Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko
Igbo leaders are always complaining that the youths are uncontrollable. They lament that they are disrespected and disregarded by the angry younger generation, who built a critical mass on their own and do their thing.
Political leaders and elders simply do not have the clout to influence the restive younger generation, who look at them with deep suspicion. Platforms expected to wield the people together, just can not, for several varied reasons, command the trust of the masses.
Are the youths to blame.
Ndigbo like all people need an umbrella organisation that articulates the people’s agenda and defends, advances and promotes it. Ohanaeze is still work-in-progress. Ohanaeze regrettably continues to suffer from the distrust of the people, manipulation of a clique and disinterest by a huge chunk of both the elite and the masses.
Suspected to simply serve as a vehicle for a cabal to achieve and sustain relevance within the system, Ohanaeze has yet to command the trust and respect of the people like the Igbo State Union of the 1940s to the 1960s. It is up to Ohanaeze to build the trust and confidence of the people.
It is up to Ndigbo to strengthen and rebrand Ohanaeze if it wins the trust of the people.
Check this out: In 1999, Chief Bob Ogbuagu and Chief M.C.K Ajuluchukwu, advised me to take my Igbo day celebrations vision to Enugu, to the Ohanaeze secretariat. I had complained to Chief Ogbuagu about the shocking increase by over one thousand per cent, the rental cost of the main hall of the National Theatre Iganmu, after I had booked a date, made an advance monetary deposit as commitment, for the first-ever Igbo day celebrations, planned by the IYM.
The minute my interviews for publicity on the event were published, I received a call on my 090 analogue mobile phone at the time, that I should come to collect the refund of my earlier deposit. That sad development opened my eyes to the reality of the Igbo condition in Nigeria. The fact that some forces were willing to go to any length to frustrate Ndigbo ever coming together, was quite shocking to me.
Even as I got Ohanaeze in Enugu involved in the preparations for Igbo day on 29th May 2000, something equally interesting happened.
Again, the minute I held a press conference in Enugu announcing May 29th as the date for the first-ever Igbo day celebrations, one President, quickly responded barely 24 hours later, choosing the same date for Democracy day celebrations.
What an uncanny coincidence.
Every Onye Igbo understands the significance of May 29, July 29 and September 29 to Igbo history and Igbo journey inside Nigeria.
These desperate attempts to frustrate anything that would unite Ndigbo greatly strengthened my resolve to dedicate my energy to enlightening the Igbo younger generation.
After Dr Pius Okigbo and Comrade Uche Chukwumerije asked me to pick between July 29 and September 29, while also pledging to support the event, to put to shame those working hard to sabotage the event, I told Chief Anny Odunze, Ohanaeze admin Secretary at the time that September 29 would be more appropriate.
An Ohanaeze General Assembly had to meet and approve the event. Then entered the second stage of wahala.
The General officer commanding the 3rd Marine Commando Division of the army in 1969, who also received the surrender of Biafra at Amichi in January 1970, was incidentally occupying the villa as the Alpha, and he didn’t approve of Ndigbo coming together to mark Igbo day, that could signal the beginning of Ndigbo uniting as one, he probably feared.
The crucial Ohanaeze meeting fixed to address the issue was chaired by Eze Njemanze of Owerri. After three hours of debate whether Ndigbo are free to hold Igbo day, Prof Ben Nwabueze, Secretary-General at the time, called for a vote and wait for this, majority of the house rejected Igbo day celebrations. They said it was unnecessary. With tears in my eyes, I left the meeting.
Eze Desmond Ogugua, Chief Onyesoh Nwachukwu, Dr Anagha Ezeikpe, Justice Eze Ozobu, Comrade Uche Chukwumerije and Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu assured me that the man in Aso rock doesn’t have the power to intimidate the entire Igbo race, some may pander to his wishes, but the Igbo race cannot cancel the Igbo day celebrations, because someone, somewhere didn’t like the idea.
I drew strength also from the support from Aka Ikenga folks in Lagos, who asked me to go ahead with the arrangements for September 29, 2000.
Folks like Oscar Onwudiwe, Iheanyi Nzekwe, Agunze Chib Ikeokwu, K.O.P. Odidika, Ziggy Azike and Pat Utomi greatly supported me. They said the President in Abuja didn’t have the right to stop Ndigbo from gathering together. Their assistance in kind and cash also helped me greatly.
All the Igbo Governors were scared to host the event when they learnt that Aso rock didn’t want Ndigbo to mark any Igbo Day.
