DaLover: After killings of several Igbos in the north,Nigerian leaders sat in Aburi, where Ojukwu convinced the others that confederation was the best way to go, considering the dangerous rivalry between the major ethnic groups..

My understanding is that, on getting back to Nigeria, Gowon and other began to foot drag on the Aburi agreement and they were fully encouraged by technocrats from the SW then, remember that prior to the July 1966 coup, the Igbos and Yorubas were in serious neck and neck rivalry for opportunities, in Lagos and SW, the departure of the Igbos in droves gave the Yorubas a fresh breath of air...

Igbos who saw education almost 100 years after the first yorubas, quickly pulled themselves up and became very competitive, achieving great strides in many field of endeavor, Drastically closing the educational gap with the Yorubas and moving to all corners of Nigeria to establish them selves, nigeria very quickly saw these As a threat and thus the animosity between various Nigerians and the Igbos, most notably the core north and the SW.

As already established the blazing rapid progress of the igbos was viewed with serious suspicion by those who couldn't cope with the progress, initially, the igbos were eager to for the british to go and was ready to make any sacrifices to achieve such, Hence allowing the reluctant north more political power as a sort of assurance against perceived political domination from the more educated south, the Igbos probably calculated that the spirit of free and fair enterprise would be allowed to reign in an independent nigeria, they probably calculated that competition and industry would be the main stay of the Nigerian economy....boy were they wrong!

The unhealthy rivalry lead to the coup and counter coup and by this time it was clear that ethnic tensions and fears of domination by other groups would not allow the environment of free enterprise, industry and competitive of the Igbos to thrive in nigeria..
Hence Ojukwu's proposal of confederation, which should have made logical sense at the time, but Nigerians had already grown so afraid of the Igbos that he natural stance was to stand on the opposite side of what the Igbos were saying, weather it made sense or not

This great fear of the igbos have lead the victors of the war to configure Nigeria in such a way that the factors which will allow the igbos to thrive will be removed. hence free enterprise , industrial development, power generation, oil industry etc are all controlled by government, for many years laws were made prohibiting groups or people outside government from owning oil companies, generating power, owning major industries like telecoms, banks etc...Igbos were left with only trading...as a people who cannot be held down they took it too new heights as the environment allowed....

Only recently, after the powers that be, believed that the competitive spirit of the Igbos was no longer a threat, they began to open up various sectors of the economy...banks, telecoms, local content for oil industry, etc....this is being done very slowly...the fear of the Igbos as always remains a guiding factor

The other regions only saw the ibos as a threat after January 15, 1966. Also there were rumours of another coup to complete the January 15, 1966. ibos kindly read below;

In his book, “No Place to Hide - Crises and Conflicts inside Biafra”, Bernard Odogwu, then a Nigerian diplomat, but destined to become Chief of Biafran Intelligence, reveals that shortly after the coup of January 15, 1966 he and a fellow diplomat called Adamu Mohammed at the Nigerian mission to the United Nations in New York had a frank discussion about it. Odogwu wrote that “we were both in agreement that the so called ‘revolutionaries’ had performed very badly, in view of the one sidedness of the operation and the selectiveness of the killings.” Following this discussion Odogwu made an entry on January 23, 1966 into his personal notebook:

[b]“With all the returns in, we now seem to have a complete picture of the coup, the plotters, and the casualties. Reading through the newspapers, one gets the impression that this national catastrophe which is termed a “revolution” is being blown greatly out of proportion. It does appear to me though, that we have all gone wild with jubilation in welcoming the so-called ‘dawn of a new era’ without pausing to consider the possible chain reactions that may soon follow……….I shudder at the possible aftermath of this this folly committed by our boys in khaki.; and what has kept coming to my mind since the afternoon is the passage in Shakespeare’s MACBETH - ‘And they say blood will have blood’.

First I ask myself this question; ‘What will be the position as soon as the present mass euphoria in welcoming the ‘revolution’ in the country fades away?’ There is already some rumour here within diplomatic circles that January 15 was a grand Igbo design to liquidate all opposition in order to make way for Igbo domination of the whole country. What then is the Igbo man’s defence to this allegation in light of the sectional and selective method adopted by the coup plotters?

Although, sitting here alone as I write this, I am tempted to say that there was no such Igbo grand design, yet the inescapable fact is that the Igbos are already as a group being condemned by the rest for the activities of a handful of ambitious Igbo army officers; for here I am, with the rest of my Igbo colleagues, some thousands of miles away from home, yet being put on the defensive for such actions that we were neither consulted about, nor approved of. Our Northern colleagues and friends now look on us Igbos here as strangers and potential enemies. They are now more isolated than ever before. Their pride is hurt; and who would blame them?

Secondly, I ask myself the questions posed to me this afternoon by my colleague; What would I do if I were placed in the position of the Northerner? What do I do? How do I react to the situation? Do I just deplore and condemn those atrocities or do I plan a revenge? I do not blame the Northern chaps for feeling so sore since the events of the last few days. They definitely have my sympathy, for it must have been shocking to say the least, for one to wake up one fine morning to find nearly all one’s revered leaders gone overnight. But they were not only Northern leaders as such, and I am as much aggrieved at their loss as any other Nigerian, Northern or otherwise. I am particularly shocked at the news that Major Ifeajuna personally shot and killed his mentor, Brigadier Maimalari. My God! That must have been Caesar and Brutus come alive, with the Brigadier definitely saying ‘Et tu Emma’ before collapsing………”

“…….As for the new man at the helm of affairs, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, he too like the majority of the Majors is an Igbo, and that has not helped matters either. …..”

“…….Granted that he is such a good soldier as he is reputed to be, the question is: ‘Are all good soldiers necessarily good statesmen? Again how well prepared is he for the task he has just inherited?’ I do hope that he is also as wise as he is reputed to be bold, because if you ask me, I think the General is sitting on a time bomb, with the fuse almost burnt out. We shall wait and see what happens next, but from my observations, I know the present state of affairs will not last long. A northern counter-action is definitely around the corner, and God save us all when it explodes.”
[/b]

DaLover: After killings of several Igbos in the north,Nigerian leaders sat in Aburi, where Ojukwu convinced the others that confederation was the best way to go, considering the dangerous rivalry between the major ethnic groups..

My understanding is that, on getting back to Nigeria, Gowon and other began to foot drag on the Aburi agreement and they were fully encouraged by technocrats from the SW then, remember that prior to the July 1966 coup, the Igbos and Yorubas were in serious neck and neck rivalry for opportunities, in Lagos and SW, the departure of the Igbos in droves gave the Yorubas a fresh breath of air...

Igbos who saw education almost 100 years after the first yorubas, quickly pulled themselves up and became very competitive, achieving great strides in many field of endeavor, Drastically closing the educational gap with the Yorubas and moving to all corners of Nigeria to establish them selves, nigeria very quickly saw these As a threat and thus the animosity between various Nigerians and the Igbos, most notably the core north and the SW.

