Obi Trice Emeka
Southeast, Victimisation and the need for re-education
In the early days of political Facebook in Nigeria, I used to belong to a group, Igboville, where socially conscious Igbo intellectuals gathered to debate various issues affecting the Igbo nation. I read and followed religiously without commenting. It was in one of those debates that I heard the late Catherine Acholonu, a foremost Igbo historian, make this quote attributed to Chinua Achebe in his collection of essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day:
“When the self-belief of a people is taken from them, then, the detractor need do no more.”
I have tried unsuccessfully to trace this quote to any of Achebe’s works. Nevertheless, it is a quote that has stuck with me.
One reason I always reject the self-pity narrative of Ndigbo, often triggered by many Igbo writers on social media and elsewhere is that it tends to take the self-belief of our people away and place every issue affecting Ndigbo at the doorstep of some factors beyond our control, yet must factors are within our control. It rules out self-introspection and offers a readymade answer to every Igbo problem: victimisation. This, in turn, keeps radicalising Igbo minds. The insecurity in the Southeast is partly due to such radicalisation. It is also the chief reason why it would be hard to stop. If people are convinced they’re fighting the right causes, how do you retrain their minds not to?
I am a well-travelled Nigerian. Outside Lagos and Abuja, almost every other location in Nigeria lacks government presence to any significant extent. It’s always trickles. I also understand, as an Igbo proverb says, “when one finger points to another person, the remaining fingers point back to you.” I would like to modify it a bit: three fingers point to you, and the thumb points upwards in recognition of circumstances beyond your control.
I do not argue against the existence of ethnic discrimination in Nigeria. However, I do not believe it has played any significant role in inhibiting the development of any region. The major culprit in this regard is corruption and lack of vision by the political leadership of that region, propelled by a lacklustre followership motivated by ethnic pride and the urge to protect “their own.”
A few days ago, I was listening to Thomas Sowell( something I love to do every morning while on the treadmill) a contrarian and a thinker for whom I have deep reverence for, discuss racial discrimination and economic equity in America. He said something that struck me. For him, racial discrimination will always exist. It is a thing of the mind. However, what people should strive for is the elimination of discrimination in the marketplace (the free market). According to him, no matter how racially a person thinks, they will always be selfish when it comes to economic decisions. They will make purchases and do business with any group if it offers better value. Perhaps this is one reason why the Igbo have kept succeeding in Nigeria.
I am also of the opinion that this defeatist approach, of constantly searching for patterns and attributing them to victimisation has no benefits. It only makes one obsessed with patterns to data fit into their modelled assumptions. They ignore every other data that says otherwise. They’re blinded to every sign of fairness and equality. I might be wrong but I do believe that once distilled into data, using measurable determinant, systematic discrimination might not be as pronounced as many think it is. I hazard that it will be under 10%
Curiously, the proponents of this approach take their eyes off where it matters. They take no interest in governance issues within their states, where many tribal discriminations can be deduced. They care nothing about their state budgets or the endless obnoxious tax policies and reckless expenditures within them. The only time they attack their governors or elected representatives is when there’s an ethnic dimension to be exploited. Yet, the governors receive billions on their behalf and has all the apparatus to drive development.
There’s nothing stopping the Southeastern governors from raising funds, setting up an SPV, and running a railway line from Onne Port into the Southeast, rather we are obsessed discussing an implausible seaport in the SE and attributing it to marginalisation whereas it is a geographic and economic problem. By the way, nothing discriminates as much as nature.
Nothing stops the Southeast governors, in conjunction with the wealthy class, from setting up an SPV that will drive a gas pipeline into the Southeast. Thankfully, I recently read that some private consortiums are already working on such a project into Anambra.
Please, don’t tell me these projects fall under the Exclusive List. We have seen many states undertake projects on the Exclusive List—some even get sovereign guarantees from the Federal Government. It takes nothing for the Southeast governors to activate full local government autonomy and reactivate the rural economy.
Nothing also stops private individuals and government in the SE from setting up a government/private venture capitalist firms in the SE to fund innovations and keep talents in the SE
Sometime last year, I joined a seminar where the concessionaire for the Onitsha Inland Port spoke about their challenges and called for investments. No one took them seriously.
Lagos was able to develop the Lekki Seaport and attract Dangote refinery while in the opposition. When they finally had power they began to consolidate these investments with the federal funds.
My point is simple: the power to make the Southeast attractive lies in our hands. The constant recourse to self-pity and victimisation does us no good, other than radicalising minds and stripping our people of self-belief. We can’t keep radicalising every generation with the victimisation mentality. It is time to take a break and try something new.
To the writers whose only duty is to prey on ethnic emotions, hear Achebe in his collection of essays, Morning Yet on Creation Day:
“The writer cannot expect to be excused from the task of re-education and regeneration that must be done. In fact, he should march right in front.”
The re-education should be to restore the self belief and teach that the SE has all within its powers to integrate and become a huge economic block by focusing on what matters and not self-pity