ON ABANDONED PROPERTY OR WHY THEY OPPOSE OHANEZE
ebony...@my-deja.com
On abandoned property
BY DESON ABALI
With the return of democracy to Nigeria, Igbos have once again
intensified their cry for the return of their houses and other property
confiscated from them after the Nigerian Civil War which ended with
their defeat in 1970. Their cry has, not unexpectedly been to no avail
mainly because it lacks focus or is misdirected at best. The Igbos have
erroneously been made to believe by the Lagos-Ibadan press that the
Hausa-Fulani who have dominated political power are their oppressors
and hence, enemies.
A careful investigation into the origin of the abandoned property
policy will reveal the fallacy inherent in this belief and this is
exactly what this essay intends to do.
It would be recalled that one of the decisions reached at the London
Constitutional conference held between 30 July and 22 August 1953 was
that Lagos should be excised from the then Western Region and made a
neutral Federal Capital Territory. This decision did not go down well
with the delegates of the Western Region led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
They protested about the decision both during and after the conference.
Indeed, on 19 October 1953, the Western Region House of assembly passed
a motion requesting the "reconsideration of the Lagos decision". About
four days later, chief Awolowo sent a cable to the Secretary of state
in London formally protesting about the decision to make Lagos a
neutral federal territory, and insisting that the Western Region
reserves the right to stay or opt out of the proposed federation of
Nigeria. Although the British stood by the decision to detach Lagos
from Western Region, the Yoruba elite never forgave their colleagues
from the Northern and Eastern Regions who supported that decision
during the London Conference. Thus, while the Northern and Eastern
Region respectively regarded Lagos as a neutral federal territory, the
Yoruba elite never for once saw Lagos as a separate territory from
Western Region. But because political power remained in the hands of
the British and later passed over to the North, there was little the
Yoruba elite could do to change the status of Lagos. They waited
patiently for an opportunity to avenge themselves against the Igbo and
the Hausa-Fulani elites.
Fortunately for the Yoruba elite and unfortunately for the Igbo elite,
the opportunity the Yoruba elite had been waiting for came to pass with
the defeat of the Biafra in 1970. Shortly after Biafra surrendered to
the federal forces, a very influential group of Yoruba elite calling
itself "committee of Ten" issued a public statement on the way forward
for the country. This group included Alhaji Femi Okionnu, Chief Sobo
Sowemimo, Mr. Ademola Thomas and Mr. Funmi Jibowu. In their statement
titled "The Next Few Days", and published in their paper -"AFRICAN
STATEMAN"- The group stated inter alia. "Wherever Ojukwu may be
hiding the fate of Shombe (the Zairean politician who betrayed Patrice
Lumunba and was later overthrown in a military coup by Joseph Mobutu)
will be there to haunt him. But for justice' sake he must be tried by
the Federal Government, even in his absence and given due sentence. The
properties of his most active co-plotters must be confiscated.
"It will be a great disservice to... patriotic Nigerians if such ex-
rebel leaders like Mbanefo, Emembolu, Eni Njoku, Chike Obi, Mike
Opkara, Mosewkwu, Mbadiwe, Mbu and others like them, through
clandestine and other dubious ways are included in the state government
and administration of the East Central State".
The implication of the above statement was that the "No Victor, No
vanquished" policy of General Gowon, was not in the interest of the
Yoruba elite. Since they constituted the bulk of the civilian advisers
of the Gowon's regime with Chief Awolowo (then Federal Commissioner for
Finance) as the arrow head, the Yoruba elite began to subvert the
national reconciliation effort of General Gowon. Gradually they turned
General Gowon into a tool for their vengeance against the Igbo elite
in much the same way that they are now using President Olusegun
Obasanjo to advance their anti-Hausa-Fulani agenda. If they could not
reverse the 1953 decision of the London Conference by deneutralizing
Lagos as Federal Capital Territory, they could, at least, kick out the
Igbo elite by confiscating their property.
Thus, beginning with the finance Ministry which Chief Awolowo headed,
the first policy was to treat as "abandoned" every bank deposit
belonging to Igbos in consideration for an ex-gratia award of twenty
pounds irrespective of the size or amount of the bank deposit
"abandoned". Knowing fully well that without money in their pockets the
Igbos would be unable to challenge any further violations of their
rights in court, the Yoruba elite finally descended on the real estates
of the Igbos in Lagos, confiscating and renaming them "abandoned
property".
Watching the Yoruba elite example with keen interest and noticing that
it was progressing smoothly, the elites of other nationalities began to
adopt the scheme. The most notorious was in River State. Ken Saro Wiwa,
a very strong admirer of Chief Awolowo (see for instance his book On a
Darkling Plain") and an anti-Igbo by inclination, was immediately
recruited by the Spiff regime to serve in the cabinet holding various
portfolios. It was in this capacity that he saw to the effective
implementation of the "abandoned property scheme" in Rivers State.
It can be seen from this brief historical analysis that the Hausa-
Fulani or indeed any other nationality in Nigeria would have suffered
the same fate as the Igbos in the hands of the Yoruba elite. It is also
in the light of this historical background that we can begin to
understand the politics of exclusion and violence currently being
perpetrated by Afenifere and its armed wing-the Oodua Peoples Congress
(OPC) in respect of federal establishment in Lagos. The most noticeable
of this exclusionist and violence was the recent killing of non-Yorubas
at Lagos seaports and the threat on the property of a Lagos-
based private radio station for daring to broadcast in Hausa Language,
all by the OPC.
