THE SO-CALLED "ABANDONED PROPERTIES".; UCHE H. IKWUT-UKWA.
E. Enekwechi
I usually do not take issue with people on their views about the
Nigerian-Biafran conflict. I strongly believe that people should feel
free to choose which side of the fence they want to be on. But whatever
is the basis for their decision -- moral conviction, cost-benefit
analysis, sadistic pleasure or even mere tomfoolery, they will surely
live with the consequences of that decision until they die.
I became interseted in your posting on the so-called "abandoned
properties", because of your conclusions and because as a full grown
man (deduced from your F.G.College account), I believe that you certainly
know more than you are willing to admit.
In your posting, you appear to be providing a rationale for the 1970
seizure of property owned by Igbos who lived in Port Harcourt before
and during the Nigerian-Biafran war. I will not waste my time disputing
your one-reference intellectual review of the developmental history of
Port Harcourt and the ethnic composition of the Rivers State. I will
speak only to your rationalization, your conclusions and the implications
of your conclusions.
In the early part of your paper, you stated. "The largest group of
immigrants, naturally came from the East, and the majority were Igbos. In
1921, for example Port Harcourt population was estimated to be 7,233
residents. The Nigerian ethnic composition of the population was as
follows: Igbos 62.1 per cent, Yorubas 10.3 per cent, Hausas 4.3 per cent,
Ijaws 3.6 per cent, Efiks 3.3 per cent, Ibibios 2.9 per cent and Other
4.3 per cent. Non-Nigerian Africans were 7.1 per cent of the population
and the Europeans constituted a meager 2.2 per cent of the population".
You went further to state, " By 1953, the Igbo population in the city had
jumped to almost 80 per cent out of a total of 73,300 municipal
residents." From your account, it is obvious that there were more Igbos
than Ijaws, Efiks, or Ibibios. But there were also more Hausas, Yorubas
and Non-Nigerian Africans than Ijaws, Efiks, or Ibibios in Port Harcourt.
If the population of the Igbos was the reason for seizing their
properties, why were the properties of other large groups in Port
Harcourt not confiscated? Well, apparently the population of the Igbos in
Port Harcourt was not the reason for seizing their properties. It was
just a ruse.
You went on to point out, " ......... typical of the era, the ultimate
power of the governance of the city was vested in the local colonial
office , where an even fewer number of arrogant white men (2.2%), sworn
to defend the British Crown, held sway over the majority Africans." You
certainly resent the fact that this small minority (2.2%) was ruling the
majority (97.8%) of the residents of Port Harcourt. It is despicable and
I certainly share your indignation. That nonsense also existed in
Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and South Africa until recently. It is politically
unfair and morally reprehensible. I believe that you will agree.
Continuing you wrote, " The British Local Authority (BLA), which governed
the city, was assisted in the task by a Township Advisory Board (TAB),
which initially consisted entirely of European Officials and
representatives of European mercantile firms ....... Until this attempt
to transfer local government power to the African Majority, a first in
Nigeria, the composition of the Township Advisory Board FAVORED (NOTE
THE WORD: FAVORED!!!) the non-Igbo minorities in the city, a situation
that was deeply resented by the majority Igbos." I am sure that you will
agree with the resentment expressed by these Igbos. After all you just
expressed your disgust about a minority (2.2%) ruling a majority (97.8%)
of Africans in the city of Port Harcourt.
Did you just say that non-Igbo minorities were FAVORED over Igbos? Let's
talk about this favoritism accorded non-Igbo minorities. I believe that
the word "FAVORED" still means among other things "something done or
granted out of good will rather than justice; unfair partiality; regard
or treat with preference or partiality; enjoy special advantages,e.g. to
treat some with favor and neglect others" Is this what was done to Igbos
in Port Harcourt before there were elections into the city council? Who
was orchestrating this partiality, who was enjoying these special
advantages, and who suffered the consequences of this neglect and
injustice? Does this favoritism sound to you like "political shenanigan
and chicanery?
Continuing, you stated, "In 1949, when the first election
(NOTE:ELECTION!!) for African membership in the Town Council took place,
the population of Port Harcourt was estimated to be over 40,000.
According to Wolpe, of the fifteen African members of the Port Harcourt
Town Council for 1949-1952 (three-year terms for councilors), one was
Yoruba (the wife of a prominent Yoruba magistrate), one was Ijaw and
thirteen were Igbos. For the 1952-1954 term, one was Yoruba (appointed),
two were Ijaw (both appointed), and fourteen were Igbo (ten were elected,
and four were appointed). It is evident from the foregoing that the Igbos
"dominated" the city council." Here we go again. These Igbos had the
audacity to contest in a democratically organized election and ten of
them even had the temerity to win the elections. Could this mean the end
of special privileges and preferences for some political gerrymanderers?
