The following is the concluding part of Alkasum Abba’s cerebral piece in which he takes us through the ‘sins’ of the independence constitution of 1963, which installed a deliberately defective regional political structure, the un-acceptability of ethnic politics and why IPOB, like old Biafra, will fail. Abba is a history lecturer at Bayero University, Kano.
“This is in stark contrast to the conduct of the Second Republic politicians who after the experience of the dangers of regionalism in the First Republic tried to maintain national outlook as enshrined by the 1979 Constitution, by refusing to operate under regional political platforms through the establishment of Progressive Governors’ Forum, which cut across the Regions as opposition to the ruling NPN government. They did not in the Second Republic establish regional political blocks as their current colleagues are busy doing.
“The claim that the Presidential system is expensive has no basis because it is the elected leaders that came into office in 1999 that fixed the salaries and allowances of political office holders far beyond the salaries and standard of living of the people of Nigeria. This can be corrected because the Second Republic politicians did not earn huge salaries and allowances. Part of the problem also has to do with the fact that the political parties are very weak and exert little or no control over the excesses of elected members on their platforms, at both the executive and legislative levels. To stop this we need to organize political parties based on programmes, principle and ideologies.
Fallacy of Ethnic Politics
I want to say that attempts [in the past] to build politics on the basis of ethnic nationalities had failed. So, we need to draw lessons from what had happened. Perhaps, the best example is the case of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. In 1945, Chief Awolowo, along with Professor Biobaku and Dr. Oni Akerele, established, in London, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the society of the descendents of Oduduwa], with the sole purpose of uniting all Yoruba people, irrespective of class and other interests. In his autobiography, “When We Were Young”, University Press, Ibadan, 1992, Professor S. O. Bio Bakugan revealed how the name came to him: “I recall our traditional history which had linked the Itsekiri to the Oba of Benin, a descendent of Oduduwa and progenitor of the Yoruba people and so I had a flash of inspiration that a name which would embrace all of us in Western part of Nigeria was ‘Oduduwa’. [p. 126]
This was not the first ethnic association in Nigeria but it was the first one to be set up for political purposes. In 1948, the Egbe was re-launched in Lagos under the leadership of another conservative Lagos elite, Chief Bode Thomas. One of the goals of the organization was to see how they could detach young, radical Yoruba youth from the radical politics of the NCNC. [CO583/287 The Archives, Kew, London and West African Pilot 21st May 1948]. Then in 1951 Chief Awolowo launched the Action Group as the political wing of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, to contest the forthcoming election in the Western Region alone, as the representative of the Yoruba people. The outcome of the 1951 election shocked him, because the AG was able to win just 29 out of 80 seats into the Western Region House of Assembly. The NCNC won 35 seats and 16 seats were secured by smaller political parties. The AG was able to form Government only after obtaining the support of the 16 smaller parties, with the help of the British who wanted regional politics to take off, by ensuring the defeat of the NCNC in the Western Region.
Although the politicians in the AG appointed themselves as Yoruba representatives, the Yoruba electorate did not see AG as their representatives. This rejection of the AG by the Yoruba electorate was extended to the Federal election of 1954 where the NCNC, again defeated the AG when it secured 23 seats against the latter’s 18. Soon after this election, Chief Awolowo and his colleagues realized the fallacy and limitations of ethnic politics and therefore, opened up the Action Group for non-Yoruba to join. This was what made it possible for the AG to expand its political activities to both the Northern and Eastern Regions and became a national party as against its initial conception of being just a Yoruba tribal party.
The example of the poor electoral performance of the Action Group in the Western Region, in the period 1951-1956, is a clear indication that self appointed tribal champions do not represent the people they claim to represent. The representatives of the people of Nigeria are found in the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and the Local Government Councils in addition to the executive arms of government. Anyone who wants to speak for the people should secure their mandate through an election but not by self declaration.
IPOB and Biafra
IPOB does not represent anything near the political and military advantages which Lt. Col Ojukwu had in the period 1966-1967. It is merely trying to organize an insurrection just like the Boko Haram. While Boko Haram is an extremist religious organization, IPOB is an ethnic, chauvinist organization and both of them can only inflict pain, sufferings, death and destruction to our polity.
It is important to also note that countries managed such instability for decades; like FARC rebellion in Colombia, which lasted for about 60 years and the rebel organization had at one time controlled about 25% of the land area of the country, but its insurgency ended with a negotiated settlement a few years ago. Even Boko Haram was at one time controlling several Local Government Areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States but now they are just running around the Sambisa forest area, operating guerilla tactics of war fare. What is even more significant to note is that IPOB does not have the dream Biafra of Ojukwu because the experience of the minorities in the Eastern Region made them realize that Biafra was a limited project even before it was formally inaugurated in 1967. It is obvious that no minority in the former Eastern Region will support the resurrection of Biafra.”
Abba’s conclusion: “Any attempt to campaign for restructuring of the political institutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on ignorance and falsehood will not be successful. It is important we draw important lessons from our history in order to be able to correct defects identified in our Constitution. Using the media, including the Social Media to campaign for the dismemberment of Nigeria will not be successful because the people who are doing it have no relevance or roots in our political space. Join the institutions of Government to change the structure of Government; you cannot do it from the outside.” [Concluded]
