His Royal Majesty, Igwe Ralph Obumnemeh Ekpeh (Okpalanakana-Ukabia Nri IV), Eze Enugwu-Ukwu na Igwe Umunri is a retired investor, publisher and accomplished businessman; he ascended the throne after his retirement four years ago.
For starters, the monarch threw some light on his peculiar ancestry:
“The core Nri people is made up of four clans; in order of seniority, they are Enugwu-Ukwu, Nawfia, Enugwu Agidi, and Akamkpisi/Agukwu,” he began.
“Our forefathers were medicine men, evangelists and missionaries which made Umu Nri proliferate to over 150 towns and villages in Nigeria, especially in Igbo land and parts of Delta, Kogi and other states.
It is noteworthy that the popular commercial towns and cities in the Southeast, like Onitsha, Awka, Enugu, Owerri, Aba, and Abakaliki are actually names of siblings of the first and eldest son (Okpalanakana Ukabia) of Nri, the royal progenitor of the ancestral home of Ndigbo people.
Reviewing the Nigerian story in retrospect, Igwe Ralph said he saw it all. “I lived through it all: the colonial administration, our independence and injustices, tribal sentiments and man’s inhumanity to man and processes that led to the civil war. But before the war came, the nation was gliding towards a precipice. Even at that, I can also say that time was better than the situation we are now – and I will tell you why:
“When the army saw that Nigeria was not progressing, the push that brought about the civil war, set in. I dare say the army acted patriotically when they moved to remove those who were at the helm of affairs.
“Unfortunately, they didn’t quite achieve what they had desired in the beginning because while the original plan was that everybody should execute their parts successfully so the goal could be achieved, one or two of them did not carry out their assignments to the letter.”
He commended the unity of the army at the time, and noted with nostalgia the position of the Igbo people in the force.
“At the time, real officers that commanded the army were mainly Igbos although they had other tribes from the geo-axis of the country; but at the officer level, the Igbos dominated the force.
“Now, when some did not achieve the desired purpose, there was a failure to effect the final execution, and that led to what became a coup d’état and the mantle of leadership fell on an Igbo man, the late General J.T.U. Agwuiyi Ironsi.”
Igwe Ralph recalled the genesis of the crisis between Northern and Eastern indigenes that continued till today.
In the spirit of Igbo man, Aguiyi acted wisely by saying that everybody should be accommodated, and in the spirit of the army then, he thought they were united; but unknown to him, some elements were nursing some grievances against the Igbos because some people who were like semi-gods to the Northerners, like the Saduana of Sokoto, Abubakar, Ahmadu Bello and some others were killed in the fallout of the coup, the Northerners were not happy, so Ironsi was murdered.
“They were not even satisfied with that; a plot was hatched to eliminate Igbos and other people of the South. Anyone who was not a Northerner then, particularly if you were from the South like Calabar, Urhobo, Yoruba etc, was regarded as Igbo, and that started the blood bath that led to cessation.”
Though the necessity for cessation was justified then, but now Ojukwu has come and gone, the monarch is unhappy that issues that necessitated the civil war have not only remained unaddressed, they have escalated over the years.
“The reasons for cessation, like injustice, maginalisation, bad governance, etc have even worsened than it was then. In fact, events of that period were better than what we have now. Everything now is on tribal lines, and that’s why nobody can apply for a job he or she is well qualified and gets it on merit; they will ask for your state of origin, national character, etc, so the situation today is worse than it was before the army struck in 1966.”
Placed side by side with democracy as we are saddled with now, would he counsel a military intervention?
“If we want a solution, then we should check and see whether we can find that solution in the massive corruption we have today; or under Boko Haram insurgency. Is there solution where you have an army of graduates who cannot get a job for what they have read, or solution in uncared for universities and some secondary schools that are not fit for a place you rear chickens? So if there is anything that will change governance towards sanity, I support it. I am not advocating any military intervention, but whatever will bring sanity into governance so that politicians will think of Nigerians instead of themselves alone, I will support it.’
In preference to military intervention, Igwe Ikpeh considered a civil uprising.
“What I will advocate is civil insurrection as witnessed during the French revolution; like the changes that happened in Egypt and Libya recently. Let civilians rise up to change the course of their destiny.’
The possibility of a second armed conflict by the Igbo nation did not seem likely to the royal father. He gave reasons and touched on the fate of the Igbo man in the current dispensation.
“The fate of the Igbo man as I see it is that the Ibo man will not be the first to take up arms a second time, because when we first did, every part of Nigeria betrayed us: they teamed up against us. If it is thought that the Igbo man is a coward now and cannot secure his own life and property, it is not true. What is happening is that the Igbo people are more matured in their reasoning and are stomaching the injustices meted out to us; but we will support any legitimate organisation that decides to take up arms to fight injustice; not to take up arms for leadership purposes, but to correct the many injustices practiced in this country.”
On the precarious security situation, Igwe Ekpeh points to failure of governance. “Call for a dialogue today and let government tell us their programme for employment: there is none, and graduates are turned out every year. This is why we have Boko Haram, kidnappings, armed robberies and confusion in the society.
“Tell me one office today you can enter and get what you want quickly as we had before the war. This is why I said the situation is worse today and my contention is for civil uprising to overthrow the corrupt regime we are in now. If it happens, I will give my support.”
He also pointed to the epileptic power problems that have so far defeated every regime because of corruption.
“Where are the industries to sustain our people? Now this is supposed to be the palace of the people of Umu Nri: twice you have been here in two days, and there is no light, and we are talking about industrialisation.
