In the past week, I was in the hive of a conversation on Biafra – that is, on if the dream of an independent state of the southeast as conceived by some Igbo is “live or jive”.
In the dialogue, the obverse character told me that the actualisation of the “Igbo dream” was a fait accompli.
I challenged the kernel of his argument, and I suggested that the Igbo nation might be in a better place if Nigeria was restructured along regional lines. But I emphasised that to achieve this or for the Igbo to get up from the political canvas, they need the Yoruba. “It has become a matter of delicate necessity,” I said. “The Igbo are politically in the intensive care unit.”
But my Biafra friend went into an impassioned twaddle of how the Yoruba are “unreliable, ambivalent and deceptive”. At this point I knew there was no salvation here. I botched the broach.
Sadly, this is the perception of many Igbo people which stems from the atavism of ethnic divergence and disagreements.
By the way, I will not want to dwell on the history or the foundation of the Igbo-Yoruba hostility because it is often subjective and subject to revisions.
As a matter of fact, on this curve in our history, an entente between the Igbo and the Yoruba is critical for the political survival of the southeast. Both ethnic groups are in propinquity, sharing the south of Nigeria. And they also seem to share a desire for the restructuring of the country. Why can’t they detente? Why can’t they reach out to each other for an umbilical purpose?
At the Biafra conference in Abuja last week, Ayo Adebanjo, a leader of Afenifere – the elite Yoruba socio-political organisation – spoke passionately about the need for the restructuring of the country. In fact, he said Nigeria would crash if it was not reprogrammed.
John Nwodo, president of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, bleated the same thing, and even drummed that Nigeria was not working – a fact, known to all. But why can’t these leaders come together in an emulsion of purpose to achieve a common goal? I believe, if the Igbo and Yoruba conflate and demand a reworking of the country – along regional lines – even Hades will not stop them.
The Igbo and the Yoruba must end their atavistic grudge for an ultimate beneficial end. These southern neighbours must be born again.
Again, one of the pesky grouses of the Igbo against the Nigerian establishment is that they have been perennially shut out of the top position of power – the presidency – which is true. But what is the ethnic group doing about it?
Instead of nestling in a grotto whining and whimpering, they must form alliances. And an alliance with the Yoruba is the best bet to coming out of the political cul-de-sac. Enough of the recriminations and animosity! The Igbo should know that staying walled up in their enclave without any tactical action is self-immolation.
They must get out of this grotty grotto and embrace the southwest for both political and, perhaps, corporeal ends.
They Igbo must get their politics right. Yes, they are marginalised and subdued in Nigeria, but they must go beyond protests and activism to real-politik to breast the finish line. Whatever their aims are, they need a political stratagem.
In conclusion, I believe an alliance between the Igbo and the Yoruba is possible, but they must be ready to make compromises for the common good. Alliances, sometimes, are not forged between friends, but among enemies with shared interest. During the Second World War, Russia and the US, despite being ideological and dialectical opposed to each other, joined forces to defeat Adolf Hitler’s Nazi army.
I don’t mean to rub it in, but the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba joined chariots to deracinate an anointed Igbo candidate in the 2015 presidential election. No man is an island – even as cliché as this aphorism is, it is potent.
But I strongly believe the Igbo and the Yoruba tying the political knot is a possibility.