DECONSTRUCTING AKPABIOS SOUTHERN UNITY CALL by Osondu Ahirika One of the best books you can find in a library, is any collection of the worlds greatest speeches. I have one. An anthology that is not only motivational and inspiring, but reveals a lot about the ideals, beliefs, philosophy, world view and vision of the great men and women that have strut this earth. Their words reecho over the ages, with a timelessness and purity of thought, that is still influencing countless streams of humanity across the diversity of race, political leaning, religion, culture, creed or language. Famous names like Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, J. F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Kemal Atarturk, Charles De Gaulle, and let me shock you, even Adolf Hitler make the list of such rare orators, whose words, ringing with penetrating clarity have not only bestirred men, but have altered and shaped the course of history. President Barack Obama of the U.S.A is one of the few leaders that still rouse souls with well articulated speeches in this era. Winding down to our nation Nigeria, the rank of such great speakers are regrettably depleting. We once had Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro and Ahmadu Bello seduce us with their fertile epistles on nationalism, but the gaping emptiness of such colourful wordsmiths in the current era is too obvious to ignore. All that changed for me as I read a remarkably poignant address recently as published for the records on Page 8 of Daily Sun Newspaper of Tuesday, February 25,2014 edition. The occasion, being the text of a Goodwill Message by The Executive Governor Of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON, to The Southern Leaders Summit In Calabar, held on February 24, 2014. I could easily pass that for one of, if not the best, output by Governor Akpabio on national discourse since his emergence as a prominent player on the national political evolution of this great nation, Nigeria. Before the august presence of distinguished and accredited Southern Leaders including, former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, Chief Olu Falae who chaired the event, and PDP BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, among others, Akpabio manifested his fecundity at its peak. The central theme of his message would be weaved into these lines that struck a rhythm in every heart, not only in the Southern region, but across the Nation: ... today we must put the Southern Protectorate back again in our national narrative as a bloc with common patriotic interest. If we can come together, speak with one voice; we can give our country a new lease of life. We are separated by language, but we are not separated by values. What binds us together is greater than what separates us. That clarion and patriotic call, expectedly, sent tongues wagging in the nation. I would have been surprised if it didnt. Particularly, in the far North. It was easy to misunderstand, misapply and misinterpret Akpabios thesis on Southern unity. A peep at previous snippets from that evocation will explain why. Akpabio interrogated our history, Politics said he, have divided our country into six geopolitical zones, but history and origin partitioned us into Southern and Northern Protectorates. Today the Northern Protectorate still speaks with one voice; even though we have North West, North East and Middle Belt. Having cited the symptom of the Souths setback, he diagnosed the problem. Akpabio hinted that, the Southern Protectorate has been lost in South East, South West and South South Regions, and quickly prayed, I want the regions to remain (as we have in the North), but, like in the North, the regions should not become walls of separation. The crux of the matter is that our colonial masters divided the Southern Protectorate into Eastern and Western Regions, without doing the same to the Northern Protectorate. Then came his prescription for redress, But today, we must put the Southern Protectorate back again in our national narrative as a bloc with common patriotic interest. If we can come together, speak with one voice; we can give our country a new lease of life. We are separated by language, but we are not separated by values. What binds us together is greater than what separates us. If this did not rattle nerves, perhaps his next allusion did. Going down memory lane, Akpabio enthused that, There is a story of our relationship, which gnaws our hearts more than words could do. On July 28, 1966, an Igbo man finished his assignment in Ibadan and wanted to head back to Lagos. His host, a Yoruba man, warned him that his life was in danger and insisted that he should spend the night in Ibadan. That night when danger came calling, the Yoruba man stood his ground and laid down his life for the Igbo man. Jesus Christ said greater love had no man than this that he would lay down his life for another. He further added, The story of Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and Lt. Col. Adekunle Fajuyi is a storied tale of friendship as compelling as that between David and Jonathan in the Bible. Let us adopt this story as the model for the relationship between the East, the West and the South South. Let us weave it into our folklore and fables, that because they died together in friendship, we will live forever in unity, love and brotherhood. It was easy to mistake this speech as an incitement of emotions of South against North. First, Ironsi was killed by Army mutineers of Northern extraction. He was the fall guy of the commencement of the deep seated suspicion along ethnic, religious and regional lines in our nation; as he was hunted down in what was clearly a revenge coup that set the stage for the ethnic cleansing of South Easterners and ultimately the Nigeria Civil war. Howbeit, Akpabio had earlier set the tone for his presentation, thereby defining mission. It is hinged on the proposed National Dialogue okayed by President Goodluck Jonathan. On the heels of our centenary celebrations as a nation state, and against the backdrop of grave challenges the nation is still engrossed in, he simply sounded the bugle of hope and redemption this window can afford a beleaguered union. Hear his foreword. I pay tribute to His Excellency Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, for his enduring faith in a greater Nigeria. I commend his courage in creating a forum for Nigerians of all political hues and persuasions to take their destiny in their hands, and contribute to the national discourse. I applaud him for his many transformational programmes and policies, which shall remain indelible legacies in the petals of our history. He did go ahead to validate the initiative, holding that, He typifies our ideas about this country and he exemplifies the labours and sacrifices of our heroes past. Patriots like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chiefs Mrs Margaret Ekpo, Chief Eyo Ita, Chief Anthony Enahoro and