It feels good to be back to WIC. My itinerant program of recent years precluded my availability at programs such as this. It also afforded me a much-needed sabbatical from the haranguing and personal attacks that have become a notorious feature of many of our community forums, especially the Internet outlets. But most importantly, that outing gave me an invaluable opportunity for reflection on the Igbo predicament.

When I was invited to speak at this Summit, my initial thought was to focus strictly on the political and economic steps Ndi-Igbo must take to reclaim our place on the Nigerian political landscape. But, in the face of recent unfortunate developments affecting WIC, including some courtroom activity, which I understand is currently ongoing, I feel compelled to comment on the state of WIC. I do so out of a sense of duty, recognizing that I have certain unique knowledge about this organization and how it came into being.

Ndi-Igbo have this saying that one whose kin is not adept in the steps of the dance beat soon develops an itch of the eyelids (Onye onye ya n'amaghi nkwa agba, oko iku n'ako ya). And so, like many concerned members of our community, I have been disappointed, indeed severely burdened personally, at the trivia pursuit that often characterize much of our public discourse. Serious thinking on important matters has become rare.

During this time I was away in the Orient, many wondered how I could remain so silent in the face of troubling developments that have beset WIC. Varied shades of speculation thrived: some suggested that I jumped ship, others that I abandoned the project, or simply burned out. I appreciate all the thoughts. But I wish to make clear as I possibly can that when it comes to Igbo affairs, there can be no question as to where Kemnagum Ken Okorie stands. I also could never get away from WIC even if I tried. Attempting to do so would be like trying to run from my own shadow … a physical impossibility, I believe.

So I am particularly heartened to be back today at WIC where I belong. In particular and to be sure there is no doubt lingering in any mind, I am very pleased to be back to THIS WIC; this is the WIC that Mazi Eni Kanu and I conceived in my living room in November 1993, the WIC that I, with other Igbo patriots, helped to birth in 1994. We just need to recommit to doing what is right and needed to preserve this organization and not allow it to be further denigrated or vandalized.

To find our way back, it is essential that we recognize the reasons for the bumps WIC has experienced along the way. We are a people easily taken by the mundane. All too often a characteristic veil of emotion and sentiments beclouds our view and the capacity to be objective and recognize, much less act, to stop a runaway train even when we know it is piloted by raw ambition. We become preoccupied with personality rather than issues, and in the process loose the capacity to appreciate their substance. On the excuse that ours is a family affair, we take an overly casual attitude to serious misconduct by individuals. Thereby we encourage even more egregious behavior. Invariably, it is too late before we realize how far a good joke has been taken or the depth of the damage that has been done.

The disaster we have witnessed in WIC in recent times did not start during the last three or four years. It is the cumulation of an ambition-driven pattern that has characterized successive WIC administrations since 1999. That pattern was simply taken to the nth degree by the last administration.

Narrow personal ambition instigated serial packs of incorrigible, unrepentant opportunists and political jobbers to freely trivialize, distort, and hijack the mission of WIC. Each successive pack built upon the folly and deception of the one before it and took their ugly game to the next level. In so doing, they placed their personal interests ahead of the common good. They broke all rules, crossed every line of fairness, decency or proportionality and would stop at nothing to realize their political and economic objectives. Even those who, by training and profession are expected to uphold moral and ethical standards of behavior, wantonly compromised everything honorable or decent in their consuming pursuit of political advantage and patronage. This pack became convinced that the rules of WIC were made for everyone else but themselves, that they had the unique right and authority to manipulate facts and distort everything WIC should be about.

Contemplate for a moment the dastardly undertaking whereby a sitting Secretary General of WIC contested for partisan political office in Nigeria without first resigning! Or for that matter where the Vice Chairman doubled as co-chair of a presidential candidate back in Nigeria. In all of these, the leadership could not see the conflict in these activities, but believed they had the moral audacity to speak to a constituency of all Igbo.

I strongly believe that one cannot properly or effectively lead an organization one does not understand. The source of these problems is that individuals burst in from the French window into leadership in WIC without having a clue what the organization is about or how to go about its business. To these leaders, WIC was just another organization. All that mattered to them was position and power. It did not matter if the organization was sacrificed so long as they achieved their overriding personal agenda. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how WIC ended up with these problems. It is a lapse that must never again be allowed.

