armed forces to quell two Tiv riots
in the Middle Belt, crush the 1964 general strike, and reestablish order following
regional elections in the Western Region in 1965. In hindsight, it seems as though
President Azikiwe may have been aware of the sand shifting beneath the feet of the
political class, and he tried to gain the support of the military brass during the
constitutional crisis following the 1964 federal general election. The failure of
Azikiwe’s attempt perhaps should have been the first sign to many of us that trouble
lay ahead for our young nation. 7
B ENIN R OAD
Speed is violence
Power is violence
Weight violence
The butterfly seeks safety in lightness
In weightless, undulating flight
But at a crossroads where mottled light
From old trees falls on a brash new highway
Our separate errands collide
I come power-packed for two
And the gentle butterfly offers
Itself in bright yellow sacrifice
Upon my hard silicon shield. 1
A History of Ethnic Tension and Resentment
I have written in my small book entitled
The Trouble with Nigeria
that Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common
resentment of the Igbo. The origin of the national resentment of the Igbo is as old
as Nigeria and quite as complicated. But it can be summarized thus: The Igbo culture,
being receptive to change, individualistic, and highly competitive, gave the Igbo
man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement
in Nigerian colonial society. Unlike the Hausa/Fulani he was unhindered by a wary
religion, and unlike the Yoruba he was unhampered by traditional hierarchies. This
kind of creature, fearing no god or man, was custom-made to grasp the opportunities,
such as they were, of the white man’s dispensations. And the Igbo did so with both
hands. Although the Yoruba had a huge historical and geographical head start, the
Igbo wiped out their handicap in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years
between 1930 and 1950. 1
Had the Igbo been a minor ethnic group of a few hundred thousand their menace might
have been easily and quietly contained. But their members ran in the millions. As
in J. P. Clark’s fine image of “ants filing out of the wood,” the Igbo moved out of
their forest home, scattered, and virtually seized the floor. 2
Paul Anber explains:
With unparalleled rapidity, the Igbos advanced fastest in the shortest period of time
of all Nigeria’s ethnic groups. Like the Jews, to whom they have frequently been likened,
they progressed despite being a minority in the country, filling the ranks of the
nation’s educated, prosperous upper classes. . . . It was not long before the educational
and economic progress of the Igbos led to their becoming the major source of administrators,
managers, technicians, and civil servants for the country, occupying senior positions
out of proportion to their numbers. Particularly with respect to the Federal public
service and the government statutory corporations, this led to accusations of an Igbo
monopoly of essential services to the exclusion of other ethnic groups.
The rise of the Igbo in Nigerian affairs was due to the self-confidence engendered
by their open society and their belief that one man is as good as another, that no
condition is permanent. It was
not
due, as non-Igbo observers have imagined, to tribal mutual aid societies. The Igbo
Town Union that has often been written about was in reality an extension of the Igbo
individualistic ethic. The Igbo towns competed among themselves for certain kinds
of social achievement, like the building of schools, churches, markets, post offices,
pipe-borne water projects, roads, etc. They did not concern themselves with pan-Igbo
unity nor were they geared to securing an advantage over non-Igbo Nigerians. The Igbo
have no compelling traditional loyalty beyond town or village. 3
There
in the Middle Belt, crush the 1964 general strike, and reestablish order following
regional elections in the Western Region in 1965. In hindsight, it seems as though
President Azikiwe may have been aware of the sand shifting beneath the feet of the
political class, and he tried to gain the support of the military brass during the
constitutional crisis following the 1964 federal general election. The failure of
Azikiwe’s attempt perhaps should have been the first sign to many of us that trouble
lay ahead for our young nation. 7
B ENIN R OAD
Speed is violence
Power is violence
Weight violence
The butterfly seeks safety in lightness
In weightless, undulating flight
But at a crossroads where mottled light
From old trees falls on a brash new highway
Our separate errands collide
I come power-packed for two
And the gentle butterfly offers
Itself in bright yellow sacrifice
Upon my hard silicon shield. 1
A History of Ethnic Tension and Resentment
I have written in my small book entitled
The Trouble with Nigeria
that Nigerians will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common
resentment of the Igbo. The origin of the national resentment of the Igbo is as old
as Nigeria and quite as complicated. But it can be summarized thus: The Igbo culture,
being receptive to change, individualistic, and highly competitive, gave the Igbo
man an unquestioned advantage over his compatriots in securing credentials for advancement
in Nigerian colonial society. Unlike the Hausa/Fulani he was unhindered by a wary
religion, and unlike the Yoruba he was unhampered by traditional hierarchies. This
kind of creature, fearing no god or man, was custom-made to grasp the opportunities,
such as they were, of the white man’s dispensations. And the Igbo did so with both
hands. Although the Yoruba had a huge historical and geographical head start, the
Igbo wiped out their handicap in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years
between 1930 and 1950. 1
Had the Igbo been a minor ethnic group of a few hundred thousand their menace might
have been easily and quietly contained. But their members ran in the millions. As
in J. P. Clark’s fine image of “ants filing out of the wood,” the Igbo moved out of
their forest home, scattered, and virtually seized the floor. 2
Paul Anber explains:
With unparalleled rapidity, the Igbos advanced fastest in the shortest period of time
of all Nigeria’s ethnic groups. Like the Jews, to whom they have frequently been likened,
they progressed despite being a minority in the country, filling the ranks of the
nation’s educated, prosperous upper classes. . . . It was not long before the educational
and economic progress of the Igbos led to their becoming the major source of administrators,
managers, technicians, and civil servants for the country, occupying senior positions
out of proportion to their numbers. Particularly with respect to the Federal public
service and the government statutory corporations, this led to accusations of an Igbo
monopoly of essential services to the exclusion of other ethnic groups.
The rise of the Igbo in Nigerian affairs was due to the self-confidence engendered
by their open society and their belief that one man is as good as another, that no
condition is permanent. It was
not
due, as non-Igbo observers have imagined, to tribal mutual aid societies. The Igbo
Town Union that has often been written about was in reality an extension of the Igbo
individualistic ethic. The Igbo towns competed among themselves for certain kinds
of social achievement, like the building of schools, churches, markets, post offices,
pipe-borne water projects, roads, etc. They did not concern themselves with pan-Igbo
unity nor were they geared to securing an advantage over non-Igbo Nigerians. The Igbo
have no compelling traditional loyalty beyond town or village. 3
There
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