Almost 50 years after Nigeria went through a devastating civil war following the proclamation of the Republic of Biafra by the late Lt. Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, following widespread and violent agitations across the country, the country is again witnessing worrisome unrests, agitations and uprisings in many states and zones, fueling uncertainty and concerns in many quarters, local and international. Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor, reports.
WHILE the situation in the Niger Delta gets more volatile by the day as militants unleash more terror via the bombing of oil installations and other targets, tension in the Southeastern flank of the country continue to rise because of the activities of pro-Biafra groups. This is just as the northeast battles the remnants of gradually receding Boko Haram fighters who had held the zone by its jugular for years.
With the happenings across the country, pundits are daily calling on the government to either approach the many sprouting agitations and the people behind them with more seriousness or risk a major uprising sooner than it could imagine. Many international organisations, like the European Union (EU), have warned of the possibility of Nigeria experiencing an implosion in no distant time, unless its aggrieved citizens and groups are kept in check.
So serious is the fear over the renewed agitations across the country that Pope Francis recently urged the government to seek dialogue with the various agitators as a way out of the looming implosion. The head of the Catholic Church said it has become urgently necessary for the parties involved in the face-offs in Nigeria to “sit down and talk.”
“I invite all to pray so that this window of opportunity can give relief to the suffering people and agitators and encourage the necessary humanitarian aid, and open the way to dialogue and much desired peace,” the Pope reportedly said. The development came just as the federal government warned protesters and other agitators across the country against taking up of arms.
Immediate past Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, warned agitating groups and individuals against arming themselves in the ongoing tensions with uniformed forces. The Police boss was reacting to alleged threat by pro-Biafra campaigners to resort to the use of guns and other weapons in self defence.
“The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a publication credited to the Indigenous People of Biafra ‘to carry guns in self defence and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has sternly warned members of the IPOB to reconsider their stand or face the wrath of the extant laws on bearing of firearms,” the Police said.
Also, President Muhammadu Buhari urged militants in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with his government. The President said nothing would be spared in protecting lives and properties in the areas where the activities of militants have entrenched insecurity.
“We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy. I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region,” Buhari, who vowed to order a military intervention in the region if the militants persist, said.
No letting go
But in spite of all the warnings and threats from the federal government, it appears the agitations, rather than subsiding, is on the rise. While the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) continues to bomb targets in the creeks of the South-South, Boko Haram terrorists are fighting back in the North-East. In the South-East, bloody clashes between the pro-Biafra agitators and security operatives are becoming commonplace.
What is more? More people appear to be choosing the violent path as more dissident groups are daily being formed across the country.
Few weeks back, a new militant group, the Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force (JNDLF) emerged from the creeks and declared its readiness to divide the country. The group claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari himself is set to divide Nigeria, and as such, it will not hesitate to take the people of the Niger Delta out of the polity called Nigeria as soon as possible.
JNDLF said it was prepared to test six missiles if Nigerian army wouldn’t leave the region by June 7, 2016. The group said their missiles are capable of bringing down any aircraft no matter how big. The group made no pretense about its preference for violence agitation in place of peaceful campaigns. Few days earlier, members of the pro-Biafra group, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), again announced their resolve to carry arms in self-defence, as part of the struggle for self- determination. The group said in a statement in Umuahia by its spokesperson, Emma Nmezu, that failure to carry arms had exposed its members to attacks and killings by security agents.
On many lips, both at home and abroad, one question lingers, begging for a definite answer but finding none. The same question is being asked in various forms. Why the renewed agitations? What are the reasons for the current wave of violence? What is responsible for the descent of hitherto peaceful regions into violent agitations all of a sudden? Are these mere reactions to the unexpected outcome of the last presidential election or the realities of our nation state unfolding right before us?
Mere reactions
As the crises raged from the Ijaw creeks to the hinterland of Igboland and the plains of the northeast, many Nigerians are of very strong opinions that the renewed violence, especially in the southern parts of the country, are obvious but veiled reactions over the loss of the presidency by the erstwhile ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, who incidentally, is a southerner from Bayelsa State.
Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna North Senatorial Zone, blamed the renewed agitation for sovereign state of Biafra on pro-Jonathan forces who lost the 2015 general elections. Sani said the Biafra agitation was an attempt to destroy the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. He described the renewed agitation for Biafra as misguided and ill conceived.
He said: “The Biafra agitation is a new attempt to destroy the Buhari administration and to ignite a national conflict and cause chaos, pandemonium, confusion in the country. I see it as a Plan B action of the pro-Jonathan forces that lost election in the 2015 national elections. I will also say that the agitation is not reflective of the generality of the interest of the Igbo people of the South-East. I believe the future of the Igbo is better guaranteed and sustained within a united Nigeria as they had made a huge progress in business, entrepreneurship, academics, politics and every sphere of life.”
