Nationwide Protest – a Political Question By The North, Southeast Shouldn’t Answer
Why it’s a wise decision for Southeast to steer clear the protest against President Bola Almed Tinubu’s administration is my message today.
I travelled to Lagos for a business and happened to see myself in a church, almost everybody around me was speaking Yoruba, and besides, was a shop for morning tea and fries managed by a Hausa man.
His tribes men sat calmly as they ate, while few wait for their turn. They were communicating in Hausa language, happily and boldly.
While I was in that public area, I didn’t notice anybody speaking Igbo. I have heard that Igbo in Lagos is intimidated by area boys. According to the stories I heard, the area boys force Igbo in Lagos to buy food or settle them each time they are seen on the street.
Popularly called Papa Ckuwuemeka, they said the area boys use the name for every Igbo in Lagos because it’s a way of acknowledging their wealth through money ritual. Then, after hailing, the Igbo man must provide money for food or, for whatever reason, they asked for it. Failure to do that would lead to a fight.
I stayed calm and only asked important questions in pigin. When I saw someone I felt came from the Southeast, I approached him and tried to enquire if he was Igbo man. I was inquisitive and had to ask the question in Igbo language.
I was shocked to see the reaction of the young man, he was from Bayelsa State, and he shouted at me, demanding to know why I should be speaking Igbo language in another man’s state. He further attacked me, saying that was how Igbo tried to dominate Nigeria in 1966 and that the domineering agenda has become part and parcel of Igbo man’s life.
I kept quiet because I didn’t want to exchange words with him, but deep inside, I could feel the hate for Igbo as he spoke with staunch commitment to his claim.
An Hausa man can communicate in his native language, Yoruba can do the same as well, but Igbo man has no right to communicate in his native language because he is domineering.
So, the difference is obvious, an Igbo man is a separate species in the country. He is an outcast who lost his place in the union. If this be the case, an outcast should simply know his or her boundaries.
There is something abnormal with Igbo man’s actions. The rest of the tribes in this union often find that abnormality.
Nigeria has failed to convince the Igbo man that he is with them, and along the line, killing the spirit of nationalism.
The country has also formed a dangerous habit of labelling the Southeast region of anything that props up on their mind.
The Igbo man is a soft target for the country, and there exists a fundamental problem as a result of suspicion.
‘Oke solu ngwelle ma mmiri, mgbe okoro ngwelle aburo mgbe oga ako oke” this Igbo adadge reflects the reality of the Igbo man, in English, it translates, if a rat gets drenched with a lizard, when the rain dries off the lizard is not when it would dry off the rat.
The rat is hairy, and the lizard is not. The two can tango in the rain, but the repercussion will be on the rat.
The problem began in 1967 and has not been addressed to date. The rest of Nigerian tribes continue to see Igbo man as a suspect, and that has led to the loss of nationalism.
If the North engages in protest against Tinubu, there is no problem. If the West engages, there is no problem. But when an Igbo man engages, it becomes an attempt to create a separate country.
Biafra-Nigeria war became the undoing of an Igbo man. A Hausa man sees himself as a Nigeria’s Knight. A Yoruba man sees himself as a defender of Nigeria, while an Igbo man sees himself as a prisoner of war.
A Yoruba man can protest, and it would be a patriotic effort. A Hausa man can protest, and it would be normal, but when an Igbo comes to protest, it becomes Biafra.
During End SARS, it was going well until Southeast joined the protest, and secession sentiments emanated from nowhere to challenge and cripple the protest.
The situation of the country is perilous, and an Igbo man is partaking of it. The bad economy affects everyone, and the fight to improve it is justified, but with an Igbo man, it could be interpreted differently.
Proponents have strongly argued that Southeast is part and parcel of Nigeria and should join other Nigerians when there is a common goal. The argument is correct, but it should be taken into consideration that during End SARS, Northern Nigeria didn’t partake of the protest.
Southeast wants change, and it worked assiduously towards that change by presenting an agent of change in Mr. Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State.
The change by the Southeast was rejected, and it accepted wholeheartedly. But Mr. Peter Obi’s election loss is not the main point for positing that Southeast should steer clear the protest. It has much more to do with saving the day.
Southeast has been betrayed severally by other major tribes. It’s time it learned to take time and deliberate on national issues it wants to venture into. Going into a protest is not the problem, but navigating through it is the question.
To save the future of the protest, Southeast must distance itself. The fight for the soul of Nigeria should be fought by those devoid of suspicions. It should be fought by those who won’t be easily misunderstood by the government of the day.
Southeast has been broken and treated unequally. The region must consider making peace by all means and submitting to the power mainstream of the country.
After all, President Bola Almed Tinubu’s administration is new and just begun. The administration should be allowed to prove itself and should not be suffocated.
Southeast should consider taking the side of the president who appears to be having political differences with the northern politicians.
The planned protest is a northern political calculation aimed to push back President Bola Amed Tinubu, and the political question of the North should not be answered by the Southeast.
It’s time to be subtle and apply common sense.
