Onwuasoanya FCC Jones is the Acting National Leader of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth wing. He speaks with IMOLEAYO OYEDEYI on how bad governance in the South-East and the Buhari administration’s tribal politics killed the confidence and trust of the Igbo people in political leadership.
As a youth leader of the Igbo socio-cultural group, what is your take on the political crisis and insecurity in the South-East?
I want to say that the South-East has been peaceful before the last few months when the Eastern Security Network, an armed group, was set up by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). So the escalation of violence, killings and arson in the South-East should be traced to the establishment of the organisation. But like people have pointed out, we must understand that something definitely can’t come from nothing. There are reasons and actions that brought about what is happening in the South-East today, which is as a result of bad governance, not just from the Federal Government, but from the people elected to represent the people of the region both at the state and the federal level, including the ward and the local government.
I believe that if everyone who is elected to represent the people at different levels and capacities does his or her job diligently for the people, the dividends of good governance will trickle down better to the people, than when you expect the Federal Government to do everything. The fact remains that the present Federal Government under President MuhammaduBuhari has been very tribalistic and sectional in its appointments of political officers, siting of projects and ethnic sensibility has been very high. The current administration has not managed our diversity very well. So it is not out of place to say that this has contributed or it is one of the factors contributing to the violence in the South-East today.
Aside this, what are the other factors?
Another factor, as I have said, is the failure of all members of the political class. It is not just the federal or the state government. But it is said that to whom much is given, much is expected. And that is why the people direct their frustration and criticism at the president and the state governors, because they are the bigger officers in our political arrangement. It is expected that if the head is correct, other parts of the body will also fall in line. So, if the president had been doing well by managing our diversity as expected and working hard to ensure that people have a sense of belonging in a country, such as ours, I believe that what is happening now, even if it happens, won’t have got to this extent. And if the governors had been effectively using the resources available to them to work for the people, most of the things happening today wouldn’t have happened.
Also, there is impunity in the system. And the youth are not happy, because some of the youths involved in these criminal activities are people who got the right education, but see those who do not have much education enjoying better positions and living more comfortable lives, because they are opportuned to be born by politicians or are connected to members of the political class. There is no job, so unemployment is also a factor. It is not as if these jobs are not available, but most times when they come, they are given to those who are not qualified, because of their connection with those in power.
Also, the youths are angry, because when you look at what is happening today, you will found out that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that is supposed to fight corruption seems to be the most corrupt agency in Nigeria, because the majority of the ruling class who have been accused of defrauding the country and state are walking freely around, while the EFCC is only very quick to apprehend and prosecute people who they accuse of doing Yahoo-Yahoo.
Though that is not to show that the act is good, people will love to see that those in government too are not immune from prosecution if found culpable of the same crime. People would like to have a sense of equal justice for all in terms of fairness and see that there are consequences for corruption, abuse of political office and for those who fail in their responsibility to the public. But when it seems that people can do anything and get away with it and end up foisting their children on the masses to continue from where they stop, people are bound to be very angry.
If you watch closely what is happening in the South-East today, you will find out that those behind the criminal activities are not daft or unintelligent. In fact, some of them may have First Class degrees and even educated up to Ph.D level. But they do not have jobs, because they do not have the right connections. That is why they roam the streets.
Meanwhile, when they approach the ruling class for job assistance, they are made to look stupid. I have been privileged to witness a scenario where a prominent Nigerian politician was telling his cook, a graduate, that he can afford to throw him out of his house because there are Ph.D holders who will be happy to work for him for just N100,000. That tells you the thinking of the elite.
In fact, the majority of the Nigerian political elite are daft; they don’t even have the kind of education some of the people they govern had. They just have the opportunity of being elected or being imposed on the people, which is why they assume a larger than life status. So, these things are some of the things that anger the youths. And if they are not addressed, the current situation will become worse.
