Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY

[Iorhemen Kyeleve]

This article might interest those from the Nigerian big three: IJ Kyeleve The Tiv of Central Nigeria-The unassuming nation. By Atsar Terver I am writing this article because I am Tiv. And the reason is simple. Only a Tiv man can write these things as they strictly affect the Tiv nation. As the saying goes, it is he who wears the shoe that knows where it pinches. If I keep quiet and expect a Kunle Lagbaja or an Ahmed Ibrahim to do this, I will be deceiving myself. I guess some readers would expect me to apologise for sounding tribal but I will not. We have pretended for too long to avoid being branded clannish with little results to show for it. When an Ibo man boldly cries against marginalisation, he is heard because the system appears to believe they have the right to complain. But the Tiv man has no rights! When a Niger Deltan agitates for resource control, he is listened to because, they have the oil. But the Tiv man contributes (nothing?) to the Nigerian economy. Do I need to remind us that the Tiv nation is the food basket of the nation? The enormous contribution of their agricultural produce to the economy cannot be wished away. Tens of thousands of tonns of yams, rice, soybeans, groundnuts, oranges, etc, are produced and daily shipped to other parts of Nigeria. The Tiv nation remains the only region in Nigeria that produces these crops in commercial quantities. Apart from being the food basket of the nation, the Tiv nation has consistently sacrificed their people for the unity of this nation contributing over 60% of the frontline forces that fought the civil war with every household in Tivland loosen several of its members. During the Civil war, they lost most of their officers' cader and one of their illustrious sons, the late Col. Joe Akaahan the then Army Chief of Staff during the Nigerian civil war in a chopper crash who has not been given a befitting honour by Nigeria till to date. He remains one of the unsung heroes of that war. In the face of gross injustice and tyranny to a people who have sacrificed in no small measure to the building of the Nigerian nation, they are expected to keep quiet. Whenever they speak out, they are quickly branded as tribal bigots in order to silence them. For this reason I decline to shut up even though many would wish I should because they hate to hear the truth. For decades, the Tiv have shied from speaking up against the systematic exclusion of her people from national appointments both in public and private establishments, hoping that justice and truth could, one day, triumph naturally. This silence has however been misconstrued to mean apathy. Though they work very hard wherever they find themselves they are often bypassed with opportunities; and those who do this do not expect an outcry from any quarters. Who will speak for them anyway? Even though they are about the 5th largest ethnic group in Nigeria (Census2006) , they rank among the least patronised and most marginalised groups in the scheme of national power sharing and distribution of economic opportunities. Despite the fact that they are highly educated and hard working, they are often forced to occupy the back seat. To further exacerbate this methodical exclusion, the Tiv are mischievously assumed to occupy only one state, which is Benue, despite the fact that they make up a significant population of Southern Taraba, Plateu and Nasarawa States and even part of Northern Cross River. In these ‘other states’they are given minority status and in the most extreme cases even forced to assume ‘settler’ status thus denying them a stake in the politics of those states. Their efforts to be integrated and be able to participate in the politics of their constituencies is seen as an affront by the ‘indigenes’ in those states. This has often resulted in heated ethnic conflicts. Whenever this happens, analyst find it convenient to blame the Tiv for what has been termed their expansionist tendency. The Obasanjo administration embarked of a well-planned decimation of Tiv people from federal appointments. He prematurely retired many serving and upcoming Generals of Tiv extraction from the Nigerian Army. He also removed Tiv sons in government appointment in series; Dr. Iorchia Ayu as Minister, Victor Malu as Chief of Army Staff, Engr. Barnabas Gemade as DPD chairman, Engr Ujege as Director Federal Highways, Mr Akpe as Comptroller General Nigerian Prisons Service, to mention a few. He even sent the army to commit the most atrocious genocide in peacetime Nigeria at Zaki Biam not only just to get even over a squabble with General Victor Malu, but to grap Tivland in Taraba state for his insatiable greed for farmland all over Nigeria!. In the current dispensation, one has also observed that whenever a Tiv man or woman is appointed to a national portfolio, there is an outcry from a particular section of the country bordering on non-qualification. It does not matter whether the person so characterised as un-qualified is highly educated and experienced in his field of specialisation. As long as he is a Tiv man or woman, he is deemed unfit to hold a National portfolio! When the current Attorney General was appointed, these critics did not hide their outrage. One professor who forgot about his won funny name, rammed: "Aondoakaa" what- what a name? The unmistakeable message in most of the commentaries was: this fellow is from a wrong corner of the country.. Even his ‘SAN’ was ludicrously described in some quarters as a ‘junior SAN’! Reference to his hometown was made in unmasked derogatory terms. The most vulgar of the gang even called him a ‘bush man’ and ‘ local lawyer’. Their implied contention was that not having practiced law in Lagos or Ibadan effectively makes his knowledge of the law and the Nigerian Constitution of Inferior value. Since then he has received the most hostile press attention among all the members of Yar’Adua’s cabinet. This reminds me of a shocking experience I had in an encounter with a certain popular Professor in Lagos some ten years ago. As a young graduate of Chemical Engineering, I had walked into his environmental consultancy outfit on Okpebi hoping to land a job as a junior consultant under his tutelage. But I was in for a shocker. The Prof. simply walked me out of his office with a stern warning not to present that certificate elsewhere for a job in Lagos! His reason? He said he does not recognise degrees awarded by Northern Universities.  In his exact words: ‘you boys sit down in the north to study elementary science and then call yourself Engineers’ .To say I was mortified would be stating the obvious. Now, others may not express this nothing- good- comes- from- the-’ north’ attitude in such bizarre a manner as this Professor did, but they do all the same albeit in many subtle but easily decipherable ways. A renowned columnist recently in a veiled attempt to insult to the President took upon himself the task of recommending some books that the president must read in order to become fit and proper to rule Nigeria. This fellow probably believed he is more learned than the President, forgetting that the President is an intellectual in his own right and bred from a well-groomed and educated family, whose father was educated enough to be a Minister of the federal republic at a time when this columnist was probably still in Primary school. Again when Farida Waziri was appointed to take up the post of EFCC Chairperson, as soon as her roots were traced to the Tiv Nation, some people suddenly realised that she was not ‘qualified’ to head the agency. They sought to sell the fallacy that her appointment was simply because she is from the same State with the AGF, as if the AGF did the appointment. Even those who knew, downplayed that fact that it was Farida Waziri who mentored Nuhu Ribadu for years. Faced with her intimidating CV, which they could not reasonably deride, they resorted to character assassination. One renowned SAN even asked the Senate not to confirm her appointment failing which he preceded to the courts to stop her. In like manner when Barrister S.T. Hon was decorated as a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria (SAN) the same group of people argued that Barrister Hon was not qualified because he was a Tiv candidate, they strongly believe that nothing good comes out from Tiv nation, however, Justice Katsina Alu of the Supreme Court who is doing a good job for the nation is a Tiv man and Prof. Ignatius Ayua  a renowned fellow in company law in Nigeria is also a Tiv man. And now we have a very highly educated and experienced technocrat of international repute in the person of Dr. Paul Orhii appointed to head NAFDAC; but instead of applause and support from all, what do we have?  