It must be painful that the Ndigbo leaders saw change and did not embrace it. The inalienable truth is that the leaders could not calculate that the formation of the APC meant that the majority had shifted to the new party. By ignoring the wind of change, Ndigbo shot themselves on the foot.
By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan
WANTED URGENTLY: President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – the nation’s Number Three Citizen.
QUALIFICATION: Minimum, Primary Six Certificate; Applicant must be of the Ndigbo extraction – from the South-East Geopolitical zone; and must have won election to the Senate on the platform of the APC.
EXPERIENCE: Any warm body can apply – No formal experience required. Ability to handle the gavel and shout at the top of the voice in a rowdy session is an added advantage.
How liberal could any employer be – courtesy, the Federal Character requirement as enshrined in Section 14(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999?
The advert above, directed to the entire South-East, as simple as it seems, we were unable to find a suitably qualified candidate for the position.
Going by the original three-regional arrangement for the country, President-elect has emerged from the Hausa stock of the North; his running mate has emerged from the Yoruba stock of the old West; but with no Senator-elect on the platform of the APC, from the eastern zone, it became obvious that the Senate President has eluded Ndigbo of the old Eastern region, now predominantly the South-East geo-political zone.
It must be painful that the Ndigbo leaders saw change and did not embrace it. The inalienable truth is that the leaders could not calculate that the formation of the APC meant that the majority had shifted to the new party. By ignoring the wind of change, Ndigbo shot themselves on the foot.
Some saw it coming. For instance, people like Chiefs Ralph Obioha, Enechi Onyia, Onwuka Ukwa, Dozie Ikedife, etc, have been in the vanguard, agitating most relentlessly, that the Igbo nation cannot, and should not, jeopardize its destiny and viability on the flimsy excuse of “We are PDP and we must continue to vote PDP.”
In essence, they have always pointed out the clear and ever present danger in swimming or sinking with any political party.
They have consistently maintained that the Igbo nation cannot gamble with positioning themselves in the Nigeria political equation.
Ordinarily, the Igbo man is hardworking and deeply determined to excel in any personal or professional calling.
But essentially, politics is not in his blood and he may not necessarily test positive for politics, hence he can be easily misled by the political class.
It is not every time those political leaders recognize when desirable change is coming their way. Just see how they dispatched all their first eleven to the abyss!
Is it not highly inconceivable that Senator Chris Ngige lost abysmally in Anambra State? Some time, some day, the location where the manufactured results was concocted will be known. Meanwhile, Ndigbo remain the worse for it.
Times are changing and it is only those who are prepared to change along that will not be shut out in the system.
There is a current controversy around the allegation that the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, has placed a curse of the Lagoon spirit on the Ndigbo who will vote against his favored gubernatorial candidate, Akinwumin Ambode. The Oba denies the allegation.
Besides, conventional wisdom dictates that Ndigbo should do the bidding of their hosts who have an APC National Leader, Senator Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who must not be disgraced at this particular point in the life of the new party.
Again, as individual citizens living peacefully in Lagos, Ndigbo do not deserve a curse but where they choose to form themselves into a trade union with the sole purpose of embarrassing their hosts, then, they must accept whatever wrath comes from the king. It is therefore in the core and vital interest of the Ndigbo in Lagos to remain good guests.
For sure, Ndigbo can do without the big mess into which they are allowing the Yoruba politicians to push them.
They are irked by the Oba’s curse. And in an attempt to collect their maximum votes, the PDP candidate, Jimmy Agboje, is quoted as promising to build a befitting palace for Eze Ndigbo and place him on the same pedestal with Oba Akiolu – much to the chagrin of the Yoruba!
The time has come for Ndigbo to quickly put on their thinking cap and begin to re-strategize immediately, lest the world beyond 2019, which is coming faster than most people expect, will still push them aside. God forbid!
Apparently, Ndigbo will need a lot of luck to get mainstreamed into the new order. Leadership failure has put them in reverse gear.
Their type of situation has many parallels in history. Space will however permit us to examine only one case here:
ENTER LATE CHIEF HUMPHREY OMOREGIE OSAGIE (OMO-OSAGIE):
He demonstrated extreme brilliance very early in life. In October 1923, at the age of 27 years, this ex-student of Kings College, Lagos, shook the world when he delivered a political lecture in Lagos under the auspices of Herbert Macaulay and the Nigeria National Democratic Party.
It was clear that the young man would one day become a Titan in the struggle for the emancipation of his people.
He formed the Otu-Edo Party to support the Oba of Benin in the fight against the taxpayer’s insurrection under Iyase Gaius Obaseki and to support the Midwest State Movement.
Omo-Osagie was elected into the Western Region House of Assembly in 1952. His Otu-Edo entered into an alliance with the NCNC at the national level while the Action Group founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo was in power at the Regional Level in Ibadan.
Omo-Osagie saw change but did not embrace change and the development of Edo land remained stunted as a result.
At a time when the Awolowo-led Administration in Western Region took development everywhere, including farm roads, Omo-Osagie remained tenaciously glued to the NCNC, which only had power of development east of the Niger. That was gross miscalculation.
Change moves on the fast lane and that’s why wise men quickly embrace it before it changes again. Ndigbo should take note!