It should be clear to Igbos from this historic background, that
contrary to the vituperations of the Yoruba dominated South west press
against the Hausa-Fulani as the source of every problem in Nigeria, the
abandoned property policy was never the brain-child of the Hausa-Fulani
but the Yoruba elite. It is by identifying the source of this problem
that we can begin to understand the frustration or at least, the
seemingly helplessness of the Hausa-Fulani elite in trying to resolve
this problem inspite of their long-stay in power at the federal
level.The truth is that the Yoruba elite have never allowed any
initiative designed to redress this problem to see the light of the
day. Apart from frustrating General Gowon's national reconciliation
efforts the Yoruba elite made sure President Shehu Shagari never had a
chance. In fact, it took the intervention of the Federal Supreme Court
for *Gen. Odumegwu Ojukwu (the ex-Biafran leader) to regain his
father's property from the Lagos State Government. This happened
inspite of the state pardon granted to Gen Ojukwu (the type that was
granted to President Obasanjo and for which general Oladipo Diya is
currently seeking) by the Federal Government of Nigeria. General Sani
Abacha simply played into the hands of the Yoruba elite when he
appointed one of them - Chief Alex Akinyele, to head the National
Reconciliation committee of Nigeria (NARECON). It was not unexpected
that after extensive tour of the country, chief Akinyele told his
interviewers on national television that his committee found that every
Igbo person that had "genuine claim" to any property anywhere in the
country, had recovered such. Yet thousands of Igbos are still crying
about their confiscated estates in Lagos and Port-Harcourt in
particular.
From the historical antecedents traced here, it should also be clear to
Igbos that it will be unrealistic to expect any government headed by
the Yoruba to redress the wrongs done to the Igbos as a result of the
civil war,particularly in the area of the abandoned property. General
Olusegun Obasanjo did not do anything about it during his tenure (1976-
79), and there is not much hope that president Olusegun Obasanjo will
redress the wrongs even if he has the political will given the deeply
entrenched Yoruba elite interest in his present regime. The current
propaganda effort of some Igbo youths in printing and circulating
fliers (or are they news bulletins?) threatening the rejuvenation of
Biafra may help in sensitisation of the people but it is not the kind
of a thing we need for our nascent democracy to grow.
My humble contribution is that Igbos must take it for granted that only
constitutional means offer realistic hope of recovering the so
called "abandoned property". To this end, they must prepare their minds
for a prolonged and even costly litigations. But they must rest assure
that at the end victory will be theirs. However, if the ordeal of Gen
Ojukwu in the hands of the Lagos State Government is to serve as a
model, then there is little hope for the less-privileged who may not
have the resources to pursue justice in the law courts. It is for this
reason that the institutionalisation of the common fund into which
every Igbo son or daughter can donate his or her widow's mite has
become indispensable. The fund will be managed by a board of trustees
made up of elders and youths who have proven records of advancing
collective Igbo interest to be appointed from various Igbo
organisations such as Ohaa-na-eze, Igbo Ezue among others. The managers
of the fund should also be charged with the responsibility for seeking
out Igbos whose property are still being held under the abandoned
property policy; ascertaining the genuineness of titles to such
property and the chances of a successful litigation over the property
and finally providing fund (even if by way of long term loans) to the
victims in the pursuit of justice over the property. Needless to say
that the services of volunteer lawyers and estate managers/valuers and
even members of the security services will be of great help
to the managers of the fund.
However, given the usual difficulty in reaching unanimous decisions
over matters of common interest by the Igbo elite, it may be necessary
to adopt the NGO approach as first step. In this case Igbo
professionals, particularly, lawyers should come up with non
governmental organisations with the desire to help their kinsmen who
are victims of the abandoned property policy to recover their property.
There is also the additional fora provided by international
organisations such as the United Nations General Assembly, Commonwealth
Summit, European Union Parliament, O.A.U. and ECOWAS Summits, Amnesty
International and a host of other bodies. Igbos can take their case
before these bodies if they discover that their recourse to internal
constitutional means is being deliberately frustrated by the system. In
our ever shrinking world these bodies are ever willing than previously
to listen to the cry of the oppressed any where in the world.
Having said this, it must be pointed out that the current war-songs
about the resuscitation of Biafra is not and cannot be in the interest
of the Igbos or the Nigerian State. Our hard-won democracy must be
preserved and the Igbos owe it a duty to help preserve rather than
destroy it. If they have any grievances, the law court rather than war-
songs should be the appropriate course of action.
Deson O. Abali writes from Idima Abam, Arochukuwu L. G.A. Abia State.
©1999 Copyright - Today Communications Ltd
*Note: Gen. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Gen Philip Effiong, Gen. Alexander Madiebo
etc. are forever ten times more "general" than cowardly pot-bellied,
yellow, weeping generals of an ethnicised anything-goes-army. Col. Joe
Achuzia's rank is far more credible than the cowardly "Brigadier" whose
reaction to military emergency in Lagos, his own backyard was
to "resign his commission" and bolt away in a merchant ship only to
emerge as an errand boy for a northern Lt. Col! Tufia!
--------- End Forwarded Message ---------
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
OKQuincy
"Having said this, it must be pointed out that the current war-songs
about the resuscitation of Biafra is not and cannot be in the interest
of the Igbos or the Nigerian State. Our hard-won democracy must be
preserved and the Igbos owe it a duty to help preserve rather than
destroy it. If they have any grievances, the law court rather than war-
songs should be the appropriate course of action."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Finally the wise one, Deson Abali writes vindicating my stand on the abandoned
property issue!
The solutions are to be found in the law courts of Nigeria. Misappropriated and
stolen properties must be returned to the rightful owners through legal means.
One can only hope that egg-heads like Ebonyi and Co are reading and listening!