A babel of voices from the very constituency he needs the more support questioning his qualification.  But is Dr.Orhii, for all practical purposes, not qualified to head NAFDAC? It is my humble opinion that, if you remove this groundless stigma of ‘he- is- a- Tiv- man-, therefore- he- cant- do- it’, then he is very eminently qualified. Few (if not none) of the so called concerned PSN members shouting blue murder could boast of the credentials and international experience Dr. Orhii is bringing to the NAFDAC DG office. Trouble is that his critics in the PSN most pathetically do not seem to understand his jaw-breaking field of Neuropscycopharmaco logy. They most probably did not expect such a highly trained specialist to emerge from the Tiv nation. Thus their consternation could be understood. If Orhii, a Medical Doctor with a PhD in Pharmacology, and over 20 years of practice at home and abroad, is believed not to have a good knowledge of drugs then I wonder who has that knowledge. With a degree in Law to cap it all, one expects that the new NAFDAC boss is even better positioned to tackle the legal aspects of his job which is key to successful prosecution of fake drug suspects. Despite the very weak and shallow argument being put up by PSN against Orhii’s appointment, I support that they go ahead and test their case in Court. At least that would provide useful precedence for the future. Dr. Orhii is one of the finest brains I have met. He has a unique passion for good governance, justice and equity. He is frank, fair, and above all hardworking with unbelievable humility. An intellectual of many disciplines with vast international experience in Medicine, Pharmacology and Law. Such a man is not just fit to head NAFDAC but is indeed a good omen and a harbinger of better days ahead for the agency. The truth is that while the rest of the so-called educationally advanced states were busy reeling with pride and underrating the Tiv nation, their boys silently dug their heads in the books. The result is that the Tiv Nation is teaming with many more Orhiis that cannot continue to be ignored for too long. There are currently over 100 Tiv Professors holding key research positions in foreign universities in technologically advanced nations like the USA, Germany, Japan and Russia.  A trip to Benue State University will convince one that indeed, the Tiv Nation has groomed competent academics who are capable of running their faculties to the highest standards. Benue State University is rated among the best State Universities in the country. Her law graduates have been excelling at the Law School. These academics are stars who were not allowed to shine in Universities like ABU, Calabar, Jos,and  Nsukka due to the same marginalisation mentioned above.  When Senator Saror, a Tiv Professor headed ABU, he received the most bizarre opposition ever witnessed by a VC in my little history. That Yar’Adua has in a rare display of non-discrimination, recognised the strategic position of the Tiv Nation and set out to fish out competent hands from there to man some key positions in his government is quite commendable. But the appointments so far made are just a tip of an iceberg. Even if ten more of such critical positions are given to the Tiv nation, it will not suffice for the decades of neglect and discrimination suffered by the Tiv Nation. I urge Yar’Adua to shop for the next CBN Governor and Chief Justice from among the Tiv. There should be no sacred posts reserved for certain ethnic groups in Nigeria. --- On Fri, 2/27/09, toyin adepoju <toyin....@googlemail.com> wrote: From: toyin adepoju <toyin....@googlemail.com> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY To: "usaafricadialogue" <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com> Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 7:44 AM   In response to a  comment in the thread, "Lets Take the Bull by the Horns",which suggested Fashola,Utomi and Umar as good candiadtes for the Presidency,Tony Agbali wrote the folliwing:   2009/2/26 Tony Agbali <atta...@yahoo.com> How the Nigerian ethnic majority thinks. Clear headed thoughts. No Nigerian ethnic minority is qualified for the post of Nigerian Presidency. In every space and crevices these majorities control, when not fighting their ethnic battles and making the minorities to select sides along their lines of contestation, then they impose their thoughts and candidates upon the minority.   Yes, in deed, it is once again  the Nigerian ethnic big-three personified in the naming of Utomi, Fashola, and Col. Umar, that are the nominated crown candidates of ethnic warlords as the sole qualified candidates to get the shot for the Nigerian Presidency.    Where are the Zataf, the Ogoni, and the Middle Belt folks representation, most of whom have borne the blunt of Nigerian majorities' abuse of power, in this kind of imagination?    Is this just a simple matter of forgetfulness, amnesia, or a pre-planned assault on the imagination of the rest of us?  We only seem to count, only when we often shed our blood in the mess and crises precipitated by various ethnic majority rulers. Drenched in dried blood, maimed and amputated, the minority lot in Nigeria seems to be perpetual serfdom and savage servanthood prescribed by the ethnic big-three.     Yes, in deed, Nigerians can donate and blog about an Obama emergence and celebrate the American presidential inaugural balls regarding the ascendance of an American minority to the Presidency, but when it matters and relates to their national or aboriginal interests, their insolence and rational/irrational assaults against the Nigerian minority can be incredibly incalculably and unguarded.   In 2011, they would be some surprises and this merry-go-round of the ethnic majority change of baton and ongoing decimation of Nigerian underfoot would yield unexpected choices.  The Nigerian ethnic minorities need to come together and slice power between them and we will see those who really own power in Nigeria, except for the convenience of their hitherto split that has denied them of relevance in the banner-holding game that has for so long defined the Nigerian power equation.    A new Standard bearer with the resembling qualities and profile of a new Joseph Tarka-kind combined with a new Ken Saro-Wiwa-visionary is simply needed, and the time would not be too far off.  Nigerian minorities must forget their difference and forge their new power and decimate this eternal titans and specie of power bums. Who will bell the cat when the horn of the bulls are attempting to become gladiators running amok, without delivering on the fight that matters in defining Nigeria as a modern nation, progressive, and transforming its advances in emerging from poverty to a sanctuary of beautiful existence? MY RESPONSE TO  TONY'S COMMENTS:   Valuable contribution on the marginalisation of ethnic minorities at the highest levels of Nigerian politics,Tony.I wonder,though,have any ethnic minorty politicians demonstrated interest in the Presidency in recent times?Have they run?If they have not run,is it on account of marginalisation by their parties or by the political class in general? Can Dora Akunyili  be considered for the presidency and encouraged to run for it?

