Economic Injustice Against My Ibo Nation: This Injustice Must Never Be Ignored

FREDRICK ONWUMBIKO

"There is one very important fact in my analysis that I want everyone to get, and that is that before the civil war, Nigeria as a nation did not have an economic of its own. Let me say it again, that Nigeria as a nation before the British/Biafran civil war did not have an economy of its own. 

I emphasized that point in other to say that whatever seemed like Nigerian economy were British owned. Put differently, if you excluded few of the regional cooperatives and some joint ventures businesses which were mostly British engineered to make buying raw materials easy for the British, every other aspect of the economy were owned majorly by the British, even the military, given the fact that almost every military supply came from Britain. 

It is then save to say that British investment in Nigeria amounted to a great totality of Nigerian economy or that Nigerian economy was at that time synonymous to the total investment of the British. 

"One relevant question that I always managed to ask my interlocutors is whether they were aware of the indigenization decree of 1972, master minded by Awolowo and the Yoruba and the ramifications of that policy, as will be expected, the answer ranged from, I have heard of it but does not understand what it actually meant to I have not heard of the policy. 

Listening to this ignorance induced perspective from my friends made my heart to skip a beat, realizing that the task of bridging this information gap is not going to be a child’s play." 

ODUA INVESTMENT COMPANY WAS USED TO LOOT NIGERIA AND CONVERTED BRITISH, BIAFRAN, EASTERN NIGERIA AND NIGERIA ASSETS FRAUDELUENTLY BY AWOLOWO.

AFTER THE DEATH OF THESE INVESTMENTS WHY HAS YORUBAS NOT BUILT NEW ONES. THEY CANNOT BECAUSE THEY NEVER BUILT ANY.

Odu'a Investment Company Limited was incorporated in July, 1976 to take over the business interest of the former Western State of Nigeria, now Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 

The company commenced business on the 1st of October, 1976. ODU'A INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED since inception, has been operating as a conglomerate with over 70% of her business as investment/joint ventures with reputable multinationals. 

As early as February 26, 1976, just about three weeks after the creation of the three states out of the old Western State, the State Implementation Committee had given a thought to the establishment of a holding company which was to take over the supervision and monitoring of sundry investments of the former Western State which were hitherto under the control of the Western State Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation. Such investments were over sixty (60) in number. 

The Economic Project Performance Unit, in collaboration with the Western State Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation, was given the duty of making necessary recommendation for the establishment of a holding company.

Investments within the Group at its inception covered a wide spectrum of economic activities, viz; integrated textile mills, breweries, commercial banking, insurance business, real estates, livestock rearing, fisheries services, carbonated drinks, food and beverages industries, manufacturing in chemical and mechanical industries, hotel and catering, vehicle distribution, bottling and marketing of liquefied petroleum gases, printing and publication.

Apart from investments in limited liability companies, Odu'a Investment Company Limited also owns substantial properties in choice locations in the Ikeja residential/Industrial Estates and Apapa in Lagos State as well as a number of residential and commercial properties in Ibadan including the Aje House. It also has investments in properties in various parts of the Country. 

QUOTE "Nigeria- Biafra war was supposed to have been officially over, it was not enough to murder Igbo and their babies in millions, Awolowo who was now on Gowon's payroll, who Ojukwu should have let stay in prison again started marginalizing Igbo Biafrans by confiscating Biafran accounts and looting their hard earn money, giving the Igbo persons 20 pounds each regardless of balance (and interest). 

The "Indigenisation Decree", another bastard policy which followed soon after the arbitrary award of 20 Pounds completed the routing of Biafrans from the commanding heights of the Nigerian economy. Only two years after the war supposed to have ended, when Ibos/Biafrans were still in their economic doldrums, Chief Obafemi Awolowo [the Finance Commisioner under Gowon ] then auctioned the Nigerian economy to the Nigerian "indigenes" with the Enterprises Promotion Decree 1974(so-called). 

He started selling off government and foreign owned properties to "Nigerians" knowing very well that he had just made the Biafrans/Ibos virtually bankrupt. This was of course deliberate, and done to reverse the Hausa/Fulani Yoruba fear of "Ibo domination" also to spite the Ibos/Biafrans futher. 

The timing of this policy was to ensure that there was effective exclusion of the Biafrans/Ibos from ownership in Nigeria's industrial sector, since after confiscation of the money and bank accounts they would no longer have the financial muscle to participate. 

As "the vanquished"[Biafrans/Ibos] were dispossessed of what they had, "the victors"[Hausa-Fulani-Yoruba] were deliberately empowered through the banks to purchase the Nigerian "national"(illusionary that is) patrimony.

