Femi Fani-Kayode: Biafra, Buhari and The Easter Day Rising (Part 2)

Thankfully under President Goodluck Jonathan the Igbo managed to do better than at any other time in our history. As a matter of fact this was so much the case that Nigerians from other parts of the country, particularly the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani, often sulked about it and openly complained.

Jonathan had a soft spot for the Igbo and I have little doubt that that partiality was borne out of his innate sensitivity to their historical trials and tribulations. It may have been sub-conscious but I have no doubt that it was there.

Unlike others he viewed the Igbo as equals and regarded them as human beings: he treated them with respect and decorum and he gave them their due. Consequently it was under Jonathan that Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika the first Igbo Chief of Army Staff since the civil war was appointed.

It was also under Jonathan that Senator Pius Anyim, the first Igbo Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria since independence was appointed.

Sadly when President  Muhammadu Buhari was elected into office all that changed and eastern stars stopped shining. Under him the persecution, marginalization, humiliation, detention, state-sponsored executions and assassinations and sectarian and ethnic-motivated murder of the Igbo has reached pre-civil war proportions.

To add to that the Igbo have been treated with more disdain and contempt by the Buhari administration than any other government in our entire history. Permit me to share juat one example of that here.

A few days ago hordes of AK-47-wielding Fulani herdsmen and militants attacked some farms in Enugu state. Fearing that the Agatu treatment may be meted out to them and in order to protect their lives, their families, their property, their livestock and their crops from the murderous vandals and marauders the Igbo farmers organised themselves and fought back gallantly.

Consequently there were casualties on both sides. Instead of the police to come in to apprehend the Fulani aggressors and raiders, seize their weapons and bring them to justice they arrested 76 Igbo farmers. Up until today those farmers are in police custody and their families have had no access to them.

As far as I am aware not one Fulani militant or herdsman was questioned over this incident let alone disarmed, caitioned or arrested. As unbelievable as it may appear this patterm of behaviour by the security agencies has been the norm throughout the Middle Belt and the south since President Buhari has come to power.

They have displayed great reluctance to protect the indigenous people and farmers of those two regions from the pillaging, killing and raping that the Fulani herdsmen always subject them to.

It is also instructive to note that the political leaders of the igbo nation appear to have been so intimidated by this trend of events that none of them has spoken out against the abduction of the Enugu farmers or condemned the barbarous action of the Fulani herdsmen that raided their farms.

As a matter of fact the only two politicians in the entire country that have publicly expressed concern about the safety, whereabouts and plight of the 76 Igbo farmers are both from the south west and they are Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state and yours truly. Fayose did so in an advert in the newspapers a few days ago and I did so in my column last week titled "Of Tyrants, Martyrs and Heroes (Part 2)".

Everyone else, including the Igbo Governors. Senators, Ministers, elders and leaders of their socio-political groups has maintained a curious, submissive and stoic silence on this matter. I guess that is a sign of the times that we are living in and I cannot blame them. Given the circumstances and the obvious constraints of their political leaders and elders why would the younger generation of the Igbo not agitate and fight for the establisment of Biafra?

This is especially so given the fact that it is self- evident that under the leadership of President Buhari igbos, and indeed other southerners, are not just being subjected to violence in the north but they are also being attacked by northerners down in their own states in the south.

Southern leaders are expected to live with this, accept it as the norm and most importantly they are not expected to defend themselves, defend their people or complain about the atrocities that they are being subjected to in their own land.

This hardly kindles hope for the future of our nation and it certainly does not engender confidence in our country or enhance national unity. It is clear that the contempt with which our government views the people of the south and particularly the igbo is obvious and glaring.

President Buhari himself, during one of his interviews with Al Jazeera and during the course of an earlier interview with Nigeria's NTA, displayed that contempt very eloquently when, in answer to a question about Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB's prolonged detention and the increasingly aggressive agitation for Biafra, he asked rather brusquely "what exactly do the Igbo want?"

When he was told that the Igbo felt marginalised by his government he went further on to ask "who is marginalizing who?"

Again before millions of viewers from all over the world President Buhari refused to watch the footage of the extra-judicial killing of some IPOB youths by his security forces when he was asked to do so during his infamous interview with Al Jazeera.

In that same interview he went on to dismiss the legitimate aspirations of and agitation by millions of young people from the eastern part of our country for the creation of Biafra in just one sentence.

He said that if they had any complaints they should agitate for more states in the east instead of yearning for their own country. 

One wonders how state creation can appease a generation of angry young Igbos who genuinely believe that their people are being systematically killed off and that they have been turned into slaves and second class citizens by Nigeria.

And this coming from a man who has refused to appoint one single Igbo into the Presidency and who believes that he has done them a favor by appointing five Igbo Ministers into his cabinet.

He forgets that the constitution of our country compels him to appoint at least one Minister per state and that whether he likes it or not he must appoint those five because the Igbos control five states in the Federation each of which must be represented in the cabinet.

It may not be fashionable to say it publicly but the truth is that the Igbo are virtually an endangered species under President Buhari's government.

They have been robbed of their dignity, their sense of self-worth, their self-esteem and their self-respect by our government and the Igbo youth particularly do not believe that they have much of a future left in Nigeria. That is why the agitation for Biafra has reached fever pitch among them.

Whatever anyone feels about Biafra the fact of the matter is as follows: as my friend and brother Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, the former Governor of Abia state, said a few days ago, "the igbo have not been fully integrated back into Nigeria 46 years after the civil war".

The truth is that Nigeria is not working for most of the ethnic nationalities and everyone knows it. And as long as those that hold power at the center today remain in power things will not get any better.

As a matter of fact as long as they are in power things will get worse. In Buhari's Nigeria if you are not from the core north and if you are not a Muslim you do not have much hope of getting to the top or achieving your full potentials.

That is "chanji" for you and that is Buhari's mission and vision. We said it during the Presidential campaign but regrettably few would listen. Now the same people that would not listen are regretting it bitterly and they are saying that we were right.

In Buhari's Nigeria it is one law for the oppressed and another for the ''Born to Rule" oppressor. Whether we wish to admit it or not that is the reality and everyone knows it.

There is also a well-orchestrated attempt to Islamise our country and suppress the practice of Christianity in some parts within our shores. Kaduna state is an example and what is going on there is nothing but a test run for the rest of the country. .

Yet the truth is that everything has its expiry date including religious bigotry, bondage and slavery. The oppressor often forgets that the future belongs to the oppressed.

The Irish experience and the beautiful people of Eire and the Emerald Isle have taught us that. Far away London in merry England was once their capital yet today it is their very own Dublin. If God can do it for them He can also do it for us. It is just a matter of time.

Some will disagree with the contents of this contribution whilst others will hate me for writing it. To such troubled souls I recommend the words of Albert Einstein. He said:

“Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly".

I need say no more.