S’East Economic And Security Summit: Another Talk Shop?

The South-East Economic and Security Summit has come and gone.  Organised under the auspices of the South East Governors’ Forum, and held in Owerri, Imo state from September 28- 29 2023, its theme was, ‘South East Beyond 2023, Time for a Reset’. The Summit attracted several political leaders and elites from the geopolitical zone including Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, all the Governors from the  region  – Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Alex Otti of Abia, Peter Mba of Enugu and Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi who was represented by his Deputy, Patricia Obila. Several past and serving Senators, including Uche Ekwunife, (Director General of the South-East Governors Forum), traditional rulers and leading members of the clergy, also attended the occasion. 

While there were nuanced differences on the focus of the various presentations at the Summit, most dwelt on the need for unity and concerted action among the leaders of the zone. For instance, Dr Okonjo Iweala, the Director General of the World Trade Organisation, in her keynote speech delivered via an online video, blamed the underdevelopment of the region primarily to the fact that Igbo elites undermine one another rather than working in concert.  She was quoted as saying: “Our biggest challenge in the South-East is itself. We have often been our own worst enemies. We have allowed ourselves to be divided…”. She argued that an “individual can be good but not better than when we come together as a body.”  Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 2023 election, in his message aired on the second day of the Summit, re-echoed the need for unity, saying: “It’s very necessary that as a people we come together, and put our heads together to find a lasting solution to this problem of insecurity in our homeland.” Patricia Obila, the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State who represented Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, tasked mothers in the region to take a special responsibility in curbing the insecurity in the region, pointing out that most of the vices that transmute into criminality were first acquired in the homes. The host governor, Hope Uzodinma, suggested that “all the existing Igbo groups should dissolve into the Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide.”  The Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah called  for the use of a non-kinetic approach in dealing with the wave of insecurity in the geopolitical zone and the setting up of a “common market” that will be a centre that will grow the economy of the region.  

The Abia State governor, Dr. Alex Otti, suggested engaging the youth with a view to locating the source of their anger. He also emphasized the need to fight the spate of drug abuse in the region. Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State charged South-East indigenes not to wait for all the problems to be solved by the governors before they can come to invest in the zone, adding that if they don’t stop seeing only gloom and doom “this place will be a desolate homeland.” 

Former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, called for a rethink of the Biafra agitation and strategies for dealing with the insecurity in the region. He believed that a robust engagement with the agitators could generate lasting solutions to the insecurity plaguing the zone, noting that “the circumstances that led to the civil war in 1967 appeared not to be the same thing as what the current agitators are doing.”

There are several observations from the Summit:

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One, the idea of the leaders of the South-East geopolitical zone coming together in a summit is commendable on its own. However, beyond rhetoric will also be the need to match words with action. For instance, we have had the South East Economic Summit for some years now, with the seventh edition held via Zoom on December 15 2022. Some people may wonder what has been the deliverables from the Summit beyond declarations of noble intentions. Similarly, it may not be out of place to pose the question of what has become of the ‘Ebubeagu’ joint security outfit set up after a similar summit in 2021 to combat insecurity in the region.

Two, some of the observations and recommendations at the Summit deserve deeper interrogation. For instance, nearly all the speakers alluded to the non-unity among the leaders of the geopolitical zone. But the notion of non-unity among the Igbo elite is only one part of the duality of the Igbo personality. The truth is that the Igbo is simultaneously communitarian and individualistic. For instance, an Igbo person, is more likely to be more strongly attached to his/her town unions and the community-driven project there than members of the other ethnic groups in the country. Igbos normally unite around values, not around personalities – which sometimes gives the wrong  impression of lack of unity. Igbos rarely rally  around individuals (unless they espouse values that resonate with them)  unlike the Hausa/Fulani (and the Yoruba to a less extent)  primarily because they did not pass through the feudal stage of development and therefore were never habituated to uncritical obedience to a centralized authority. 

For this reason, unless they espouse values that resonate with them, attitude towards heroes or centralised authority structures tends to be transactional and highly individualized – if you are not their benefactor, do not expect any sustained hero worship. Understanding this duality in Igbo personality is necessary when thinking of appropriate strategies for mobilising them. It is precisely the individualistic component of the duality of the Igbo personality that will make Governor Uzodinma’s suggestions for all Pan-Igbo socio-cultural groups to collapse into the Ohanaeze Ndigbo difficult to implement because the average Igbo person does not see his Governor or even traditional ruler as a sort of deity or oracle who can tell them what is best for them. It is also the reason why Governor Mba’s recommendation for a “common market” will be impracticable. The various towns already have their own local markets so how will such a centralized market benefit them, they will ask?

Three, a very important theme in the Summit was the urge for the Igbo outside Igboland to come and invest in the region (Aku luo uno philosophy). This has been a recurring theme in the various South East Economic Summits.  The truth is that there are cultural factors that predispose the Igbo to be more Diaspora-oriented than most other ethnic groups in the country. While for most other ethnic groups charity begins at home, for the Igbo, the preference seems