[joan.O'sa Oviawe]

Dear Atsar,

Thanks for this enlightening article about the active involvement of TIVs in the upper echelon of Nigerian government.  My brother what are you complaining about? For their relative small population, the TIVs seem to be well represented in the Nigerian polity.  If I can find three Benins in a position of significance within the government, I'll be breakdancing :-)

On a serious note, this is not to diminish some of the valid grievances you raised-as a member of a minority group in Naija.  We need our own version of a "national conversation on race".

Best,
joan




"lady" joan.O'sa
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P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

[Chuma Nwokolo]

My dear Atsar,

 

I do not mean to be facile, but a reading of your post might provoke some resentment against the Tiv in the breasts of other Nigerian 'minorities'. You have managed to paint in a few short paragraphs a picture of an enterprising, and successful, ethnic nation challenging effectively within the Nigerian space. This is as it should be. Some of your submissions are informative but unnecessary. Paul Orhii is not better qualified to be a NAFDAC head because the Tiv are great farmers. They are two separate issues, I think. Neither should the exploits of Tiv soldiers in the 60s enhance the lot of Tiv technocrats in the 00s. Too long a dalliance on this ethnic justification project pushes you perillously close to the sort of wartime boastfulness that got our Nigerian ambassador to America into trouble.

 

The trouble with allowing the elephant of ethnicity into the space of discourse is the stultifying effect it has on intelligent rapprochement. There is a stench in the air, but no one is allowed to comment, until the ethnicity of the farting arse is confirmed, and the propriety of criticism determined. We cannot sack Yoruba thiefs until we establish that an appropriate number of counterbalancing Hausa and Igbo scoundrels have already been sacked. We cannot comment on the incompetence of a paperweight Ijo because he is a townsman - and God knows when another Ijo will get to that exalted office. I'd say throw out that ancient bilge! Why do we have to have an ethnic navel gaze because a commentator mentions three names? This is not an electoral commission. All that is required was for a subsequent post to throw a few more names into the hat and get on with the real issues. We do not need a freudian event to parse what was possibly a rhetoric device!

 

I will be perfectly frank with you. When I consider the recent changes in the top management of the EFCC, the least of my concerns is the ethnicity of either Ribadu or Farida. Most of the great African empires began to unravel when incompetent sons succeeded to the thrones of their illustrious fathers. There is no sagacity in nepotism, and there is certainly no sagacity in ethnicity. The trouble is that the ethnic elephant pushes other meritorous issues out of the room. Once the button is pressed, it brings out the neanderthal in us. We have to be careful before we step onto the bandwagon of ethnic defender. Once you climb on board, you are never allowed to debark, even when you find a higher national calling. Often, the best way we can serve our ethnic nation is to allow a manifestly better qualified candidate to take a position 'out of turn'. I want a country where my wall switch electrifies my bulbs, irrespective of my ethnicity. To achieve that, I have to be a little blind to the ethnicity of my electrician. Will there be some injustice along the way? Of course. But we as Nigerians and Africans are well overdue for an Ethnic Desensitisation Project anyway. Let us stop crying wolf quite so often. Thiefs who haul ghana-mus-gos through senatorial corridors, forgetting they are Igbo, should not discomfit us by pounding Igbo drums on the eve of their impeachment.

 

I am a great supporter of 'ethnicity'. I believe that ethnic nations in Nigeria, in Africa, must be stoutly defended - their language, culture, traditions - with the might and main that we should defend a human life. But I also know that when it comes to national life, the best way to defend the interests of every single Nigerian,of every single ethnicity, is to prefer policy over personality, to prefer excellence over a surgical ethnic balance, and to develop a colourblind eye that can rove over a dock of criminals of every ethnic nation, include mine, and cry, thief! thief! thief!