Bye,
Quincy
OKQuincy
Date: 12/28/99 5:26:02 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: Owens...@camh.net (Owens Wiwa)
To: OKQu...@aol.com ('OKQu...@aol.com'), mekw...@flash.net,
awo...@cyberspace.net.ng
CC: ach...@medicine.med.um.edu.my, quincynet-...@egroups.com,
genera...@freedom98.org, oola...@dcsmserver.med.sc.edu,
naij...@egroups.com, Edo-Co...@egroups.com,
Yorubas-...@egroups.com, igbo...@lists.cc.utexas.edu,
akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu, In...@yorubanation.org, Owens...@camh.net
(Owens Wiwa), oluok...@msn.com, Wick...@aol.com, ibn...@yahoo.com,
AOr...@aol.com, Alat...@aol.com
Fellow Nigerians: I have been following the articles on this listserve with
a special interest as someone from a minority ethnic group in Nigerian who
believe that Nigeria can survive with careful negotiations involving
representatives of all its ethnic components.
Like most of the contributors to this listserve, I believe that we can
contribute to a broader understanding of our personal, ethnic or National
interest by confining ourselves to good language, hard facts and evidence
based conclusions. These conclusions may not be acceptable to the different
interests-- and this is understandable.
As has been stated by one of the contributors, it does not serve any purpose
to arrive at conclusions based on hearsay, faulty assumptions and an
inability to understand, tolerate or embrace other points of view. In fact
it is juvenile to attempt to influence the opinion of others with
inexactitudes and mature to correct these inexactitudes without using foul
language.
With the above background, I would like to correct some faulty assumptions
that Deson Abali may have used to arrive at his conclusions, in his article
on the "Abandoned Property" . In one of his paragraphs, Deson wrote that
"Watching the Yoruba elite example with keen interest and noticing that it
was progressing smoothly, the elite of other nationalities began to adopt
the scheme. The most notorious was in River State. Ken Saro Wiwa, a very
strong admirer of Chief Awolowo (see for instance his book On a Darkling
Plain") and an anti-Igbo by inclination, was immediately recruited by the
Spiff regime to serve in the cabinet holding various portfolios. It was in
this capacity that he saw to the effective implementation of the "abandoned
property scheme" in Rivers State."
I am replying to this assumption because Ken is late and because it is cheap
to condemn somebody who can not reply back. Some points:
.Ken and Chief Awolowo
Ken is a strong admirer of Chief Awolowo because of the his strong
leadership quality and because he shares Awolowo's belief that Nigeria is a
federation of ethnic groups. Ken advocated for the realization of this fact
through a Sovereign National Conference. Though he admired these and other
qualities of the late sage, he also criticized some of Awolowo's other
policies in other books.
.Ken and Igbos
Ken criticized the Igbo domination of the other minorities in the
then Eastern Nigeria. In his book, " The Darkling Plain" he detailed, with
facts why he thought that the discriminatory policies of the Eastern
Nigerian Government was wrong. Does that mean that he was anti-Igbo by
inclination? Not necessarily. Ken critiqued the discriminatory policies of
the Kaduna Mafia, populated by Hausa- Fulanis, and also the unfair policies
the previous Obasanjo dictatorship. Does this mean he is also anti-Yoruba
and anti-Hausa Fulani. Not necessarily. He acknowledged and praised the
intellect and industry of the Igbos in" The Darkling Plain" also praised
some of the policies of the different power blocks in Nigeria.
Also, Igbos were and are still in almost all the management positions in his
corporation. Most of his personal friends were Igbos and he did mention
about this in his book also.
.The Abandoned Property and Ken Saro-Wiwa
There have been a lot of misinformation about the role of Ken Saro-Wiwa on
this issue. I will like you all to know that Ken did NOT implement any of
the Abandoned Property policies. The Abandon Property Authority was set up
by the Diete Spiff / Gowon administrations. The then Major David West, not a
friend of Ken from the Middle Belt was the Administrator of the Authority.
Ken was not on the Board of the Authority nor was he in any way consulted on
the implementation of their policies. How then did Deson Abali came to the
conclusion that Ken "saw to the effective implementation of the "abandoned
property scheme" in Rivers State." Did he do this by magic?
The official records of minutes of the Rivers State Executive Council will
show that Ken Saro-Wiwa was one of the very few members of the council who
opposed the formation of the Authority during deliberations. Publicly,
however, Ken Saro-Wiwa stood by the majority decision of the council which
is the honorable thing to do in such circumstance. He anticipated that when
official secrets are released to the public, wrong perceptions will be
corrected.
Morally, he held his head high by being one of the very few Commissioners
who DID NOT acquire any property from the Abandoned Property Authority. If
you have any facts contrary to the above, please quote them! If not, a
retraction may be honorable and appropriate.
As a young boy of eight years, I saw Biafran soldiers burn my mother's house
with my eyes; I saw my parents pleading with Biafran soldiers to shot them
and spare the lives of their children (including this writer) who were lined
up in the forest at gun point; and I spent six months in a Biafran military
detention center. At the age of nine, I saw the rubbles left after Nigerian
planes bombed another building in my father's compound. On two other more
recent occasions, I was also illegally arrested, tortured and spent brief
periods in Nigerian Military detention centers. My jailers and torturers
have been Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas etc you name them. Does that mean I should
hate based on the ethnic origin of these messengers? That will be myopic and
defeatist.
What to do? I believe that we should focus on identifying the reasons why we
are having such violations of individual and collective rights. A diagnosis
of individual or tribal hatred is simplistic, negative, and as illustrated
above, may be based on wrong assumptions.
This listserve will contribute meaningfully to the resolution of some of our
problems if we correctly identify the main reasons for these problems and
suggest ways to resolve them to the politicians, the advocacy groups and the
transnational corporations in our midst who are the sole beneficiaries of
our disunity.
May the joys of the New Millennium guide us.
