By Fredrick Nwabufo
In the time of the pharaohs of
Egypt, when African civilisation was at its apogee, dreams were considered an
elemental means of communication from the divine. The story of Joseph and an
Egyptian king in the Bible assents this.
In Igbo cosmology, dreams, “nlo”,
are often not weighed with levity. They are studied through priestly oneirology
and interpreted. And even in Pentecostalism dreams have a place.
Lately, I have been thinking
pensively about the political future of the Igbo in Nigeria. And as it is,
there appears to be no forecast of sunshine, but of dark clouds.
The late Emeka Ojukwu envisioned
APGA to be a melting-pot for all Igbo interests and a political
bargaining-asset for the south-east. But today, the party is sequestered to an
insignificant corner in the region.
Since 2017, APGA has galloped
from one scandal to another. The primary elections conducted by the party in
2018 soaked up lots of acrimony, accusations of fraud, extortion, intimidation,
imposition and other dirt. And it keeps floundering.
Recently, the party endorsed the
candidature of President Buhari. Inasmuch as I think the party is well within
its rights do so, but I wonder, to what end? Is there a guarantee that there will
be support for Igbo presidency in 2023? And is there a pledge to restructuring
Nigeria, which the Igbo earnestly demand, by the endorsed candidate? Or is the
endorsement a “personal arrangee”?
I would really like to know what
informed the party’s decision, though I am not a member of the party or any
political party. But Ojukwu came to me in my dream last night. He looked
mournful, with tears like Kaduna railway tracks lining his face and soiling his
heavy beard. And with a belaboured cadence, he uttered, “APGA!”
…I woke up….
I am not a dream interpreter. But
I think the message is clear. Or could it be a function of my mind; worries?
In all, I would advise young and
progressive Igbo sons and daughters to identify with a political party; a
fledgling party, not the APC and the PDP, which have been tainted.
The elders have failed us. But we
cannot fail ourselves. These elders fan the flames of ethnicity and religion
when they want to extract political profit. But the real ethnicity of the
political class is power and their true religion is money.
We cannot have a forecast of
political sunshine, if we work in isolation of other stakeholders in this
entity. The elders know this, but they only enter into negotiations for
themselves, their families and side chicks.
We cannot fail ourselves.
Fredrick is a media personality.
Facebook: Fredrick Nwabufo, Twitter: @FredrickNwabufo
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