By Tony Okafor, Awka
A one-time governorship aspirant in Anambra State and renowned industrialist, Dr Chike Obidigbo, has drawn stark parallels between the subversion of the 2023 general elections and the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, widely believed to have been won by Chief MKO Abiola.
Obidigbo made this declaration at a press conference in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Tuesday.
According to Obidigbo, the continued marginalization of the Igbo people poses a significant threat to the thriving of Nigeria’s democracy.
He pointed out that the country’s history since the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970 has been marked by a deliberate effort to suppress the Igbo nation, despite their efforts to build bridges with other tribes.
Obidigbo lamented that the recent celebration of 25 years of democracy in the present dispensation by members of the National Assembly failed to address the pressing issue of equitable distribution of political power.
He argued that this oversight is a stark reminder of the lingering injustices faced by the Igbo people.
The industrialist further stated that the events of 1993 and 2023 share a common thread – the subversion of the will of the people. He contended that the annulment of the June 12 election and the perceived rigging of the 2023 polls are both symptoms of a deeper problem – the refusal to allow the Igbo people a fair shot at the highest office in the land.
He said: “It is worrisome that despite the creation of six geopolitical zones, which was expected to provide equal opportunities and inclusive leadership, the Southeast has not been supported to produce the president of this country.
“This imbalance in the leadership of the country underscores the sore political points of lopsided allocation of number of states per zone. While other zones have as many as seven and six states each, Southeast is being punished with just five states. This is sad when you consider that national cake is shared out on state by state basis.
“The Nigerian state has continued to behave in such a way as if isolating the Igbo is the best policy option to guarantee the country’s unity.
“The recent reconstitution of governing boards of federal tertiary institutions and polytechnic showed that one state produced as many as 25 candidates, while the entire Southeast was allocated only 12.
“It is gladdening to note though, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu refused to endorse that obvious slight, but the development goes far to reveal the reality of continuing marginalization of NdIgbo in the Nigeria project.
“Also not long ago, Mr. Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, regained his freedom and re-joined his fellow Yoruba people after the federal government dropped all charges of treasonable felony against him for calling for the separation of the Yoruba nation from Nigeria due to the murderous activities of Fulani herdsmen in Yoruba land under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Similarly, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, the former presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), was allowed to breathe the air of freedom after the federal government dropped charges against the young man for calling for revolution in Nigeria to address poor governance and bad leadership in the country.
“And just last week, the President of Myetti Allah, Bello Badejo, was declared innocent from the charges of terrorism after the federal government withdrew charges against him for setting up a nationwide Fulani vigilante to secure the country despite the existence of Nigeria security agencies.
“In all these gestures of peace and reconciliation, the Attorney General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi came out boldly to declare that the only way the leader of the mainstream IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, can regain his freedom is through the court, despite the fact that the court of Nigeria had made a judicial pronouncement dismissing his trial for treasonable felony”.
On the June 12 Democracy Day being celebrated in the country, Obidigbo described it as another example of official deception.
He added: “Some observers have drawn a parallel between what happened on June 12, 1993 and the recent events of February 25, 2023. The annulment of the 1993 election was not different from rigged or violent elections. The question that arises is, when will Nigerians truly say that they elect their leaders, as happened recently in Senegal and South Africa ?
“In the Southeast, despite the 25 years of unbroken civil rule, elections have always provided opportunities for those who are interested in the internal subjugation of Igbo land to impose leaders on the people.
“This undemocratic programme, which started from Anambra State and manifested in Imo State, has always defined elections in the Southeast zone.
“I say this of a fact because I contested governorship elections in Anambra State and I knew the level of interest shown by powerful individuals from outside the zone on who becomes governor of every Igbo state.
“The political emasculation of Igbo seems to be the most proficient political strategy handed down by the British to ensure their continued influence on the socio-political life of its former West African colony.
“As a way out of the problem, it behooves on our leaders, particularly Igbo political leaders, (which I doubt genuinely exist); Igbo Socio-Cultural Organisations and Igbo Think Tanks, to sit down and fashion out a workable course of action to free us from these heavy man -made burdens.
“We must realize that the progressive nature of Ndigbo elicits envy, jealousy, suspicion and outright hatred, which could culminate in deaths. Some people see the growth of Igbo economy as detrimental to theirs and so are ever prepared to do all in their power to arrest it, and at all cost.”
Obidigbo dismissed the planned constitutional review, arguing that it would produce another master plan to further delay Igbo emancipation in an open society and egalitarian country.
He said that although the civil war officially ended 54 years ago, it has continued to rage against the Igbo in very subdued, but very aggressive manner, giving the clear impression that the war may not after all has ended.
He observed, however, that Igbo has allowed itself to be demystified by internal wranglings and ungodly behaviours, adding that the involvement of young people in get rich quick, at all cost schemes, including yahoo yahoo, rituals, drug trafficking, sex trafficking and other anti-social practices, have unfortunately helped to redefine Igbo identity.