As already established the blazing rapid progress of the igbos was viewed with serious suspicion by those who couldn't cope with the progress, initially, the igbos were eager to for the british to go and was ready to make any sacrifices to achieve such, Hence allowing the reluctant north more political power as a sort of assurance against perceived political domination from the more educated south, the Igbos probably calculated that the spirit of free and fair enterprise would be allowed to reign in an independent nigeria, they probably calculated that competition and industry would be the main stay of the Nigerian economy....boy were they wrong!

The unhealthy rivalry lead to the coup and counter coup and by this time it was clear that ethnic tensions and fears of domination by other groups would not allow the environment of free enterprise, industry and competitive of the Igbos to thrive in nigeria..
Hence Ojukwu's proposal of confederation, which should have made logical sense at the time, but Nigerians had already grown so afraid of the Igbos that he natural stance was to stand on the opposite side of what the Igbos were saying, weather it made sense or not

This great fear of the igbos have lead the victors of the war to configure Nigeria in such a way that the factors which will allow the igbos to thrive will be removed. hence free enterprise , industrial development, power generation, oil industry etc are all controlled by government, for many years laws were made prohibiting groups or people outside government from owning oil companies, generating power, owning major industries like telecoms, banks etc...Igbos were left with only trading...as a people who cannot be held down they took it too new heights as the environment allowed....

Only recently, after the powers that be, believed that the competitive spirit of the Igbos was no longer a threat, they began to open up various sectors of the economy...banks, telecoms, local content for oil industry, etc....this is being done very slowly...the fear of the Igbos as always remains a guiding factor

The other regions only saw the ibos as a threat after January 15, 1966. Also there were rumours of another coup to complete the January 15, 1966. ibos kindly read below;

In his book, “No Place to Hide - Crises and Conflicts inside Biafra”, Bernard Odogwu, then a Nigerian diplomat, but destined to become Chief of Biafran Intelligence, reveals that shortly after the coup of January 15, 1966 he and a fellow diplomat called Adamu Mohammed at the Nigerian mission to the United Nations in New York had a frank discussion about it. Odogwu wrote that “we were both in agreement that the so called ‘revolutionaries’ had performed very badly, in view of the one sidedness of the operation and the selectiveness of the killings.” Following this discussion Odogwu made an entry on January 23, 1966 into his personal notebook:

[b]“With all the returns in, we now seem to have a complete picture of the coup, the plotters, and the casualties. Reading through the newspapers, one gets the impression that this national catastrophe which is termed a “revolution” is being blown greatly out of proportion. It does appear to me though, that we have all gone wild with jubilation in welcoming the so-called ‘dawn of a new era’ without pausing to consider the possible chain reactions that may soon follow……….I shudder at the possible aftermath of this this folly committed by our boys in khaki.; and what has kept coming to my mind since the afternoon is the passage in Shakespeare’s MACBETH - ‘And they say blood will have blood’.

First I ask myself this question; ‘What will be the position as soon as the present mass euphoria in welcoming the ‘revolution’ in the country fades away?’ There is already some rumour here within diplomatic circles that January 15 was a grand Igbo design to liquidate all opposition in order to make way for Igbo domination of the whole country. What then is the Igbo man’s defence to this allegation in light of the sectional and selective method adopted by the coup plotters?

Although, sitting here alone as I write this, I am tempted to say that there was no such Igbo grand design, yet the inescapable fact is that the Igbos are already as a group being condemned by the rest for the activities of a handful of ambitious Igbo army officers; for here I am, with the rest of my Igbo colleagues, some thousands of miles away from home, yet being put on the defensive for such actions that we were neither consulted about, nor approved of. Our Northern colleagues and friends now look on us Igbos here as strangers and potential enemies. They are now more isolated than ever before. Their pride is hurt; and who would blame them?

Secondly, I ask myself the questions posed to me this afternoon by my colleague; What would I do if I were placed in the position of the Northerner? What do I do? How do I react to the situation? Do I just deplore and condemn those atrocities or do I plan a revenge? I do not blame the Northern chaps for feeling so sore since the events of the last few days. They definitely have my sympathy, for it must have been shocking to say the least, for one to wake up one fine morning to find nearly all one’s revered leaders gone overnight. But they were not only Northern leaders as such, and I am as much aggrieved at their loss as any other Nigerian, Northern or otherwise. I am particularly shocked at the news that Major Ifeajuna personally shot and killed his mentor, Brigadier Maimalari. My God! That must have been Caesar and Brutus come alive, with the Brigadier definitely saying ‘Et tu Emma’ before collapsing………”

“…….As for the new man at the helm of affairs, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, he too like the majority of the Majors is an Igbo, and that has not helped matters either. …..”

“…….Granted that he is such a good soldier as he is reputed to be, the question is: ‘Are all good soldiers necessarily good statesmen? Again how well prepared is he for the task he has just inherited?’ I do hope that he is also as wise as he is reputed to be bold, because if you ask me, I think the General is sitting on a time bomb, with the fuse almost burnt out. We shall wait and see what happens next, but from my observations, I know the present state of affairs will not last long. A northern counter-action is definitely around the corner, and God save us all when it explodes.”
[/b]

DaLover: After killings of several Igbos in the north,Nigerian leaders sat in Aburi, where Ojukwu convinced the others that confederation was the best way to go, considering the dangerous rivalry between the major ethnic groups..

My understanding is that, on getting back to Nigeria, Gowon and other began to foot drag on the Aburi agreement and they were fully encouraged by technocrats from the SW then, remember that prior to the July 1966 coup, the Igbos and Yorubas were in serious neck and neck rivalry for opportunities, in Lagos and SW, the departure of the Igbos in droves gave the Yorubas a fresh breath of air...

Igbos who saw education almost 100 years after the first yorubas, quickly pulled themselves up and became very competitive, achieving great strides in many field of endeavor, Drastically closing the educational gap with the Yorubas and moving to all corners of Nigeria to establish them selves, nigeria very quickly saw these As a threat and thus the animosity between various Nigerians and the Igbos, most notably the core north and the SW.

As already established the blazing rapid progress of the igbos was viewed with serious suspicion by those who couldn't cope with the progress, initially, the igbos were eager to for the british to go and was ready to make any sacrifices to achieve such, Hence allowing the reluctant north more political power as a sort of assurance against perceived political domination from the more educated south, the Igbos probably calculated that the spirit of free and fair enterprise would be allowed to reign in an independent nigeria, they probably calculated that competition and industry would be the main stay of the Nigerian economy....boy were they wrong!

The unhealthy rivalry lead to the coup and counter coup and by this time it was clear that ethnic tensions and fears of domination by other groups would not allow the environment of free enterprise, industry and competitive of the Igbos to thrive in nigeria..
Hence Ojukwu's proposal of confederation, which should have made logical sense at the time, but Nigerians had already grown so afraid of the Igbos that he natural stance was to stand on the opposite side of what the Igbos were saying, weather it made sense or not

This great fear of the igbos have lead the victors of the war to configure Nigeria in such a way that the factors which will allow the igbos to thrive will be removed. hence free enterprise , industrial development, power generation, oil industry etc are all controlled by government, for many years laws were made prohibiting groups or people outside government from owning oil companies, generating power, owning major industries like telecoms, banks etc...Igbos were left with only trading...as a people who cannot be held down they took it too new heights as the environment allowed....