 

Chuma. Nwokolo

www.nwokolo.com

Publisher, African Writing.
www.african-writing.com
AW is a quality, literary paper committed to the literature of continental and diasporic Africa.

[Obododimma Oha]

Iorhemen,

Thanks for letting us read this interesting article. Kyeleve has the right to complain, after all, it's all about milking the "old cow" we call Nigeria.

 I laughed when I read the section on the cultivation of yams in commercial quantities by the Tiv nation. That's true, of course. But do they distribute the tubers to other Nigerians free of charge? Are they forced to work in a Nigerian Egypt? Listen: I cultivate yams too, apart from reading and writing and teaching. A typical Okonkwo, you would say. Interestingly, I planted some yam seedlings just about 30 minutes ago. I have been cultivating yams at my place of residence here in the University of Ibadan for the past 12 years and hardly buy from the market. The point is that there are some Nigerians like me who do not depend on the nation's "food basket" for their survival. We work the land, too. 

And this talk about Tiv people fighting for and dying for Nigeria! Na wao, were they the only ones that fought in the war? And were they forced to go and kill the Biafran rebels? Didn't they find soldiering attractive? I am just curious reader of Kyeleve's post, not a tribalist!

--- Obododimma.

On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 5:38 AM, Iorhemen Kyeleve <kyel...@yahoo.com> wrote:

--
Obododimma Oha
Senior Lecturer in Stylistics & Semiotics
Dept. of English
University of Ibadan
Nigeria

&

Fellow, Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies
University of Ibadan

Phone: +234 803 333 1330;
           +234 805 350 6604.

[Obododimma Oha]

Great response, Chuma!

-- Obododimma.

[Chidi Anthony Opara]

"Do I need to remind us that the Tiv nation is the food basket
of the nation?"

Iorhemen Kyeleve.

So where do we place Abakiliki and Akeze in the Igbo nation?

Truth is that we should purge ourselves of these shadow chasing and
focus on substances, like (1) true federalism, electoral reform, land
reform, etc, especially now that constitutional review is by the
corner.

Chidi Anthony Opara
Publisher/Editor-In-Chief,
chidi opara reports
http://www.chidioparareports.blogspot.com

Member: (1) World Poets Society(WPS)
(2) Association Of Nigerian Authors(ANA)

On Feb 27, 2:38 pm, Iorhemen Kyeleve <kyele...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> This article might interest those from the Nigerian big three:
> IJ Kyeleve