More so, issues connected to injustice are also part of the factors. If you should go to the Nigerian prisons today, you will find out that many who are imprisoned are there without knowing why they are there. Many of them have been awaiting trials for years. If their trial had been expedited, they would have served up their terms and got out of the prison to become better human beings, more remorseful and useful to society. But they still languish in the prison, because our criminal justice system is horrible as it criminalises people more instead of reforming them.
Someone told me about one person that was accused of being involved in kidnapping. And when the police came to arrest him, they didn’t get him. They then arrested his wife, who was pregnant at the time. But eventually they got him and in one way, he was able to get himself out on bail. But his wife, who didn’t have any connection to the crime, was forced to have her baby in the prison and she is still there till date. What do you think will happen to her child, who was born in the prison and has spent all her life with her mother in the prison? And don’t forget that the woman has relatives who also have friends in the society. So these are some of the reasons people are angry. And when you look at the Buhari administration, it is very obvious that the Igbos are not wanted as they are treated as Third Class citizens.
This is the first time in the history of Nigeria since 1960 that you will not find an Igbo man in any commanding position in the Federal Government. For the very first time, there is no Igbo man in the presidency, in the three key positions in the National Assembly or in the chairmanship position of any political party in the country. This is also the first time that we won’t have anyone from the South-East among the service chiefs. These are some of the things paining the young agitators.
Even though they may not have benefited directly from the political appointments of the Federal Government, they are angry that they have been made to look stupid and useless in a country of their birth. For some of us who visit Abuja frequently, when we get there often, we see young people from a particular tribe holding very big positions and lavishing money around as if they own the country. You will see them throwing money on people’s faces and boasting that they own the country.
You will agree with me that the crux of the problem that has got Nigeria to where we are today is hinges on the herdsmen. The current administration has continued to handle terrorist herdsmen as if they are untouchable. The president’s speeches and reactions to what the herdsmen do and their criminal activities have made people feel that the president is not really there to protect them. And this is what groups like the IPOB are hiding under.
Personally, I don’t like the activities of the group, but if you sit back and look at the reasons they are getting massive support from the populace, you will discover that 99 percent of it borders on failure of governance. Even if IPOB sometimes lie and thrive on propaganda, there are situations on ground that allow their lies to be accepted and taken seriously by the people. For instance, when the group says that they are coming to protect us from being killed by the terrorist herdsmen, an average man in the village will believe it, because he has seen situations whereby the terrorist herdsmen carried out operations and nothing was done to them. So these are the issues.
I can tell you that 90 per cent of the people in the South-East are angry with the Federal Government of Nigeria. And this has forced many of them to give their support to IPOB. Besides, 99 per cent of people who sit at home on the orders of IPOB didn’t do that because they like what the group is doing, but because they are afraid. They know that if they come out, they will be killed. And the security agencies will not be able to protect them. So they have no option but to obey.
But some have argued that the basis upon which the ESN was formed was on the need to safeguard the interest of the Igbos. But it appears it was so from your analysis now?
Well, as I said, it is the governors that have created the lacuna these people are latching on and exploiting as if they are protecting the South-East. But I personally have not seen how they are protecting the region. But the issue there is just that the people believe that the governments in the region cannot protect and defend them against the terrorist herdsmen. People like me will not support the ESN, who are hiding under the problems in the South-East to commit a lot of crimes, because we know that this was how Boko Haram started and that in places where terrorists are allowed a free reign, the people will end up not being secured. So that is why we are afraid. But the ordinary man on the street did not know these things as he doesn’t have that capacity to think into the future and understand that things will be dangerous for him in the long run. So they support them in the long run. They believe that without all the activities of the ESN, the South-East would have been decimated by the Federal Government.
But I must tell you that as true as it might be, an average Igbo man believes that the Buhari administration sees the Igbo as people who have been defeated in a war. And his speeches and public utterances have not helped matters. For instance, you will remember that what led to the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria was the deletion of his post which made insensitive reference to the civil war, where millions of Igbos were killed. And some people understood his post to mean that he was threatening us with another civil war. So the president has not helped matters. Though this might not be his thinking, his body language, utterances and appointments have betrayed and presented him as someone who does not like the Igbos. It has made it difficult for some of us who are trying to be objective on this matter to sell an alternative idea to the Igbo people that the president cannot kill or islamise all of us. This is because the president hasn’t managed our diversity well.