Only recently, after the powers that be, believed that the competitive spirit of the Igbos was no longer a threat, they began to open up various sectors of the economy...banks, telecoms, local content for oil industry, etc....this is being done very slowly...the fear of the Igbos as always remains a guiding factor

^^^Insightful post! It pretty much summarises a large chunk of Nigerian history.

IGBO-SON:


^^^Insightful post! It pretty much summarises a large chunk of Nigerian history.

No it summarises the delusional thinking of the ibos not reality.

Tribute to Ikemba:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQTKrEjYy4

debetmx:

No it summarises the delusional thinking of the ibos not reality.

^^^Dude....you've made your point earlier! Or you reckon that by butting in to have the last word that you'd finally convince me to believe you're making sense?

Try and grow up mate!

PS- it's Igbo not ibo.

DaLover: After killings of several Igbos in the north,Nigerian leaders sat in Aburi, where Ojukwu convinced the others that confederation was the best way to go, considering the dangerous rivalry between the major ethnic groups..

My understanding is that, on getting back to Nigeria, Gowon and other began to foot drag on the Aburi agreement and they were fully encouraged by technocrats from the SW then, remember that prior to the July 1966 coup, the Igbos and Yorubas were in serious neck and neck rivalry for opportunities, in Lagos and SW, the departure of the Igbos in droves gave the Yorubas a fresh breath of air...

Igbos who saw education almost 100 years after the first yorubas, quickly pulled themselves up and became very competitive, achieving great strides in many field of endeavor, Drastically closing the educational gap with the Yorubas and moving to all corners of Nigeria to establish them selves, nigeria very quickly saw these As a threat and thus the animosity between various Nigerians and the Igbos, most notably the core north and the SW.

As already established the blazing rapid progress of the igbos was viewed with serious suspicion by those who couldn't cope with the progress, initially, the igbos were eager to for the british to go and was ready to make any sacrifices to achieve such, Hence allowing the reluctant north more political power as a sort of assurance against perceived political domination from the more educated south, the Igbos probably calculated that the spirit of free and fair enterprise would be allowed to reign in an independent nigeria, they probably calculated that competition and industry would be the main stay of the Nigerian economy....boy were they wrong!

The unhealthy rivalry lead to the coup and counter coup and by this time it was clear that ethnic tensions and fears of domination by other groups would not allow the environment of free enterprise, industry and competitive of the Igbos to thrive in nigeria..
Hence Ojukwu's proposal of confederation, which should have made logical sense at the time, but Nigerians had already grown so afraid of the Igbos that he natural stance was to stand on the opposite side of what the Igbos were saying, weather it made sense or not

This great fear of the igbos have lead the victors of the war to configure Nigeria in such a way that the factors which will allow the igbos to thrive will be removed. hence free enterprise , industrial development, power generation, oil industry etc are all controlled by government, for many years laws were made prohibiting groups or people outside government from owning oil companies, generating power, owning major industries like telecoms, banks etc...Igbos were left with only trading...as a people who cannot be held down they took it too new heights as the environment allowed....

Only recently, after the powers that be, believed that the competitive spirit of the Igbos was no longer a threat, they began to open up various sectors of the economy...banks, telecoms, local content for oil industry, etc....this is being done very slowly...the fear of the Igbos as always remains a guiding factor

Let me propose a different point of view.

When Awo and Bello resisted the idea of Nigeria, guess who wanted Nigeria at all cost? Azikiwe
The first coup was organized and executed by officers who were mostly Igbo
Guess who ended regionalism with Decree 34 and centralized the government in Nigeria? Ironsi
And guess who said Igbo would export civil servants to the rest of Nigeria after Ironsi promulgated Decree 34? Ojukwu

And you need to educate yourself about migration patterns. Do more Americans migrate to Mexico or do more Mexicans migrate to America? Migration patterns are influenced by economic and social opportunities. So it is foolish for 10 Mexicans to migrate into the US and boast that they are going to compete against Americans. You can't use opportunities created by someone to better your lot and then claim to be better than him. You guys delude yourselves too much with this 'we are more competitive than others BS'. You can't judge others based on your own values.

When immigrants move into a new territory the residents are usually defensive and its not because they fear immigrants, it is because by simple logic, more people in an area will reduce resources for the original residents. If 5 people live in a 3 bedroom apartment and another 3 people move in - is it not obvious that food would have to be shared, bathrooms would have to be shared, bedrooms would have to be shared, even watching TV will increase conflict.

Uyi Iredia:

Interesting ! Could you substantiate this ?

"That said, Eastern region Governor Lt. Col. Ojukwu did not help matters for the General when, the next day after promulgation on May 24, he publicly announced in Enugu that on the basis of seniority, Igbo civil servants would be transferred to other regions and Lagos. Needless to say, he unintentionally sent shivers through the northern civil service because that region was not only educationally disadvantaged but traditionally paid the lowest salaries in the federation, automatically relegating northerners to the bottom of any unified civil service."

http://www.africamasterweb.com/CounterCoup.html

Katsumoto:

Let me propose a different point of view.

When Awo and Bello resisted the idea of Nigeria, guess who wanted Nigeria at all cost? Azikiwe
The first coup was organized and executed by officers who were mostly Igbo
Guess who ended regionalism with Decree 34 and centralized the government in Nigeria? Ironsi
And guess who said Igbo would export civil servants to the rest of Nigeria after Ironsi promulgated Decree 34? Ojukwu

And you need to educate yourself about migration patterns. Do more Americans migrate to Mexico or do more Mexicans migrate to America? Migration patterns are influenced by economic and social opportunities. So it is foolish for 10 Mexicans to migrate into the US and boast that they are going to compete against Americans. You can't use opportunities created by someone to better your lot and then claim to be better than him.[b] You guys delude yourselves too much with this 'we are more competitive than others BS'. You can't judge others based on your own values.

[b]When immigrants move into a new territory the residents are usually defensive and its not because they fear immigrants, it is because by simple logic, more people in an area will reduce resources for the original residents. If 5 people live in a 3 bedroom apartment and another 3 people move in - is it not obvious that food would have to be shared, bathrooms would have to be shared, bedrooms would have to be shared, even watching TV will increase conflict.

You took your time to lecture these ignoramous buffoons.

The fact that Ironsi and Azikwe may have wanted to centralise power does not necessary mean that that was what Ojukwu wanted.

Even if Ojukwu was initially in support of centralising power, everything changed when tens of thousands of Igbos were massacred in other parts of Nigeria so it is understandable if he changed his mind after the safety of Igbo lives and property were no longer guaranteed outside of Igboland.

Interview with Ojukwu:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJdGiQQlzJo

@ katsmoto
Pls mr.katsmoto i dont agree with you on this though zm not ibo.

Many pre war event and war account from federal gov is clear to any sincere person are falsehood.
So how do you take that as bases for your info even when its obvious it just fabrication.
Sure ibos are not saints so also other nigerian tribes, i have a lot of reservations agsinst ibos,yorubas,fulanis etc .