WIC was begun as an Igbo family affair. From inception, we adopted a strategy to guard our confidences. Our conscious resolve was to leave outsiders in suspense, wondering what we are about. This strategy was extremely effective in keeping out intruders. Steadily and systematically, the Johnnies Come Lately exposed and compromised WIC. Ultimately they delivered it on a platter to the establishment. For me, this was more than just a disappointment; it was particularly burdensome as I reflected upon the vision behind WIC and the great good it was designed to do for Ndi-Igbo. I became alarmed that elements in our Diaspora community, privileged with a unique opportunity to positively impact the fortunes of our suffering and disadvantaged people, would transmute into instruments of destruction to undo this valuable institution. By so doing, they further endangered and sacrificed everything Igbo.

More puzzling was the realization that these perpetrators are presumed bright minds that invested considerable time and effort acquiring book knowledge and experience here in the Diaspora. They acted so brazenly as to suggest that they were oblivious to the challenges that undermine the Igbo cause. But indeed they acted intentionally and fully knowing of the damage they were inflicting. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the lesson of WIC of the past 10 years. It is a lesson we must take to heart. It is also a history that must not repeat.

I return today pleased that we have a new opportunity to retrace our steps and restore WIC on its proper tracks. I am confident that if our community gives Nze Joe Eto the proper support this organization will have another chance to realize its mission. Let this be the rebirth of our beloved WIC. And so I use this opportunity to admonish again as clearly as I possibly can and have several times in the past that: WIC is not a political institution. WIC is not a platform to launch personal political aspirations in Nigeria. WIC is not a conduit for pursuing political or economic access in Nigeria. Most importantly, WIC is certainly not a place for petty parochial mindset that seeks to segment or differentiate Ndi-Igbo along state or other lines. Our Igbo family is one. Our detractors never care which of us comes from Adazi, Afiko, Asaba Or Ngwa. They uniformly mete the same treatment to all of us because there is one Igbo.

WIC was conceived to be that ever-watchful eye over the Igbo interest in all of its aspects. WIC seeks accountability from all who are entrusted with responsibility and opportunity for the welfare and fortunes of Ndi-Igbo, be they local, state, federal, or in the Diaspora. WIC is the conscience of Ndi-Igbo, ever resolved to preserve, but never compromising, our values or the Igbo essence.

THAT SAID, I will now TURN TO the original focus of my presentation. No political, social, or economic story of Nigeria could be accurate or morally respectable, much less complete, unless it prominently displays the Igbo footprint. As one of the legs of the national tripod, Ndi-Igbo were a pre-eminent component of Nigeria as originally arranged. Our leadership and contributions in the efforts that led to a politically independent and economically vibrant Nigeria were comparable to any, and often superior to most.

But a Nigerian 40 years or younger today, having witnessed the state of Ndi-Igbo in post-war Nigeria, would not know this truth. Supervised by successive dictatorships of the military generals that fought against Biafra, post-war Nigeria was run like their war booty, pursuing policies that entrenched the treatment of the Igbo component as largely irrelevant, even inconsequential in the national power distribution. Political power and control at the center has narrowly rotated between the former Northern and Western legs of the tripod to the exclusion of the Igbo. A lop-sided distribution of the national wealth and opportunities is systematically skewed in favor of the other geographic regions or zones to the neglect of the Igbo area. Ndi-Igbo have become spectators in the game we initiated.

Ironically, Nigeria has continued to rely on Igbo intellect and skills to pursue policies and programs that benefit Ndi-Igbo the least. Enamored by the realization that Igbo cohesion no longer exists, externally controlled party machines and other instruments of the political process, boldly operate in a manner that takes the Igbo for granted. They convinced themselves that buying off a token few among us is all that is necessary to keep Ndi-Igbo in check. They sponsor confusion among us, and like the uninitiated, we willfully propagate their designs to our own detriment. Igbo political elite have routinely acted against their own self-interest.

To be clear, what has happened to Ndi-Igbo cannot honestly be blamed exclusively on outside influence. Far from it. In the scheme to perpetuate Igbo suppression, our own leaders have been willing accomplices, actively contributing as the essential instruments for its actualization. Anyone in doubt as to these facts needs not look beyond the mass line up of Igbo candidates that clogged our chance to produce a viable candidate of Igbo extraction during the last three presidential elections.

And how about the ongoing wanton loot of our resources without accounting? Vast federal allocations go to local governments in Imo, Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Delta monthly. Where do we see evidence of anything done with these funds? Corruption may not be unique to Ala-Igbo, but I dare to think we evidence this disease far deeper than any other section of Nigeria. A serious crime is daily perpetuated by our own leaders against our people. Latently buried beneath all of this is that abundance of untapped but potent Igbo political and economic power which, if properly harnessed, could turn our fortunes around almost instantly.

