What the Igbos want in Nigeria (6)

THE fourth and last group of Igbos,where the present author belongs to, are those that believe that Nigeria is facing a national question. That this national question is the most critical problem facing the country today which, depending on how it is handled, can either rebuild or destroy her; that the best solution to this national question should only proceed from its understanding in terms of nationalities, without this being a disregard for the economic, political and constitutional palliatives that could impact upon the major variable.

By acknowledging the national question, Nigerians would be well-placed to achieve a stable constitutive federation by themselves, instead of the raging and violent institutive federalism masterminded by colonialism and further corrupted by fascistic military and civilian rulers. This is a chance which we suggest the people should for the mean time offer themselves, and see if by such just means, the dream called Nigeria can survive, the marauding soldiers, both official and unofficial, killing innocent and unarmed citizens, instead turn their imported guns against external aggressors, if any, and the Nnamdi Kanus, IPOB and MASSOB, OPC, IYC, Arewa Youths, Avengers, and so on, persuaded to calm down.

Yes, as oft-implied, the national question, or issues that arise from the relationship between nationalities or ethnic groups, is not the only problem that Nigeria has. There are also the class, ideological, regional, military-security, religious, and other questions or problems, but arising from its socio-cultural individuality and fundamental territoriality, as well as patterns of Nigeria’s historical evolution since the mid-50s, the solution to the national question, more than the rest, most probably embodies the solution to the others, especially the goal of achieving stable peace and mutually competitive development between naturally-formed constituent units.

Through the national question, a contextual meaning would also be given to the just demands for resource control, fiscal federalism, as well as the self-determination of minority ethnic groups within a just and united Nigeria.
No one can in their true hearts blame Nigerians for raising the national question, because that is the mildest logical consequence of the policies of the various ethnic, political, economic, cultural and other criminals that had been running the country as their tribal, religious or regional fiefdoms.

Impending catastrophe
The only alternative to the national question is either to be cowed down into submission and have the country continue on its cruel downward slide, or organise a revolution, based on the class question, which Nzeogwu and Gideon Orkar tried and failed.

Is the national question and prospective restructuring against any particular group of Nigerians? Fundamentally no, except whoever is benefitting from the inherited and continuing mayhem and, possibly, impending catastrophe! Generally, those opposed to the national question and its restructuring, are aware that the State needs a fundamental re-arrangement, they also know what such proper re-arrangement ought to approximately be, but the unmerited sugar and honey in their mouths are too sweet to imagine any other change except diversionary tinkering.

They want Local Government autonomy, for example,when the issue is whether the Local Governments should exist at all, or be created or sustained from where. No one knows Nigeria’s population, and it is to them anathema to suggest any objective indices to judge it. And so on and so forth. Some of them also proclaim that restructuring is a step to disintegrating a country that they have already destroyed emotionally, psychologically and spiritually, only awaiting for the physical dissolution.

It may soon turn out that only those calling for a fundamental restructuring into viable nationality-based regions intended Nigeria any good.

…Prof. Igwe teaches Political Science at University of Nigeria, Nsukka