Owens Wiwa
*-----Original Message-----
*From: OKQu...@aol.com [mailto:OKQu...@aol.com]
*Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 1999 2:53 AM
*To: OKQu...@aol.com; mekw...@flash.net; awo...@cyberspace.net.ng
*Cc: ach...@medicine.med.um.edu.my; quincynet-...@egroups.com;
*genera...@freedom98.org; oola...@dcsmserver.med.sc.edu;
*naij...@egroups.com; Edo-Co...@egroups.com;
*Yorubas-...@egroups.com; igbo...@lists.cc.utexas.edu;
*akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu; In...@yorubanation.org;
*owens...@camh.net; oluok...@msn.com; Wick...@aol.com;
*ibn...@yahoo.com; AOr...@aol.com; Alat...@aol.com
*Subject: On Abandoned Property or Why They Oppose Ohaneze
*
*
*Subject: ON ABANDONED PROPERTY OR WHY THEY OPPOSE OHANEZE
*From: ebony...@my-deja.com
*Date: Mon, 27 December 1999 06:06 PM EST
*Message-id: <848r1a$rl2$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>
*
*TODAY NEWSPAPER: NOVEMBER 21-27, 1999
*
*On abandoned property
*
*BY DESON ABALI
*
*With the return of democracy to Nigeria, Igbos have once again
*intensified their cry for the return of their houses and other property
*confiscated from them after the Nigerian Civil War which ended with
*their defeat in 1970. Their cry has, not unexpectedly been to no avail
*mainly because it lacks focus or is misdirected at best. The Igbos have
*erroneously been made to believe by the Lagos-Ibadan press that the
*Hausa-Fulani who have dominated political power are their oppressors
*and hence, enemies.
*
*A careful investigation into the origin of the abandoned property
*policy will reveal the fallacy inherent in this belief and this is
*exactly what this essay intends to do.
*
*It would be recalled that one of the decisions reached at the London
*Constitutional conference held between 30 July and 22 August 1953 was
*that Lagos should be excised from the then Western Region and made a
*neutral Federal Capital Territory. This decision did not go down well
*with the delegates of the Western Region led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
*They protested about the decision both during and after the conference.
*Indeed, on 19 October 1953, the Western Region House of assembly passed
*a motion requesting the "reconsideration of the Lagos decision". About
*four days later, chief Awolowo sent a cable to the Secretary of state
*in London formally protesting about the decision to make Lagos a
*neutral federal territory, and insisting that the Western Region
*reserves the right to stay or opt out of the proposed federation of
*Nigeria. Although the British stood by the decision to detach Lagos
*from Western Region, the Yoruba elite never forgave their colleagues
*from the Northern and Eastern Regions who supported that decision
*during the London Conference. Thus, while the Northern and Eastern
*Region respectively regarded Lagos as a neutral federal territory, the
*Yoruba elite never for once saw Lagos as a separate territory from
*Western Region. But because political power remained in the hands of
*the British and later passed over to the North, there was little the
*Yoruba elite could do to change the status of Lagos. They waited
*patiently for an opportunity to avenge themselves against the Igbo and
*the Hausa-Fulani elites.
*
*Fortunately for the Yoruba elite and unfortunately for the Igbo elite,
*the opportunity the Yoruba elite had been waiting for came to pass with
*the defeat of the Biafra in 1970. Shortly after Biafra surrendered to
*the federal forces, a very influential group of Yoruba elite calling
*itself "committee of Ten" issued a public statement on the way forward
*for the country. This group included Alhaji Femi Okionnu, Chief Sobo
*Sowemimo, Mr. Ademola Thomas and Mr. Funmi Jibowu. In their statement
*titled "The Next Few Days", and published in their paper -"AFRICAN
*STATEMAN"- The group stated inter alia. "Wherever Ojukwu may be
*hiding the fate of Shombe (the Zairean politician who betrayed Patrice
*Lumunba and was later overthrown in a military coup by Joseph Mobutu)
*will be there to haunt him. But for justice' sake he must be tried by
*the Federal Government, even in his absence and given due sentence. The
*properties of his most active co-plotters must be confiscated.
*
*"It will be a great disservice to... patriotic Nigerians if such ex-
*rebel leaders like Mbanefo, Emembolu, Eni Njoku, Chike Obi, Mike
*Opkara, Mosewkwu, Mbadiwe, Mbu and others like them, through
*clandestine and other dubious ways are included in the state government
*and administration of the East Central State".
*
*The implication of the above statement was that the "No Victor, No
*vanquished" policy of General Gowon, was not in the interest of the
*Yoruba elite. Since they constituted the bulk of the civilian advisers
*of the Gowon's regime with Chief Awolowo (then Federal Commissioner for
*Finance) as the arrow head, the Yoruba elite began to subvert the
*national reconciliation effort of General Gowon. Gradually they turned
*General Gowon into a tool for their vengeance against the Igbo elite
*in much the same way that they are now using President Olusegun
*Obasanjo to advance their anti-Hausa-Fulani agenda. If they could not
*reverse the 1953 decision of the London Conference by deneutralizing
*Lagos as Federal Capital Territory, they could, at least, kick out the
*Igbo elite by confiscating their property.
*
*Thus, beginning with the finance Ministry which Chief Awolowo headed,
*the first policy was to treat as "abandoned" every bank deposit
*belonging to Igbos in consideration for an ex-gratia award of twenty
*pounds irrespective of the size or amount of the bank deposit
*"abandoned". Knowing fully well that without money in their pockets the
*Igbos would be unable to challenge any further violations of their
*rights in court, the Yoruba elite finally descended on the real estates
*of the Igbos in Lagos, confiscating and renaming them "abandoned
*property".
*
*Watching the Yoruba elite example with keen interest and noticing that
*it was progressing smoothly, the elites of other nationalities began to
*adopt the scheme. The most notorious was in River State. Ken Saro Wiwa,
*a very strong admirer of Chief Awolowo (see for instance his book On a
*Darkling Plain") and an anti-Igbo by inclination, was immediately
*recruited by the Spiff regime to serve in the cabinet holding various
*portfolios. It was in this capacity that he saw to the effective
*implementation of the "abandoned property scheme" in Rivers State.
