Igbo adventurism in the world context (2)

Continued from last Tuesday

ONE ugly consequence from the Igbo migration and settlement in other lands is depopulation of the South-East, a development which is tantamount to relocation and self-annihilation. This has serious socio-political implications, especially, in Nigeria where population is a critical factor used in the sharing of the national cake. Any state or zone in Nigeria that ignores population does so at its detriment; it automatically denies itself of all the benefits that accrue from having a large population. The more people you have in your domain, the more the resources you get and the bigger the cake. The reverse is the case; the lower the population, the lesser the size of your cake.

The 2006 national population census clearly revealed the ugly turn of events in Igbo land; the Southeast is now disadvantaged by virtue of its low population among the other zones. According to the figures released by the National Population Commission (NPC), the total population figures of all the zones were as follows: South-East 16,381,729; South-South 21,014,655; South-West 27,511,992; North-Central 18,841,056; North-East 18,971,965 and North-West, 35,786,944.

It is clear from the figures that South-East has the least population. The reason is not that Southeast population is not growing like that of other zones. The reason is that the Igbo have relocated to other parts of the country and thereby leveraged the census figures of those zones.  Again, this explains why the South-East zone has only five states, while the others have six or more. The same accounts for the lopsided distribution of local government councils in which the Southeast has the least number in the country.

Based on these above figures, the North-West is first, followed by the South-West and then the South-South. If this trend continues, it won’t be long before the Igbo would lose their position as one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Whereas the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba ethnic groups still maintain their position, the Igbo are on the verge of losing their position to the Ijaw or Kanuri sub-groups.

Who is to blame for these unfolding realities? The Igbo have themselves to blame for their indiscretion. While people from the other ethnic groups are politically conscious, the Igbo are largely apolitical. Many are lackadaisical, showing more interest in their businesses than in politics. They wait until things go awry before they begin to agitate, when it is too late. For instance, it is common knowledge that many people of northern extraction return to their home states to be counted during census, but the Igbo stay put in the comfort of their acquired mansions to be counted outside Igbo land. The Yoruba are 95 per cent settled in Yoruba land, so are the other ethnic groups.

Before and during the colonial era, the Southeast was one of the centres of high population concentration in Africa and the world. Igbo land was remarkable as it had a population density of more than 500 persons per km2, which was rare in many places at the time. The only comparison in Nigeria was Ibadan in the Southwest, which was then known as a millionaire city (because of its more than a million population). Among the cities in the North, only Kano had a comparable population density.

There are six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Amongst all, the South-East has only five states, which again is the least. All the other zones have six states each.  The North-West has seven states. It is on the basis of this inequality in the distribution of states that the South-East has, for long, agitated for one more additional state, to bring it at par with the others. But rather than do that, the opponents, not only want more for their zones, argue that the population of the South-East falls short to qualify it for an additional state. This argument has been sustained despite the fact that Nigeria’s population figures are flawed in favour of the North. But whether the population figures are flawed or not, those figures are used in the sharing and distribution of resources in the country. The shortchanging of the South-East is a big loss to the zone. Billions worth of allocation and resources that would have accrued to the South-East are lost. The zone and its people are the losers.

The truth is that there is no type of business that cannot be done in Igbo land if the people think strategically and act accordingly. All that is required is a drastic change in Igbo mentality, which would propel the people to look inwards to what their home land offers. I will use Japan and Taiwan, two Asian countries, to illustrate this point. Both countries are islands. With little arable land for agriculture, the Japanese and Taiwanese resorted to technological development that now marvels the world. To achieve their dreams, they launched aggressive mass education programmes that have placed them very high on the world scale. For, without education, it is impossible to achieve technological advancement.

Today, Japan has 102 per cent literacy level, while Taiwan has 98.04 per cent. That means, practically everybody in those countries is educated. Nobody is an illiterate. With educated population, it is easy to plan, govern and have breakthrough in technology. Today, Japanese and Taiwanese industrial products are exported the world over. Businesses from around the world import Japanese and Taiwanese products. People seek for them despite their geographical far-flanged location. Land scarcity and natural disasters that plague those countries did not force them to abandon their home land and migrate to other lands. Land scarcity has been conquered using skyscrapers, as evident in Tokyo and Taipei, the capital cities. The same can be replicated in Igbo land.

Igbo people should take cue from these countries with comparable business instincts. There should be a strategic plan. There should be a mass education policy in Igbo land to develop the mental capacity of the people. This won’t be automatic; there has to be a medium to long-term plan of say 25 years for a start. By then, any baby born today would have at least completed secondary school while many would have graduated from the tertiary institutions.  From that point, the future becomes bright. Kidnapping, armed robbery, ritual killings and other vices that plague the zone would be drastically minimised.

Nothing will work with a mass of illiterate populace that is sunk in ignorance. The low literacy status among Igbo businessmen accounts for their low success rate. Despite the fact that the Igbo are in the vanguard of business in Nigeria, very few Igbo businessmen count among the richest people in Nigeria. Igbo businesses are at the bottom of the pyramid. Worse still, they are at the mercy of unfavourable government policies that could wipe out businesses and render the owners penniless in a twinkle of an eye.

As things stand now, Igbo people have to return and develop their homeland like Israel did in 1948. Igbo can’t be reckoned as great in Diaspora. The people have to make up their mind to implement a 21st century development in Igbo land. All the Igbo states must work together as one corporate entity. A well-articulated and well-structured free education policy should be implemented in the entire South-East up to secondary school level. Second, the Igbo should have a strategic development plan. Igbo land is not landlocked. The zone has link to the sea through the River Niger and Imo River. The governments of the zone, working in concert with the private sector businesses, should develop shipping ports on these rivers to facilitate importation of goods through the sea direct into Igbo land.
•Concluded.