Now the the professor is saying that ojuku was right on aburi stance which is true, he is not talking about wat ojuku said b4 that.

I will pardon a man who says that bad is good yesterday but repent tomoro and does good, which is wat ojuku did . That is if the source you provided is true.
But i will not pardon a man that tells you good is good yesterday but repents tomoro when time come and does bad. That is what federal side(fulanis and awo) did .

Take it from me, if awo was not in prison during the first coup the soldiers will not touch him because they all love him.

Lets all stop ibos was right during 66 and awo was right b4 the war pls lets face today and refrain from anytin that will give fulanis power for sometime till nigeria is restuctured.

I said this bcus fulanis has proven historicaly that they value no ones freedom only theirs, starting from usman dan fodio to ahmef bello,.

I prefare been in same country with southerners than staying fulanis so lets go back to regionary partern of governance.

debetmx:

The other regions only saw the ibos as a threat after January 15, 1966. Also there were rumours of another coup to complete the January 15, 1966. ibos kindly read below;

In his book, “No Place to Hide - Crises and Conflicts inside Biafra”, Bernard Odogwu, then a Nigerian diplomat, but destined to become Chief of Biafran Intelligence, reveals that shortly after the coup of January 15, 1966 he and a fellow diplomat called Adamu Mohammed at the Nigerian mission to the United Nations in New York had a frank discussion about it. Odogwu wrote that “we were both in agreement that the so called ‘revolutionaries’ had performed very badly, in view of the one sidedness of the operation and the selectiveness of the killings.” Following this discussion Odogwu made an entry on January 23, 1966 into his personal notebook:

[b]“With all the returns in, we now seem to have a complete picture of the coup, the plotters, and the casualties. Reading through the newspapers, one gets the impression that this national catastrophe which is termed a “revolution” is being blown greatly out of proportion. It does appear to me though, that we have all gone wild with jubilation in welcoming the so-called ‘dawn of a new era’ without pausing to consider the possible chain reactions that may soon follow……….I shudder at the possible aftermath of this this folly committed by our boys in khaki.; and what has kept coming to my mind since the afternoon is the passage in Shakespeare’s MACBETH - ‘And they say blood will have blood’.

First I ask myself this question; ‘What will be the position as soon as the present mass euphoria in welcoming the ‘revolution’ in the country fades away?’ There is already some rumour here within diplomatic circles that January 15 was a grand Igbo design to liquidate all opposition in order to make way for Igbo domination of the whole country. What then is the Igbo man’s defence to this allegation in light of the sectional and selective method adopted by the coup plotters?

Although, sitting here alone as I write this, I am tempted to say that there was no such Igbo grand design, yet the inescapable fact is that the Igbos are already as a group being condemned by the rest for the activities of a handful of ambitious Igbo army officers; for here I am, with the rest of my Igbo colleagues, some thousands of miles away from home, yet being put on the defensive for such actions that we were neither consulted about, nor approved of. Our Northern colleagues and friends now look on us Igbos here as strangers and potential enemies. They are now more isolated than ever before. Their pride is hurt; and who would blame them?

Secondly, I ask myself the questions posed to me this afternoon by my colleague; What would I do if I were placed in the position of the Northerner? What do I do? How do I react to the situation? Do I just deplore and condemn those atrocities or do I plan a revenge? I do not blame the Northern chaps for feeling so sore since the events of the last few days. They definitely have my sympathy, for it must have been shocking to say the least, for one to wake up one fine morning to find nearly all one’s revered leaders gone overnight. But they were not only Northern leaders as such, and I am as much aggrieved at their loss as any other Nigerian, Northern or otherwise. I am particularly shocked at the news that Major Ifeajuna personally shot and killed his mentor, Brigadier Maimalari. My God! That must have been Caesar and Brutus come alive, with the Brigadier definitely saying ‘Et tu Emma’ before collapsing………”

“…….As for the new man at the helm of affairs, Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi, he too like the majority of the Majors is an Igbo, and that has not helped matters either. …..”

“…….Granted that he is such a good soldier as he is reputed to be, the question is: ‘Are all good soldiers necessarily good statesmen? Again how well prepared is he for the task he has just inherited?’ I do hope that he is also as wise as he is reputed to be bold, because if you ask me, I think the General is sitting on a time bomb, with the fuse almost burnt out. We shall wait and see what happens next, but from my observations, I know the present state of affairs will not last long. A northern counter-action is definitely around the corner, and God save us all when it explodes.”
[/b]

I am particularly shocked about your statement that other regions only saw the Igbos as a threat after the jan 1966 coup, nothing could be further from the truth, do you know there was rioting in the north as early as the 1930's or 40's, what do you think was the cause of it?
Have you heard some of the historic speeches of The popular Akintola or Saudana of sokoto about the Igbos, long before the 1966 jan coup? Go and check them out your self, just google them..

Katsumoto:

Let me propose a different point of view.

When Awo and Bello resisted the idea of Nigeria, guess who wanted Nigeria at all cost? Azikiwe
The first coup was organized and executed by officers who were mostly Igbo
Guess who ended regionalism with Decree 34 and centralized the government in Nigeria? Ironsi
And guess who said Igbo would export civil servants to the rest of Nigeria after Ironsi promulgated Decree 34? Ojukwu

And you need to educate yourself about migration patterns. Do more Americans migrate to Mexico or do more Mexicans migrate to America? Migration patterns are influenced by economic and social opportunities. So it is foolish for 10 Mexicans to migrate into the US and boast that they are going to compete against Americans. You can't use opportunities created by someone to better your lot and then claim to be better than him. You guys delude yourselves too much with this 'we are more competitive than others BS'. You can't judge others based on your own values.

When immigrants move into a new territory the residents are usually defensive and its not because they fear immigrants, it is because by simple logic, more people in an area will reduce resources for the original residents. If 5 people live in a 3 bedroom apartment and another 3 people move in - is it not obvious that food would have to be shared, bathrooms would have to be shared, bedrooms would have to be shared, even watching TV will increase conflict.

Maybe you didn't understand my post well, I said very clearly that the Igbos initially thought that operate freely in a united Nigeria, freely roaming all corners as they wish, but tribal sensibilities of the country did not permit this, upon the realization of this fact,, came the push for a confederate state....

What do u mean about opportunities created by someone ? Are u sure this makes any sense? How come the person created the opportunity and was not able to take advantage of it? Back then when the Igbos were progressing rapidly, was it because they were in sole control of government? No the British were...
They were the first set of self made multi millionaires..eg Ojukwu's father, military men, politicians , engineers etc

Igbos were found in all corners of Nigeria, Ziks father was a railway operator in zunguru in Niger state today, there were several factors that lead to these events, the republican nature of the Igbos being chief amongst these, competitive spirit and others...nothing stopped the other groups from moving freely around nigeria to explore opportunities but cultural inhibitions

Now if the country is to willing to accept this kind of social interactions and migrations or as you put it "taking opportunities created by someone " the logical alternative is to live as separate as possible. Isn't it?

