What has Africa to do with September 11 terror? SPECIAL REPORT
20 Pounds to Igbos, Biafrans; where's the rest?
By EJIKE OKPA II
Special and Exclusive to USAfricaonline.com
NigeriaCentral.com
and USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston
participated
in looting and or hiding their assets during the Holocaust to pay up.
They have made significant progress in this arena and the former
Biafrans can emulate this experience and precedent. If there is no
reasonable response from the Obasanjo government, the former Biafrans
may consider bringing legal action against all financial
institutions; insurance companies, savings and loans, banks, and so
forth, to pay us. After all, when one makes a deposit, there is an
implied agreement to pay on demand. And, since majority of the banks
at the time were foreign owned; Barclays Bank and Standard Bank, they
must maintain records in their various home country. By bringing an
action against them, they will be forced to disclose what they know
and how they were compelled to provide the deposits and other
valuables to Nigeria, and Nigerians, to the detri
ment
of Igbos and other Biafrans. This is not an easy task but is one
worth exploring. We must exercise the will to demand restitution
because many folks died when they realized that they were only going
to be getting a fraction of their money and life's work. This is
unfair and really begs some explanation. If there is nothing to hide,
the retired General Olusegun Obasanjo administration should be open
to this matter, as he (Obasanjo) was a player, both as a war
commander on Nigeria's side, federal official, and two times head of
state of Nigeria.
On January 12, 1970, when the Nigeria-Biafra war (1967-1970) was officially declared over, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, then head of state and commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed forces, in his magnanimity (or so we were led to believe), declared a policy of 'no victor no vanquish'. By virtue of this declaration, it meant that former Biafrans were forgiven for the quest to establish their own Republic of Biafra. Some considered this gesture rather unusual and commendable, since there was fear that the Biafrans would have been interned. But that did not happen, in military terms or form. Many world leaders hailed Gowon for forgiving his countrymen and embraced him as a hero and peace maker. I'm still surprised that Gowon was not nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1970 for this gesture.
The former Biafrians immediately assumed they were embraced by their former countrymen and that the stage was set to move forward. But at a cost; lost of properties and cash. Along this line, the federal started the program of reconstruction, rehabilitation but no reconciliation. The 'no victor no vanquish' mantra was paid lip service as Biafrans soon realized that they were going to be 'marginalized' and or deprived of most of their wealth. I think that Biafrans/Igbos would have been better off if Gowon's agenda had the full support of his cabinet. He had the late Yoruba chieftain Obafemi Awolowo as federal Finance commissioner, and it was under his watch that that 20 Pounds program against Igbos was executed.
The world needs to know that irrespective of whatever balance or asset most Igbos/Biafran had prior to the war, federal government gave twenty pounds to every Biafran as a token reintegrate them into the country. Although, some Igbos are still thankful that some of their friends in the Northern region of Nigeria kept some of their properties and belongings, even while most of the other Northerners waged the war, with Yorubas and other Nigerians against the smaller number of Igbos/Biafrans.
The Biafrans were disappointed because by virtue of 'no victor no vanquish', it meant we should get back all monies that belonged to us. This was not the case; therefore, Gowon regime misled the world and in a way victimized former Biafrans. Shortly after this, the federal government embarked on nationalizing all foreign owned companies which was gobbled up by certain people. The former Biafrans could not participate in this national program because they were illiquid and were unduly left out and penalized for the war. The finance minister endorsed this exercise and made sure his folks were adequately represented in the acquisitions. Now, was this in the spirit of 'no victor no vanquish'. Your answer is as good as mine. We should demand some explanation(s). And where possible, compensation. We cannot be seeking and hoping for reparation from foreign governments when our own government may be owing us.
My point is that this matter of grave injustice should be revisited. There should be an investigation to uncover the reasons behind the decision to give twenty pounds to Igbos, and other Bifrans! How did they federal government come to the amount given? Was there any former Biafran that was compromised by the government in order to pacify any reaction. Was there a decree that demanded and or mandated the banks to turnover all deposits that belonged to former Biafrans. It is now more than 29 years after the war and most of the principal actors are still alive and actively involved in the politics including the current president. Gowon, in recent times went around apologizing for the consequences of war. He is a Christian man of remarkable goodwill. Since the apology indicates some sense of remorse, he should be made to provide us information on why twenty pounds was the threshold money.
We should not as a nation pretend that all is well with us. Ignoring some of our past while many still suffer from the aftermath of the decision, is a huge disregard for a peoples' concerns. There is precedent in this area and we should explore the option(s). Jews are asking all and any bank that participated in looting and or hiding their assets during Holocaust to pay up. They have made significant progress in this arena and the former Biafrans can emulate this experience and precedent. If retired Gen. Gowon did not mean the full value of his "no victor, no vanquish", he should let us know. If there is no reasonable response from the government, the former Biafrans may consider bringing an action against all financial institutions; insurance companies, savings and loans, banks, and so forth, to pay us. After all when one makes a deposit, there is an implied agreement to pay on demand. And since majority of the banks at the time were foreign owned; Barclays Bank and Standard Bank, they must maintain records in their various home country.
By bringing an action against them, they will be forced to
disclose what they know and how they were compelled to provide the
deposits and other valuables. There is a breach between the bank and
depositor agreement, and they should be made to cooperate. This is
not an easy task but is one worth exploring. We must exercise the
will to demand restitution because many folks died when they realized
that they were only going to be getting a fraction of their money and
life's work. This is unfair and really begs some explanation. If
there is nothing to hide, the Obasanjo administration should be open
to this matter, as he Obasanjo was a player, both as a war commander
on Nigeria's side, federal official, and two times head of state of
Nigeria.
Okpa is the Dallas bureau chief of The
Black BusinessJournal, NigeriaCentral.com,
and www.BBJonline.com.
Readers response will be published in USAfrica The Newspaper,
NigeriaCentral.com and USAfricaonline.com.
10-02-99.
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