When is a nation not a nation ?
LETTERS
From Robin Horton, Sir Denis Brogan, Hugh Anderson. M. Aril, Neil Usher. L. E. Weid- berg, G. E. Assinder, Colin Quayle, Rupert Jackson, George Chowdharay-Best, John Papworth.
Sir:' Sir Denis Brogan is an eminent political scientist. But his stated qualification for dis- cussing the politics of Nigeria (21 March) is an acquaintance with pages of Hansard; and from the content of his discussion, one has to conclude that it is his only qualification. Let me correct a few of his more elementary mis- takes.
I. From his references to Gladstone and Jefferson Davis, it seems Sir Denis thinks Nigeria is a confederation. In fact, from the point of view of formal constitution, it is a relatively strong federation.
2. Sir Denis says Nigeria could only have grown into a real nation had it stayed at peace. In fact, it is with the advent of the twelve-state constitution, the military government and the war that Nigeria has come of age as a true nation. By giving a very powerful voice to the three hundred-odd minority groups, who make up nearly 50 per cent of Nigeria's population, and who for obvious reasons have a strongly centralist outlook, the twelve-state constitution has given ascendancy to the forces making for national unity. Because of the historical acci- dent of minority-group preponderance in the army, the advent of a military government has further strengthened these forces. Finally, the advent of civil war has made people ask them- selves how much Nigeria is worth to them. For very many, especially amongst those popula- tions who surround the Ibo, the answer has been that it is something they will fight and die for.
3. Sir Denis warns us not to draw parallels between the American and Nigerian civil wars. In some respects, I agree with him. For instance, there is surely no American parallel with the Federal military government's concern for the safety and rehabilitation of the rapidly increas- ing proportion of the Ibo population (now probably about half) which is settling down on this side of the fighting lines. Nor is there any parallel with the Federal government's willing- ness to establish relief corridors. But in one respect, there is a most striking parallel. Like Abraham Lincoln, Yakubu Gowon is fighting a war to prevent the birth of a nation based on slavery. By reiterating, in recent interviews, that he regards the boundaries of 'Biafra' as iden- tical with those of the old Eastern Region, Ojukwu is reaffirming his intention to enslave the five million non-Ibo Easterners whom he has already oppressed so grievously and who are his most implacable enemies. In fact, en-, slavement may be only the preliminary inten- tion. For although the rebel leaders have great need of the rich lands and mineral resources of the non-Ibo East, they have no need whatso- ever of the recalcitrant populations who sit on these lands and resources. And by their be- haviour during their occupation of the Rivers and South-Eastern States, they made it clear that systematic extermination of these popula- tions is well within their moral repertoire. 4. Sir Denis says Messrs Wilson and Stewart have blood on their hands. With most Nigerians and friends of Nigeria, I say that the blood is on quite different hands. It is on the hands, to name a few, of Messrs Brogan, Lawson, Waugh, Wells, Rees-Mogg, de Gaulle, Nyerere and Duvalier. (Yes: Papa Doc, too, has joined the motley gang. Or at least, that is what we gather from Radio Biafra, which recently announced with great pride this latest addition to those who recognise the rebel regime. Perhaps the Ton-Tons Macoute' will be sent to replace the numerous white mercenaries who have either died or run away!) These people, by persistently holding out futile hopes to the rebel leaders, have encouraged them in prolonging a resistance which would otherwise have petered out long ago. These are the real killers of Ibos. In ten years' time, when the average Ibo man is cursing the memory of Ojukwu as the average German now curses the memory of Hitler, he too will see where the blood-guilt really lies.
Robin Horton Institute of African Studies, Ibadan University, Nigeria
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