Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko
Twenty years ago, at the height of a brilliant onslaught and deluge of criticism targeted at the Obasanjo administration, coordinated by committed Igbo Patriots, who disagreed with the assertion allegedly made abroad by the President to wit :that losers of civil wars shouldn’t be relevant for at least two hundred years, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije, my self and Chief Victor Nwankwo, developed a template of weekly media presence with the truth about the unresolved Igbo question and demand for justice and equity.
Comrade Chukwumerije’s sterling performance at the Oputa Panel and the emergence of Justice Eze Ozobu as the new PG of Ohanaeze inspired hope and the need to set the Igbo agenda.
Accordingly, an Igbo summit was planned and held at the federation hall of the Hotel Presidential Enugu.
Almost everyone was in attendance. The hall was filled to capacity. All the politicos, conscious of the new awareness enveloping the land, were there. I still have a copy of Chuba Okadigbo’s speech at the event, titled “Quo vadis Ndigbo”.
Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu sent me to the hall to communicate with him the tempo, content and direction of the event.
Dr Ebitu Ukiwe arrived the venue, told me it was too rowdy, like a noisy rally, and left to see Ojukwu who later described the event as a “gathering of job seekers”.
The new Senate President, Pius Anyim spoke on the new awareness and the need for Ndigbo to stand as one always, all the Igbo senators, Ministers and Governors were there.
Orji Uzor Kalu, Abia Governor, described Igbo elders and leaders as glorified “errand boys of Abuja” and the youths carried him on their shoulders as the hero of the event.
Transport Minister Ojo Maduekwe’s aide, Osita Chidoka, and some of his youth friends pasted banners representing Ohanaeze youths on the hotel fence, to create a certain impression at the event.
Truly eye opening for me, was the desperation of politicos to please the appointing authority that gave them a break and opportunity to serve. Beautiful flowery speeches were delivered, and over a dozen committees, set up. Assurances were given that the dawn of a glorious new era was just being ushered in. Hope and anticipation of a new beginning hung in the air.
A beautiful communique was drawn up, articulating and presenting the new Igbo spirit and agenda. I retired to Dim Ojukwu’s house to brief him and surprisingly he wasn’t impressed. Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe, who was with him, agreed with him that the event was a mere “jamboree”.
Dim Ojukwu expressly told me that the Communique I just read to him, will not see the light of day. “Elliot I maro fa” (Elliot, you don’t know these folks), he insisted.
He informed me that none of the committees set up will ever function. He insisted that the people nominated into the committees will all dutifully forget the title and job description of the committees within a few weeks. He said the organisers knew they were only deceiving the people.
I must confess that I couldn’t easily accept all he said, until events proved him right. Nothing, absolutely nothing came out from the summit.
I didn’t fully understand our people at that time.
When Justice Eze Ozobu called me to say that Abuja politicians suddenly started calling to plead for a toning down of the communique, which they claimed was too harsh on the central government, I began to realise that Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu could be right after all.
I decided to monitor the publication of the communique in the media. I forwarded a signed copy of the communique to the media in Lagos, and waited. I didn’t know I was undergoing tutorials on GS course, Igbo leadership 101 and about to learn that Ojukwu and Ukiwe knew exactly what they were talking about.
Three days later and counting, the communique of the summit still couldn’t be published. I made a decision that would guide my activism from then henceforth. I will simply have to offend agents of the status quo. It couldn’t have been any other way.
Almost, a week later, still total black out. On further enquiries and investigations, it turned out that the team of Igbo Government Ministers and Abuja based politicians who attended the summit, decided that President Obasanjo would be angry with the communique, which was too critical on him and his government, so they influenced a quick alteration of the points and body of the communique to please President Obasanjo. They also made Ohanaeze to forward the fake adulterated version to the media.
Suddenly, a totally different and terribly watered down version of the communique read out at the summit, was substituted discreetly and sent to media houses to be published. I decided to fly to Lagos the very next day, and present the real communique read out, agreed at and signed at the summit to the media.
I arrived Lagos, called a press conference and presented the authentic and original communique of the Enugu Igbo summit to the world.
I ran physically to media houses and pushed the original unadulterated communique for publication and warned compromised Igbo leaders that the era of burying group interest for personal interest was over in Igboland and that they cannot bury the truth any longer, whilst advancing individual interest. I made it clear that things will not be the same again.
It seemed the central government didn’t like the call for a national conference to draft a new constitution and the demand for a revisit to the structure of the country.
I remember clearly that, Emeka Ifionu at Post Express, Felix Abugu at the Guardian, Isichie Osamgbi at Thisday, Igbonekwu Ogazimorah at the Hallmark, Alvan Ewuzie at the Champion, Ndu Ughamadu at the Daily Times and Chude Pride at the Punch, were the great Patriots who helped me published the true version of the Enugu Igbo summit communique, to the great embarrassment of the conspirators who fought to kill the original communique.
