By Frank Ajuzieogu
It is so loud and clear. So much so that the blind could see, the deaf will hear, the echoes of unmitigated exploitation,suppression and marginalization that have been the lots of Ukwa land,one of the acclaimed hibingers of the oil wealth of the contraption called Nigeria.
Its fate has not been totally different from those of other oil bearing communities. They all have in common ,the enviable status of hosting,the most viable economic variables that propel the heart of the Nigerian economy.
Yet ,their misfortune,are as defining and weighty nas their natural endowment. Their story has been that of a richly endowed entity that is perennially dining with, misery, poverty,and general deprivation,all in the main ,due to systemic and Nigerian elite,conspiracy.That lack of basic amenities of life,and serial infrastructural deficit,have continued to define the existence of most of the country,s oil producing communities ,several years after the discovery
of the black gold is no longer debatable.
But the story of Ukwa,appears some what unique.Apart from having to contend with,externally induced marginalization,clearly epitomized,by lack of basic amenities,and some times criminal exclusion from the scheme of things in Abia state ,the people have had to battle,a more fiendish internal oppressive forces. And like the popular saying that family feud destroys faster than external ones, Ukwa,s internal oppressive forces remain more potent,with not a few perceiving them as the real threat to the very survival of the people.
Here the issue of the political marginalization of the Asa.ethnic nationality by its kits and kin from the Ndonki axis remain instructive.
For one, since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in 1999,the Ndonki people from, Ukwa East have been lording,it over their Asa brethren in Ukwa west ,cornering almost,all the political positions,on offer the peak of which was the production of the erstwhile,Senate President,Senator, Adolphus Nwagbara,former deputy speaker,of the Abia state House of Assembly,and currently the people Democratic Party PDP chairman,in the state,Dr Asiforo Okere.as,well several others.
This is not to forget, the very pathetic scenario,in which the Ndonkis have been calling the short at the House of Representatives,in the last 16years,. In fact, the political diadem,has turned out,to be a family. inheritance,where the baton is passed from,brother to brother .Or how else will one describe the situation,where by Chief Uzoma Abonta,after uninterrupted,16 years at the Green Chamber,his party,the PDP,will still find it expedient,to domicile the position,not just,in,Ndoki,Ukwa,East,but,in the same family?
Against deafening outcry by the Asa.people,,to all political parties,in Abia to pick,their,House,of,Reprejsentative,flagbearers,from the Asa.end,for the sake of equity,and,justice PDP,did not just ignore the sensibilities of the people, but went as far as picking Chief Chris Nkwonta. the elder sibling of the Out going Hon,member representing,the Ukwawest/East ,federal constituency,.Chief Uzoma Abonta ..Here,again,it is instructive to note that most of all the Major political platforms in the state except the PDP picked their candidates from Asa.in difference to the feelings and aspirations of the people.
Yet,many watchers,of the political marginalization of the Asa.ethnic nationality by their Ndoki brethren,may not altogether be surprised at the disposition of the PDP.After,all the party,has been presiding over such monumental political heist,over one, nationality against the other,since 1999.
What is however confounding is how Asa.has managed to box itself in to this political corner despite it’s superior numerical strength. If democracy remains a game of number, which it is then,Asa should locate the cause of its political woes not in their gods ,but in themselves.
For either there are official conspiracies,and,or internal sabotage,or both to foist a situation where the majority tribe will be crying of being marginalized by one in minority.It therefore behoves the Asa people to interrogate the root causes of their plight. It is also time for their elite and others to make a choice between the quest for fleeting and most times filthy personal Lucre’s and the exaction of the existential values of their unborn generations.
This they can do by leveraging on the rare opportunity provided by the forthcoming general elections.
In the same vein, all men,and,women,of good conscience from,Ndoki,can,also,use,the,forthcoming,elections,to,form,a,strong,wall,of,unity,with,their,Asa brothers and sisters,by,appreciating,,and respecting,their sensibilities.
What Ukwa land needs most now to ward off external,oppressors,and exploitative,forces,is unity of purpose,oneness,and cohesion. Until that is achieved,the ever locking divisive tendencies,will continue to see Ukwa.land,as a play ground,and its people as mere,pawns on a chess board .
It is totally, unexplainable,for the PDP,in the state,which has stared,up,a raging inferno,by distorting,the existing,power,sharing,formula anchored,on senatorial district,just,to address perceived,injustice,to the Old Aba division, not to see a bigger injustice and lack of equity in foistering on Ukwa people,not just another person from the same tribe,but from the same blood family,after,16 years,on the same position. There is nothing more unjust than to give a property meant to be shared by two brothers,to only one of them. Any body,and,or system that encourages and promote such ,is not to be trusted by the people.
Frank Ajuzieogu is a Public Affairs analyst, based in Umuahia.