A former militant, ‘General’ Africa Ukparasia, introduced a new dimension to the argument when he accused a fellow former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo alias Tompolo of trying to make the country ungovernable for the administration of President Buhari, warning him to desist from any further attacks on oil installations.
“I want to state categorically that the Niger Delta Avenger is not a new group. It is Tompolo that is behind the group and what they are out to do is to carry out their threat to make the government ungovernable for the APC. We will not allow that to happen. Tompolo is the person behind the attacks in the Niger Delta and so, Nigerians and people of the Niger Delta should not think that there is a new militant group,” he alleged.
As if that was not enough to paint the agitations in the creek as aggressive fallouts of the loss of power by the region during the last presidential election, the National Coalition of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators (NCNDE-A) shocked the nation when it alleged that the NDA was formed in January last year ahead of the March 2015 presidential election, with the knowledge and tacit support of former President Jonathan.
“The Niger Delta Avengers is a creation of the ex-president aimed at thwarting any efforts made by successive administration, especially that of the President Buhari-led All Progressives Congress administration,” National President of NCNDE-A, Israel Akpodoro, said.
But Chief Ogbonna Fredrick Ogbonna, governorship aspirant of the United Nigeria Peoples Party in Anambra State, said the Buhari presidency created a yearning for groups like NDA, MEND and pro-Biafra campaigners in the south.
“There was no need for these agitations when PDP and Jonathan were in power. This is because the Igbo and the people of the Niger Delta were well treated. They had a deep sense of belonging and were not marginalised. But now, the Buhari government is alienating them in all facets of governance. Buhari is making southerners unsafe and inferior in Nigeria.
“A good look at Buhari’s appointments so far will tell you why our people are still pained that Jonathan lost. According to the national character rule, as embedded in Nigeria’s constitution, who is supposed to produce the number three man in Nigeria? Is it like that now? The north has taken everything because they won everything. So, the agitations wouldn’t have been necessary under Jonathan,” he said.
Unfolding realities
But another school of thought will not be drawn into agreeing that the renewed violence in the southern region is merely as a result of political loss. To them, the events of past months in the south and eastern parts of the region are more of a return to the national questions left unanswered by successive administrations. A good number of those saying this appear to agree to the fact that it is impossible to wish the real causes of these agitations away.
Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), said, “The Biafra thing is not an agitation. People there are very hungry, I am from there. They have been dispossessed and abandoned by different political leaders who deceive them when they come for their votes. APC, PDP and APGA- all kinds of parties deceive them and led them to exactly where they are. The last time I was at the area, I was shocked when I drove around. I was shocked at the level of poverty and unemployment.
“So, when somebody who is elite wants to manipulate them, which is what is going on now, they will fall for it. I think the best case has been explained by Prof. Wole Soyinka. We should not say that this country is indivisible. There is nothing indivisible about Nigeria. If we cannot live together, let us go in pieces. Who is to say that it is indivisible and treason? It is not.”
Speaking further on the need for the government to see the return of agitations as the outcome of long standing inequalities, Agbakoba said “If I were President Buhari, I will first find out what the people are agitating for. When I know the problem, then I will know how to deal with it and move on. The Nigeria configuration, the Nigeria country, needs to be panel-beaten around again so that everybody can feel happy.
“You will need to assign space and a room in a country called Nigeria. But right now, 180 million Nigerians are outside, they have no room and they can see a few Nigerians eating very well inside a room. So they wonder if it is not their own meal too. The more they eat, the more these men get angry. The wall separating the two is so huge and the elite keep constructing it and they have reached a position where they just ignore the people and do not care about what the people say. They do what they like and say to hell with you because; you will collect their money and vote for them. This is the time to deal with the elite.”
A frontline traditional ruler in Anambra State, Igwe Felix Onyimadu of Ukpor, in Nnewi South Local Government Area, said the spate of agitations in the south, especially among Ndigbo were the effect of many years of marginalisation and neglect. He urged that an additional state should be carved out from the South-East in the spirit of justice and fairness.
As a way forward, the monarch urged the National Assembly to ensure that they bring the issue of marginalisation to the front burner and find ways of ensuring that the issue is addressed. “The South-East governors, the Igwes and other eminent Nigerians should stand up and be counted on this matter,” he said.
Way forward or distraction?
And as the debate over the return of agitations in some parts of the country heighten, focus seems to be shifting to the need or otherwise for the country to be restructured. In recent weeks, many commentators have been speaking on the issue of restructuring the polity as a way of addressing the renewed agitations in the southern parts of the country.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar led the renewed calls for restructuring when he said Nigeria is not working as it should because the centre has more power than the federating states. Speaking at the launch of a book entitled, “We are all Biafrans” by Chido Onumah in Abuja, Atiku said there was the need to restructure the nation to make it stronger and more united.
