The Presidency by Prince Emeka Obasi Business Hallmark October 18 – 24, 2010

Today is necessarily an occasion for speech making. But since I am not listed among the speakers, I promise on my honour not to compound the situation by making a very long speech. Nevertheless, there are some points I must clarify.

This platform is non-political and definitely non-partisan. I say this because in an election year when various aspirants are jostling for support, it is understandable that some people would wonder which presidential candidate is sponsoring us. The answer is none. We set up the Save South East Movement (SSEM) as a direct intervention in the crisis of security and under-development ravaging the South East. It is common knowledge that the Southeast is currently plagued by one of the worst crises in its history. We became alarmed by the apparent lack of appreciation of the full dimensions of the crisis by even Igbos and non-Igbos alike. The common response of many to the situation is to regard it as a law and order matter. The Federal Government has accordingly dispatched troops to the epic centre in Abia State. As commendable as that move is, we beg to disagree that it is the only solution.

My basic thesis is that kidnapping in the Southeast is deeply rooted in socio-economic factors. But I must hasten to add, however, that such factors do not justify it. Indeed, nothing can or should justify crime. However, it is also an accepted fact in the sociology of crime that unemployment and lack of economic empowerment can stimulate crime. As the old saying goes, the devil finds work for the idle mind.

The Southeast is today in a very precarious situation. In my assessment, it is facing its worst crisis since Nigeria’s Independence in 1960. Its situation now is worse than the civil war which lasted from 1967–1970 during which millions of Easterners were casualties. At least during the war, there was the knowledge, nay hope, that the war would eventually come to an end. That hope sustained the people and gave them a reason to live.

But the crisis this time is very different. It is a steady hemorrhage, the dripping away of blood, life’s sustenance. The Southeast is bleeding terminally and the prognosis is very dismal. The statistics are very frightening. The South East has the lowest number of states of all the six zones in the country. Each of the other five zones has at least six states. It also has the least number of Local Governments of all the zones. In fact, it has 95 only. Other zones have much more. As a matter of fact, just two states, Kano and Katsina, have almost equal number of Local Government Areas with the whole of the Southeast.

The implication of this distortion manifests in several ways. The first is revenue accruing to the zone from the Federation account. The Southeast receives the least amount of revenue from the centre. Revenue is shared to states and Local Governments. It follows therefore that the more states and Local Governments there are, the more revenue each zone gets. Secondly, in terms of representation in the House of Representatives, Federal constituencies are delineated along the lines of Local Governments. The Southeast therefore has the least number of representatives with the entire zone. The cumulative effect of all these is the diminishing role of the Southeast in the polity. After the devastating civil war, the Igbo ranked second with Alex Ekwueme as the Vice President. Today, the highest ranking Igbo is the Deputy Senate President.

However, the real problems facing the Southeast are not merely these. They are socio-economic and in my view, the most insidious. Perhaps you do not know it, the Southeast is the only zone in the country that is actually regressing. In other words, it is the only zone where very little economic value is being added, where little or no productivity is going on and where very minimal progress is being made to uplift the human condition. The Southeast contribution to the national budget is a trifle 7.9%. Indeed, the entire Southeast budget is a mere N330bn. The annual internally generated revenue of the Southeast zone is N10.6bn. The annual budget of Rivers State is about N420bn, a surplus of N90bn over the budget of the entire Southeast. Its internally generated revenue ranges from N4.5bn to N6bn per month, translating to between N50 and N60bn per annum. Akwa Ibom State budgets about N330bn annually and generates about N6bn internally. Indeed, the truth is that each Local Government Area in Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Lagos is actually worth more economically than any state in the Southeast. As a matter of fact, Ikeja and Lagos Island Local Government Areas in Lagos State are worth more economically than all the states in the Southeast put together.

The Southeast is the only zone in the country that does not attract any Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and any investments at all internally. It is the only zone where non-indigenes neither live nor work in. You can hardly find non-indigenes investing in the Southeast. It is also the only zone in Nigeria with the least amount of Federal Government presence. It has the worst infrastructure — worst road network, poorest power supply, etc. Indeed, it has the least conditions for investments. It has no seaport and just two substandard airports. It has only one standard stadium, the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu. It has only one reputable international secondary school, the Mai Marta Secondary School built by former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani in Enugu.

In other words, the children of Igbo elites cannot attend schools in the South East. And that is actually the situation now. In different high brow private schools in different parts of Nigeria, Igbo boys and girls jostle for space. Thus at the most sensitive stages of their formative years, they are not exposed to the culture of their people. So these future leaders of the Igbo nation are not allowed to imbibe the culture of their ethnic nationality or even speak their language. Is it any surprise therefore that the Igbo language and culture are in such rapid decline?

Some years ago, the United Nations Education and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) classified Igbo language as one of the endangered languages in the world. A direct consequence of the decline of economic development in the South East is the abject lack of economic opportunities in the organized private sector. The formal sector in the entire zone is almost dead. Apart from Nigerian Breweries in Enugu, there is virtually no manufacturing industry still functioning. All the industries built by the late Governor Sam Mbakwe and former Governor Jim Nwobodo are all dead. So, the average Igbo graduate can hardly find employment in any state in the zone. Some of you whose children schooled in high brow institutions abroad cannot find employment for them at home. So they have to live and function offshore. Even those who study at home can hardly find engagement in the South East. There are over a dozen institutions of higher learning in the zone with an annual turnover of about fifty thousand graduates. As Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim recently testified, over 80% of that number migrate to other parts of the country yearly.

Now there is hardly any middle class in the South East. The zone is peopled by political office holders, civil servants, traders, farmers and peasants. The cream of the population live and operate outside. Of course, living outside is consistent with the Igbo spirit of enterprise and adventure. With such a huge population and limited landmass, the South East was always too small to house the Igbos. The people have always travelled far and near to trade and earn a living. Yet, they always returned.