> The Tiv of Central Nigeria-The unassuming nation.By Atsar TerverI am writing this article because I am Tiv. And the reason is simple. Only a Tiv man can write these things as they strictly affect the Tiv nation. As the saying goes, it is he who wears the shoe that knows where it pinches. If I keep quiet and expect a Kunle Lagbaja or an Ahmed Ibrahim to do this, I will be deceiving myself.I guess some readers would expect me to apologise for sounding tribal but I will not. We have pretended for too long to avoid being branded clannish with little results to show for it. When an Ibo man boldly cries against marginalisation, he is heard because the system appears to believe they have the right to complain. But the Tiv man has no rights! When a Niger Deltan agitates for resource control, he is listened to because, they have the oil. But the Tiv man contributes (nothing?) to the Nigerian economy.Do I need to remind us that the Tiv nation is the food basket
>  of the nation? The enormous contribution of their agricultural produce to the economy cannot be wished away. Tens of thousands of tonns of yams, rice, soybeans, groundnuts, oranges, etc, are produced and daily shipped to other parts of Nigeria. The Tiv nation remains the only region in Nigeria that produces these crops in commercial quantities.Apart from being the food basket of the nation, the Tiv nation has consistently sacrificed their people for the unity of this nation contributing over 60% of the frontline forces that fought the civil war with every household in Tivland loosen several of its members. During the Civil war, they lost most of their officers' cader and one of their illustrious sons, the late Col. Joe Akaahan the then Army Chief of Staff during the Nigerian civil war in a chopper crash who has not been given a befitting honour by Nigeria till to date. He remains one of the unsung heroes of that war.In the face of gross injustice and
>  tyranny to a people who have sacrificed in no small measure to the building of the Nigerian nation, they are expected to keep quiet. Whenever they speak out, they are quickly branded as tribal bigots in order to silence them. For this reason I decline to shut up even though many would wish I should because they hate to hear the truth.For decades, the Tiv have shied from speaking up against the systematic exclusion of her people from national appointments both in public and private establishments, hoping that justice and truth could, one day, triumph naturally. This silence has however been misconstrued to mean apathy. Though they work very hard wherever they find themselves they are often bypassed with opportunities; and those who do this do not expect an outcry from any quarters. Who will speak for them anyway?Even though they are about the 5th largest ethnic group in Nigeria (Census2006) , they rank among the least patronised and most marginalised
>  groups in the scheme of national power sharing and distribution of economic opportunities. Despite the fact that they are highly educated and hard working, they are often forced to occupy the back seat.To further exacerbate this methodical exclusion, the Tiv are mischievously assumed to occupy only one state, which is Benue, despite the fact that they make up a significant population of Southern Taraba, Plateu and Nasarawa States and even part of Northern Cross River. In these ‘other states’they are given minority status and in the most extreme cases even forced to assume ‘settler’ status thus denying them a stake in the politics of those states. Their efforts to be integrated and be able to participate in the politics of their constituencies is seen as an affront by the ‘indigenes’ in those states. This has often resulted in heated ethnic conflicts. Whenever this happens, analyst find it convenient to blame the Tiv for what has been
>  termed their expansionist tendency.The Obasanjo administration embarked of a well-planned decimation of Tiv people from federal appointments. He prematurely retired many serving and upcoming Generals of Tiv extraction from the Nigerian Army. He also removed Tiv sons in government appointment in series; Dr. Iorchia Ayu as Minister, Victor Malu as Chief of Army Staff, Engr. Barnabas Gemade as DPD chairman, Engr Ujege as Director Federal Highways, Mr Akpe as Comptroller General Nigerian Prisons Service, to mention a few. He even sent the army to commit the most atrocious genocide in peacetime Nigeria at Zaki Biam not only just to get even over a squabble with General Victor Malu, but to grap Tivland in Taraba state for his insatiable greed for farmland all over Nigeria!.In the current dispensation, one has also observed that whenever a Tiv man or woman is appointed to a national portfolio, there is an outcry from a particular section of the country
>  bordering on non-qualification. It does not matter whether the person so characterised as un-qualified is highly educated and experienced in his field of specialisation. As long as he is a Tiv man or woman, he is deemed unfit to hold a National portfolio!When the current Attorney General was appointed, these critics did not hide their outrage. One professor who forgot about his won funny name, rammed: "Aondoakaa" what- what a name? The unmistakeable message in most of the commentaries was: this fellow is from a wrong corner of the country.. Even his ‘SAN’ was ludicrously described in some quarters as a ‘junior SAN’! Reference to his hometown was made in unmasked derogatory terms. The most vulgar of the gang even called him a ‘bush man’ and ‘ local lawyer’. Their implied contention was that not having practiced law in Lagos or Ibadan effectively makes his knowledge of the law and the Nigerian Constitution of Inferior value. Since then he
>  has received the most hostile press attention among all the members of Yar’Adua’s cabinet.This reminds me of a shocking experience I had in an encounter with a certain popular Professor in Lagos some ten years ago. As a young graduate of Chemical Engineering, I had walked into his environmental consultancy outfit on Okpebi hoping to land a job as a junior consultant under his tutelage. But I was in for a shocker. The Prof. simply walked me out of his office with a stern warning not to present that certificate elsewhere for a job in Lagos! His reason? He said he does not recognise degrees awarded by Northern Universities.  In his exact words: ‘you boys sit down in the north to study elementary science and then call yourself Engineers’ .To say I was mortified would be stating the obvious.Now, others may not express this nothing- good- comes- from- the-’ north’ attitude in such bizarre a manner as this Professor did, but they do all the
>  same albeit in many subtle but easily decipherable ways. A renowned columnist recently in a veiled attempt to insult to the President took upon himself the task of recommending some books that the president must read in order to become fit and proper to rule Nigeria. This fellow probably believed he is more learned than the President, forgetting that the President is an intellectual in his own right and bred from a well-groomed and educated family, whose father was educated enough to be a Minister of the federal republic at a time when this columnist was probably still in Primary school.Again when Farida Waziri was appointed to take up the post of EFCC Chairperson, as soon as her roots were traced to the Tiv Nation, some people suddenly realised that she was not ‘qualified’ to head the agency. They sought to sell the fallacy that her appointment was simply because she is from the same State with the AGF, as if the AGF did the appointment. Even those
>  who knew, downplayed that fact that it was Farida Waziri who mentored Nuhu Ribadu for years. Faced with her intimidating CV, which they could not reasonably deride, they resorted to character assassination. One renowned SAN even asked the Senate not to confirm her appointment failing which he preceded to the courts to stop her.In like manner when Barrister S.T. Hon was decorated as a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria (SAN) the same group of people argued that Barrister Hon was not qualified because he was a Tiv candidate, they strongly believe that nothing good comes out from Tiv nation, however, Justice Katsina Alu of the Supreme Court who is doing a good job for the nation is a Tiv man and Prof. Ignatius Ayua  a renowned fellow in company law in Nigeria is also a Tiv man.And now we have a very highly educated and experienced technocrat of international repute in the person of Dr. Paul Orhii appointed to head NAFDAC; but instead of applause and support from
>  all, what do we have?  A babel of voices from the very constituency he needs the more support questioning his qualification.  But is Dr.Orhii, for all practical purposes, not qualified to head NAFDAC?It is my humble opinion that, if you remove this groundless stigma of ‘he- is- a- Tiv- man-, therefore- he- cant- do- it’, then he is very eminently qualified. Few (if not none) of the so called concerned PSN members shouting blue murder could boast of the credentials and international experience Dr. Orhii is bringing to the NAFDAC DG office. Trouble is that his critics in the PSN most pathetically do not seem to understand his jaw-breaking field of Neuropscycopharmaco logy. They most probably did not expect such a highly trained specialist to emerge from the Tiv nation. Thus their consternation could be understood.If Orhii, a Medical Doctor with a PhD in Pharmacology, and over 20 years of practice at home and abroad, is believed not to have a

>  good knowledge of drugs then I wonder who has that knowledge. With a degree in Law to cap it all, one expects that the new NAFDAC boss is even better positioned to tackle the legal aspects of his job which is key to successful prosecution of fake drug

> ...
>
> read more »

[Iorhemen Kyeleve]