*
*It can be seen from this brief historical analysis that the Hausa-
*Fulani or indeed any other nationality in Nigeria would have suffered
*the same fate as the Igbos in the hands of the Yoruba elite. It is also
*in the light of this historical background that we can begin to
*understand the politics of exclusion and violence currently being
*perpetrated by Afenifere and its armed wing-the Oodua Peoples Congress
*(OPC) in respect of federal establishment in Lagos. The most noticeable
*of this exclusionist and violence was the recent killing of non-Yorubas
*at Lagos seaports and the threat on the property of a Lagos-
*based private radio station for daring to broadcast in Hausa Language,
*all by the OPC.
*
*It should be clear to Igbos from this historic background, that
*contrary to the vituperations of the Yoruba dominated South west press
*against the Hausa-Fulani as the source of every problem in Nigeria, the
*abandoned property policy was never the brain-child of the Hausa-Fulani
*but the Yoruba elite. It is by identifying the source of this problem
*that we can begin to understand the frustration or at least, the
*seemingly helplessness of the Hausa-Fulani elite in trying to resolve
*this problem inspite of their long-stay in power at the federal
*level.The truth is that the Yoruba elite have never allowed any
*initiative designed to redress this problem to see the light of the
*day. Apart from frustrating General Gowon's national reconciliation
*efforts the Yoruba elite made sure President Shehu Shagari never had a
*chance. In fact, it took the intervention of the Federal Supreme Court
*for *Gen. Odumegwu Ojukwu (the ex-Biafran leader) to regain his
*father's property from the Lagos State Government. This happened
*inspite of the state pardon granted to Gen Ojukwu (the type that was
*granted to President Obasanjo and for which general Oladipo Diya is
*currently seeking) by the Federal Government of Nigeria. General Sani
*Abacha simply played into the hands of the Yoruba elite when he
*appointed one of them - Chief Alex Akinyele, to head the National
*Reconciliation committee of Nigeria (NARECON). It was not unexpected
*that after extensive tour of the country, chief Akinyele told his
*interviewers on national television that his committee found that every
*Igbo person that had "genuine claim" to any property anywhere in the
*country, had recovered such. Yet thousands of Igbos are still crying
*about their confiscated estates in Lagos and Port-Harcourt in
*particular.
*
*From the historical antecedents traced here, it should also be clear to
*Igbos that it will be unrealistic to expect any government headed by
*the Yoruba to redress the wrongs done to the Igbos as a result of the
*civil war,particularly in the area of the abandoned property. General
*Olusegun Obasanjo did not do anything about it during his tenure (1976-
*79), and there is not much hope that president Olusegun Obasanjo will
*redress the wrongs even if he has the political will given the deeply
*entrenched Yoruba elite interest in his present regime. The current
*propaganda effort of some Igbo youths in printing and circulating
*fliers (or are they news bulletins?) threatening the rejuvenation of
*Biafra may help in sensitisation of the people but it is not the kind
*of a thing we need for our nascent democracy to grow.
*
*My humble contribution is that Igbos must take it for granted that only
*constitutional means offer realistic hope of recovering the so
*called "abandoned property". To this end, they must prepare their minds
*for a prolonged and even costly litigations. But they must rest assure
*that at the end victory will be theirs. However, if the ordeal of Gen
*Ojukwu in the hands of the Lagos State Government is to serve as a
*model, then there is little hope for the less-privileged who may not
*have the resources to pursue justice in the law courts. It is for this
*reason that the institutionalisation of the common fund into which
*every Igbo son or daughter can donate his or her widow's mite has
*become indispensable. The fund will be managed by a board of trustees
*made up of elders and youths who have proven records of advancing
*collective Igbo interest to be appointed from various Igbo
*organisations such as Ohaa-na-eze, Igbo Ezue among others. The managers
*of the fund should also be charged with the responsibility for seeking
*out Igbos whose property are still being held under the abandoned
*property policy; ascertaining the genuineness of titles to such
*property and the chances of a successful litigation over the property
*and finally providing fund (even if by way of long term loans) to the
*victims in the pursuit of justice over the property. Needless to say
*that the services of volunteer lawyers and estate managers/valuers and
*even members of the security services will be of great help
*to the managers of the fund.
*
*However, given the usual difficulty in reaching unanimous decisions
*over matters of common interest by the Igbo elite, it may be necessary
*to adopt the NGO approach as first step. In this case Igbo
*professionals, particularly, lawyers should come up with non
*governmental organisations with the desire to help their kinsmen who
*are victims of the abandoned property policy to recover their property.
*There is also the additional fora provided by international
*organisations such as the United Nations General Assembly, Commonwealth
*Summit, European Union Parliament, O.A.U. and ECOWAS Summits, Amnesty
*International and a host of other bodies. Igbos can take their case
*before these bodies if they discover that their recourse to internal
*constitutional means is being deliberately frustrated by the system. In
*our ever shrinking world these bodies are ever willing than previously
*to listen to the cry of the oppressed any where in the world.
*
*Having said this, it must be pointed out that the current war-songs
*about the resuscitation of Biafra is not and cannot be in the interest
*of the Igbos or the Nigerian State. Our hard-won democracy must be
*preserved and the Igbos owe it a duty to help preserve rather than
*destroy it. If they have any grievances, the law court rather than war-
*songs should be the appropriate course of action.
*
*Deson O. Abali writes from Idima Abam, Arochukuwu L. G.A. Abia State.