Part of the reason the rest of Nigeria gangs up against Ndi-Igbo (even when they disagreed among themselves on everything else) is out of fear that that reservoir of potent Igbo capability could be unstoppable do if properly mobilized. Igbo detractors get worried whenever we come together. I observed this first hand in the early days of WIC, when our press release attracted serious attention even at the highest levels. Curiosity and sustained efforts to infiltrate WIC were intense. We successfully prevented that infiltration for the five years Dr. Okeke and I managed the affairs of this organization.

Igbo resilience was clearly manifested at the end of a brutal 30-month war of genocide that decimated the Igbo economy and political life. The rest of Nigeria was awed at how we survived 3 bleak years of total blockade and military vandalisation. In few short months following, Ndi-Igbo re-emerged to competitive stature in national commercial life. Towns that were recently desolate after their occupants evacuated and became refugees soon resurged. Villages where the saturated stench of hunger, starvation, disease and death had barely cleared quickly become lively and buoyant again! Therein, brothers and sisters, lies the puzzle about Ndi-Igbo. Ours is a rare phenomenon and the unspoken source of the attitudes and policy toward Ndi-Igbo.

To my mind what Ndi-Igbo need to regain our essence and relevance is to be seen as cohering and coming together. We are at our best when we work together, more so when our very existence is challenged. Our detractors recognize this fact very well. Today, Igbo political standing in Nigeria remains at stake. To this end, I suggest that anyone wondering about the motivation to destabilize Ohaneze and WIC need look no further.

Understanding this situation, what can we do? How do we help ourselves? We need to return to our strength, to our base. We need to emphasize the area we excel. Aba and Onitsha are the hubs of Igbo economic life. But beyond commerce, these centers (Aba in particular) have also been the incubator of remarkable social movements and initiatives in Igbo history. The historic Aba Women's riots of 1929, which was touched off by the imposition of direct taxation and the introduction of new local courts and especially of warrant chiefs, hatched in Aba. [A. Adu Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism (Baltimore, 1987), p. 79. Aba Market Traders gave us the Bakassi Boys, who flushed out robbery in Aba market. In 1996, they led a community response that dislodged ritual killings around Owerri, commonly referred to as Otokoto. When General Emeka Ojukwu returned from exile in 1982, he proclaimed that his freedom and homecoming were actualized only when Ndi-Igbo received him in a public rally at Aba Sports Stadium. Several years later, Ojukwu returned to that venue to flag off his presidential campaign on January 24, 2003. These are few of several remarkable events that underscore the unique significance of Aba.

Igbo contribution to the economic life of all Nigeria is also self-evident outside of Ala-Igbo. From Alagba market in Lagos, to Sabon gari in Kaduna, Jos, or Zaria the story is the same. It is difficult to contemplate commercial life anywhere in Nigeria that does not include significant Igbo contribution. The same is true of several parts of Africa outside Nigeria.

I contend that we must use our known strengths to reassert our place in the Nigerian arrangement. Igwe bu ike is not just a slogan, but also a time-tested fact of Igbo history. Time and again we have proved the thesis that, while individual broomsticks are easily broken, they are less pliable when bunched. Institutions like Ohaneze and WIC symbolize our unity and conjoined fate. Our collective resolve and capacity is emboldened when we rally under their banner. It is also through their strength that outsiders gauge Igbo cohesion. For these reasons, reinvigorating and guarding these two institutions holds the key to Igbo re-emancipation. Strong Ohaneze and WIC give us better chance of speaking with one strong voice; a voice far more audible, and will resonate with greater impact; a voice that can drown out the efforts persisting to marginalize Ndi-Igbo. Guarding these institutions against exploitation, opportunism and abuse, especially from within, should be the solemn commitment of every Igbo man, woman and child. We must no longer allow exploiters and opportunists further chance to intrude or destabilize our revered institutions.

Without doubt, Ndi-Igbo are better traders and entrepreneurs than politicians. We often cannot match the savvy or sophistication of our Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani counterparts in Nigeria's brand of ethnic politics. They play with focus and purpose but we play to be nice and accepted. Even when we lead a movement, we are often not able to close the deal. PDP, which our eminent brother, Dr. Alex Ekwueme was instrumental in founding is a case in point. The neglect and ultimate diminution of Ndi-Igbo in organized initiatives that responded to the notorious June 12th annulment of Chief Abiola's mandate in 1993 further validates this notion.