Chidi Okpara, I am fully aware of Abakiliki and its small quantity of yam production when compared to what is produced in Zaki-biam axis- the yam centre of Nigeria. I can refer you to several of my Ibo friends and academic colleagues who have been to that part of Tiv and have seen for themselves. Gone are the days when your authors and publishers write of Abakiliki yams and rice when in actual fact, these are the rice and yams your traders bought from Tivland and resold in most urban centres of the East! Who is afraid of true federalism, electoral reform, land reform, etc? As for the constitutional review- talk and write to your represenatives; I have access to mine and they know where I stand. Regards, IJ kyeleve --- On Sat, 2/28/09, Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Chidi Anthony Opara <chidi...@gmail.com> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY

[Iorhemen Kyeleve]

Obododimma, I do not earn my living from milking the old cow called Nigeria and neither do over 99.99% of minorities. My descipline is globally sought after and have being earning my living in the last 18 years professing around the world- I choose and pick where  I am offered better work opportunties. In a globalised world, knowledge is what sells- not nationality nor ethnicity. By the way, who gives his own commodities freely to others- do the Hausa's and Fulanis give their cattle, goats and sheep to you free? Do the Ibos give their palm oil or ware to other Nigerians free? Do the Yorubas give their Kolanut to Hausas and those who eat it free! Did Atsar claim anywhere that the Tivs give other Nigerians their yams free?  On a very serious note, why do you have to be producing yams when you should be more productively engaged in academic activities at our Premier University of Ibadan? You asked me to listen and it appears I do not understand what you are saying- Is this your yam production activities on the campus part of your research work? If it is not, I think you must be wasting a lot of your useful time and that of your employer, given the fair though not very competitive salary ASUU had been able to negotiate and earn for academics. On your questions: "And this talk about Tiv people fighting for and dying for Nigeria! Na wao, were they the only ones that fought in the war? And were they forced to go and kill the Biafran rebels? Didn't they find soldiering attractive? I am just curious reader of Kyeleve's post, not a tribalist!", my reponse is simple and straight: 1. Nobody claims they were the only ones that fought but why were they more than the so called majority Yorubas and Hausas on the war front? Most were conscripted but some joined freely giving the huge financially inducement provided to them immediately. At least I know that all Tiv towms and villages were turned into recruitment/conscription centres throughout the period of the civil war! The Nigerian leadership was simply copying from their Bristish colonial masters who had conscripted a lot of Tiv people into the West African Frontier Force (in the 1890s) to fight the empire wars around the world including the first and second world war! Let me also ask you this question: Did those who fought on the Biafran side found it attractive to join that army? Were many of them not forced and conscripted into the Biafran army with little or not training? Besides, your question is similar to the type whites in America ask Blacks who are forced to join their army and fight for whites' interests only to be abandoned on completion of such undertaking if at all they survive!! 2. If it is by self declaration, some tribalists or racists would denounce belonging to such groups. But I have met, known and work with decent detribalised Nigerians from various ethnicity both at home and abroad. For example, my first books' publications were coordinated and edited by Late Profesor Osibudu (University of Ife) who invited me based on my submission from her open call and invitation. I also know ho much he did to make Mathematical Association of Nigeria financially independent during her Presidency of that Association through Books publications. But I have also come face to face with hard core racists and tribalists even within academic cycles where you would expect merits and excellency would be the most critical yardsicks. 3. I can not denounce my Tivness nor my Nigerianness even though the later is currently like a jungle. I can only do my little and work with others of like minds to contribute in any meaningful ways to changing the Nigerian jungle we all find ourselves in. But as long as I have not taken a second home, I will remain true to our jungle- know the rules, play by its rules, work to change it, fight to survive in it or check out Mr Adrew! Atsar was simply fighting to survive in it, he nor Iorhemen are complaining!  To Chuma, I have passed your response to Atsar who may decide whether to respond to yours or not. You do not need to caution him about the harm in our standing among the minoroties. After all, everygroup knows her interests and its bad or good leaders. We just had a terible one (George Akume) as Governor of Benue for 8 years- a huge contrast to the present one! Regards, Kyeleve  --- On Fri, 2/27/09, Obododimma Oha <obod...@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Obododimma Oha <obod...@gmail.com> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE NIGERIAN PRESIDENCY

To: USAAfric...@googlegroups.com Date: Friday, February 27, 2009, 4:25 PM

Iorhemen, Thanks for letting us read this interesting article. Kyeleve has the right to complain, after all, it's all about milking the "old cow" we call Nigeria.  I laughed when I read the section on the cultivation of yams in commercial quantities by the Tiv nation. That's true, of course. But do they distribute the tubers to other Nigerians free of charge? Are they forced to work in a Nigerian Egypt? Listen: I cultivate yams too, apart from reading and writing and teaching. A typical Okonkwo, you would say. Interestingly, I planted some yam seedlings just about 30 minutes ago. I have been cultivating yams at my place of residence here in the University of Ibadan for the past 12 years and hardly buy from the market. The point is that there are some Nigerians like me who do not depend on the nation's "food basket" for their survival. We work the land, too.  And this talk about Tiv people fighting for and dying for Nigeria! Na wao, were they the only ones that fought in the war? And were they forced to go and kill the Biafran rebels? Didn't they find soldiering attractive? I am just curious reader of Kyeleve's post, not a tribalist!

--- Obododimma.

On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 5:38 AM, Iorhemen Kyeleve <kyel...@yahoo.com> wrote:

This article might interest those from the Nigerian big three:

IJ Kyeleve The Tiv of Central Nigeria-The unassuming nation. By Atsar Terver I am writing this article because I am Tiv. And the reason is simple. Only a Tiv man can write these things as they strictly affect the Tiv nation. As the saying goes, it is he who wears the shoe that knows where it pinches. If I keep quiet and expect a Kunle Lagbaja or an Ahmed Ibrahim to do this, I will be deceiving myself.