The answer of course is yes. Isn't it true therefore that the political
opportunists who stood to lose the special priviliges and preferences
would resort to all sorts of subterranean tactics including demagoguery
and blackmail against Igbos to regain the special privileges that they
lost? The moral grandstanding and glib talk about commitment to
democracy is hypocritical and simply a sham. Isn't it true that the
winning of democraticlly organized elections by some Igbo candidates in Port
Harcourt was not directly responsible for the vilification of Igbos and
the subsequent seizure of their properties? Yes, the seizure of the
properties of Igbos in Port Harcourt in 1970 was not caused by their
winning elections in the 1950's and 1960's. In 1970, Igbos were no
longer in control of Port Harcourt City Council. They had been
decimated and neutralized and were completely out of the loop of Port
Harcourt politics. In fact, Igbos, and yes, non-Igbo Biafrans were
fighting a different kind of war -- the war against hunger and lack of
shelter. These men and women were scratching the earth to put food in
their mouths and the gaping mouths of their children. They were back
in their homes struggling to put roofs over their heads as the heavy
rains of 1970 descended on them. They could care less who was running
Port Harcourt City Council. So, there was really no reason at all to
seize their properties since they posed neither political nor
economic threat to anybody. In the early part of 1970, ninety-five
per cent of transportation businesses in Onitsha was controlled by
Yoruba transporters. Nobody seized their trailers, lorries, busus,
cabs,etc. Transporters from the former Biafra simply looked for ways
to buy their own trailers, lorries, buses and cabs and to compete
for business in the free and open market. It has also been argued
that the new Rivers State Government needed houses for offices. I
fully agree, but the State Government could have leased the houses
from the rightful owners just as new states do today when a new
state is created and a new capital is designated.
So, why were Igbo properties in Port Harcourt appropriated? This
question simply refuses to go away. Here is my guess. Port Harcourt was
the golden trophy of the Nigerian-Biafran conflict and in this golden
trophy was sprightly, bubbling champagne, euphemistically dubbed
"abandoned properties." This bubbly wine easily became the toast of
the "conquerors" to be shared with gusto among agents provocateurs
in the former Biafran nation. This was special reward for being
loyal agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria and for helping
Nigeria win the war against Biafra. After all " to keep Nigeria one
is a task that must be done." It was also meant to be the seed for
perpetual enmity and antagonism between the Igbos and the peoples of
the Rivers State, thereby precluding any chances of future alliances
between the two groups. It had nothing to do with the population of
Igbos in Port Harcourt, It had nothing to do with Igbos winning
elections in Port Harcourt in the 1950's and 1960's. It was payment to
those Biafrans who were willing to mortgage their consciences, their
future and the future of their generations of unborn children. Other
Biafrans of non-Rivers State origin, including some Igbos, were paid
in cash and political appointments. But what makes the so-called
"abandoned properties" utterly pathetic, is the cynical act of
giving away someone's properties by his/her own government without
the consent of the owner.
However, what the agents provocateurs did not know is that
"conquerors" usually show respect, admiration and honor to
vanguished opponents who demonstrated doughty doggedness in battle, and
treat sniveling, cavorting accomplices who engaged in puerile toadyism
during the struggle with scorn and derision. They know that such people
can be easily bought and so can not be trusted. Such accomplices often
discover belatedly, that they have become serfs and that their personal
estates and even their lives are held as fief for the "lord conqueror"
Sir, it is still a criminal act to steal, appropriate, seize, or dispose
of property belonging to another human being without their voluntary
consent. Whether this action is directed at Jews in Nazi Germany,
Ugandans of Asian stock in Uganda or Igbos in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. It
is equally a criminal act to seize the property of a Yoruba, Efik, Edo,
Ijaw, Hausa, Tiv, Fulani, Igbira, Ibibio or Nupe simply because the
person owns the property in a part of Nigeria that is different from
his/her home. It sounds pretty simple lumping those thousands of Igbos
together and persecuting them. But the truth is that the hundreds of houses,
businesses, small scale industries, etc. that were confiscated in Port
Harcourt belonged to individuals, yes, individual men and women who
toiled for incredible hours, scraping and scratching to save enough money
to buy the properties. These properties belong to carpenters,
bricklayers, traders, civil servants, hotel proprietors, farmers,
electricians, welders. tailors, clock repairers, auto mechanics, bicycle
repairers, taxi drivers, small business owners, teachers, truck pushers,
shoe repairers, porters --- honest men and women who toiled from dawn to
dusk, some averaging 18-20 hours of hard arduous work every day. These
people didn't come together one day and acquire the properties. They did
it individually. These people were not mere percentages, they were not
mere numbers or sheets of paper in file cabinets. No! they were flesh
and blood, suffering humanity, who by the sweat of their brows
struggled to improve their economic conditions. When did it become a
crime to struggle to improve ones economic condition? Young Igbos may
not own any so-called "abandoned properties" in Port Harcourt, but they
certainly know many people who own those properties, including their
parents. It might please you to learn that many of the owners despaired
and died in the early 1970's when their "insurance" against old age
was snatched from them by the government of their own country and
distributed as gifts to political gerrymanderers.