Sit down and ask yourself some pertinent questions y do you think the federal governments of the day have insisted on controlling everything?

IGBO-SON:


^^^Dude....you've made your point earlier! Or you reckon that by butting in to have the last word that you'd finally convince me to believe you're making sense?

Try and grow up mate!

PS- it's Igbo not ibo.

No, its you guys who should grow up. Keep living in your self deluded land of a rising sun.

I could care less if it was igbo. The igbo I know is indian hemp. I can understand why you guys think the way you do.

DaLover:
I am particularly shocked about your statement that other regions only saw the Igbos as a threat after the jan 1966 coup, nothing could be further from the truth, do you know there was rioting in the north as early as the 1930's or 40's, what do you think was the cause of it?
Have you heard some of the historic speeches of The popular Akintola or Saudana of sokoto about the Igbos, long before the 1966 jan coup? Go and check them out your self, just google them..

They were obviously protecting their interest and that of their people. The arrogance, attitude, selfishness and self delusions that were better than other people was (is) the main problem of the ibos. God, Gowon should have allowed this people go.

That was why you killed other people's leaders and military officers while you spared yours?

DaLover: After killings of several Igbos in the north,Nigerian leaders sat in Aburi, where Ojukwu convinced the others that confederation was the best way to go, considering the dangerous rivalry between the major ethnic groups..

My understanding is that, on getting back to Nigeria, Gowon and other began to foot drag on the Aburi agreement and they were fully encouraged by technocrats from the SW then, remember that prior to the July 1966 coup, the Igbos and Yorubas were in serious neck and neck rivalry for opportunities, in Lagos and SW, the departure of the Igbos in droves gave the Yorubas a fresh breath of air...

Igbos who saw education almost 100 years after the first yorubas, quickly pulled themselves up and became very competitive, achieving great strides in many field of endeavor, Drastically closing the educational gap with the Yorubas and moving to all corners of Nigeria to establish them selves, nigeria very quickly saw these As a threat and thus the animosity between various Nigerians and the Igbos, most notably the core north and the SW.

As already established the blazing rapid progress of the igbos was viewed with serious suspicion by those who couldn't cope with the progress, initially, the igbos were eager to for the british to go and was ready to make any sacrifices to achieve such, Hence allowing the reluctant north more political power as a sort of assurance against perceived political domination from the more educated south, the Igbos probably calculated that the spirit of free and fair enterprise would be allowed to reign in an independent nigeria, they probably calculated that competition and industry would be the main stay of the Nigerian economy....boy were they wrong!

The unhealthy rivalry lead to the coup and counter coup and by this time it was clear that ethnic tensions and fears of domination by other groups would not allow the environment of free enterprise, industry and competitive of the Igbos to thrive in nigeria..
Hence Ojukwu's proposal of confederation, which should have made logical sense at the time, but Nigerians had already grown so afraid of the Igbos that he natural stance was to stand on the opposite side of what the Igbos were saying, weather it made sense or not

This great fear of the igbos have lead the victors of the war to configure Nigeria in such a way that the factors which will allow the igbos to thrive will be removed. hence free enterprise , industrial development, power generation, oil industry etc are all controlled by government, for many years laws were made prohibiting groups or people outside government from owning oil companies, generating power, owning major industries like telecoms, banks etc...Igbos were left with only trading...as a people who cannot be held down they took it too new heights as the environment allowed....

Only recently, after the powers that be, believed that the competitive spirit of the Igbos was no longer a threat, they began to open up various sectors of the economy...banks, telecoms, local content for oil industry, etc....this is being done very slowly...the fear of the Igbos as always remains a guiding factor

this should go down as one of the best posts of all time on nairaland.insightful!

debetmx:

They were obviously protecting their interest and that of their people. The arrogance, attitude, selfishness and self delusions that were better than other people was (is) the main problem of the ibos. God, Gowon should have allowed this people go.

That was why you killed other people's leaders and military officers while you spared yours?

^^^Try not to generalize when making assertions; you come off sounding stupid mate!

On bolded (first paragraph): This is where we both agree for the first time.....so in other words, we could also agree on the fact that Awo made a mistake in joining the federal side to sustain 'one Nigeria'? Even if he felt Yorubas were better off in Nigeria, you would agree with me that he made a mistake in not using the opportunity presented to insist on restructuring the country in accordance with the main thrust of the Aburi accord which was confederation. Read Katsumotos post and you'd agree with me that he's invariably making Ojukwus case for him.

Regarding your last paragraph: I think it's childish and wrong to blame a whole ethnicity for the misdeeds of a few individuals.....you're starting to sound like T8sky! You'd never see me say anywhere that what happened during the first coup was right; the culprits should have been made to pay for their crimes, but the hatred and jealousy shown towards Ndigbo (by bigots like you at the time) made thousands of people pay for the crime of a handful of men. Unlike some people, i don't blame every Yoruba for the misdeeds of Awo and Adekunle, and you'd do well (if you're a matured and reasonable person) to take the same stand regarding the coupists of 1966.

Cheers.

Quick question Debetmx: do you think Nigeria would have survived as a country if 'Biafra' had succeeded? If no, why not.....if yes, why yes?

[quote author=IGBO-SON]

^^^Try not to generalize when making assertions; you come off sounding stupid mate!

On bolded (first paragraph): This is where we both agree for the first time.....so in other words, we could also agree on the fact that Awo made a mistake in joining the federal side to sustain 'one Nigeria'? Even if he felt Yorubas were better off in Nigeria, you would agree with me that he made a mistake in not using the opportunity presented to insist on restructuring the country in accordance with the main thrust of the Aburi accord which was confederation. Read Katsumotos post and you'd agree with me that he's invariably making Ojukwus case for him.

Regarding your last paragraph: I think it's childish and wrong to blame a whole ethnicity for the misdeeds of a few individuals.....you're starting to sound like T8sky! You'd never see me say anywhere that what happened during the first coup was right; the culprits should have been made to pay for their crimes, but the hatred and jealousy shown towards Ndigbo (by bigots like you at the time) made thousands of people pay for the crime of a handful of men. Unlike some people, i don't blame every Yoruba for the misdeeds of Awo and Adekunle, and you'd do well (if you're a matured and reasonable person) to take the same stand regarding the coupists of 1966.

Awo made no mistake by joining up with the Federal side. When Awo approached Nnamdi Azikwe to form the Federal Government prior to independence, instead Zik went with the northerners so Awo was not compelled to join up with an fictitious southern front in 1967. There is freedom of association u know. Awo felt the interests and lives of his people would be better protected on the Federal side. Besides, it would have been foolish of the Yorubas to have trusted the ibos after the January 15, 1966 coup where they spared the lives of their own people. After all, ojukwu ran way with his family members. My assertion that Gowon should have allowed the ibos go is just I feel its good riddance to bad rubbish than any particular point. I would rather marry a hausa person than an ibo person because I just don't trust your people.

