No Single Ethnic Group can and will Carry Nigeria

--- A tree can not make a forest. Nigeria has to be carried by each and every Ethnic group in our Country for the sake of Africa, for the sake of blacks in this world. I pride myself as a dedicated Nigerian but sometimes I find it easier to be an African.
I must confess that I was ticked off by the recent headline that Yoruba have betrayed the Igbo AGAIN. The fact is Yoruba have never betrayed any Ethnic group, have never sought territorial advantage or dominance on others’ soil and have never craved the ambition to rule others in their domain. Indeed the Yoruba, who coalesced from many African Ethnic groups by long tradition of accommodation and tolerance, has found itself in a position of fighting to retain its own in Nigeria.

The statement Awolowo made still stands today. Yoruba can not and will not carry Nigeria alone. If the Hausa or the Fulani or the Kanuri decides to leave Nigeria today, Nigeria has lost its meaning. If the Ijaw or Ibibio or the Idoma or Urhobo decides to leave Nigeria today, Nigeria has no relevance to the world. It has to be seen as the beginning of the end. As secondary school children we cried when we were told we would need passport to cross to Biafra. How could our brothers and sisters suddenly become foreigners to us? I watch with dreaded sympathy how families are separated by wars of demarcation all over the world. Right here in the Delta and North-East between Nigeria and Cameron, families cry and protest about separation.

Heated discussion any where does not bother me. Highly coded message from people who are supposed to be responsible leaders to generate fear and hatred pissed me off. I have decided to agree to disagree on Awolowo with some of my brothers. Only hypocrites who knew the effort of Awolowo through his helicopter campaign all over Nigeria and his desire to make Nigeria what he made the West will doubt his sincerity. How can anyone grudge a man for that? All his life, he insisted on working with every Nigerian and the Igbo in particular loosing some of his colleagues in the process. He finally gave up his campaign when his life was threatened in the East.

This same man has been portrayed as ethnocentric, and worse still a racist. Somehow, it was traced from the time educated Yoruba dominated elite Nigeria Youth Movement in the thirties and forties when Awolowo supported Ernest Ekoli, an Ijaw and Zik supported Chief Samuel Akinsanya. The fact that Awo supported Ekoli and not Zik turned him into tribalism champion. Anyone can read whatever they want into that.

If it was about the war, Yoruba did not declare war against Biafra. If it was about the war, Zik the biggest Biafran asset deserted, refusing to destroy the house he helped built. So it has to be about what Awo did and nobody else could have done for the Yoruba. He offered to do the same for every Nigerian but was “the best President that we never had.”
In a way, attacking Awolowo as a leader that was chosen and loved by the Yoruba is one thing, lumping him together with Obasanjo that was chosen and elected by those who denied Yoruba their chosen leaders is chicanery.

There are brothers and sisters claiming that the only stars in Obasanjo’s administration are Igbo. How wonderful? It was only yesterday that all Nigerians of goodwill claimed that Igbo were excluded from the scheme of power in Nigeria. This may not be enough, but it was about time. Does he get any credit? I doubt it.

I saw the picture of powerful women of all Ethnic groups posing after some meeting. They looked glamorous, confident and proud. When was the last time we had so many women in the cabinet? Does Obasanjo get any credit? I doubt it. So no matter what a Yoruba man does, chosen by Yoruba or by them, forget about credit and do your best. One may have to thank his maker if the same people who got appointed by Yoruba do not come back and attack. A colleague of mine thought I was naïve to have given away jobs.

Each time Yoruba will is twisted; they look for a clever Yoruba lawyer to interpret two third. How many Yoruba supported Akinjide interpretation of two third and to whose benefit? He defended his client vigorously as a lawyer should.

2005

http://magazine.biafranigeriaworld.com/farouk_martins/

Sure

Only Peter Obi can rescue Nigeria

laiperi:
Only Peter Obi can rescue Nigeria

Pandora cannot.

Ebi2233:

Pandora cannot.

Obi is on leave of absence from APGA, he has not left. Get the difference?