Below is part of the full lecture delivered by Senator Anyim Pius Anyim at the 6th World Igbo Summit held On the 18th December 2020 at Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State.
In this extraction, the former Senate President explained who are the real Igbo people of Nigeria and how their diversity has led them to be found all over the world.
According to Anyim, ‘Igbo people are progressive and ambitious people. He noted that Igbo can also be found in the Middlebelt, Northern parts of Nigeria, specifically, outside from the five Southeast state.
Read the text below:
INTRODUCTION
Let me begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the Leadership of Gregory University and particularly the World Igbo Summit Group and the Igbo Renaissance Centre of the University for the honour of this invitation.
I am proud of what this Universèity has come to represent in our collective effort to build a better society in Igbo land and Nigeria as a whole. I understand this is the sixth edition of this lecture series.
I also know that very eminent individuals, academics, and leaders have delivered this lecture before me.
I want to thank Gregory University for this thoughtful initiative and urge them to sustain it.
I looked at the topic provided by the organisers, for this lecture “Building Cooperation, and viable networks to strengthen the Igbo interest within the
Nigerian Federation” and decided to tinker with it. Let me crave the permission of the World Igbo Summit Group to adjust the topic to be
“IDENTIFYING THE POLITICAL INTEREST OF THE IGBOS OF THE SOUTH-EAST GEO-POLITICAL ZONE IN NIGERIA AND STRATEGIES FOR ITS ACTUALISATION.
Permit me not to give reasons for the adjustment but suffice it to say that the new topic will shape my thoughts to flow directly to the political mood of the moment.
I shall, therefore, try not to be academic but practical. I shall also try to be short and direct in making my points and suggestions.
Accordingly, I shall attempt my brief discussion of this topic under the following headings.
– Who are the Igbos?
– How are the Igbos of the South-East geo-political zone located within the Nigerian politics?
– What is the present-day political interest of the Igbos of the SouthEast geo-political zone?
– The quest for the election of a Nigerian President of South-East extraction and strategies for its actualisation
WHO ARE THE IGBOS?
Igbo land is located in Southeastern Nigeria with a total land area of about 41,000 km².
It stretches from the low-lying riverbank of the Niger river comprising of the Aniomas of Delta State through to the Ikweres of River State, cutting the fringes of Cross River and Akwa-Ibom States to the Igbo heartland of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abia and my own very Ebonyi State.
On the Northern flank, the Igbo nation, shares affinity with a number of other communities e.g. Umezekaoha of Benue State and Eke Avurugo community in Kogi State.
The Igbos are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa and comprised of about thirty-two million people, i.e. about 18% of the Nigerian population.
In his work titled “the Ibos of Nigeria, Ancient Rites, changes and survival”, published on the 1st of July, 1990 by Edwin Mellen, Mr Njoku, John E.
Eberegbulam, described the Igbos as immensely proud, dynamic, progressive and ambitious people.
I can describe the Igbos after President Kenedy’s choice description of America as “a country noted for progress and a nation reputed for strength”.
The Igbo nation is no doubt a people latently enterprising, naturally brilliant and so fast in learning, noted for egalitarianism and so treasures their independence of mind, of body and of business. are of great good conscience and so love justice and equity.
Survival flows in their blood and so they are ingenious and creative. They make good of every endeavour, be it in politics, business, academics or science.
They are naturally good managers of men and resources. They are tenaciously curious, highly mobile and spirited for progress. They make good business leaders and public
administrators. In fact, the spirit of the Igbo man is the spirit of enterprise.
They are widely travelled and can be found in every corner of the globe. They are friendly and love strangers.
One can see from the above that the interest of every Igbo man at any time is diverse but paramount among which is the peace and progress of the community he finds himself.
However, the focus of our discussion today is the political interest of the Igbos of the South-East geopolitical zone.
The Nigerian nation for political administration is structured into states.
There are 36 States in Nigeria, each of which constitutes an independent federating unit, the totality of which makes up the Nigerian Federation.
Each State comprises of an administrative capital with component local government administrations and federal constituencies.
By virtue of being a federating unit, each State is empowered under the law to make its legislation, budget and expenditures.
Above all, each State draws from the Federation Account following the Federal sharing formula.
The central point of emphasis here is that each State is politically autonomous.
Accordingly, political rights are exercisable solely based on one’s membership of the State regardless of his or her ethnic nationalities.
Consequently, though there are Igbos in Delta, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Kogi and Cross River States, their political rights are exercisable as members of their respective States.
Their rights do not extend to any possibility of their representing the Igbos in any other State.
The next political structure is the geo-political structure. Indeed, the zonal structure has not found legal backing, but there is no gainsaying that it has assumed a moral force waiting to be constitutionalised.
The zoning principle has found expression in the allocation of political and developmental benefits.
The rotation of prime positions among geo-political zones has no doubt become a common practice such that, its breach generates political discontentment.
The point to note is that a political benefit accruing to any geo-political zone cannot be satisfied by appointing any person outside of that geo-political zone irrespective of commonality of language or culture. i.e.
political office zoned to the South East does not extend to Igbos from a zone outside the South-East geo-political zone.
In all, I assert that ethnic demography is not the same as political geographic boundaries, and so what belongs to the South-East geo-political zone cannot be claimed by any Igbo man outside the South-East geo-political zone.
- Text extracted by Vanguardngr.
