IS THERE A PLOT AGAINST IGBOS?

By Dr. James C. Agazie, 29^th July 2012

As young children growing up in Nigeria of the 60’s and 70’s, we used to play a game popularly known as “Onye Elena Anya N’azu” (No One Must Look Behind Him or Her). We sat on the dust in a circle, and a child ran behind us . As the running child repeated “One Elena Anya N’azu”, we all responded “Monwu Anyi N’aga N’azu” (Our masquerade is passing behind) It was a game of intrigue, conspiracy, deception, scheme, stratagem, maneuver, ruse, or trickery. Plot is a better term because we often helped the running child to plot a trick that would land a friend in trouble. The running child would drop a rag or piece of wood behind unsuspecting child who was beaten in the butt for not picking up the object and running when the running child came around. Some of the children, including myself, would sneak a quick peek behind to avoid being embarrassed and beaten.

So? What’s the big deal? The Igbos seem to have been caught unawares and beaten many times in the games of Onye Elena Anya N’azu. You are said to be unawares when you are ill-prepared, unsuspecting, unqualified, untrained, cold, unwary, or caught with your pants down. Monwu the masquerade seems to have gained on, caught, and spanked Igbos mercilessly in the ass. Examples are in the northern massacres preceding the Civil War, in the Biafran War under General Ojukwu in which a million or more Igbo lives perished; in the Port Harcourt abandoned property; in the Yoruba attempts to seize Igbo pieces of property and push them out of Lagos which the Igbos have labored so hard to turn into an international city; and in the current boko haran suicide bombings that are driving Igbos south with loss of billion of dollars.

Here is the big question: Is there a plot against the Igbos? I called a few Igbo friends and posed the ubiquitous question. Silas took me on a circuitous, meandering, and roundabout history of white man’s activities in Africa and the politics of petroleum; Okechukwu requested I give him time to think it through; My former student now a State of North Carolina employee with earned PhD leaned on both sides of the fence expecting me to tell him which direction to focus his argument; and Emeka insists on knowing the plotters and reasons for the plotting. Is there a previous plot and ongoing plot against the Igbos? Finally, Chief Eze came out loud and clear: “There is no plot against the Igbos.” I take Eze’s position.

In an essay dated 01/16/12, and entitled To Those Who Clamor For “A Continued One Nigeria:” Stop! It’s Too Late, Ikechukwu Enyiagu (ike.enyiagu@gmail.com) assembled a few anti-Igbo utterances leaders of the Northern Nigeria House of Assembly made between Feb and march, 1964, as proof that a plot against the Igbos had been hatched.

“I am very glad that we are in Moslem country (sic), and the government of Northern Nigeria allowed some few Christians in the region, to enjoy themselves according to the belief of their religion, but building of hotels should be taken away from the Ibos and even if we find some Christians who are interested in building hotels and have no money to do so, the government should aid them, instead of allowing Ibos to continue with the hotels.”-Mr. A. A. Agigede

“I am one of the strong believers in Nigerian unity, and I have hoped for our having a United Nigeria, but certainly if the present trend of affairs continues, then I hope the government will investigate first the desirability and secondly the possibility of extending the Northernization policy to the petty Ibo traders [Applause].”-Prof. Iya Abubakar (special Member: Lecturer, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria)

“I would like to say something very important that the Minister should take my appeal to the federal government about the Ibos in the Post Office. I wish the members of these Ibos be reduced. There are too many of them in the North. They were just like sardines and I think they were just too dangerous to the region.”-Mallam Mukhtar Bello

“On the allocations of plots to Ibos, or allocation of stalls I would like to advise the minister that these people know how to make money and we do not know the way and manner of getting about this business. We do not want Ibos to be allocated with plots; I do not want them to be given plots.”-Mallam Muhammadu Mustapha Maude Gyari

“I would like you, as the Minister of land and Survey, to revoke forthwith all certificates of occupancy from the hands of the Ibos resident in the Region [Applause from the assembly floor].”-Mallam Bashari Umaru

“It is my most earnest desire that every post in the region, however small it is, be filled by a Northerner [Applause].”-The Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sarduana of Sokoto

Whoever concluded there is a plot against the Igbos based on aforementioned enraged ranting of well meaning but misinformed, feudalistic, uneducated, protect-your-tuff-against-advancing-enemies Northern politicians , needs to think again. Mazi Okechukwu Enyiagu just succeeded in whipping up emotions of a discouraged people in order to gain cheap popularity and perhaps a position with Governor Peter Obi to whom his essay was addressed as “Peter Obi’s Many Burdens.”

In the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s , Southern governors of the United States appeared to be united in their opposition to laws extending civil rights to the Negro population. In fact, Governor George Wallace stood in the gates of the University of Alabama and cried: “Segregation Today and Segregation Forever” and had to be literarily removed by the National Guards sent by the President of the United States. The Ku Klux Klan groups burned Black churches and lynched many Negros. Did that mean that the government or people of America had a sinister plot to destroy the Blacks? IT APPEARS THERE IS NO PLOT AGAINST THE IGBOS. IF THERE IS A PLOT, THE IGBOS ARE PLOTTING AGAINST THEMSELVES. IT’S FAIR AND SAFE TO SUGGEST THAT IGBOS ARE SUFFERING FROM SELF-IMPOSED PLOT THAT IS MULTI-DMENSIONAL IN NATURE As Igbos, do the following critical statements apply to us?

We have extreme selfishness.

We are afraid of our Igbo brothers and sisters.

We are too trusting of outside enemies and non-Igbos.

We sell ell out to others too easily; we sell out to others who offer us money and no real comfort.

We are prideful and unyielding and unwilling to make personal changes in behavior and attitudes that would facilitate our progress as a people.

We lack contentment and often clamor for more and more wealth which we put to no good use.

Our wives accuse us of having wickedness/hardheartedness. We are poor models for our kids.

We can’t come together to achieve meaningful projects without being too many chiefs and few Indians.

We use organizations (WIC, and Igbo Union, for examples) as ladders to exploit and achieve financial gains.

We have the Inability to learn from catastrophe (Biafra War, Igbo pogrom , and current boko haram).

We have extreme competitiveness and lack cooperative spirit.

We have tunnel-vision, content with immediate gratifications and forgetting the big picture that may not occur in our lifetime but in the time of our great grand children.

We are happy developing others’ land and leaving ours unattended.

We are gossip mongers given to incessant innuendos and destructive communication.

We are extremely envious of other’s progress and seek ways to sabotage and discourage.

We cannot work well with spouses and other groups, but choose to be so independent we defeat our purpose.

Who invented kidnappings, armed robberies, ransoms, and abali di egwu (night is dangerous) in my State? There is a joke the most successful kidnapper operating in Sahara desert with a camel and demanding virgins as ransom is my Igbo cousin Chief Alhaji Chukwuemeka Haruna Igbokwe Adamu el-Garba. Hahahahahah Allah.

Conclusions: Let’s play the game Onye Elena Anya N’azu this time differently. Let’s warn unwary friends to pick up the rag or stick and do the 100 yards hurdle before Mmonwu catches up with them and spanks their lazy buttoms.

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