Meanwhile, in a bid to improve the situation in the region, South-East governors came up with a regional security outfit called EbubeAgu and recently said the outfit will commence operation by December, 2021. But do you think a regional security network will be effective in addressing the crisis in the South-East?
EbubeAgu will not succeed, if the youths are not properly carried along in the formation and recruitment of the personnel that will make up the outfit. This is because the truth of the matter is that before you are able to set up such an outfit, you should be in touch with the people and make them have confidence in you. But if the governors just sit somewhere and set up the outfit and they force it on the local people, it will be a failure. The governors will end up training people who may be worse than the ESN and end up destroying them. But if they are able to get the youths of the South-East involved, including the youth leadership across all boards and carry them along effectively in forming the outfit, then, it will succeed. This is because some of the people who are in the ESN are people who genuinely want the best for the South-East. So get these people who are not criminals, but only joined the ESN due to their genuine passion for the region. Get them together to form a more legitimate outfit, because the truth of the matter is that the ESN is an illegitimate one that may become a terrorist outfit if not checkmated.
The governors need to first persuade the people and win back their confidence, especially those of the youths, because they are the ones behind all the crises. But if you feel that you can run the state and do whatever you want to do without carrying the youths along, then you should be prepared for the consequences. It may be that some of the governors feel that they have all the security power. But it doesn’t always work like that, because there will come a time when the security power will not be able to protect them. So they really need to work hard to win back the people’s confidence, especially the youth, because it is the continued neglect of the Igbo youths that has led us to where we are. And if nothing is done speedily to correct the anomaly, things definitely will get worse.
But as you said the governors have lost the confidence of the people, especially that of the youths, do you still think the people will support the EbubeAgu outfit coming from the governors?
If the people have lost confidence in the governors, it is because they have not been behaving well. But if the governors turn around to do what they are supposed to do and make the people see them as responsible leaders, the people will definitely support whatever programmes they bring on board.
The Igbos are obviously the easiest people to rule, but they are one of the most difficult people to convince. But by the time they see their governors and political leaders doing well, taking responsibilities, treating them as human beings not like objects that can be used and dumped, the people will give out all the support that may be required. But if the governors continue to believe that as long as they have the security personnel guiding them, they can do anything and get away with it, they will be wrong.
But the governors have reportedly said that the Igbos in Diaspora are the ones behind the sit-at-home calls in the region. What is your take on this?
Well, if that is true, it then means that the Igbos in Diaspora are more influential than the governors and that itself is an indictment on their leadership. I did not expect the governors to come out to say such a thing and concede that they have lost control of their people in the South-East to those in the Diaspora. If you can give an order and people who are not in Nigeria are able to counter that order and have many people go by their own order, it just shows that there is a problem.
It is possible that those in the Diaspora may be sponsoring or dictating what is happening in the region. But this is not the time to pass the bucks. You just need to take responsibility. The governors need to ask themselves those things they did wrong that has made their people to begin to respect or obey the people in the Diaspora than them. And leadership is not about position, but about taking responsibility.
They need to win and keep the confidence of the people they are leading. It is as true as that. For instance, IPOB was supposed to be very strong in Rivers State, but Governor NyesomWike came out and took responsibility and today, the state is running smoothly, without serious issues from the group. That is someone taking responsibility.
That is what I expect the governors and political leaders in the South-East to do. Today, you have some members of the House of Representatives from the South-East who have not visited their constituencies in the past one year. And when the election draws near, they will go back to the same people, believing that they can buy them and win the election with half a bag of rice and one thousand naira. That is to tell you the height of irresponsibility that we have in the region. If the people in the Diaspora are commanding those at home, while you, who have the political power and resources at home, could not prevent the Diaspora people from issuing orders and having the people follow their orders, you should know that there is a problem. Instead of blaming the people issuing the orders, you should sit down and take responsibility.
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