Are you telling us it was not an ibo coup?
The coupist waited for the arrival of Ahmadu Bello from Mecca, but could not wait for Nnadi Azikwe. Afer all, they tipped him off to run abroad
Aguiyi Ironsi was not at home when they came for him. Which party did he attend after Maimalari’s party?
Ifeajuna and Okafor after killing the PM went for a meeting with the premier of the eastern region who was meant to be killed too. Obviously to give him a situation report
The senate president, Orizu handed power to a ibo man, Aguiyi ironsi
The boys who carried out the coup were not punished against the normal practice.

I don't hate ndigbo but I hate your attitude of blaming others for your problems. After the January 1966 your people where mocking the northerners, instead of commiserating with them. Am more surprised that after killing Ahmadu Bello, Nzeogwu or other ibos took pictures of him standing of the corpse of the Sardauna of Sokoto. You wanted the Yorubas to help you fix your problems while your people forgot you killed our own people too. You must think we are learners. but If you were in the shoes of the northerners what would you do? Please read about the July 1966. From an ibo point of view, Aguiyi Ironsi should never have taken over power. He should have punished the January coupist but he never did. It definitely left the northerners with no choice and it must be said, the actions of some northern officers were despicable to say the least. I sincerely regret the deaths of innocent ibos, They should have killed only the principal officers of the ibo (How I wish they had finished off ojuwkwu but the coward ran off to Onitsha)

What were the misdeeds of Awo? Aligning with the Federal with the federal side instead of Biafra, its called freedom of association. Its one of your fundamental human rights you know. Unless you want to deprive him of it. Adekunle's statement was reckless and not well thought out but he had to do his job. Annibal Achizia did worse things, even to his own soldiers but biafran propagandist would keep quiet about that. Besides, what was the fate of Yoruba officers in Biafra like Banjo and Ademoyega? God bless Awolowo for his foresight

@ Debetmx:

You know there were/are so many revisionists and spin at work concerning the events of the late 60s, and hence any side can latch on to any story/yarn they feel will help their argument.

You said, "When Awo approached Nnamdi Azikwe to form the Federal Government prior to independence, instead Zik went with the northerners so Awo was not compelled to join up with an fictitious southern front in 1967. There is freedom of association u know". Now you want to sit there and tell me that Awo made the right choice for his people and didn't let his emotions becloud his better judgment, especially in light of his much earlier statement that 'Nigeria was a mere geographical expresssion'? (a statement he made way before any politicking he and Zik were engaged in); this shows he was less than honest and speaking from both sides of his mouth. You do realise there's a huge difference between 'making a political stand/calculation' and 'taking a stand against murder and pogrom' even if the people you are speaking up for were your former political adversaries; it shows a devious nature if you can try to make political gain over the murder of innocents, or take sides with evil just because the victim of a crime didn't ally with you politically in the past.

You said, "Awo felt the interests and lives of his people would be better protected on the Federal side". Now with the benefit of hindsight do you still agree with Awo; or do you think the interests of his people would have been better protected if he had pulled them out of Nigeria, told all (Hausa/Fulani and Igbos) to leave the South West, and then left Biafra and the core north to face themselves man-to-man? Please note that Biafra had no beaf with the South West/Yorubas whom they saw as a neutral party in the conflict. Or do you feel that Awo felt that the Yorubas needed Nigeria (and by extension Biafra.....bearing in mind his assertion that if Biafra leaves then his people will leave as well) to be able to progress?

You assert that the Igbo officers of the 1966 coup had some Igbo agenda hence they killed your kinsmen and left theirs; these are the grey areas that we could argue about all day and never reach a compromise, so lets work with what we know: you, Awo (going by your earlier reason on why he aligned with the federal side) and your ilk believe Igbos are not trustworthy and are proud wicked people. So why then did Awo fight and spill blood to ensure he and his kinsmen still shared a country with them?; doesn't this show a duplicitous nature? What he did amounts to cutting his nose to spite his face.

You cannot assert that Awo did the right thing, and in the next breath assert that you wish Gowon had let the 'ibos' go! You can't eat your cake and still have it!

@ Igbo-son:

I agree that there were many revisionist and spin doctors who latched upon any point to buttress their argument such as chinua achebe who consciously or unconsciously still held unto his position as head of propaganda in biafra till he died. Also the biafran leader who ran away with members after wasting the lives of 3 million people.

The last statement I made in earlier post was God bless Awolowo for his foresight and I will and still stand by that statement. Awo made the statement that Nigeria was not a country but a mere geographic expression and am sure the meaning is not lost on you. By implication Nigeria is nation of different tribes brought together for the interests of the British. He made that statement we were not consulted before the British joined us together. Their are statutes which are binding on us and the only way to change or alter them is by an act of parliament or and referendum.

What stand did your people take after the January 1966 coup, mocking the northerners, playing the ewu something song, pasting pictures of Nzeogwu standing over the corpse od the Sardauna, promoting the ibo officers while leaving out the Yoruba officers.

The proper way a part of a country breaks away is by a referendum. It happened during the creation of the Midwest region, the decision of the southern Cameroon to join Cameroon, northern Cameroon to join the northern region in Nigeria and in southern Sudan.

The only way the northern soildiers would have left Lagos was if the capital of Nigeria was moved to Kaduna. They could not have left Gowon behind, guarded by western soldiers in Lagos with the height of distrust, which the ibo officers had created in January 15, 1966. After all, after the July 29, 1966 coup, ojukwu surrounded himself with only ibo soldiers and mobile police officers when he first ran away to onitsha and came back to Enugu when the northern officers had been transported back to their region. You expected us to force Gowon out of Lagos? Obviously, Nzeogwu was a soldier than ojukwu, he stated he never supported secession and that the real power was not in Lagos but Kaduna yet ojukwu ordered biafran soldiers to Lagos.

Its on record that when Awolowo came back from his meeting with ojukwu, he met with senior Yoruba officers and the first question they put to him was if he had weapons and the funds to secede? Awolowo said no. He would never raise the issue again. Contrast that to ojukwu, who never listened to advice from anybody. He wasted 3 million lives and ran away with his family members. Need I remind you what happened to the Neutral Midwest Region?

Like I wrote earlier, the proper way for a group of people to leave a nation is by a referendum. You and I know that the eastern region consisted of not only the ibos. If the ibos wanted to secede what about the other tribes in the eastern region. In 1967, a calabar chief Etang had written a letter to the governor of northern region to rescue them from the eastern region because they did not support secession. Moreover, in February 1966 when the Niger Delta led by Adaka Boro declared secession from the eastern region, what did the ibo rulers (Aguiyi Ironsi & odumegwu ojukwu) do?

DaLover:

Maybe you didn't understand my post well, I said very clearly that the Igbos initially thought that operate freely in a united Nigeria, freely roaming all corners as they wish, but tribal sensibilities of the country did not permit this, upon the realization of this fact,, came the push for a confederate state....