others. They would be happy today as we assemble in this ancient city to rekindle the flame of nationalism they lit in their times. They would be glad that we have inherited their faith in our nation and are set, in our coming together, to redirect the course of our journey as a nation. Then, his defining moment for participants in the conference, call it food for thought, Akpabios assertive words was, Today, the West, the East and the South South meet in this ancient city of Calabar, which was the capital of the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria before the amalgamation of our country. The history of Calabar undeniably makes Calabar the cradle of Southern Nigeria; but by our converge here we can make it the crucible of a new Southern Nigeria, bound in love, unity and brotherhood. A new Southern Nigeria, which would brim with hope for our nation and redefine the balance of our politics more along the lines of North and South. Permit me this emphasis, which should not be lost in the milieu of notions, for it is the SOUL of Akpabios appeal, ... By our converge here we can make it the crucible of a new Southern Nigeria, bound in love, unity and brotherhood. A new Southern Nigeria, which would brim with hope for OUR NATION This is an unequivocal affirmation that, if a part of the body is sick, the whole cannot be healthy. A strong, vibrant, united Southern Nigeria most definitely, will steady the quest for a bigger, prosperous and stable nation. Governor Akpabios unity call found validation in the telling absence of leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, controlled states. A situation which Allswell Okpi of Punch Newspaper noted that, When leaders from states in southern states of Nigeria gathered in Calabar, Cross River State, for a pre-national conference meeting aimed at harmonizing the positions of the South ahead of the forthcoming national dialogue, the APC governors were conspicuously absent. The meeting, under the aegis of the Southern Leaders’ Summit, had nine governors – Governors Liyel Imoke, Cross River State; Olusegun Mimiko, Ondo; Peter Obi, Anambra; Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta; Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa; Theodore Orji, Abia; Godswill Akpabio, Akwa Ibom; Martin Elechi, Ebonyi; and Sullivan Chime, Enugu – in attendance. Out of the nine governors that attended, seven were members of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mimiko is a member of the Labour Party, while Obi belongs to the All Progressive Grand Alliance. The remaining eight governors belonging to the All Progressives Congress – Governors of Lagos, Babatunde Fashola; Osun, Rauf Aregbesola; Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi; Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi; Oyo, Abiola Ajimobi; Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun; Edo, Adams Oshiomhole; and Imo, Rochas Okorocha, did not attend. Okpi concluded that, This, analysts say, brings to the fore, once again, the contest between regional interest and partisan politics. Akpabios submissions therefore couldnt have been more pertinent and timely. It will be a mistake to reduce his deposition to a tribute, personalized to Major General Aguiyi Ironsi, peace on his ashes. . Recall that in a Lecture he delivered at the National War College, on December 6, 2012, on the topic “Democracy and the Rule of Law: Challenges and Prospects.” Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio was unequivocal in submitting that, ... if we had men like General Abubakar at the helm of affairs in the Army in 1966, things would have turned out differently in our country. Explaining this viewpoint, Akpabio established that, In January 15, 1966, there was a coup attempt by five majors in the Nigerian Army led by the late Major Kaduna Nzeogwu. This led to the assassination of the Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Belewa, and other top functionaries of Government. Most of those killed were from the Northern Region. Akpabio rightly argued, The then Civilian Government was shaken, and in urgent need of the assurances of the Military that it would put its house in order, arrest and try the mutinous officers and that “Government of the people, for the people and by the people” should continue. What was needed was for the military hierarchy at that time to defend democracy from this majors. It was for them to keep the light of democracy burning, in spite of all odds. Accordingly, he appropriated the error on the same Ironsi, who, many might believe, on the strength of the premise above, Akpabio drapes with deity. Hear him, What happened thereafter was a betrayal of the nation and democracy. In January 16, 1966, the then General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, made a broadcast to the nation and said, “The government of the Federation of Nigeria having ceased to function, the Nigerian Armed Forces have been invited to form an Interim Military Government for the purposes of maintaining law and order, and of maintaining essential services. This invitation has been accepted, and I, General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi, the General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, have been formally invested with authority as Head of the Federal Military Government, and Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces.” It is my candid belief that if the Military protected democracy at this dire hour of need, the ruling Northern `Peoples Congress would have nominated another statesman from the North to the then vacant position of prime minister. The sense of deprivation and loss of the North would have been assuaged. The five majors would have been tried according to the laws of the land. This would have been a great success for the rule of law and democracy. We would not have had the pogrom. We would not have had the Civil War. We would not have lost hundreds of thousands of our citizens in that needless war. Nigeria would have been better for it. Only few Nigerians have had the courage to isolate the Ironsi lack of political will to act as the very virus that has steadily deflated the socio-political immunity to instability that Nigeria faces up until this day as a Nation. The bottomline is, anyone who misreads Akpabios testament to his Southern compatriots, as a call to balkanize the country or ostracize our Northern brethren, completely misrepresents the nationalist zest, patriotic effervescence and. profound stature of a statesman and advocate of one united and indivisible nation that Governor Akpabio believes in, defends and propagates. It is hoped the Southern leaders, and indeed all the good people of Nigeria will deconstruct and decode the genuine advocacy for unity and mobilize for a greater and more prosperous nation bound in love, peace and unity.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 07:17:10 +0000
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