We will begin by recalling the exact prophetic proclamations made by Prof Chinua Achebe, of blessed memory, who in the early 1980’s recorded what can be called the exact poetic representation of the Igbo nation his book entitled The Trouble With Nigeria. His claims are of the highest empirical proofs.

His words: “A distinguished political scientist from a ‘minority’ area of the south pronounced some years ago that Nigeria has an Igbo problem. Every ethnic group is, of course, something of a problem for Nigeria’s easy achievement of cohesive nationhood, but the learned professor no doubt saw the Igbo as a particular irritant, a special thorn in the flesh of the Nigerian body-politic.”

Achebe who also penned one of the best read and most widely translated novels, Things Fall Apart, further argued in that booklet called The Trouble with Nigeria that: “Nigerians of all other ethnic groups will probably achieve consensus on no other matter than their common resentment of the Igbo. They would all describe them as aggressive, arrogant and clannish. Most would add grasping and greedy (although the performance of the Yoruba since the end of the Civil War has tended to put the prize for greed in some doubt!).”

This, he reasoned, is because “Modern Nigerian history has been marked by sporadic eruptions of anti-Igbo feeling of more or less serious import; but it was not until 1966 – 7 when it swept through Northern Nigeria like ‘a flood of deadly hate’ that the Igbo first questioned the concept of Nigeria, which they had embraced with much greater fervor than the Yoruba or the Hausa/Fulani.”

Achebe made a very rational affirmation about a significant human factor that can be considered as the greatest drawback to the absence of infrastructural advancement and sustainable socio-economic development of the South-East when he wrote about the last civil war, which ended 48 years ago leaving in its wake massive devastations of the defunct Eastern Region, as it then was. But it was neither rehabilitated nor reconstructed after the war.

He recalled: “The Civil War gave Nigeria a perfect and legitimate excuse to cast the Igbo in the role of treasonable felon, a wrecker of the nation. But thanks to Gowon’s moderating influence, overt vengeance was not visited on them when their secessionist state of Biafra was defeated in January 1970. But there were hard-liners in Gowon’s cabinet who wanted their pound of flesh: the most powerful among them being Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Federal Commissioner for Finance. Under his guidance, a banking policy was evolved which nullified any bank account which had been operated during the Civil War. This had the immediate result of pauperising the Igbo middle-class and earning a profit of £4 million for the Federal Government Treasury.”

However, one fact Achebe never mentioned - maybe for want of spacebars – is that in modern history of warfare, it is a war crime and a crime against humanity for post-war sanctions, such as the nullification of the accounts of all easterners, as was done by the then Nigerian government under the guidance of the visionary Pa Obafemi Awolowo, who read law in the United Kingdom.

The erudite man of letters - who spent decades teaching the White man's language in different American universities - Prof Achebe, just before his triumphant exit in a blaze of glory, also recorded detailed situation report about the state of the Igbo-speaking South-East of Nigeria in his last book entitled There Was a Country. He forgot to also mention that behind the issues of gross infrastructure poverty imposed on the South-East geo-political zone, one of the causes can be attributed to corruption and avarice of some privileged Igbo politicians, who would lobby to attract projects to the zone but will simply collect mobilization money for those projects and disappear into thin air, or even render poor jobs which inflict sufferings of unquantifiable and unjustifiable dimensions on the over 50 million Igbo-speaking Nigerians living in that geopolitical region.

Lest we forget, it is important to note that the South-East geopolitical zone comprises five Igbo states that contain over 50 million people. Having been in the South-East and toured around the states for so many years, it can be said that Igbo land is blessed with natural resources, including oil/gas, lead/zinc, salt, phosphate, limestone, gold, kaolin, clay, iron-ore, etc.

On several occasions, we have asked the questions: “Are We Really Doing Great in South-East” when it comes to health-care, security standard, partisan politics, infrastructure, education and agriculture? The answer is NO, we are not! Now, the question is: How Can South-East Work Again?

There are pertinent steps which should be taken by the South-East governments and the stakeholders in order to develop the zone into an economic hub that will attract substantial investments from both Igbo and foreigners.

Governors of south-eastern states should try as much as possible to look into the health-care sector, because research findings show that most parts of Igboland lack good hospitals; some areas don’t even have health-centres, lest hospitals. In one of our findings, there was a case where some individuals have to look for a hospital to drop an accident victim, but all their efforts proved abortive. By the time they located one, the individual have already passed out. This is just one instance which explains why the government and stakeholders in the region should work hard to improve the provision and spread of health-care facilities. Absence of such essential services aids in discouraging Igbo brothers from coming back to settle or invest in the zone, because of the feeling that they won’t receive the necessary treatment to any problem when the need arises.