What do u mean about opportunities created by someone ? Are u sure this makes any sense? How come the person created the opportunity and was not able to take advantage of it? Back then when the Igbos were progressing rapidly, was it because they were in sole control of government? No the British were...
They were the first set of self made multi millionaires..eg Ojukwu's father, military men, politicians , engineers etc

Igbos were found in all corners of Nigeria, Ziks father was a railway operator in zunguru in Niger state today, there were several factors that lead to these events, the republican nature of the Igbos being chief amongst these, competitive spirit and others...nothing stopped the other groups from moving freely around nigeria to explore opportunities but cultural inhibitions

Now if the country is to willing to accept this kind of social interactions and migrations or as you put it "taking opportunities created by someone " the logical alternative is to live as separate as possible. Isn't it?

Sit down and ask yourself some pertinent questions y do you think the federal governments of the day have insisted on controlling everything?

You are the one that doesn’t understand his own point. You argued that the Igbos pushed for regionalism because ‘tribal sensibilities of the country didn’t permit their travels’. And I countered that you ignored certain facts. First, it was the Igbos who gave Nigeria a central government. Second, the desire for regionalismwas born out of the loss of political power to the Northerners and not out of some wretched foresightedness by Ojukwu or anyone else. By some cruel irony, Ojukwu himself proclaimed his love for unitary government.

You guys use your half-baked and incomplete education to pursue your debates rather assiduously. Who told you that the people who created the opportunities didn’t make use of them? Yes Ojukwu senior was a wealthy man but before him were Akinola Dawodu, JH Doherty, 2 generations of Vaughns, 2 generations of Georges, the Odutola Brothers, Salami Agbaje, Adebisi Giwa, Mohammed Shitta-Bey, Da Rocha, J Cole, etc. Or were all these folks from Alaigbo? As for your point about military men, see military high command as at January 1966 – Ironsi, Ademulegun, Adewale Wey, Maimalari, Ogundipe, Kur Mohammed, Shodeinde, Adebayo, Gowon, Fajuyi, Njoku, Korubu, Largema, Ojukwu, Pam, Unegbe, Imo.

Like I said, people move for economic and social reasons. There are opportunities in Mexico, why aren’t Americans moving to Mexico? Because the economic and social conditions present in the US are sufficient for them. You don’t need to tell people to them, the laws of social sciences and economics provide for that. Doesn’t it sound moronic when an immigrant moves to a place to take advantage of opportunities there and then tells those he meets there that there are opportunities in the place he has migrated from and that if they are competitive, they should move there and try their luck? People who are satisfied do not move, simple.

Katsumoto:

You are the one that doesn’t understand his own point. You argued that the Igbos pushed for regionalism because ‘tribal sensibilities of the country didn’t permit their travels’. And I countered that you ignored certain facts. First, it was the Igbos who gave Nigeria a central government. Second, the desire for regionalismwas born out of the loss of political power to the Northerners and not out of some wretched foresightedness by Ojukwu or anyone else. By some cruel irony, Ojukwu himself proclaimed his love for unitary government.

You guys use your half-baked and incomplete education to pursue your debates rather assiduously. Who told you that the people who created the opportunities didn’t make use of them? Yes Ojukwu senior was a wealthy man but before him were Akinola Dawodu, JH Doherty, 2 generations of Vaughns, 2 generations of Georges, the Odutola Brothers, Salami Agbaje, Adebisi Giwa, Mohammed Shitta-Bey, Da Rocha, J Cole, etc. Or were all these folks from Alaigbo? As for your point about military men, see military high command as at January 1966 – Ironsi, Ademulegun, Adewale Wey, Maimalari, Ogundipe, Kur Mohammed, Shodeinde, Adebayo, Gowon, Fajuyi, Njoku, Korubu, Largema, Ojukwu, Pam, Unegbe, Imo.

Like I said, people move for economic and social reasons. There are opportunities in Mexico, why aren’t Americans moving to Mexico? Because the economic and social conditions present in the US are sufficient for them. You don’t need to tell people to them, the laws of social sciences and economics provide for that. Doesn’t it sound moronic when an immigrant moves to a place to take advantage of opportunities there and then tells those he meets there that there are opportunities in the place he has migrated from and that if they are competitive, they should move there and try their luck? People who are satisfied do not move, simple.

I will repeat again in a different format, hopefully u will understand me this time....nothing is wrong with a unitary system of government if people can move freely amongst each other, settle and take advantages of the opportunities in those areas....if this is not the situation, like people moving at totally different paces, Igbos vs rest of Nigeria, then it is best to move for a confederation or loose federation...what is so complicated here...

In order words it doesn't matter who wanted unitary system first, what matters is what system works for the current situation on ground....
Let me give an example... Igbos wanted unitary system for free enterprise, industry, business competition etc....but this is not stop the Yoruba man from competitions in Kano or Enugu for instance...an Igbo man leaves Owerri, migrates to Zamfara and makes his millions...is Zamfara better in any way than Owerri or IMO?
Compare his with what the Core north and the SW have done with the same unitary government since 1966, Nationalized all key sectors of the economy, stifled growth and competition, now SW and core north are hooked on free stuff as in the case of subsidy, the SE with the least government presence is ahead of many other regions.

On merit, hardwork and temerity, the Igbos produce fine officers for the British military, many northerners started to emerge when the British tried to please the north...read your history very well

It is something you would vehemently want to deny but when you strip the meat from the bones, the real reason why nigeria is where we are today is because we have configured our structure to promote laziness, and this is because the fear of the Igbo

DaLover:

I will repeat again in a different format, hopefully u will understand me this time....nothing is wrong with a unitary system of government if people can move freely amongst each other, settle and take advantages of the opportunities in those areas....if this is not the situation, like people moving at totally different paces, Igbos vs rest of Nigeria, then it is best to move for a confederation or loose federation...what is so complicated here...

In order words it doesn't matter who wanted unitary system first, what matters is what system works for the current situation on ground....
Let me give an example... Igbos wanted unitary system for free enterprise, industry, business competition etc....but this is not stop the Yoruba man from competitions in Kano or Enugu for instance...an Igbo man leaves Owerri, migrates to Zamfara and makes his millions...is Zamfara better in any way than Owerri or IMO?
Compare his with what the Core north and the SW have done with the same unitary government since 1966, Nationalized all key sectors of the economy, stifled growth and competition, now SW and core north are hooked on free stuff as in the case of subsidy, the SE with the least government presence is ahead of many other regions.

On merit, hardwork and temerity, the Igbos produce fine officers for the British military, many northerners started to emerge when the British tried to please the north...read your history very well

It is something you would vehemently want to deny but when you strip the meat from the bones, the real reason why nigeria is where we are today is because we have configured our structure to promote laziness, and this is because the fear of the Igbo

There is a lot wrong with a unitary system of government. For one, Nigeria is too large a country both in size and in number of ethnic groups to have a centralized system of government. If one looks at progress since 1966, even an unintelligent observer would conclude that Nigeria has made no progress under a unitary system of government. Advocating that unitary system of government is ok because one particular group wants to exploit opportunities elsewhere is plain selfish.

It matters who wanted a unitary system of government because you can’t force something on others and then turn around and complain when someone else has the power to use that thing against you. Justice, fairness, and karma dictate that you swallow your pill like a man. Like I stated in my previous post it is moronic to suggest that people who are comfortable in their environment should move around just because you want to. That’s not how the world works. Many poles want to move to Germany, should Poles be telling Germans that there are opportunities in Poland? To the Igbo man who leaves Owerri to go and make his millions in Zamfara, yes Zamfara is better because he didn’t have the opportunity he found in Zamfara in Owerri.