Dim Ojukwu sent me to Umuahia to meet the Governor, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, who gladly gave me the Umuahia Township Stadium, once he heard that Dim Ojukwu was coming. He instructed Chief Eme Okoro to hand over one million naira to us.
Excited, I rushed to Ikot Ekpene to meet with General Philip Effieong who had earlier accepted my invitation to attend, he wanted to meet with Ojukwu. While in his house, his telephone rang, a top Ohanaeze chieftain called to discourage him from attending the Igbo day at Umuahia on September 29. The caller informed him that Ohanaeze cancelled the suggestion from one trouble maker called Elliot Uko, who has the backing of Dim Ojukwu to cause trouble. The caller warned him that the President in Aso rock will be unhappy with him if he gets together with Ojukwu and Igbo youths.
As he hung up the phone, General Philip Effieong told me everything. I was shocked. The man who called him had no idea that I was with General Effieong and that I had been visiting General Effieong for years and that I had a father/son relationship with him.
This Ohanaeze Chieftain in question has no idea I was with General Effieong when he called to date unless of course, he reads this post. Sad.
I didn’t know before then, that the wishes of the occupant of Aso Rock, overrides whatsoever Ndigbo would want as a people. And that our leaders would do everything to please the villa.
I transversed, by God’s grace the whole of Igboland inviting people to the maiden Igbo day at Umuahia, Ojukwu sent me ahead to Umuahia, where A.C.B. Agbazuere, then in opposition, helped us greatly in activating publicity for the Igbo day celebrations in Umuahia.
The state Government gave Dim Ojukwu the Presidential lodge near Damgrate hotel and Agbazuere and I drove around town announcing to the excited residents that Ojukwu was in town for the maiden Igbo day celebrations.
48 hours before the event, the same Ohanaeze that bowed to the wishes of the man at Aso rock and rejected the Igbo day celebrations suddenly made a U-turn when they saw that we were going ahead anyway and that we had the support of the Igbo masses. They fixed theirs at Okpara square Enugu.
I bored you all with this short story, to expose the weak point of Ohanaeze and to buttress the fact that if Ohanaeze does not learn how to place the needs, desires and issues of the Igbo people, over and above the desires of the villa, it would remain difficult for Ohanaeze to carry the people along.
Needless to state here, how I, soon after the event, wrote and distributed amongst Ndigbo, a petition that empowered Justice Ozobu to take the office of President General immediately, thereby putting an end to the manipulation of a tiny click. Prof Ben Nwabueze in a conciliatory move, wrote me a letter, still in my possession, appointing me and my IYM as the only authorised youth organisation in Igbo land.
From then onwards I realized the great need to put Ohanaeze leadership on their toes. Of course, they didn’t like that.
To hit back at me, they created Ohanaeze youths, to counter Elliot Uko, and his IYM, who they claimed doesn’t play ball.
Now, I shared this story to remind us all that Ohanaeze belongs to us all, not a cabal. We can only strengthen it when the cabal running it realises and accept the inevitable truth: That the welfare of Ndigbo should be paramount, not the wishes of the people in Aso rock.
Ohanaeze’s chequered history should push the leaders to harness and apply the truth always, court and work with the younger generation and do all in their power to show themselves transparently promoting group interest at all times.
Ohanaeze came to be when certain first republic politicians gathered to create a platform of relevance immediately after the fall of the Gowon regime in the mid-70s, mainly for accommodation than for fighting for the people.
By the second Republic, it had become an anti-Zik organ peopled mostly by politicians of the NPN hue jostling for relevance.
Their meetings mostly funded by Igwe Mathias Ugochukwu of Umunze were more about attacking the NPP, than fighting for the masses, who were with the NPP.
The IBB and Abacha era saw an Ohanaeze that jumped into Triax Airlines planes to reassure Abacha that they were solidly behind him.
Eze Onuegwu Nwoke and Igwe Igwe Emeka Nnaji were the arrowheads.
The milieu at the time was different. There were no agitators in Igboland. There were no youth groups in Igboland. Times have changed. Has Ohanaeze realized that time have changed?
Have they realised that it is impossible to carry the masses along without factoring in the younger generation and their views?
The largest critical mass in Igboland today, are not very proud of Ohanaeze. They are wary of the elders. They are angry with Nigeria. They don’t trust the oldies.
Ohanaeze has a lot of work to do. Are they aware, are they willing?
The urgency in bridging the gap between the old and the young in Igboland cannot be overemphasised.