Justice Eze Ozobu elated and proud of my efforts, offered me a bottle of Champagne, Dim Ojukwu gave me a bottle of cognac.
Chief Ojo Maduekwe called me and invited me to his Mabuchi residence and offered me a job to work with him, I politely turned the offer down. He was to repeat the offer of a job few years later, and again I declined.
Beginning from that season I saw that it would be impossible to stand on the truth in the hope of making any possible impact and expect to remain friends with the “leaders”.
I had to make a choice, to defend the truth and push for positive reforms and offend lovers and defenders of the status quo, or join them by allowing them to coopt and corrupt you, while the people continue to suffer.
The unavoidable cost for fighting for the truth, is that the establishment will deeply resent you and discreetly but tirelessly plot your destruction.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
There’s no middle ground. You either join them and share with them ,or you are serially blackmailed and discredited in order to demarket and degrade your efforts.
Refusal to face this colourless truth will amount to self deceit.
Standing on the truth and consistently pushing for restructuring of the polity, was going to make one gravely unpopular with the establishment and their agents.
Publicly insisting for 22 years that they engage the agitators, whilst all the “leaders” were hiding under the bed in fear, will turn one into a marked target.
The price is obvious, they won’t be fond of you.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
Beginning from that period, there was no going back. I had no illusions.
They will monitor you, set traps for you. Blackmail you. Plot to take you out. Resent your efforts at creating a new and better tomorrow.
To them, your relentless activism to restructure the country, meant you are working towards removing the straw from their mouth.
They conclude you are working towards pulling out the straw from their mouth and stopping them from milking the land dry. Something they have grown used to.
They mark you their enemy and their agents are primed and deployed to make life very difficult for you. It couldn’t have been any other way.
When you tirelessly organized pro restructuring conferences annually, and clearly contributed in selling the restructuring agenda all over the land and remain committed to the reconstruction of the polity, you only offend them greatly.
When the agitators seem to respect and trust you. Admire your position and believe in you aaaaah!, you have become endangered species. But you see, it couldn’t have been any other way.
When the restructuring agenda you’ve been advocating tirelessly for decades gains traction and the raw truth you have been presenting about the need to engage the agitators to hear out their grievances, become inevitable, nwanne, you are already in big trouble.
When local leaders, who despised and resented your guts for decades, realise that all you have been screaming for years, is the only way to go now and they reluctantly begin to face reality, nwanne, know it, that their very first desire will be to tarnish your reputation, discredit you and get you out of the way.
It is human nature, all through history. They will remain uncomfortable with the truth you represent.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
Do not despair. Do not feel blue. Man and his ego have always chosen this same path.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
When I chose to take a stand, decades ago, in the hope of impacting the younger generation in the belief that positive change may occur, it became clear that a price will have to be paid.
Do not bother about their blackmail, rather rejoice and thank God Almighty that the people who had remained mute for 22 years, have finally found their voice.
Our bishops, our traditional rulers and political leaders are finally coming to terms with reality. To God be the glory.
That it took so long, does not really matter. That they waited until things deteriorated to a very bad state before waking up, doesn’t really matter.
The point is: They have finally woken up to the truth. We give God the glory. Do not expect them to be fond of or happy with the catalysts for change.
Man, all through history, have always resisted change and resented agents of change.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
Nobody is getting big headed, nobody is taking credit for anything. Credit goes to God Almighty and the masses who stood on the side of truth, all through the years.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
All hands should be on deck now, and serious prayers should be made that they don’t back down.
It couldn’t have been any other way.
I point out their flaws and criticize their weaknesses. I hoped to inspire change. Willing to pay the price. Nobody forced me to. I made up my mind over two decades ago.
I know they’ll be offended. It’s normal.
Boy oh boy, they won’t be fond of you, but tomorrow will be better for our people. Some one will have to pay the price. It couldn’t have been any other way.
Yes, the delay in doing the right thing all along, created many quite avoidable problems.
Yes, fear of repercussions from the central government inspired the needless delay in standing up for the truth.
Yes, it became impossible to continue living in denial.
Maybe they were waiting for when it will be clear even to Abuja that all the wrong approach and strategies applied before now, have all failed woefully to pacify the land and that it has become counterproductive.
Maybe they wanted to be sure that it is now safe to stand up to be counted. Maybe because they have finally seen that they have no other choice.
Maybe it had to be this way.
Let us rally behind them and support them.
Because, it couldn’t have been any other way.
To be CONTINUED.