“The roads are all bad and solar energy which cannot provide all that we require cannot even be considered. So for me, the previous governments were inept, they were not interested in the people. So even the civil war period was two million times better than what we have today. I pity the young ones of today and this is why young men who are the strength of Nigeria tomorrow are running away to other countries; and when they get to China, Japan and so on, they become labourers and dish washers.
“We have petrochemicals which should help us to build industries so this nation will not lack; we have things to build us roads: this nation has no cause to be poor by any standard because God has blessed us abundantly; but the corruption now has eroded all these blessings.”
Jonathan’s Controversial Amnesty
“Fortunately, the people rejected it, but I wonder how he thought terrorists should receive amnesty. If that happens, others will take a cue and begin to intimidate people, and after a while, they ask for amnesty and expect to be settled. That is why granting amnesty to Boko Haram would have been a kind of eclipse hanging over Nigeria. I am even afraid that if it succeeds, before you realise it, Boko Haram people will be all over the place, even here in my backyard, harassing people, and their dream of taking over Nigeria will be faster for them.
“So I advised Jonathan when he was President not to leap before he looks; just because he granted amnesty to people in the Niger Delta who have a genuine cause to protest and they had the support of everybody succeeded in bringing about peace in that region, the same is not the case with Boko Haram; if they had accepted Jonathan’s amnesty, he would have simply handed Nigeria over to terrorists.”
Democracy not working in Nigeria
So as far as Nigerian citizens are concerned, Igwe Ekpeh concludes democracy is not working in their favour.
“Democracy is not working for us. Where is democracy? Does democracy mean rigging elections? As far as can be seen, democracy is only mouthed in this country. Democracy is to reap the benefits of what the people own; democracy is for government to establish meaningful opportunities for people; create an egalitarian society where anybody can reach any height; not a question of divide and rule.
“Democracy in a Federation means that every federating unit is autonomous; there are many things belonging to individual states that are reserved for indigenes of the state, and they must be in a concurrent list, not an exclusive one; and if there was going to be democracy; tell me what federal government has to do with primary education, primary health care and local roads.
“I think FG should concern itself with monetary system or tertiary institutions, foreign affairs, etc.”
The trouble with the Nigerian structure
“The Federal Government at the center has been made to be too powerful. Recently, some money was shared and the FG took sixty percent of it, and that s the genesis of our problems. In a Federal system, you will make the center as weak as ever, so that there is not this mad rush to go the center cap in hand.
“Our leaders like to imitate American life style but we do not maintain their honesty, integrity and their kind of democracy. Tell me an American president or a legislator who will have the kind of cars and houses our legislators have today.
“Why must our legislators be provided accommodation and when they leave office they go with it while people in the villages don’t have anything: is that democracy? And when they go to Abuja, the first thing they talk about is their welfare, furniture allowance that runs into millions of Naira; they are not interested in the people they are supposed to represent.”
Constitutional Amendment
This would have been where people in the rural areas will express their minds; traditional rulers, market women, youths and everyone will make an input; then at the end, they collate all these and give us a new constitution.
“But people at the National Assembly refused because they are the sole beneficiaries; they monopolise everything and that does not qualify them to amend the constitution.”
State policing
“I am one of those who support regional police because the pattern paid us before the war; then we don’t know who is the commissioner of police who will be afraid to offend his people. There should be a Police Commission at the center.”
Calls for genuine National Conference
“We elected them, but their performance is zero and selfish. The true way out of this is a genuine sovereign national conference; a place where we all will meet and bare our minds without being limited by any government.
“If any component wants freedom, give it to them. That the FG has been avoiding and ignoring that call is still the albatross on them; it is a sum of debacles and I advise they better heed that call now. If it takes two years to fashion this thing right, let it be done because it is one sure thing that will save this nation.
“But continuing to deceive the people that there is democracy, there is one Nigeria, I don’t believe in it. There is one Nigeria, but there are many Nigerians. If my son cannot compete fairly with children of the ruling class and win on his merit, then we are not one Nigeria.”
Can Nigeria continue as one sovereign nation?
“Only if there will be a genuine Sovereign National Conference where the debate will go on; then if any component desires to be outside the Nigerian entity, let that component go and develop and expand.
“Or let there be an arrangement where the center will function in an advisory capacity, to counsel and direct people, etc. But what we have now is a Federal Government that is acting like Father Christmas, an overlord which is not good for Nigeria.”
Rephrasing the question specifically, our correspondent asked: Can the North and the South continue as one entity?
“Under the present arrangement and the way governance is being handled, I don’t see its possibility in the near future; but if there is sincerity from the legislators and the government generally, then of course it is possible.”
Biafra:
A member of Enugwu-Ukwu Traditional Council and lecturer at the Madona University and Federal Polytechnic, Okija (Ihiala LGA) and Oko (Orumba North LGA) of the State respectively, who was a guest of the royal father during this interview interjected that, to discuss Biafra now with open mind may amount to a charge of treason.
He went further: “The state of emergency once clamped on three states at the height of the insurgency was a pointer that sooner than you think, Biafra will emerge without firing one gunshot; but to think that the Igbo man will raise a rifle again, it will not happen because we had our time.
“But be rest assured that, with all this terrorism, kidnappings and corruption in unimaginable proportions, the nation called Biafra will emerge on a platter of gold, but only God can say when.”
The royal father, Igwe Ikpeh concluded the interview with this diplomatic response to the Biafra dream:
“When we discuss Biafra today, we are aware that we cannot regain the Biafra of Ojukwu’s dream. Biafra to us now means freedom. We can get that freedom to govern ourselves as a people without interference; and the Biafra to come is a Sovereign nation that is exclusive to the Igbos alone and will not include Akwa Ibom and the Calabar people, and it shall emerge without bombs and without guns.
“Mark my words,” he concluded.
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