Your democratic ideals are really eye-popping. Indigenes of Port
Harcourt should control Port Harcourt City Council, those of Lagos
should control Lagos City Council, those of Jos should control Jos
City Council, and so on for Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Ibadan, Onitsha,
Benin, Calabar, etc. Don't bother about the people living in the city
-- just appoint councilors and administrators. Don't bother with
elections, else some crazy majority will skew the composition of the
council against your wishes. Wow!! Nigeria we hail thee! See how fast
we have grown -- from appointments that favor the minority over the
majority, to castigating democratically conducted elections, to
annulling presidential elections when the candidate we want does not
win. THAT IS PROGRESS, ISN'T IT?
You seem to like "justice and fairness" and the "rule of law" very
much. However, if an individual screams against injustice and
unfairness and demands the rule of law, you accuse him/her of being
"myopic" and " avaricious." You love justice but you seem to see
nothing wrong with favoring a minority over a majority. You love
justice, but forcible appropriation of someone's property does not
sting your ears. History reminds us that there was a man called Adolf
Hitler who in the 1930's was obsessed with mad ambition for political
power. As part of a grand design for the accumulation of cheap
popularity, he blamed Jews for being too many in Germany, next for
having too much political influence, and finally for being the cause of
all the economic problems of Germany. He dehumanized and caricatured
them as rats who had eaten giant holes in the economic sack of Germany
and who deserved nothing but death and the forfeiture of their
properties to Germans. And so the properties of Jews in Germany and
several other countries in Europe were looted and about six million
Jews were murdered on Hitler's orders. Hitler was a great orator, in
fact one of the best of all time. He was aided by a master tactician
and propagandist called Goebbels who was also very good. But they
were evil geniuses and demagogues, and today belong only in the
garbage dump of history. President Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, in one of
the biggest celebrations of political buffoonery in Africa, blamed
Asians, including Ugandans of Asian descent for all the economic woes
of Uganda. His solution to Uganda's economic problems was to
confiscate the properties of Asians and Ugandans of Asian descent
(bona fide citizens of Uganda) and distribute these properties to his
cronies. (Do you see any parallel with the treatment of Igbos in Port
Harcourt, Nigeria?) Today, Idi Amin is living on his or someone's
property in a foreign land thousands of miles away from his father's
homeland, just like you and I, and so many other Nigerians here in
the United States ( including the architects of the so-called
"abandoned properties.") Isn't it amazing that the same human brain
which organizes extremely complex, often adaptive human tasks, also
organizes patently pathological thoughts in one and the same person,
and often lacks the capacity for self-induced and self-directed
healing. It might interest you to know that the perpetrators of the
Jewish Holocaust are still being hunted down and prosecuted. Did you
watch the story of the "Jewish Death March", and " Craig" on 60
minutes yesterday, April 21, 1996? I guess that you must hate those
two stories since one was about an atrocity that was committed over
fifty years ago, and the other an atrocity that has been going on for
hundreds of years. Biafra is still less than thirty years old!! It is
very sad that for many Nigerians (including those in power), Biafra
is a lesson not learned. It is a lesson about power, authority,
treachery, greed, double-talk and double-think. I hope that you have
followed the Dasuki - Maccido contest.
