Who bombed and torched the Awo-Omanma country home of George Obiozor, the Presdent-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, echoing the 28 April 2018 less severe attack on the Ukehe town, Nsukka home of John Nwodo, when he too was Ohanaeze president?
Why this hoodlum fixation with the homes of Ohanaeze leaders? How ominous could such despicable arson be?
Afenifere is not what it used to be. Still, it would be extremely odd seeing hoodlums, no matter how misguided, go torch the country home of Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who now heads the rump of that body, down from its glory days when Chief Michael Ajasin and Senator Abraham Adesanya (both of blessed memories) had far more influence as Yoruba leaders.
It would even be more far-fetched for northern “youths” — that lingo for romanticized crime and allied mischief — to carry explosive stuff, head for the country home of Chief Audu Ogbeh, current Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) chair, and raze it. ACF is the North’s socio-cultural top body, even with rivals like the Northern Elders Forum (NEF).
Yes, the South East loves to flaunt its republican temper with a stress on individual derring-do, contrasted to the North and the South West, which have evolved a more culturally conservative template, with reverence for the collective.
So, even at the zenith of its influence, Ohanaeze never had a hold on Ndigbo the way ACF had on the North; or Afenifere, on the Yoruba. Yet, it was and remains a unifying rally, with which the Igbo found their distinct voices in a culturally plural Nigeria.
So, for any group of individuals, no matter how guided or misguided, to even think, not to talk of actually razing the house of Ambassador Obiozor, the Ohanaeze leader, is a meltdown which ought to greatly trouble the Igbo. It’s an alarming pointer to a people at war against themselves.
Since he became Ohanaeze president, George Obiozor, ambassador’s ambassador and former Nigerian envoy to the United States, has not been known for any extremist call. His has been a moderating voice, as reasonable elders’ should. But neither has his calm mien betrayed Ndigbo interests he was elected to uphold.
So, why would such a person attach such rage, to merit bombing and torching his country home? Had he been home, could he have been fair game for assassination? The very thought of that is sickening!
A report in The Nation of March 20 also stated that Dr. Chu Okongwu, respected intellect and Babangida-era minister, also died shortly after his Nnewi country home was razed.
Is this then a creeping pattern, after the gruesome killing of Dr. Chike Akunyili? If so, which society thrives or survives by hunting down its elders — especially the very best among them, who having paid their dues, should be revered role models?
Still, each time such outrage happens, what comes out is the umpteenth, if impotent, denial: the Igbo are known for peace. The Igbo are builders, not destroyers. The Igbo revere their elders.
This might well be true of the vast majority of Ndigbo, as it is true of other civilized and progressive peoples. But the majority don’t do or undo a people. Only a critical mass — a tiny but persistent minority — does.
If the sick minds that lob fire at the Igbo thatch are not from Mars, then some hard core Igbo miscreants are certainly at work.
Before they bring down the majority, decent and law-abiding ones, the law enforcement agencies, with the full cooperation of the Igbo themselves, had better get to work to flush them out. Otherwise, the future might be very bleak.