“Some may say that we are saddled with more urgent challenges, including rebuilding our battered economy, creating jobs, fighting corruption and securing our people from terrorism and other forms of serious crimes. I believe, however, that addressing the flaws in our federation will help us address some of those very economic and security challenges facing this country.
“Let me quickly acknowledge that no federal system is set for all time. There are always tensions arising from matters relating to the sharing of power, resources and responsibilities. But established democracies have developed peaceful mechanisms for resolving such conflicts among the tiers of government. They recognise that negotiations and compromises are eternal,” Atiku said.
But Comrade Abdullahi Haruna, National Coordinator, Open Dialogue Initiative, want Nigerians to view the call with caution as, according to him, it is nothing more than mere political statements emanating from politicians seeking attention. He said the inconsistencies in the past and present activities of those currently advocating restructuring should be a source of concern to Nigerians.
“The call for restructuring of the Nigerian state is unnecessary and more of resort to political bravado by self-serving and attention seeking politicians. Persistent restructuring of a system does no good to the system. At a time other nations are building their system, naysayers kept calling for restructuring. To me, it smacks gross inconsistencies. Make do with what you have instead of unceasing calls for new models of governance.
“Nothing is wrong with us as a people, what we need to change is our deep-seated hatred for crass opportunism, tribal hatred, bigotry and ourselves. Template for equitable distribution of resources, respect for our differences and idiosyncrasies should be what we should talk about and not the call for restructuring. It is retrogressive and distracting,” he said.
But former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and an ex-Chairman of the Nigerian chapter of Transparency International, Maj. Gen. Ishola Williams (rtd.), are in support of the restructuring of Nigeria, which they opined, would facilitate stability and development as well as douse incessant recourse to agitation across the country.
”I have called for the restructuring of the country since 2005 at the political reform conference. My most recent public statements on the matter were made in Ibadan School of Public Policy and Government last January and at Akure 40th Anniversary Colloquium of Ondo State on January 30. The present governance arrangement we have, with the country comprising 36 non-viable states, most of which cannot pay the salaries of their teachers and civil servants, is not the best. Rather, we should return to an arrangement, where the six regions will form six federating units,” Anyaoku said.
Not at this time
But there are those who think the call for restructuring is not the way to go now. Citing different reasons, those opposed to Atiku’s view on how best to resolve the security challenges in the country would want the government to focus on what they described as more urgent things in its quest to bring peace and development to the country as a whole.
In his reaction to the call for the nation’s restructuring, elder statesman and former Political Adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said restructuring Nigeria would not solve the nation’s problems if certain issues in the system were not adequately addressed. He, however, advises that the nation must embrace the parliamentary system of government in order to address the perceived imbalance in the country.
“But my opinion is that if you are not careful, restructuring is not the answer to what they are agitating for. My opinion is that what is giving rise to all these agitations is the power that is concentrated in the central government, headed by an executive president. As long as we have the same arrangement, no matter what you do, unless the power at the centre is rearranged in such a way that this concentration of power in the hands of the federal government, controlled by the President, is reduced, you are not solving the problem,” he argued
While not rejecting the call, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said the issue of restructuring is not the party’s priority for now. According to him, the President Buhari-led APC administration is currently focused on rebuilding the economy, creating jobs and ensuring the security of lives and property.
He explained that because the issue was important, the party would at the appropriate time; make its position on the matter public. Speaking in the same vein, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said “to bring this additional issue (restructuring), is not the wisest thing for a nation that is struggling to stabilise to go into an unnecessary diversion at this point. Nothing is wrong with the idea but at this time, it is best for us to concentrate on our priorities.”
Speaking on the call for restructuring, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki opined that given the large scale of argument that is likely to be involved, it may turn out more of a distraction at this stage of the country’s political experience. He therefore suggested the country should make do with constitutional amendment, which he feels is less controversial.
“We have been doing constitution amendment for many years, yet we don’t amend it. Let us amend the ones that we all agree that need to be amended. If not that the former president, for whatever reason, did not assent to the last amendment, we have been done with that. My view is that let us do those less controversial ones. After that, the second phase of the amendment we will bring new issues, possibly issue like restructuring,” Saraki said.
Explaining the readiness of the 8th Assembly to tackle the problems headlong, the Senate President said a committee is already in place to commence the job of amending the constitution.
“We have set up a committee headed by the Deputy Senate President. They have started meeting. We gave them a clear mandate. As you are aware, in the 7th Assembly, a lot of work was done, the National Assembly passed it but it did not get the assent of the former President,” he said.
As the agitations for restructuring grows, the question on many lips is: what next? Where will this lead to? The country is waiting with bated breath.