*
* ©1999 Copyright - Today Communications Ltd
*
**Note: Gen. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Gen Philip Effiong, Gen. Alexander Madiebo
*etc. are forever ten times more "general" than cowardly pot-bellied,
*yellow, weeping generals of an ethnicised anything-goes-army. Col. Joe
*Achuzia's rank is far more credible than the cowardly "Brigadier" whose
*reaction to military emergency in Lagos, his own backyard was
*to "resign his commission" and bolt away in a merchant ship only to
*emerge as an errand boy for a northern Lt. Col! Tufia!
*
*
*
*--------- End Forwarded Message ---------
*
*
*Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
*Before you buy.
*
*
*
*
*
*
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From: Owens Wiwa <Owens...@camh.net>
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Subject: RE: On Abandoned Property or Why They Oppose Ohaneze
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 1999 17:15:44 -0500
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OKQuincy
Date: 12/28/99 7:50:02 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: mekw...@flash.net (Magnus)
To: alat...@netzero.net,
Tayo:
Thanks for your rendition. However, I have no new answers for you. The
answers I would have given have been on the cyberspace for over two years
now. Every now and then that Biafra rears its ugly head, we go through the
same cycle all over again. I, for one, am getting tired of it. What we
have is a stalemate. We have the same information but our interpretations
are so far apart there's no need trying to close the gap because when
tempers flare, people throw words around. My only reply would be that on
behalf of our peoples' general, we have no apologies to render. Don't
expect it because it ain't coming.
But you can do us a little favor here. You may consult with Dr. Bolaji
Aluko because he has a wealth of materials on any issue Nigeriana (abegi
MOE). This paper just came in today and was written by Deson Abali. I am
only going to quote the relevant section:
"......a very influential group of Yoruba elite calling itself "committee of
Ten" issued a public statement on the way forward for the country. This
group included Alhaji Femi Okionnu, Chief Sobo Sowemimo, Mr. Ademola Thomas
and Mr. Funmi Jibowo. IN their statement titled "The Next Few Days", and
published in their paper -"AFRICAN STATESMAN"- The group stated inter alia.
"Wherever Ojukwu may be hiding the fate of Shombe will be there to haunt
him. But for justice sake he must be tried by the Federal Government, even
in his absence and given due sentence. The PROPERTIES of his most active
co-plotters must be confiscated".
My friend, this is after RRR. People of western Nigeria just could not bear
it. They wanted every conceivable pound of flesh extracted. From the
foregoing, is there any doubts anywhere that the West is the most perturbed
of all people of Nigeria when the names Ojukwu and Biafra are mentioned.
Are you aware of this group of ten? Are they still working? I guess the
Yoruba wanted ndiigbo wiped out completely but Providence had it otherwise.
Before I drop, I will put it to you that Federal government of Nigeria is
responsible for all our suffering. It is the right person to sue. That
broadcast early July 6, 1967 encouraging Nigerians to take up arms and kill
ndiigbo, rob or claim their property, they are crying for nothing, to me, is
aiding and abetting and the order is official anyhow. I do not know where
you live but does Waco Texas make sense to you? It was a case where the
ATF used extreme force to subdue the Branch Davidians. Congress has now
authorized and independent panel to see where the government went wrong.
Lawyers have been investigating and waiting. There are possible areas where
the government went too much. Guess what? Within the next year or so,
lawsuits are going to be filed everywhere seeking damages against the
GOVERNMENT. Uncle Sege just authorized the razing of Odi because some
youths killed twelve policemen. While I am not condoning violence, extreme
force is uncalled for. The people of Odi should be suing the Federal
Government for all it is worth and more. In all conventions known to man,
hunger is never to be used as an instrument of war. Enahoro concocted it
and Nigeria used it against Biafra. After the said RRR, in addition to the
above call by the Yoruba for Igbo property to be confiscated, Awolowo as the
Minister of Finance brought additional pressure to bear: Twenty pounds for
every Igbo man no matter how much he had. This in an era when the
government sought, by indigenization decree, to empower its citizens to bou
up the foreign owned companies. He wanted to tighten the noose some more.
My friend these are all government policies against one particular people.
BTW, my reference to relics of war all over UNN and Enugu Campus was to let
you know that RRR was intended to make the world look the other way while
official persecution by Awolowo took off. Even OO told us we had the nerves
to ask for rehabilitation when he was military HOS.
Rgds,
Magnus
----- Original Message -----
From: tayo oluyemi <alat...@netzero.net>
To: <OKQu...@aol.com>; <mekw...@flash.net>; <awo...@cyberspace.net.ng>;
Olatunde Olusesi <da...@aol.com>; Tajudeen Abiodun Olusesi
<Tajol...@aol.com>; Rilwan Oladipo Olusesi <Ola...@aol.com>; Tunji
Babalola Olaniyan <tun...@netzero.net>
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Sent: Monday, December 27, 1999 12:20 PM
Subject: On the Demand by the Ohaneze
> To All Brothers and Sisters,
> I have read the various contributions on the subject of the demand by the
> leadership of the Igbos for compensation for the losses suffered by the
> Igbos during the unfortunate civil war that we fought, beginning in 1967
and
> ending in January1970, and also for the alleged 'marginalization' that has
> been visited upon the same people since after the war.
>
> I take no issue with the right of anyone to file a complaint about a
> perceived injustice. In fact, I actively encourage it. As I have
> previously counseled, the fact that we do not agree on any issue should
not
> preclude us from engaging in a discussion. Dialoguing and exchange of
ideas
> can only improve our understanding of each other. While I understand the
> passion such an issue as this may bring along with it, I want to appeal to
> all contributors to bottle their emotions and refrain from name-calling
and
> character assassination. We will more effectively argue our case if we
> objectively analyze the arguments that we disagree with and clearly
stating
> those areas without belittling those arguments or the proponent.