I guess some readers would expect me to apologise for sounding tribal but I will not. We have pretended for too long to avoid being branded clannish with little results to show for it. When an Ibo man boldly cries against marginalisation, he is heard because the system appears to believe they have the right to complain. But the Tiv man has no rights! When a Niger Deltan agitates for resource control, he is listened to because, they have the oil. But the Tiv man contributes (nothing?) to the Nigerian economy.

Do I need to remind us that the Tiv nation is the food basket of the nation? The enormous contribution of their agricultural produce to the economy cannot be wished away. Tens of thousands of tonns of yams, rice, soybeans, groundnuts, oranges, etc, are produced and daily shipped to other parts of Nigeria. The Tiv nation remains the only region in Nigeria that produces these crops in commercial quantities.

Apart from being the food basket of the nation, the Tiv nation has consistently sacrificed their people for the unity of this nation contributing over 60% of the frontline forces that fought the civil war with every household in Tivland loosen several of its members. During the Civil war, they lost most of their officers' cader and one of their illustrious sons, the late Col. Joe Akaahan the then Army Chief of Staff during the Nigerian civil war in a chopper crash who has not been given a befitting honour by Nigeria till to date. He remains one of the unsung heroes of that war. In the face of gross injustice and tyranny to a people who have sacrificed in no small measure to the building of the Nigerian nation, they are expected to keep quiet. Whenever they speak out, they are quickly branded as tribal bigots in order to silence them. For this reason I decline to shut up even though many would wish I should because they hate to hear the truth. For decades, the Tiv have shied from speaking up against the systematic exclusion of her people from national appointments both in public and private establishments, hoping that justice and truth could, one day, triumph naturally. This silence has however been misconstrued to mean apathy. Though they work very hard wherever they find themselves they are often bypassed with opportunities; and those who do this do not expect an outcry from any quarters. Who will speak for them anyway? Even though they are about the 5th largest ethnic group in Nigeria (Census2006) , they rank among the least patronised and most marginalised groups in the scheme of national power sharing and distribution of economic opportunities. Despite the fact that they are highly educated and hard working, they are often forced to occupy the back seat. To further exacerbate this methodical exclusion, the Tiv are mischievously assumed to occupy only one state, which is Benue, despite the fact that they make up a significant population of Southern Taraba, Plateu and Nasarawa States and even part of Northern Cross River. In these ‘other states’they are given minority status and in the most extreme cases even forced to assume ‘settler’ status thus denying them a stake in the politics of those states. Their efforts to be integrated and be able to participate in the politics of their constituencies is seen as an affront by the ‘indigenes’ in those states. This has often resulted in heated ethnic conflicts. Whenever this happens, analyst find it convenient to blame the Tiv for what has been termed their expansionist tendency. The Obasanjo administration embarked of a well-planned decimation of Tiv people from federal appointments. He prematurely retired many serving and upcoming Generals of Tiv extraction from the Nigerian Army. He also removed Tiv sons in government appointment in series; Dr. Iorchia Ayu as Minister, Victor Malu as Chief of Army Staff, Engr. Barnabas Gemade as DPD chairman, Engr Ujege as Director Federal Highways, Mr Akpe as Comptroller General Nigerian Prisons Service, to mention a few. He even sent the army to commit the most atrocious genocide in peacetime Nigeria at Zaki Biam not only just to get even over a squabble with General Victor Malu, but to grap Tivland in Taraba state for his insatiable greed for farmland all over Nigeria!. In the current dispensation, one has also observed that whenever a Tiv man or woman is appointed to a national portfolio, there is an outcry from a particular section of the country bordering on non-qualification. It does not matter whether the person so characterised as un-qualified is highly educated and experienced in his field of specialisation. As long as he is a Tiv man or woman, he is deemed unfit to hold a National portfolio! When the current Attorney General was appointed, these critics did not hide their outrage. One professor who forgot about his won funny name, rammed: "Aondoakaa" what- what a name? The unmistakeable message in most of the commentaries was: this fellow is from a wrong corner of the country.. Even his ‘SAN’ was ludicrously described in some quarters as a ‘junior SAN’! Reference to his hometown was made in unmasked derogatory terms. The most vulgar of the gang even called him a ‘bush man’ and ‘ local lawyer’. Their implied contention was that not having practiced law in Lagos or Ibadan effectively makes his knowledge of the law and the Nigerian Constitution of Inferior value. Since then he has received the most hostile press attention among all the members of Yar’Adua’s cabinet. This reminds me of a shocking experience I had in an encounter with a certain popular Professor in Lagos some ten years ago. As a young graduate of Chemical Engineering, I had walked into his environmental consultancy outfit on Okpebi hoping to land a job as a junior consultant under his tutelage. But I was in for a shocker. The Prof. simply walked me out of his office with a stern warning not to present that certificate elsewhere for a job in Lagos! His reason? He said he does not recognise degrees awarded by Northern Universities.  In his exact words: ‘you boys sit down in the north to study elementary science and then call yourself Engineers’ .To say I was mortified would be stating the obvious. Now, others may not express this nothing- good- comes- from- the-’ north’ attitude in such bizarre a manner as this Professor did, but they do all the same albeit in many subtle but easily decipherable ways. A renowned columnist recently in a veiled attempt to insult to the President took upon himself the task of recommending some books that the president must read in order to become fit and proper to rule Nigeria. This fellow probably believed he is more learned than the President, forgetting that the President is an intellectual in his own right and bred from a well-groomed and educated family, whose father was educated enough to be a Minister of the federal republic at a time when this columnist was probably still in Primary school. Again when Farida Waziri was appointed to take up the post of EFCC Chairperson, as soon as her roots were traced to the Tiv Nation, some people suddenly realised that she was not ‘qualified’ to head the agency. They sought to sell the fallacy that her appointment was simply because she is from the same State with the AGF, as if the AGF did the appointment. Even those who knew, downplayed that fact that it was Farida Waziri who mentored Nuhu Ribadu for years. Faced with her intimidating CV, which they could not reasonably deride, they resorted to character assassination. One renowned SAN even asked the Senate not to confirm her appointment failing which he preceded to the courts to stop her. In like manner when Barrister S.T. Hon was decorated as a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria (SAN) the same group of people argued that Barrister Hon was not qualified because he was a Tiv candidate, they strongly believe that nothing good comes out from Tiv nation, however, Justice Katsina Alu of the Supreme Court who is doing a good job for the nation is a Tiv man and Prof. Ignatius Ayua  a renowned fellow in company law in Nigeria is also a Tiv man. And now we have a very highly educated and experienced technocrat of international repute in the person of Dr. Paul Orhii appointed to head NAFDAC; but instead of applause and support from all, what do we have?  A babel of voices from the very constituency he needs the more support questioning his qualification.  But is Dr.Orhii, for all practical purposes, not qualified to head NAFDAC? It is my humble opinion that, if you remove this groundless stigma of ‘he- is- a- Tiv- man-, therefore- he- cant- do- it’, then he is very eminently qualified. Few (if not none) of the so called concerned PSN members shouting blue murder could boast of the credentials and international experience Dr. Orhii is bringing to the NAFDAC DG office. Trouble is that his critics in the PSN most pathetically do not seem to understand his jaw-breaking field of Neuropscycopharmaco logy. They most probably did not expect such a highly trained specialist to emerge from the Tiv nation. Thus their consternation could be understood.