Equally important is the way and manner politics is being played in the South-East. There is a great manifestation of greed and self-centredness. As a result, many of us don’t feel secured when matters of politics are being raised. So, it is important to note that before we can attract our brothers in the Diaspora to come back here for investment, we must make sure that issues of politics are less antagonistic. They need to be re-assured of the security of their lives and investment. This is necessary because currently many have the mindset that their investments won’t be safe because of the political atmosphere in the whole South-East. There must be room for neutrality, given that notable investments have been destroyed because of political victimisation.

Looking at the security situation in the zone, it is a horrible thing to talk about. We must admit the truth that here, in Igboland, the security situation is very poor. Again, you don’t expect people to come home and invest when the security standard is already in a mess. It is sad security agencies don’t actually channel their attention towards the work they are supposed to do. As a result, everybody suffers. Unfortunately, our findings confirm the widely held view that security agents are only interested in the money that will come out from each case they are called upon to intervene. In a situation where justice goes to the highest bidder, they have made it impossible for a poor man to get justice. And when justice can’t be given to the right people, crime level increases. So, all hands should be on deck to fight the shameful state of security in the South-east. The governments should device possible means of arresting the ugly situation.

The sorry state of infrastructure in the South-East is enough to discourage any potential investor. It baffles a lot because the whole South-East, with exception of Anambra State, is terribly underdeveloped, when compared to neighboring states. The governments of South-east should get together under the aegis of the Governors Forum, and sincerely discuss the dilapidated state of infrastructure in the geo-polity. Besides roads, they should also find solution to the resuscitation of some of the older companies inherited from the First Republic, such as Modern Ceramics, Golden Guinea Brewery, Nkalagu Cement factory, International Glass Industry, among others. If modernised and returned to production, such companies will create employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths as well as suppliers and distributors. With the necessary industrial infrastructure, foreign investment would be attracted to the South-East.

Next is the education sector. South-East cannot be a hub that will attract investors if the educational sector is not given proper attention. Currently, the education sector is in a mess. Students suffer greatly as a result of nonpayment of salaries of their teachers and lecturers. This is as a result of the nonchalant attitude of the South-East governors. For example, besides Anambra State, most government primary/secondary schools in the zone suffer greatly, thereby making the teachers feel so lousy over their jobs: at the end of the day the students won’t understand what they have been taught. If only there will be a step-up in the education sector, most of the Igbo outside the South-east will not only come down here to invest, but will also allow their kids school here.

One reason our brothers in the northern parts of the country have refused to return home is, among other things, due to the poor attention given to agriculture by South-East governors. The state governments are yet to provide necessary machinery and implements suitable for modern agricultural production, including facilitation of capital, beyond political pronouncements. Agriculture is very important because it attracts investors. Ministries of agriculture in the South-East must have to work hard to make agriculture attractive to both subsistent farmers and young people because it guarantees food security.

We strongly believe that South-east can work again, if only our leaders, especially the political elite, will put away greed and selfishness in whatever thing they are doing and appreciate the fact that development of the zone far more important than the individual’s pecuniary interest. South East can work again if our leaders will decide to develop our infrastructure, if they can develop the agriculture, if they can provide us with quality health-care facilities, efficient security network, and also take necessary measures to exploit our natural resources. Actualisation of the foregoing will turn the South-East of Nigeria to an economic hub, and there will be no more excuses for Igbo business men and women who prefer to invest in Lagos and Abuja.

The ball is therefore on the courts of all those seeking for elective positions to represent the South-east of Nigeria to realistically arm themselves with actionable blueprints on how to re-develop the region and make it function optimally, much better than as it was just before the civil war.

It is instructive to state that the National Assembly and the Presidency post-2019 election should develop a Marshall plan to reconstruct the major infrastructures in the South-East of Nigeria that were ruined by the effects and consequences of the 30-month long bombardment of the then Eastern region of Nigeria during the civil war. Post-civil war reconstruction was never done and it is not too late to make amends.

•Onwubiko and Cliff-Grace Obilor wrote in from Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria. RIGHTSVIEW appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays, in addition to special appearances. The Columnist, a popular activist (www.huriwanigeria.com, www.emmanuelonwubiko.com), is a former Federal Commissioner of Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission and presently National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA).

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