You keep sounding like you have a problem with logic – what subsidies exist in the North and SW that don’t exist in the SE? How you chaps arrive at the SE being ahead of other regions amazes me. Net migration from the SE to other regions is positive. That means more people leave the SE than migrate to it. Why would a man risk his life crossing the Sahara desert to reach Europe or stay in Maiduguri, Kano where people are being killed regularly if not because of economic opportunities? Would it make sense for a German to cross Europe and the Mediterranean Sea to get to Syria? The reality on ground implies different to whatever is being manufactured by some incompetent civil servant in Abuja.
It is obvious some of you manufacture these feel good factors to compensate for other things.

I am sick and tired with Nigerians and their deceitful illogicalities. Did Nigeria have federalism before Ironsi? Nigerians shamelessly misconstrue decree 34 as if military regime has any form of democracy which is the grandfather of federalism. Every military regime spells unitary government period. Decree 34 did not abolish regionalism as detractors would want us believe. If the decree 34 abolished second tier of government, one wonders why Nigeria had regional military governors.

There is no doubt decree 34 brought certain prejudice to the regions especially in the area of foreign policy. However, the main aim of decree 34 is unity as it created the National Public Service Commission.

The main detractors of decree 34 were the nepotistic elements in Nigeria who transformed tribal polity into an art form. Why did Nigeria’s messiah, in Gowon, keep decree 34, promulgated decree 8 and decree 14?

Till date, decree 34 is very alive and healthy in Nigeria.

Katsumoto:

There is a lot wrong with a unitary system of government. For one, Nigeria is too large a country both in size and in number of ethnic groups to have a centralized system of government. If one looks at progress since 1966, even an unintelligent observer would conclude that Nigeria has made no progress under a unitary system of government. Advocating that unitary system of government is ok because one particular group wants to exploit opportunities elsewhere is plain selfish.

It matters who wanted a unitary system of government because you can’t force something on others and then turn around and complain when someone else has the power to use that thing against you. Justice, fairness, and karma dictate that you swallow your pill like a man. Like I stated in my previous post it is moronic to suggest that people who are comfortable in their environment should move around just because you want to. That’s not how the world works. Many poles want to move to Germany, should Poles be telling Germans that there are opportunities in Poland? To the Igbo man who leaves Owerri to go and make his millions in Zamfara, yes Zamfara is better because he didn’t have the opportunity he found in Zamfara in Owerri.

You keep sounding like you have a problem with logic – what subsidies exist in the North and SW that don’t exist in the SE? How you chaps arrive at the SE being ahead of other regions amazes me. Net migration from the SE to other regions is positive. That means more people leave the SE than migrate to it. Why would a man risk his life crossing the Sahara desert to reach Europe or stay in Maiduguri, Kano where people are being killed regularly if not because of economic opportunities? Would it make sense for a German to cross Europe and the Mediterranean Sea to get to Syria? The reality on ground implies different to whatever is being manufactured by some incompetent civil servant in Abuja.
It is obvious some of you manufacture these feel good factors to compensate for other things.

As usual your argument keeps being narrow, you may or may not have been to eastern Nigeria to see things for yourself, but you theory of migration patterns is not at all comprehensive, I won't talk much on that issue again, but it it left for you to decide if the differences between north and SE or SW and SE are the same as Mexico and USA, or Germany and Poland..or if we just have a set of more adventurous people....
I know deep down you know the real truth, weather you admit it, is another thing entirely.

Again, I have not said that unitary system of government is the best for nigeria, read my post again, I said its ok where people are not limited by tribal sensibilities, and nigeria isn't sure a place...hence the original desire which was based on their competitive and adventurous nature was wrong and that is why Ojukwu reverted to a demand for confederation....

You have to be more analytical in your view of issues using facts, I have presented facts to show that 1966 was not the first time Nigerians started becoming suspicious and fearful of igbo domination and how everything lead to Ojukwu asking for a confederation.

Do u agree with me that the unitary system of government in place since 1966 has been used to hold down the SE?

There are clear differences between what the Igbos wanted before the civil war and how the SW and core north have run this country post civil war. So your statement that the Igbos were the first to ask for unitary govt and hence should not complain is at best delusional.
Prior to independence and the civil war, the Igbos advocated for a more united nigeria where everyone can move freely and benefit maximally in the country, one country, not Mexico vs USA or Poland vs Germany,
Since 1966, the core north and SW have nationalized assets, stifled individual competitiveness, encourages parasitic dependence on federal government, made laws against private participation in business core to the economy, created in economic non viable states, instituted a culture of revenue sharing as against revenue generation etc...

I naturally expect you to agree with me that the situation since 1966 has actually not set the nation in the right path, but the key thing is do you understand why the principal actors have configured the country as such?

Human migratory patterns are always towards prosperity.

That's something that cant be hidden in GDP or figures

People are not just adventurous into suffering,

Unless you can show us a net migration from places of higher prosperity to lower.

dayokanu: Human migratory patterns are always towards prosperity.

That's something that cant be hidden in GDP or figures

People are not just adventurous into suffering,

Unless you can show us a net migration from places of higher prosperity to lower.

Nigeria is a great example of where such happens!
How about migrating from a place where competition is stiff to a place where the people are more relaxed or less business inclined?
Even if you have never been to Anambra state, the fact that there are more Anambra indigenes in Zamfara or Kastina does not in anyway mean Zanfara or Katsina are richer than Anambra...
Please broaden your reasoning and stop letting tribalism get the best of you.

DaLover:
Nigeria is a great example of where such happens!
How about migrating from a place where competition is stiff to a place where the people are more relaxed or less business inclined?
Even if you have never been to Anambra state, the fact that there are more Anambra indigenes in Zamfara or Kastina does not in anyway mean Zanfara or Katsina are richer than Anambra...
Please broaden your reasoning and stop letting tribalism get the best of you.

You think it happens in Nigeria because of your tribalistic views

If there are more ppl moving from Anambra to Zamfara than the other way round its because Zamfara is better SIMPLE

Its laws of economics.

Why dont people from Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kano, Akwa-Ibom, Delta move more to Zamfara, Yobe, Ebonyi? Are you saying its only one tribe out of the millions in the whole world who act anti-economics and move to a place of more poverty?

Human beings whether in Nigeria, Somalia, Germany or Japan behave the same way and respond to the economics law of moving to a place of more prosperity

Thats why the embassy of US, UK, Germany etc in lagos is always filled and no one kknows where the embassy of Somalia, Krygystan, namibia or Congo is located

dayokanu: Human migratory patterns are always towards prosperity.

That's something that cant be hidden in GDP or figures

People are not just adventurous into suffering,

Unless you can show us a net migration from places of higher prosperity to lower.

You have a point but wrong in this case. People can move to a place to go and fill a void and this can be necessitated by the fact that where they are coming from has no space left for them.