Over one million persons of Eastern Nigerian origin lived in and
owned enormous amounts of property in all parts of Nigeria during
the period under consideration. During the crisis, they left these
properties and ran back to Eastern Nigeria where their safety and
security was guaranteed. After the war, most of these people went
back to the cities where they had lived and acquired properties ,
places like Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, Yola,
Katsina, Sokoto, Mubi, Lokoja, Minna, Ilorin, Warri, Lafia,
Kafanchan, Maidugiri, Gombe, Bauchi, Makurdi etc, etc, and
reclaimed their properties on presentation of valid proof of
ownership. In many instances in Nothern Nigeria, rent which had
been collected over the four years, was handed back to the
rightful owner of the property. Even the house of C. Odumegwu
Ojukwu, located on Queens Drive, Lagos, which the Lagos State
Governmemt appropriated in his absence was eventually handed back to
him. Why was Port Harcourt so very different? Why? Do you know that
the homes of some of the people whose properties were seized in Port
Harcourt is only thirty miles from Port Harcourt. Should a person
whose home is Ahoada or Elele be free to buy and own property in
Abonnema or Buguma? Should one whose family of origin is from Bakana
or Tombia be free to buy and own property in Ikwerre? By what
statute did Igbos keep Hausas, Edos, Fulanis, Yorubas, Tivs or any
other ethnic groups from going to Port Harcourt to earn a living?
The so-called "abandoned properties" is not a case against all the
people of the Rivers State. Most Rivers State indigenes hated and
still abhor the idea of forcibly seizing another persons properties.
But the beneficiaries are wishing that this issue will go away. We
will see. However, those who tried recently to repeat the seizure
of other people's properties in another part of the country, had a
different story to tell.
Please leave Igbos alone. You have enough problems demanding your
urgent attention in Rivers State. Leave Igbos alone. They don't
need your counsel, they don't need your advice and they surely
have never and may never ask for your help. Igbos are capable of
resolving their problems with the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo's
political followers, Chief M.K.O. Abiola and the June 12 election
result and the government of General Sanni Abacha. However, note
that economic justice, political equity and social liberty all
go together to guarantee human freedom. We are not at liberty
to pick and choose which ones we want, and which ones we can
cast into the thrash can. Any society that desires social
stability has to guarantee all or risk maintaining a semblance
of stability only with sufficiently intimidating force of arms.
And whenever that threat of force is withdrawn, that society is
bound to slip into instability and ultimate disintegration.
Farewell and good luck in your life as I leave you with the
wise counsel of Pastor Martin Niemoker, concerning speaking up:
" In Germany, they first came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then, they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then, they came for the trade unionist,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then, they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then, they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up"
---------------------------
emmanuel e enekwechi
eenek...@uiowa.edu
Julian C. Anigbogu
Thanks a million for your treatise on "abandoned properties". Nigeria is the
only country I know of where people can "abandon" their properties and
still live in the same country. I thought this was reserved for criminals who
abandon their properties and flee a country from justice. I've filed away
your write-up for posterity. I don't think non-Ibos will ever understand how
much the
issue of "abandoned property" hurts. We were foolhardy to believe in Gowon's
"No victor, No vanquished". As you pointed out, most of us on this net are too
young
to have owned properties in Port Harcourt but certainly we are old enough to
know
those who had and who were ruined economically (some to the point of
pining away and ultimately committing suicide). Couple the seizure of the
property that some toiled day and night for over 20 years to acquire, with
the 20 pounds that the late Awo decided that the Igbos should get no matter
the amount of money they had before, and you'll see why many souls are crying
out to
heaven for justice. No matter how hard we wish this problem away, it just won't!
Given the
way this issue of abandonned properties has played out, I'm beginning to wonder
if Pa Awo
decided of his own volition to give our parents only 20 pounds or somebody asked
him to
make that announcement.
You are very probably correct in asserting that the houses that were given out
in
Port Harcourt were to reward those that helped the federal forces to come in
through
Port Harcourt after they had failed several times to come through Onitsha and
Abagana.
If we expected any "punishment" for losing the war, it would have been in places
like Kano,
Lagos, Jos, etc. and certainly not in Port Harcourt. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
was
handed over everything that belonged to his father when he came back from exile.
There
was a big parade in Kano (where he commanded before the civil war) organized by
the Emir
of Kano. One would have expected a totally different reaction. A man whose house
is just
opposite ours at Nnewi got 10,000 pounds that his Yoruba friends had collected
as rent on
his properties in Lagos. Can you beat this act of friendship? My point is that
those from whom
we did not expect any mercy or help, came the best in human behavior. As an
anecdote,
the first sugar I tasted in 3years was on Jan 12, 1970 when the war ended and
the federal
forces arrived at Nnewi. We had expected that these guys would have murdered us
for
coming from the same town as Ojukwu but we were shocked at the friendliness they
showed
us. They gave us sugar, milk, salt, etc. that most of us kids only dreamt about.