>
> Having said that, and reiterating my earlier submission that I do not
argue
> against anyone seeking to, in a legal and civil manner redress a perceived
> wrong that has been done them, at the same time I do reserve the right to
> either express my support for or opposition against the claim. In this
> case, let me state clearly that the Igbos suffered a lot during the war.
I
> don't think that anyone will belittle their suffering during this
> regrettable period of our history. While we agree on that, I completely
> disagree with the contention that the Federal Republic of Nigeria which
> prosecuted the war against the then Republic of Biafra was, or is
culpable.
> I disagree, and I will give my reasons.
>
> I have read somewhere that the petition of the Ohaneze was ill-advised
> because of the inability of the Nigerian nation to pay the judgment if one
> was ever to be entered against it. My argument is that Nigeria cannot be
> held liable for any wrong for prosecuting the war. The Ohaneze and the
> other leaders of Igbo should look way back beyond the war years, and
> critically examine the genesis of the conflict itself as well as the
> immediate cause of the war. It is debatable if there would have been any
> war in the first place if the leaders of the then Eastern Nigeria had not
> attempted to secede from the Nigerian nation and declared a sovereign
> Biafran Republic.
>
> It is true that there was a feeling of insecurity in almost all parts of
the
> country prior to the declaration of the independence of the Republic of
> Biafra. It is also true that the Igbos in the northern part of Nigeria
had
> been ill-treated, and some had lost their lives. Those facts are
> undeniable. The fear had led many Igbos to flee back to the East where
they
> felt more secure. But, it is also true that most people at the time only
> felt secure within their own native regions. Not just the Igbos.
>
> Despite this heightened insecurity, the government of General Yakubu Gowon
> could not, and cannot be accused of being unconcerned by the plight of the
> Igbos, especially. There were meetings and negotiations going on
feverishly
> both within and outside the country to find a solution to the problems
that
> were tearing the country apart. The Igbos should summon the courage to
> question the judgment of the leaders of the region at the time, especially
> Chief (then Lt.. Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu). Did he make a responsible
> judgment? After all that is what is demanded of a responsible leadership.
> Did he make the best decision for the people at the time? Wasn't there
any
> alternative to the secession of the Eastern Nigeria where he was the
> Governor? Was the decision influenced by his reported estrangement with
> Gowon, itself a refusal to acknowledge Gowon's elevation to the position
of
> Head of State? To me, Ojukwu acted very irresponsibly by insisting that
he
> could not meet with his Commander-in-Chief in Lagos, the seat of the
federal
> government at the time for discussions on ways to resolve the on-going
> problem because of his feeling of insecurity. That said to the entire
> people of the East that no one among them, not even him in his military
> position could feel safe as part of Nigeria. And, it says to me that he
had
> started entertaining the idea of secession at this point which beclouded
his
> judgment.
>
> I know that this is not the complete history of the events leading to the
> war, but my point here is to show that, legally the responsibility for the
> war lies somewhere else. Not with the Federal Government of Nigeria.
> Morally, yes, the government should have done more to rehabilitate all the
> people that suffered various losses consequent upon the war. And, that is
> not just the Igbos. The estimated one million people that died during the
> war were not all Igbos or Nigerians of the then Eastern Nigeria. Many
> families in the other parts of Nigeria lost their brothers and sisters in
> the war. Many joined the military voluntary, but there were others who
were
> conscripted into the service and who never came back home to their
families.
> Most were young, and they gave their lives, and you can say involuntarily.
> I was too young to join the army at the time of the war, but I had
> neighborhood older friends who lost their lives in the war. My own blood
> brother served in the war, and was lucky to come back, but the war
certainly
> left a mark on all who went to the war front. I know of no psychological
> evaluation nor assistance given to the fighters who survived the war. The
> war changed the course of the lives of many, for worse. Some died within,
> never to be themselves anymore. And, not all of those were Igbos.
>
> For fighting to keep Nigeria one and united, to be the country that is
> although mired in mismanagement and economic poverty, but still has a
clout
> in the world leadership because of the strength of the size of its
> population and its potential, these people did not receive more than a
> thank-you-for-your sacrifice and a pat on the back. They have a right to
> ask to be compensated, or at least to receive something worthwhile for the
> years that they gave to their country. But, we can not all just be
putting
> out our hands for what we can get from the frail, battered being called
> Nigeria. Definitely not at this time. The least of the challenges facing
> Nigeria today is economic. The seemingly embedded lack of belief in the
> entity called Nigeria in the minds of too many Nigerians, the eroding
> confidence in the leadership of the country, and the decay of our once
proud
> heritage and social order are bigger threat than the fight for a share of
> the shrinking pie.
>
> Let me add that whatever his failings were, history will judge Yakubu
Gowon
> well. In his mid-30s when the war ended in 1970, he could have been
> hot-headed and arrogant enough to claim victory and seek for a pound of
> flesh. He could have rejected the counsel of the advisers around him.
> Instead of declaring the war over without a victor or a vanquished, he
could
> have sought to institute penalties on the Eastern region. His leadership
> immediately after the war set the tone for forgiveness among all the
people.
> For the Igbos that first made it back to Lagos and other areas outside
the
> Eastern region after the war, I don't think that there was a preponderance
> of rejection or blatant hatred. The hatred that is brewing among the
> different ethnic groups of Nigeria cannot be laid at the door step of the
> government of Gowon. The governments of Babangida and Abacha have to
answer
> to that. But, that is different matter altogether. If by 1989 (when one
> contributor visited Nsukka and saw war relics) nothing had been done,
would
> that be because Gowon failed to live up to his promise of 'RRR'? Gowon
left
> office in 1976, and there were three different administrations between
then
> and 1989, including a civilian administration that had Alex Ekwueme as the
> Vice-President of the country. Was it a deliberate policy of all these
> administration to neglect the war affected areas? I don't believe that
> anyone will make this argument. But, of course anyone has a right to do
so
> if they so believe. And, have we tried to compare how the policies of the
> government between 1970 and the present affected the other parts of the
> country? Can we point to a pattern that shows that the former Eastern
> region has been treated poorly compared to the other regions? Have we
> critically evaluated the administrators of these areas to determine if
they
> placed their priorities else where and not because the federal government
> starved them of funds?