Yet, Onye-Igbo will favorably match his competitor from any part of Nigeria in the business or commercial arena any day. Mindful of these attributes, I contend that we must do two things and do them fast. One is political the other economic. First, we must come together in a strong Igbo-controlled political party that provides us a reliable base from which to pursue our interests on the national political arena. We can no longer ignore that politics is a numbers game. We do not have the number to go it alone, but neither does any other ethnic group. We need them just as they need us. But from the Igbo vantage point, a political arrangement is only viable if it gives us bargaining power. Existing political structures do not give us that power. The fact is historically established that other ethnic groups and geographic zones are either too fearful or distrusting to give Ndi-Igbo their support. This is true despite that we have always given ours unconditionally.

Our political prospects will stay limited and diminished for as long as we remain in externally controlled political parties in which Ndi-Igbo have little say. I believe that Ojukwu captured this picture very well when he suggested that Ndi-Igbo are better off as majority in a minority party, than remaining a minority in a majority party. With a political base of our own, we stand a better chance of being able negotiate a stake rather than remaining in the big parties where we are largely irrelevant and often taken for granted. While Minorities elsewhere (like the Middle Belt) might be inclined to aligning with us, they are discouraged from making such overtures because the Igbo political block lacks a stable or viable independent base.

The next thing we must do is coalesce around our acknowledged strengths in business and commerce to fortify our economic base. Not too long ago, MOSSOB instigated a one-day nationwide sit-in that gave the Nigerian economy considerable shock. That event was a strong gauge of Igbo economic power that can be leveraged. Nnewi presents an enlightening glimpse into Igbo entrepreneurial spirit and industrial possibilities. While I do not suggest that every Igbo should return to Ala-Igbo, I would seriously argue that our interest is best served if we focused on and prioritized building a home-based productive and industrial base. Time was when Otu Market in Onitsha was the shopping stop for all of West Africa. That hub can be revitalized and expanded. If we produce and offer goods in Ala-Igbo, people will come from everywhere to buy. Our Ala-Igbo will also be better off if this happened on a wide scale. I urge WIC to take closer look at ways to encourage and instigate expanded industrial activity around the commercial hubs in Aba and Onitsha.

The ultimate value of the proposed dual political and economic approach is that it will position Ndi-Igbo more strategically and elevate our relevance in national considerations. We would be less vulnerable, and provide more incentive to others to treat us with greater respect. We do not need to be hung up on the presidency. I suggest that we take a cue from the Jewish people in the United States. While no Jew has ever been president of, no one has ever successfully acceded to that office without first being in the good books of the Jewish establishment. Their control of key sectors of the political economy (financial, banking, media, healthcare, property) is enormous power. Their research institutes are the intellectual base to which most key government operatives retire and from there they shape American public policy. Unavoidably, this assures the Jews a seat in every essential national discourse, regardless of which party is in power. I believe that Ndi-Igbo can achieve comparable positioning in Nigeria, if we played our cards right. Since we already pride ourselves as the Jews of Africa, we should be able to emulate a strategy that has worked very well for the Jews.

Let me conclude by suggesting that our attitude toward institutions that reflect the common interests of our Igbo family is critical. It is essential that we become more attentive to what individuals are doing with our cherished institutions. We can no longer afford to be indifferent or presume that every Igbo is patriotic or fair-minded enough to faithfully protect that interest. Selfishness and opportunism are real threats, especially in our increasingly morally decrepit environment. Many are motivated by such vice, and, if not monitored and checkmated, have the capacity to do serious damage. Ohaneze and WIC have both experienced this danger first hand. What happens to Ohaneze and WIC must become the collective and individual concern of all Igbo, and can longer be left to the designs of the crafty in our midst.

Politics remains a zero-sum game, and every opportunity we lose is someone's gain. It is naïve to expect that other groups will, out of the goodness of their hearts, accord us our due in the national dispensation. Ndi-Igbo must buckle up to protect our valued interests. We must position ourselves to get our fair share of the Nigerian cake. We simply cannot continue the Nigerian game the same way we have played it in the 40 years since the civil war. If we do, we cannot be surprised that our outcome will not improve. By our very nature we already have the blocks upon which to build this foundation. Only Ndi-Igbo can salvage the Igbo interest in Nigeria. I believe it can be done, and the time is now.

Ndewo nu.

Delivered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., May 30, 2009.

Photo Above: Map of Igboland in Nigeria.