IGEDE PEOPLE – CHANGING OUR PARADIGM My warm greetings to all our people in this cyber ‘efedi’. I trust that we are all well and doing great in our various endeavors. The middle beltan is known and trusted for hard work, brilliance and honesty, relatively of course, and so I hope, as part of this middle beltan people, we are ‘representing’? I was opportune to visit my hometown very recently. Firstly, to connect with my people, secondly to pay homage to my traditional chief and regent in the Agba season. I must confess, I have not been opportune by choice to celebrate the Agba Yam festival since I left secondary school, close to some three decades ago. Back of my mind too in this visit was to gauge the mood of our people generally in life and possibly to find a platform on which to start engagement. What I sensed and saw is what I want to bring to this ‘efedi’ for discussion. We need a paradigm change. Firstly and seriously, I do hope Ito do not represent the events in the whole Igede land, the last bastion of our hope, the only institution that a people group in Africa will always resort to when nothing else is possible has gone political – dangerously so. Our traditional institutions, represented by the different clan chiefs have gone partisan. Let the Igede hear me, if this remains so, all of us, as Igede people are lost. We can only become individual successes in group dynamics but as a people with one voice, one objective, one mission, we are lost, for as long as our chiefs remain partisan. Who has our ‘opike’, let him blow it. Secondly, I also realized that when some group of discerning communities have stood their ground to ensure that no part of Igedeland is given to other settlers especially those with destructive, trouble tendencies, usually crop destroying type of aggression as has been saliently endorsed by our closest neighbors from the east, north and west, some part of Igede communities are still harboring kegs of gun powder. As one puts it, for a mere head of cattle. One single head of a 3 days meat! Make no mistake about it people, because of current political and security issues in our land and neighborhood, Igedeland can be invaded if these settlers are perceived to be security risk. Worse still, our politicians are not thinking or talking about it. This issue is a minefield being planted by undiscerning community leaders, is Igede prepared for war or for losses from such outcomes if it happens? Thirdly and most dominant, it looks like every thought and discussion amongst the Igede is about politics, maybe because of the forthcoming 2015 general elections. I will like to demystify why this level of political engrossment for the Igede will not help us in the long run. To start with, each of the contestants like over 90% of Nigeria’s office seekers are just looking for a job, a new job or a better paying job different from what they are doing now. Service may be the last thing on their minds for obvious reasons. One of which is that they simply lack the resources or executive power to command the resources to effect any service that they promise. Check the last 16 years of democracy and those who have represented us. Whose lot has changed? The constituency they promised to serve and develop or their personal lot and families? You answer. It is not their fault! Take a look at the Oturkpo – Enugu road for so many years, with the two most powerful men in the senate with strong influences hailing from here, how much has the road changed despite the improvement in the last one year? Take a look at the Makurdi – Naka – Adoka – Ankpa road, less than 100 kms, that could save all Benue travelers heading to Western Nigeria the torturous round about journey we do through Oturkpo and Otukpa – Ejule – Ochadamu road. Why has an 80 km road not been fixed for over 16 years by governors who hail from the land? May be all these failures could be lack of funds which they don’t control or pure inability to influence their repair or cheer incompetence at infrastructural development. If a local government chairman with a monthly allocation value of N20m has an overhead cost in recurrent expenditure of N17m, wherewithal will he have the funding for capital budget? Compare these infrastructures with those in Kogi, Bauchi and Akwa Ibom states, and may be Delta or Benin City since the first coming of the comrade governor and you will see the difference in the use of executive power and ability backed by funding. I am amazed when I hear people seeking representative roles promising infrastructural development when obviously they do not have the ability to do and even the quality of representation is not guaranteed influence to attract developments to any area. It is much more confusing when we as the electorate believe them without asking them how? Igede political focus I presume may be presently misplaced because beyond being an ‘olihi’ or ‘ongopieyi’ or ‘olenyi’, there is little else we can gain. Can any of the candidates for instance fix our infrastructures like roads, water or electricity, transportation or education? None of them have the executive power or funding or ability to influence resources to fix them and as a people we are yet to articulate our priority or positioned to get execute power to use it to influence our land for good. How much can the constituency allowances of any elected officer achieve in terms of infrastructure development even if they deploy all to such purpose? Nada. If the reason our traditional chiefs are becoming partisan for a few gains selfishly for their perceived relation or people, then we are narrow minded which is why we need a paradigm, to negotiate with others either for executive power or alliances that we can trade off for our benefits. What for instance prevent us from striking a deal with any frontline candidate to say, we will vote for you but this will be our demand if you get elected, and we spell the demand. Obi for instance, has had executive leadership since 1996 when it was created; the road from the roundabout to the secretariat has been constructed on paper over three times I am told. As a government, we have been taken to court by outside contractors because we owe and we cannot fix the road. Yet, the last bastion of our hope, the elders we should take the issue to for resolution are now partisan! Is anyone feeling me yet? This issue can continue for the next generation if not attended to. Is anyone seeing why as a people, we need a new paradigm? I also noticed to my dismay, even though I fell victim that whilst other communities probably import only idealistic innovations to their land to help development, we, in Obi and maybe the entire Igede land imported urban development practices or ministry, not to correct or improve new layouts and enforce sanity and standards but to oppress and extort already developed areas or uncompleted structures which were in existence before they were invited. Is this a case of witch hunting or to what purpose? Is the entire Igedeland mapped out or laid out at any stage previously? If it is, I agree that the document be followed with human face as agreed amongst us but if it is not, new layouts should follow standards but I disagree with this current extortion by operatives of the urban development ministry who extort monies ranging from some receipted N5000 to N250, 000 charges, seizing work materials and tools like cement and other things. Practices I never witnessed in Makurdi, Gboko, Jos, Abuja or even Lagos, being callously deployed in Igedeland backed by our executive leaders. Infrastructures that we do not have, instead of encouraging development, we now have official touts intimidating developers who now hide to work. Where will this take us, Igede people? Should we not find our own way to develop our infrastructures within the ambience of the law? Must we sacrifice our brother to prove we are stronger and we are in power? Must we ride roughshod over another just because we are “olihi’? Igede must find its way back to the ‘efedi nya adahi anyi’ or we are doomed to individual successes only, which cannot take us anywhere as a people. Where are the collective practices of our fathers that gave us ‘okpunyi’ at the ‘ojiya’ when they met at efedi to forge the future? Will this generation fail the tradition of our fathers or rebuild stronger institutional infrastructure for the future? If we don’t, Igede ‘ihioo’ will only be a refrain in social circles without its import of the power of togetherness. Do not wait for others to resolve this, or just complain, let us talk at the ojiya, let us act, let us work for the good of our land. Let the associations meet, let us call our gladiators to debate, questions and hold them accountable. If the last bastion of our tradition fails us, we as rangers must lead the way!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:49:41 +0000
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