>
> Up till today, I do not believe that I have heard or read the apologies of
> Ojukwu for all the pains and losses that were visited upon the people of
> then eastern Nigeria and the rest of the country. If you asked me, I
would
> say that we all deserve an apology. The war was unnecessary and
avoidable.
> There were workable alternatives to the war. We did not have to lose one
> million of our brothers and sisters. Nigeria did not have to spend
hundreds
> of millions of dollars on the war. And, we all suffered socially. Armed
> robberies became rampant, and innocent lives were lost in the process of
> that as well. Even, if going our different ways was inevitable then, we
> could have continued to talk about it.
>
> During the war years, I lived on Lagos Island, and I remember a bomb
> exploding right in the middle of Lagos. It might have been meant for the
> then Police headquarters at Obalende, but it landed in a petrol station
> across from the Force Headquarters. The petrol station was destroyed
along
> with the houses that were next to it. Call it collateral damage, but
> innocent civilian lives were lost there, and I don't believe that their
> families have ever sought a compensation from the defunct government of
> Biafra. If they did, they might have a case, I suppose. And, Nigeria too
> might have a case against the government of the former Republic of Biafra
> for raining terror on the people of Nigeria through the use of Egyptian
and
> South African mercenaries.
>
> But, when we say the government of Biafra, that will in actual fact mean
the
> people of the former Eastern Nigeria. But, what good will all that
achieve?
> Will it bring us together or tear us apart? What moral victory are we
> looking for? Is it necessary after Gowon declared the war over without a
> winner or loser? We all lost something, but we did not lose it all. We
> have an opportunity to rebuild, and we are lucky to have both the human
and
> natural resources to fall back on to start the rebuilding process. For
> those who have given up on a united Nigeria, of course this will not make
> any sense. But, I have not, and I believe that we can build a Nigeria
where
> we can all feel free, equal, and able to achieve our individual and
> collective goals and potentials. I believe that we can resolve our
> differences, and I believe that we can find unity even in our diversity.
>
> This is my contribution to this debate. I respect the opinion of others
> even when they differ from mine. I expect that other people may want to
> write a rejoinder, but I would suggest that such a person should take the
> time to read this piece at least twice. I do that with each article,
> especially when I decide to respond to them. If we all sat for a while in
> the corner of our rooms and meditate, we can find some good things about
> this country, Nigeria. We can see that all is not hopeless. That we all
> need to do more in our different ways to help Nigeria to move
progressively
> forward.
>
> I believe that God has blessed us abundantly. May He open our eyes to our
> blessings and guide us to love one another unconditionally, and to offer
of
> ourselves to the country selflessly and without any reservations.
>
> May the years ahead bring us closer to our potential as one nation. Happy
> holidays to all and our families.
>
OKQuincy
(Comments1)
Date: 12/28/99 7:57:31 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: mekw...@flash.net (Magnus)
To: OKQu...@aol.com,
Quincy:
I think you should know that what Ohaneze is doing is not singing to the
gallery. They are not out there for a beauty/popularity contest. There is
no panlogo contest anywhere. WE just filed a claim which is frivolous to
you but until Oputa Panel rules, we will just leave it at that. If it rules
that the claim is flawed, we will amend it. Whatever it rules will be
combed with the finest comb we can find. Believe me, this is only the
first step in the process and we have seen and have been warned by the
Yoruba that it will oppose us every bit of the way. It is our opinion that
the federal government cajoled the people into killing and robbing ndiigbo.
State sponsored ethnic cleansing, if you ask me.
Rgds,
Magnus
----- Original Message -----
From: <OKQu...@aol.com>
To: <OKQu...@aol.com>; <mekw...@flash.net>; <awo...@cyberspace.net.ng>
Cc: <ach...@medicine.med.um.edu.my>; <quincynet-...@egroups.com>;
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 1999 2:35 AM
Subject: Why they Oppose Ohaneze: Deson Abali (Comments1)
> Subject: Re: On Abandoned Property: Deson Abali
> Date: Tue, 28 December 1999 03:26 AM EST
> From: OKQuincy
> Message-id: <19991228032610...@ng-cg1.aol.com>
>
> Deson Abali writes:
>
> "Having said this, it must be pointed out that the current war-songs
> about the resuscitation of Biafra is not and cannot be in the interest
> of the Igbos or the Nigerian State. Our hard-won democracy must be
> preserved and the Igbos owe it a duty to help preserve rather than
> destroy it. If they have any grievances, the law court rather than war-
> songs should be the appropriate course of action."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Finally a wise one, Deson Abali writes and in the above quote completely
> vindicates my stand on the "Abandoned Property" issue.
>
> The so-called abandoned (in actual fact stolen) properties must be
returned
> to their rightful owners through legal means. I will even support the
setting
> up of a legal fund (by the federal government) to compensate Igbos for the
> legal bills incurred in civil suits to get their properties back.
>
> The latter is a more realistic demand. The Ohaneze scheme is not only
badly
> flawed in intent and prosecution it has very little chance of gaining
support
> from other non-Igbo Nigerians. It is doomed to fail!
>
> Why Ebonyi and CO can't understand this basic principle remains a mystery
to
> me. It requires simple basic common sense, not rocket science to
> differentiate between achievable/possible goals and impossible ones.
>
> Bye,
>
> Quincy
>
>
>
>
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------