Armed Words: Totalitarianism of Igbo Marginalization (A letter from Adaigbo to Wole Balogun)

I have delayed this article for two reasons. One- that I may come off as ill-mannered and tribalistic. Two- I may lose the little viewership that keeps me going. As matter of the former, people tend to feel a certain sense of entitlement when I write, most of whom I probably don’t even know- anonymous blog commenters.

I want to assert that before being Nigerian, I am an Igbo girl, fast turning into a woman. And, if being defensive of Ndigbo (my people) makes me racist, tribalistic or bigoted, I wear that label with pride.
I wrote this as a reply to an article published at the back page of Sun Newspapers on 20th October, 2018 titled Atiku/Obi ticket: S’West Igbo leader to Ndigbo: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket by Wole Balogun.

In Balogun’s article, he ascertains that Ndigbo are politically unintelligent, outright unsmart by putting all their eggs in one basket. The “basket” of whom I suppose should be Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. This article is favored of neither APC nor PDP. I’m no Buhari or Atiku stan.  

Balogun, being realistic, the real reason Buhari lost in Alaigbo is non-other than- Igbo’s don’t like Buhari. A good number of us may be scared to say it, but Ndigbo have never liked Buhari. This didn’t originate when he became President in 2015. Our forefathers never liked him either, history has it that he singlehandedly led a battalion against Ndigbo during the Nigeria-Biafra war that lasted from 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, killing our Igbo brothers and sisters in their thousands. Speaking on BBC Hausa some years ago he said Igbos dislike him for what happened during the Biafran war. His exact words and I quote, "I don't have any regret, and at such do not owe any apology to them, in fact if there is a repeat of the civil war again, I will kill more Igbos to save the country." This to me doesn’t sound like an appropriate statement of an individual that is aspiring to rule the whole country and not a segment of it.

You see, Balogun, unlike the Yoruba’s, an Igbo man has no fragmented personalities. No Igbo person will tell you one thing and do another. Neither will an Igbo person bail on you behind your back. I may wrong but a classical example is- The Handshake across the Niger, a conference held in Enugu between top Igbo and Yoruba leaders in a bid to create common ground themed, “Nigeria Beyond Oil.” The Yoruba’s, after “oath-taking” and assuring Ndigbo that they shared the so-called common ground still split their votes between the APC and PDP in hopes of not losing both ends et cum their brother, the Professor of law, Prof Yemi Osinbajo strengthening their hold on the incumbent. If this isn’t betrayal, I don’t know what is. 
I understand that Westerners like you have already started to sympathize with us. I also understand that this “sympathetism” isn’t out of genuine love but mockery towards us. Afterall, No Restructuring, No Biafra. One step, four steps backwards.  

Additionally, few days after the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari emerged, the national dailies had it and I quote, “2019 would be tough.” According to Online Cambridge English Dictionary (dictionary.cambridge.org) the word, “tough” means able to endure hardship or pain. Which in essence if I’m correct means, more pain, hardship and struggles for Nigerians, a nation that you, Balogun, I belong to.

I may be wrong to misrepresent Mr. President’s opinions but words are words. My Question is; What exactly would be tougher than being dragged into recession and made poverty capital of the world? What would be worse than Fulani herders raping our sisters and maiming our brothers? What would be worse than 87 million Nigerians trapped in abject poverty? What would be worse than 21 million jobless Youths? What would be more than seeing 9 million out-of-school children? The highest anywhere in the world. What would be worse than hazard prices of foodstuff that we somehow could still afford? Truth be told, things never got better. We only learned to adapt to brash situations. 

Mr. Balogun, permit me to speak for the average Igbo citizen, the class in which I belong to. For more than 50 years, Ndigbo have suffered systematic marginalization in the hands of FG. Igbo marginalization is and has always being a structured part of the institutional architecture of Nigeria. Firstly, South East is the only zone in Nigeria with 5 states. Meanwhile, the zone contributes 32% to the Nations GDP.  Don’t be quick to forget that zones with more states and LGs get more revenue allocations, more slots for appointment, recruitment placement and school admissions. 
In the Senate, South East has a total of 15 Senators with North West at 21 Senators, Other zones with 18 Senators. Yet, decision in the Senate is made by one man, one vote. 
That brings me to the issue Railway allocation. If we actually practiced true federalism, why does the Railway pass through all corridors of Nigeria, including Niger Republic but not South East? Yet, South-East would-be part of the zones paying for the loan used to construct the Railway. 
In the analysis of oil block allocation, the exclusion of Ndigbo is crystal clear. How many Igbo’s oil blocks? The issue of oil is crucial because oil has since become the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. Excluding Ndigbo is a major form of Economic Strangulation.

Sorry to bother you, Mr. Balogun, but how many Igbo’s sit in the security council? 1? 2? None actually.
I could go on and on, but my article has already exceeded a thousand words. The truth is, South East has been left to essentially fend for itself with only little or no federal attention. In fact, if you deduct what Igbo’s have been able to do for themselves through self-help, what is left would be shocking. 

Thus far, all these happened but Ndigbo somehow managed to pull through. No Igbo person was born with fear of economic survival. Igbo’s will send their children to school. Ndigbo will put food on the table. An Igbo man will find a way to transform stone to money. An Igbo man must survive. Lamentably, I can’t say the same for Almajiris and the rest of the 9 Million out of school children in Northern Nigeria who live like orphans without hope for a second meal. They are the real people who need your sympathy, not us.

*drops pen*

Chisom Juanita Mefor is a 19-year-old student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She is a writer and aspiring Rights Activist. Email: adalawmefor@gmail.com Phone: +234-70-86-92-6020