. I have been in this fray long enough. My younger colleagues at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, 50year-olds and younger have routinely asked me, "Are you not worried or afraid?" I have always wondered why I should. Somalia's Nurudden Farrah has remained my model.
I am shocked that it needed a Soludo to remind otherwise educated folks about the ECOWAS protocols. Some people just don't read or listen to the news. In one of my writings I had to remind anyone who would listen that many Ndigbo who relocated to Benin Republic, Gabon, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire etc in 1967 have to date yet to make any moves whatsoever to run back to Igboland. How and why would anyone expect an Exodus of Ndigbo from whatever is left of Nigeria if indeed a decision is made that a partition is the best way to engender progress? Unless a new pogrom is in the works. Is there?
Most Nigerians agree without equivocation that we are not making any headway in the present structure. The category of our people, whom Soludo described with dismay, do not understand that the IPOB movement, valid/viable or not, has nothing to do with property. The general thinking has remained essentially pedestrian.
Why would anyone, because of these not so recent developments, worry about his properties in Abuja or Lagos, when the same individuals had six months earlier perfected their titles to properties in Dubai, Adelaide and Cape Town? If there are some things wrong with the extant laws governing property rights, then we should get them fixed. It should have nothing to do with Biafra. We have Ghanaians, Togolese and Liberian living among us for goodness sake.
Between 1957 and 1977 in Ogui section of Enugu, the Coal City, we had as neighbour one Alhaji Hassan, a Senegalese. He resided on his own property on Carter Street with his large family. But for the 1967/67 political crisis we never would have known that he wasn't Nigerian! One other thing was that the animus extended at that time to the generality of Ndi-Awusa was not extended to Alhaji Hassan. He was simply one of us, albeit understandably worried. That's the way it was. I understand that such pockets of amity, accommodation and assimilation are not exactly strange in Southern Nigeria. Umuahia in Abia State probably stands out. There are others. However in the north, Ndigbo, who constitute the lightening rod for everything south, (apologies to Dr Ike Okonta), have been living on tenterhooks for as long as I can remember. I am 68 years of age and therefore should know. I have done a followup to the brilliant article on this topic by budding writer Ms Jennifer Chinenye Emelife. She wrote on HOW TO SURVIVE THE NORTH.
I can forgive the typical Igbo money-miss-road for his narrow world view. However what do you say about those that I regard as my colleagues? They've been to the best schools in the world, worked in high positions in top-notch companies across the entire globe including The World Bank, have an elevated understanding of The Law, but simply because of a property in Lekki they lose it. They cannot stick their necks out to address national drift. Excuse me! Readers may racall my three year old brief article on Nigeria's Elite and Revolution. The conclusions can be strictly applied here to Ndigbo elite. What more can I add?
Finally, what kind of response has this book review by Soludo elicited so far from Ndigbo? I recall the aphorism, "He who pays the piper, etc . ." Hence I would want to ignore the way The Authority, headlined it's report with "Ifeanyi Ubah said, bla, bla. . " I found that to be an unnecessary distraction when serious matters are on the table. It is not everyday that you get a Prof Soludo to talk to us earthlings. What does Ifeanyi Ubah know? We might as well invite Chris. . Lol.
I will conclude (for now) by drawing attention to one of my earlier contributions.
Is Nnamdi Kanu a Hypocrite? – Writers War Roomhttp://writerswarroom.com/2016/08/27/is-nnamdi-kanu-a-hypocrite/
For some people it may throw more light on the real issues at stake. Definitely not landed property.
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