By Dr Sam Omale
Our elders say that if you don’t know where the rain started beating you, you will not remember where fire was kindled to warm you up. Let’s retrace our steps.
1. The Tragic Loss of our Unforgotten Hero : 6th November 1999
For us, the rain started beating us on the day Dr Stephen Achema died. Achema was everything to the Igala kingdom. He was a fearless advocate and defender of his people. No adjectives or encomiums are adequate enough to describe this Phenomenal Patriot .
His charming personality, his indefatigability, visionary leadership and a life of sacrifice may never be matched let alone surpassed in the history of the Igala Kingdom. Mama Inikpi is on a different pedestal of course.
When he sacrificed his political career for Audu in the now famous and historic “ Ukanugboda Accord” to ensure the victory for Abubarkar Audu,he effectively handed the Barton to another set of politicians. But the drizzle had turned into the rain.
2. The sudden demise of Prince Audu Abubakar.
Audu took us not very far. Certainly not how far Alakpa(Dr Achema) would have taken us. Audu’s sudden death on the day he won his second term as Governor did not help matters at all. It marked another milestone in our descend to oblivion. He was charismatic and loud but we failed to defend his seat. How we surrendered that opportunity still baffles me. We did not make any noise. Not even a whimper. We were cold and nonchalant.
3. Our nemesis: Yahaya Bello. The rain became torrential ! This brash, brutal, unknown and unprepared fellow appeared from no where to shift us aside. And he settled down quickly to begin the dismantling job of the Igala people. He was deliberate and intentional.
4. The Enemuneme Phenomenon. This rain had turned into a hurricane! As idiotic and despicable as this doctrine was , it gained momentum. The protagonists of this doctrine were not from outside. No. They were and are our sons and daughters.
They were ready tools in the hands of the triumphal bad guy. As useful idiots, they sold our land to a minority tribe. Bello did not abuse us , he was only reminding us of the abuses we hauled on ourselves. Bello did not kill us. Our own sons killed us. We know the killers of Madam Salome Abuh. They are moving around today without shame or any atom of remorse.
No thanks to the Enemuneme warlords,Bello bamboozled his way into the second term and inevitably into his third and probably fourth term.
5.The Loss of our Cultural Identity and Pride.
All of a sudden but perhaps not surprising, we started losing the very essence of our lives- our name, our heritage, our pride and our core values. Igala people did great exploits in several wars of emancipation and dominion in the kwararafa empire. We built the civil service of Northern Nigeria. We gave birth to Nigeria. Our name was more important than any wealth. My father built in me that pride of my family name. I live to protect it.
6. The emergence of Opportunistic’Leaders’. The same people that created the chaos and devastation in our land are now masquerading as our emancipators. How ironic. But they weaponised hunger and poverty they created to destroy and humiliate us.These thugs intimidated us into graveyard silence.
Our Elders, of course not all, now tell lies. Elders now greet young people first. We no longer ask “how did you get it”.My dad would say, if you cannot account for your wealth, you are a thief. But now we shake hands with thieves. We accept their gifts. Wealth has replaced a good name. How easily we were deceived by these charlatans in the last election circle still baffles me.
Way Forward.
We will not share our strategies in the open.
But we cannot pretend that it did not happen.
We cannot pretend that everything is splendid.
We cannot sweep everything under the carpet.
It is only the truth that can free our land, not pretenses.
We still have a 1001 Achemas in Igalaland.
We still have respectable elders in our land.
Let us call a convocation for truth and reconciliation.
Surely we cannot let the work of ourhero Dr Stephen Makoji ‘Alakpa’ Achema be in vain.
We will rise again. It can be done.