OPINION NIGERIA
By Isaac Asabor
In as much as Nigeria is usually mouthed to be one, whereas it is pragmatically not, it is however incumbent on our leaders not to forget the words of Jay Weatherill that says, “You don’t get unity by ignoring the questions that have to be faced.”
“Do you love the Igbo people?” The foregoing question is without doubt a result-oriented question that can be posed to an Igbophobe (someone who for obscure or unconscious irrational reason (s) has a morbid fear or distrust towards an Igbo) in Nigeria or in the Diaspora to ascertain how far the Igbo people have fared since the end of the civil war in 1970.
The reason for asking the foregoing question cannot be farfetched as the seeming pervasive and deep-seated level of hypocritical love which not a few Nigerians exhibit towards the Igbo people is by each passing day becoming worrisome and suspicious, particularly as it usually elicits Bob Marley’s lyrical line in one of his songs that goes thus: “Some Will Hate You Pretend They Love You Now Then Behind They Try To Eliminate You.”
Given the foregoing no holds barred view, you may go ahead to criticize this writer and calumniate him if you like for saying the truth. After all, there is a quote credited to Bikram Choudhury that says “The toughest thing to accept, swallow, and digest is the truth. When you speak the truth, you lose popularity. But I don’t mind. I have found my life’s mission: to help people live their lives fully while they still can”.
At this juncture, it is not unexpected that not a few readers may find it difficult to grasp the rationale for expressing this view, particularly as a new year just began few days ago. However, it is expedient to say that there is no better time to express this view than now, particularly as the Federal Government is gearing up and putting logistics in place to celebrate the Army Remembrance Day on January 15 as it is traditionally done by each passing year.
Still in the same nexus, it is germane to further clarify the foregoing view by saying that January 15 is yearly marked as Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Nigeria. It is an annual event to commemorate the nation’s servicemen and fallen heroes. Also, the event, celebrated each year, also honors veterans of World War I and II, as well as the Nigerian Civil War. It is a day set aside for sober reflections on the significance of the armed forces to the country.
In fact, while the Armed Forces Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11 every year globally, and known as the Armistice Day, commemorating the end of the First World War, but with the formal end of the Nigerian Civil War on January 15, 1970, the date was changed to mark the restoration of Nigeria’s unity.
Ostensibly to attain the restoration of Nigeria’s unity, as necessitated by the end of the Nigerian Civil War, the Federal Government embarked on the policy of the 3Rs which acronymically means, Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation. This was aimed at fixing all the damages occasioned by the civil war, including psychological damages done to the Igbo people, particularly as they were unjustifiably fought against with the instruments of starvation and currency.
Unfortunately, since the policy that is inherent with the 3Rs initiative was made public, nothing has pragmatically and sincerely been done to implement it in favor of the Igbo people, particularly as to literarily calming their nerves, and assuring them that their collective nationality as Nigerians is not been discounted.