If Orhii, a Medical Doctor with a PhD in Pharmacology, and over 20 years of practice at home and abroad, is believed not to have a good knowledge of drugs then I wonder who has that knowledge. With a degree in Law to cap it all, one expects that the new NAFDAC boss is even better positioned to tackle the legal aspects of his job which is key to successful prosecution of fake drug suspects. Despite the very weak and shallow argument being put up by PSN against Orhii’s appointment, I support that they go ahead and test their case in Court. At least that would provide useful precedence for the future.

[Obododimma Oha]

Iorhemen,

Thank you for your response, which I find even more interesting than the original post in question. I am surprised that you are asking why I have farming/gardening as a hobby, when , according to you, I should be "productively engaged in academic activities at our Premier University of Ibadan?" Oh dear! My profession as a university teacher has not, in any way suffered as a result of my interest in farming. You may wish to visit my blog <http://udude.wordpress.com> (specifically the page on "Publications") to judge for yourself whether I have been squandering my time as an academic, or whether I have not been living up to expectation. As a matter of fact, the first "school" I attended in life was my late father's farms! (My father, who worked for CDC in Cameroon, had several plantations back home in Nigeria: cashew, rubber, oil palm, pineapple, etc).  My informal education at the lotus feet of my mother and my father have remained with me. Instead of discarding this form of education, I have used it to search for the meaning of the formal education I gained at school. Anyone who discards the informal education to pursue only the formal has created a gap in his or her life and profession of knowledge. 

If an Africanist like you finds it absurd that I combine university teaching with farming, other scholars and writers elsewhere do not. In POETICS listserv, we have, over the past two weeks, been discussing the creative practices of farmer-poets, not just in the pastoralist sense, but how the farm emerges as a site of multiple and complex practices, how digital/cyber art connects with, or engages farming semiotics. Yes, I engage the interface: I carry out aesthetic experiments on my farms and try to solve problems that arise in planting ideas and harvesting them! My kids, too, have taken great interest in the seemingly crazy hobby of playing with shapes and colours on their own little farms. That has not prevented them from scoring 90% and above in Mathematics and Introductory Technology at their secondary and primary schools here in Ibadan. It has rather enhanced their imagination a great deal. A farm is a place of the mind, my friend, not just a place for physical activities! 

Undeniably, the yield excites me. I get a lot of fresh things from my farms. It feels great to plant something, tend it, and harvest it. It feels great. It feels even greater when I share what I harvest with colleagues and friends. 

Further, it teaches me about self-reliance. Oh yes, it does. I am somewhat a disciple of Ralph Waldo Emerson. I do not need to buy yam tubers from a Tiv market, because I can produce some in my spare time. The fertile land is there; why should I allow it to waste and wait for only my monthly pay? 

Perhaps there's something Igbo in all this: in my culture we do not accept the idea of being just a hunter or flutist or teacher or critic. We insist on a man or woman having multiple professions, knowing how to do many things that are not evil. Perhaps that is why someone like Unoka in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart was not considered a good example in Umuofia. Words, my friend, can fill a book but cannot fill a basket, not to talk of filling a stomach! Plant words, but make sure they show you how to plant and harvest food crops that fuel life. The poverty that we are complaining about in Africa cannot be eradicated if people go to school with the intention of making sure they do not touch the soil again.

Now, on the conscription of the Tiv to fight in the Nigeria-Biafra war. I need more education in that respect, quite sincerely. The much I know is that it was on the Biafran side of the war that conscription was considered necessary, given the urgent need for more soldiers by the Biafran government. My own father was a conscription officer and I was in the Boys Company. My own uncle willingly enlisted and fought till he was felled by Nigerian bullets at Uyo Sector. Please, give us more information about this conscription of the Tiv into the Nigerian Army. 

Thanks, once again, for your response.

--- Obododimma.