This Awolowo was indeed a treacherous beast with ambition, indeed a wicked bastard. Despite this particular anti-Ibo policy, the Ibos are still thriving such that they could easily produce the most educated people in Nigeria and even in Africa. Despite after all this he did for the Caliphate and Nigeria, he still never became president of Nigeria even for 1 second. Yes he was be "The best president Nigeria never had". UNQUOTE 

" The Nigerian government policy of "starvation as weapons of war" as crafted by Awolowo to which he was never forgiven by Ibos. We can also detail the facts that even after the war, Awo and Nigerian government kept all Ibo money, given them only 20 pounds to every ibo who had money in the banks as punishment for defending themselves and his continued starvation as weapons of war and annihilation. 

In a nuthshell Iboa were left to die, I remember my uncle coming home with 20 pounds and wondering what anyone could possibly do with twenty pounds as opposed to thousands of pounds he had in the bank from oil and Petroleum business before and during the war." 

QUOTING CHIEF EDWIN CLARK ON THE WAR AFFECT ON IGBO" "The harsh post-war economic policy immediately converted Ibo businessmen into street hustlers. Those in the corporate world lost their positions and had to begin new professional careers. 

Importation of stock fish was banned to deny Ibos their only means of protein after the war. (Remember that most livestock were lost during the war). This was followed by the problem of abandoned property implemented mainly by the old Rivers State."

 CHIEF EDWIN CLARK. IBO PROPERTIES WERE SEIZED ALL OVER NIGERIA AND MANY WERE UNDERVALUED AND SOLD AS AUCTION AND AT AUCTION ALL OVER NIGERIA FROM 1967 TO 1980.

WHAT ENGENDERED THE INDIGENIZATION POLICY?

It is no more news worthy to point out that before the civil war that Ibos out of their capacity for honesty, to work hard, to produce, to innovate, to manage, create and persevere were able to penetrate all facets of Nigerian endeavor, when the British used merit as a yard stick. 

It is an irrefragable fact that even Yoruba would not dare challenge that fact, if not, what started the Yoruba hate, envy and jealousy against the Ibos in the first place, Yoruba and Hausa claimed that Ibo was dominating everything in the country but what they will not acknowledge publicly was the fact that the British were making the decisions about who to hire by their own standard and not by Ibo standard and that Ibos were good at what they did and better than them. 

The Yoruba and Hausa wanted not only equal opportunity they also wanted equal outcome regardless of effort and everyone knows that that is impossible. Nigerian economy or that Nigerian economy was at that time synonymous to the total investment of the British." 

"THE GREATEST HEIST IN MODERN HISTORY BY AWOLOWO AND THE YORUBAS,

KNOWN AS INDIGENIZATION OF FOREIGN COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

"This piece was prompted by what I saw as benign ignorance amongst some of our Ibo folks and because such ignorance is music to the ears of some other people and Yoruba in particular.

In more than one occasion my friends and other Ibo have advanced the argument that if Ibo was that smart, how come Yorubas dominated the commerce industry in Nigeria?

What they meant were the domination of Yoruba in the banking, insurance industries, Coco Cola and some other surviving industries. 

In one particular occasion a friend revealed to me that he recently discovered that the reason why some Yoruba are so wealthy is because they were smart enough to invest their money in corporate stocks and bonds (not realizing that Yoruba actually stolen those corporations) while Ibo is busy engaging in buying and selling. 

The Yoruba will like people to continue to believe that story, that it was because they were smart that they were able to do all these great investments in the commerce industry. 

One relevant question that I always managed to ask my interlocutors is whether they were aware of the indigenization decree of 1972, master minded by Awolowo and the Yoruba and the ramifications of that policy, as will be expected, the answer ranged from, I have heard of it but does not understand what it actually meant to I have not heard of the policy. 

Listening to this ignorance induced perspective from my friends made my heart to skip a beat, realizing that the task of bridging this information gap is not going to be a child’s play. 

What is disconcerting is that some in their benign induced ignorance believe that the effect of indigenization is inconsequential at this time because it happened about forty years ago. 

This piece is therefore for those that are educable and for those that have the capacity to appreciate the magnitude and most importantly for those that can relate that gigantic economic event that reshaped the economic foundation on which Nigerian economy settled on after the British/Biafran war and as well as relate our present economic malaise to that economic foundation engendered by indigenization.

There is no doubt that most people, particularly those that do not have either basic or international economics background are overwhelmed by the subject of INDIGENIZATION OF FOREIGN COMPANIES IN NIGERIA because of their inability to understand the economics of it and the efficacies to make the necessary connections and relate it to the present economic doldrums"