Before the Nigerian Army launched its Operation Python Dance II in the South-East region which, predictably, went awry and resulted in a concatenation of ugly occurrences that include the death of innocent citizens, some respectable voices in the country adequately warned the Federal Government against iron-handedness and the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) against resort to illegalities. But these voices went unheeded.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), after its second plenary meeting of the year held in Jalingo, Taraba State, September 7-15, issued a communiqué, which touched on the widespread grievances in the land and the urgent need to address them, armed herdsmen and their threat to security, high quality education for all, among others.
The communiqué, signed by Most Revd Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos, and Most Revd William Avenya, Bishop of Gboko, president and secretary of CBCN, respectively, was issued after “having prayerfully reflected on the issues affecting the Church and our country”, according to CBCN. It was aptly entitled ‘Our Hope in Despair: Towards National Restoration’.
The Catholic Bishops observed that the “country is currently passing through a phase that is marked by tension, agitation and a general sense of hopelessness and dissatisfaction” occasioned by “years of injustice, inequity, corruption, and impunity”. These injustices, they said, include “one-sidedness in appointments to key institutions and sensitive national offices”, “marginalisation, and unfair distribution of resources and amenities”, adding that “there are also allegations of cases of selective application of the rule of law”.
They reminded the President Muhammadu Buhari of his message of hope and of his commitment to national integration and cohesion in his inaugural speech on 29 May, 2015, when he said, “I belong to everybody, and I belong to nobody.”
However, they said, “More than two years later, the reality on ground and the verdict of most of our people across the nation – irrespective of religious affiliation, ethnic group or social status – point to the contrary. The inability of the government to address the inequitable situation in the country has provided breeding ground for violent reactions, protests and agitations, which exploit the grievances of different segments of the country.”
They called on government at all levels to “urgently address these anomalies, remove everything that smacks of injustice, and give everybody and every part of our country a sense of belonging”. They insisted that “merit and ability should be the primary criteria in making appointments and genuine needs the criteria for the distribution of amenities” and urged the government to be always sensitive to the multi-religious and multi-ethnic configuration of the nation.
“As Catholic Bishops, we affirm that the legitimacy of every government derives from its ability to listen to the legitimate yearnings and genuine cries of the people and honestly seek to address them,” they said in the communiqué.
The Bishops therefore urged the government at all levels to engage the aggrieved sections of the citizenry in a conversation worthy of a democracy, expressing concern that the deployment of soldiers in the midst of already restive youths could increase the nervousness among the populace with the potential of igniting a fire that could turn into an uncontrollable conflagration.
“On the other hand, we enjoin all aggrieved persons and groups to employ peaceful means within the framework of the existing laws of the land to express their grievances or even exercise legitimate pressure on the government. Care must be taken by all to avoid actions and utterances capable of causing yet another armed conflict in the nation or any of its parts,” they said.
Nobody paid heed. Rather, the Army went on with its show of force as planned. Predictably, the launch of Operation Python Dance II led to skirmishes between Nigerian soldiers and IPOB members, resulting in a wave of unrest in the region, particularly in Aba, Abia State, that lasted a whole week. Families who lost dear ones are still in mourning while businesses are still counting their losses. Clearly, whatever infrastructure that was destroyed in the clash would take time to rebuild. In the meantime, the people would have to do without them.
As a follow-up to its show of force, the Nigerian Army declared IPOB a “terrorist organization”, even though it later recanted. Hours after the Army’s declaration, the South-East governors proscribed IPOB and its activities.
In the wake of the operation, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had implored President Buhari to establish a dialogue with the IPOB leader, saying the dialogue would curb the secessionist agitation in the South-East.
“I don’t see anything wrong in that. I would not object to that; if anything, I would encourage it. I would want to meet Kanu myself and talk to people like him, people of his age, (and ask), ‘What are your worries?’ Not only from the South-East but from all parts of Nigeria,” Obasanjo said in an interview with the Newsweek Magazine.
“The heavy boot is not the solution. I believe also whatever may be the frustration of any youth in any part of Nigeria…secession is not the solution,” he said, adding that economic development in the country was the only way to solve the various agitations across the country.
Rev. Samson Ayokunle, president, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), also learnt his voice, admonishing the Federal Government to invite the agitators for talks with a view to finding a lasting solution to the crisis. He also urged IPOB and other agitating groups to embrace dialogue, saying that was the only way their grievances could be made known legitimately.
Instead, President Buhari on Sunday signed a presidential proclamation proscribing IPOB, and on Wednesday a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on the request of the Attorney General of the Federation, proscribed the existence of IPOB in any part of Nigeria and declared that its activities “amount to acts of terrorism and illegality”.
Ironically, Buhari was at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday making a case for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and, in the emerging crisis over North Korea’s nuclear weapons, proposed that a strong UN delegation be urgently sent to engage the North Korean leader and urged the UN to bring to bear “all necessary pressure and diplomatic efforts…on North Korea to accept peaceful resolution of the crisis”.
But what has all the gra-gra on both sides achieved? The tempo of Biafra agitation may slow for a while, but it will certainly resurge by another name if situations remain unchanged. And while the tension in the South-East is not yet over, a diplomatic row may be brewing between Nigeria and France over Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohamed’s claim on Wednesday that the financial headquarters of IPOB is in France, a claim the Embassy of France in Nigeria finds rather shocking.
CHUKS OLUIGBO