Most of
those born in Biafra during the civil certainly never saw them let alone know
what they tasted
like. These soldiers had respect for us that with practically nothing we held
them off for 3yrs
(a little lesson in geography: Nnewi is only 15 miles from Onitsha and yet
between Oct. 6
1967 when Onitsha fell and Jan 12 1970 the Almighty decided to protect us).
This chivalry
should have been continued at the federal level, instead our parents' houses
were given
away and so started this rage to succeed that is burning in Igbos. "You forcibly
took
away our property and gave us 20 pounds to feed our kids without any roof over
our
heads, we'll show that where there is a will, there's away." People shouldn't be
surprised
by what we've built out of nothing. When you're oppressed and you cry out for
justice,
heaven has a way of responding. So shall it be for the Ogonis whose children
were
killed for speaking out for their people; Some day, help will come from above.
[For
those who believe in the bible, "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord". Abacha won't
get away with the innocent blood he has shed. He's virtually gone mad and sees
everybody
as enemies or potential enemies which is why he's retiring generals without any
explanation]
You also listed the transporters in Onitsha being more than 95% Yorubas. It was
more like 99.9% because Igbos didn't have any vehicles at all after the civil
war.
Those that ran home with theirs during the civil war had them commandeered to
prosecute the war. We didn't envy them, we simply thanked heaven that they came
with the means of getting around and trying to rebuild from our cities. You
don't
think they carried us for free? No way. They came to do business and we
appreciated
it because the benefit was mutual. If somebody calls that "invasion", that's
fine. It was
a perfect illustration of symbiosis.
Until justice is rendered, we can wish away this problem as much as we want, but
it's
not going to go away. On this net we discuss how to make things work back home
and yet some want us to sweep this problem under the rug and pretend it did not
happen. If we have to be partners, then we have to have the same rights and the
same
obligations.
Regards,
Julian C. Anigbogu Schlumberger Austin Product
Center
Internet: anig...@slb.com 8311 North FM 620 Road
SINet: asc::anigbogu P.O. Box 200015
512-331-3420 (voice) Austin, Texas 78720-0015
512-331-3059 (fax) U.S.A
----------
From: E. Enekwechi[SMTP:eene...@BLUE.WEEG.UIOWA.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 1996 12:22 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list NAIJANET
Subject: THE SO-CALLED "ABANDONED PROPERTIES".; UCHE H. IKWUT-UKWA.
Uche,
I usually do not take issue with people on their views about the
Nigerian-Biafran conflict. I strongly believe that people should feel
free to choose which side of the fence they want to be on. But whatever
is the basis for their decision -- moral conviction, cost-benefit
analysis, sadistic pleasure or even mere tomfoolery, they will surely
live with the consequences of that decision until they die.
I became interseted in your posting on the so-called "abandoned
properties", because of your conclusions and because as a full grown
man (deduced from your F.G.College account), I believe that you certainly
know more than you are willing to admit.
In your posting, you appear to be providing a rationale for the 1970
seizure of property owned by Igbos who lived in Port Harcourt before
and during the Nigerian-Biafran war. I will not waste my time disputing
your one-reference intellectual review of the developmental history of
Port Harcourt and the ethnic composition of the Rivers State. I will
speak only to your rationalization, your conclusions and the implications
of your conclusions.
[lot of good stuff deleted]
emmanuel e enekwechi
eenek...@uiowa.edu
Chiji
nwa Akoma
On Tue, 23 Apr 1996, E. Enekwechi wrote:
> Uche,
> I usually do not take issue with people on their views about the
> Nigerian-Biafran conflict. I strongly believe that people should feel
> free to choose which side of the fence they want to be on. But whatever
> is the basis for their decision -- moral conviction, cost-benefit
> analysis, sadistic pleasure or even mere tomfoolery, they will surely
> live with the consequences of that decision until they die.
> I became interseted in your posting on the so-called "abandoned
> properties", because of your conclusions and because as a full grown
> man (deduced from your F.G.College account), I believe that you certainly
> know more than you are willing to admit.
> In your posting, you appear to be providing a rationale for the 1970
> seizure of property owned by Igbos who lived in Port Harcourt before
> and during the Nigerian-Biafran war. I will not waste my time disputing
> your one-reference intellectual review of the developmental history of
> Port Harcourt and the ethnic composition of the Rivers State. I will
> speak only to your rationalization, your conclusions and the implications
> of your conclusions.
>
Patrick Nwosu
Thank you very much for your excellent point-by-point
response to Uche's. Your piece is very informative; it
is another masterpiece that is worth archiving.
Yours,
Patrick.