Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko
32 The aggrieved youngsters many people have been avoiding and running away from for decades, because they say they want out of Nigeria, are angry and disappointed with everybody now.
They tell me they have been badly treated by everybody. They are bitter they were disregarded, shunned, shot at and deliberately blackmailed for years.
They say the vicious demarketing, and mislabelling earlier in the day, influenced all their later decisions. They are fuming and seething with anger.
I reminded them that not everyone abandoned and discredited them. I also reminded them that I took their leaders to very serious and sensitive meetings with very credible elders in the land. I urged them to remember that Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu, Dr Alex Ekwueme and senior clerics gave them their ears. It is not true that they were entirely disregarded by everybody.
33 They ask, why did they wait for so long to talk to us, raise their voices and finally stand up to seek dialogue and political solution? They said they never thought of setting up any security network, when they were killed in cold blood all over the land. They said they were called miscreants, tagged terrorists and proscribed. They say no one ever invited them for any dialogue before now and think they have been unfairly treated. My response is directed at the mass of aggrieved agitators. History is replete with similar uncomfortable situations. Men and women of history make choices that will benefit mankind. Some choices difficult to make, some are hard choices. You feel your pain, but I assure you you’ll learn at some point that you are not alone.
Most importantly, nothing is better than peace. Peaceful resolution should be pursued because it is the best option. Concessions may have to be made along the way.
34 You all know that, other people have been vilified as well, by an obstinate oppressor and his agents. You all know that the time calls for sacrifices, understanding and mutual pursuit for resolution. This call for trust, patience and maturity. We must place the future into consideration, above all else.
Remember, the truth is known to all. There’s really no need overstressing the obvious. There’s great need to work for dialogue. The circumstances that created the confusion in the land, is slowly giving way to a better understanding of the issues. I have also borne a large portion of the attack by fearful political leaders, afraid of facing the truth, or fearful of offending certain powerful forces. We must forgive the past and repair the present, so tomorrow will be better. Yes, you were pushed to boiling point by the arrogance of the oppressor and the silence of our leaders. Yes, application of lethal force was extreme and mean. Yes, their attitude sounded like ” what can you guys do”. Yes they pushed you to the wall.
35 They had no reason whatsoever to refuse to engage you guys for 22 years. But you must forgive. They had no reason to truncate the 2017 peace and reconciliation effort. But you must forgive. They had no reason to believe that military action will crush the agitation but you must forgive. Nobody is right and perfect. If you forgive, come to the dialogue with an open mind. Then they too will forgive your perceived excesses. Mistakes were made on all sides. Keeping record of wrongs, hinders reconciliation. I can’t tell you all I’ve gone through and still going through. Dialogue and peaceful resolution is best route to follow.
Someday, you’ll be able to understand why some people behave the way they do. How they are forced by political reality, to be compliant to certain unwritten code of silence.
36 Why they can’t go against the mindset of folks in charge of the centre, and how they dare not go against the wishes of the owners of Naija. Why they watched as the agitation deteriorated and got quite messy. Why they were mortally afraid of being accused of having any kind of sympathy for the agitation and why it was important they did everything to distance themselves in order not to give any room for such suspicions. They are not standing strong in the political leadership of the land. Our leaders have been standing with one leg, since January 1970. They deserve sympathy not anger. They couldn’t have done much. Their hands were tired. It had to take this current embarrassing situation for them to find their voices. Imagine, Ralph activated the agitation in September 1999, our bishops and traditional rulers, found their voice in October 2021. Sad.
And only after it became obvious to the whole world, that the region wasn’t under their control. They deserve pity, not anger.
37 Giving conditions for peaceful resolution, isn’t right. Your have made your point. It’s now time to dialogue with an open mind, make concessions and arrive at peaceful resolution. Vendetta, acrimony and insistence on having your way one hundred percent, will create further problems. You have been hurt, so have I. You have been badly treated, so have I. But I am calling for cooperation and understanding, so peace world reign. The old ways of doing things have been interrogated and challenged. It is clear that the leaders have finally understood that they are not in charge of the region. They have realised that they must listen to and factor in the pains of the people of the region. It is clear now to all and sundry, that operating python dance, prescription and terrorist tag, without addressing the root cause of the agitation, simply cannot resolve the problem.
38 Now that you’ve made your point, please, please, vote for dialogue and peaceful resolution. The oppressor had to exhaust his bag of tricks. He was bringing them out, one after another for 22 years, in the hope that he’ll subdue the agitation without doing the right thing: Which is reconstruct the policy, enthrone level playing field by reverting to true federalism and devolution of power. All the shenanigans and intimidation, military operations and and threats, are all part of an elaborate scheme to avoid doing the right thing, and holding onto the unjust status quo, by all means and at all costs. They are reluctant to enthrone a just and fair structure that gives everyone a sense of belonging. They fear that would amount releasing the people they are holding down. You all played your part to bring about change. A good reason you must not be rigid and uncompromising. Justice and equity, everybody’s desire and goal, comes in different forms.
39 The people who underestimated your strength and resolve, have finally come to terms with reality. The folks who struggled to hold us down for ever, have come to see, it is impossible to hold us down much longer. Moreover the unjust structure they love to sustain, has clearly been shown and established to be hurting everyone, including their region. Everyone knows the time has come for everybody to face reality. We must restore sanity to our zone. Embrace dialogue and pursue peaceful resolution.
40 The 22-year wait and pretence was wrong. Refusal to face the truth and running round in circles, seeking for ways to violently crush the agitation, without ever addressing the issues that inspired and fuelled it, was unhelpful and actually deepened the crises. Two wrongs can’t make it right. It is time to take stock of the present and the future. It is time to articulate a workable road map, that will usher in the desired new era of peace and harmony. We all have been abused, blackmailed, deliberately discredited and attacked, but we must place the good of the land and the future of our progeny, into premium consideration. Peace is supreme.
Dwell on this things.
To be CONTINUED.
