By :
Obinna Akukwe
Tobias Idika, the Ohanaeze President of
Kano, who was suspected to be poisoned by agents of Boko Haram and state
sponsored terrorists, has been slated for burial on the 17 th of April, 2014 at
his hometown, Amuru Abam in Arochukwu/Ohafia Local Government Area
of Abia State.
Tobias Michael Idika was the bold
and fearless President of Kano Chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and also the Chairman
of Ethnic Nationalities in Kano State. It is estimated that Igbos in Kano
alone are up to 2 million persons. He stood like a colossus in fighting against
the gradual reduction of population of non-indigenes of Kano State through the
activities of Boko Haram and their State sponsored agents.
When Boko Haram militants attacked Kano
in January 2012, at the peak of Fuel Subsidy protests, Tobias Idika was at the
forefront of ensuring that Igbos are not frightened out of the state.
When Boko Haram blasted an Igbo
dominated bus station at New Road, Sabon Gari, Kano on the 18th of
March, 2013, killing over 70 Igbo sons and daughters, Tobias Idika lost his
cool. He alerted the international community that the blast was a state
sponsored attempt to deliberately reduce Igbo population in Kano.
Tobias Idika vehemently condemned the
July 30th Sabon Gari Boko Haram bomb blast which killed over 120
Igbo sons and daughters at Enugu Road, Ibo Road and New Road respectively. He
condemned the deliberate infrastructural neglect of Sabo Gari . He also
condemned the constant harassment of Igbo patent medicine dealers in Kano by
agents of Governor Kwakwanso.
Tobias Idika also fought against the
imposition of an Ezeigbo of Kano by the Kwakwanso led government.
Therefore, Tobias Idika became an enemy of Boko Haram, Kano State Government,
Kano State Police Command and the factional Ezeigbo of Kano.
His traducers came to the extent of
sending people to castigate him before the Ime Obi of Ohanaeze Ndigbo at a
meeting held at the National Secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu on the 17th
of August 2013. I followed in lobbying state chairmen of Ohanaeze to ensure
that Idika escapes Ohanaeze sanction. Specifically, Idika was accused of crying
wolf when there is none, and releasing reports on behalf of Ohanaeze without
clearance from the National Headquarters. People fingered the influence of the
Ezeigbo of Abuja and factional Ezeigbo of Kano for the planned embarrassment of
idika. However, State Chairmen and younger elements in Ohanaeze defended Idika
.
I had to equally deploy my contacts
within Ohanaeze Ndigbo to ensure that this consummate freedom fighter is not
publicly embarrassed by Ohanaeze leadership.
Tobias Idika was a highly misunderstood
man. He was not crying wolf when there is none. He witnessed firsthand all that
I observe each time I visit Kano. Sabon Gari has no electricity- generators are
everywhere, constituting noise pollution and distributing sickness to
residents. The roads within Sabon Gari, apart from a few, were in deplorable
conditions. There is no government schools, no pipe borne water, yet the place
constitutes about 75% of Kano State Internally Generated Revenue.
The Kano State Government is in the
habit of seizing the drugs of patent medicine dealers labeling them as fake and
hours later the seized drugs appear at Kano State owned hospitals for
distribution. Tobias Idika fought against this anomaly. When news spread that
the Kano Blasted Bus Park was to be converted to Islamic School, Idika alerted
me and after my on the spot visit and investigations, alerted the leadership of
Ohanaeze Ndigbo about the infraction. I also issued a press report on the
issues which was given wide publicity by the local and international press. The
Kano State Government came out later to deny, claiming that they have already
compensated the original owners of the land. At least, the issue of converting
Igbo Bus Paark to Islamic School was suspended.
Tobias Idika had always complained
about the constant seizing of drugs of Igbo businessmen in Kano, lack of
electricity, motorable roads and government schools in Sabon Gari among
other acts of marginalization against Ndigbo,. He asked me to bring Igbo
clerics to aid in ameliorating the plight of Igbos in Kano. Due to his constant
reports I visited Kano in my personal capacity and later Igbo Bishops and
pastors under the aegis of General Assembly of all Igbo Christian Organizations
and Ministers (GAAICOM) again asked me to get to Kano with some persons and
determine the state of insecurity of Igbos and their property. Ohanaeze Ndigbo
also mandated my humble self, Mr Charles Morah and Barrister Emejulu Okapalukwu
to do another assessment in Kano but due to tight schedule, I wasn’t able to
make it with the Ohanaeze follow up team. Surprisingly, that Ohanaeze
follow up delegation narrowly missed the bomb blast planted at the Emir of
Kano’s palace.
Through the help of Dr Chukwuemeka
Ezeife , former governor of Anambra State and leader of Ohanaeze in Abuja
and the North, Tobias Idika, Emejulu Okpalaukwu and my humble self-ensured that
President Jonathan was made aware of the constant threat to Igbo lives in Kano
by agents of Boko Haram. We also worked out a defense strategy in case security
situation against Igbos escalates in Kano.
Shortly afterwards Tobias Idika
informed me that his life is in danger. According to him, some persons came to
his house to assassinate him, but with the help of an Hausa neighbor, he was
able to escape. After the incidence, he was hiding around Kano for fear of his
life. Later, policemen from No Man’s Land Police Station led by the DPO was
looking for him at nights and Tobias believed that they wanted to either
assassinate him or poison him, hence he hid for weeks in Kano. He continued to
hide till he left Kano for Abuja and then Umuahia where he hid for a while.
Having stayed few weeks in Umuahia,
Tobias told me that he would rather die in Kano than abandon his people, and
returned back to Kano in September 2013, though against my advice to wait till
Ohanaeze resolves issues with the Kano and Federal Government. He
returned to his house at no 7 New Road, Sabon Gari and later visited the police
in company of Igbo leaders and was granted freedom. However, that freedom was
short lived because few days later after drinking with some unknown persons, he
developed the illness that killed him. Tobias Idika was almost dying in
his house until a doctor friend visited him and took him to a military hospital
where he was till the 21st of December when he was discharged. He
was put inside an Umuahia bound luxurious bus on the 25th of
December to get back to the East and continue with his sickness. He
arrived on the 27th of December, with deteriorating health
conditions, unable to sleep except when induced. On the 4th of
January, 2014, Tobias was taken to Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia where
he complained of uncontrollable acute headaches , migraine, fainting and
vomiting which made him to struggle at a BP of 355, 180 to 160 till he
died by 5am of the 13th of January.
Tobias Idika hails from Amuru Abam
in Arochukwu/Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State and is slated for
burial on the 17th of April with wake keep for the 16th.
He is survived by children and siblings.
During his wake keep in Kano, even
Europeans came to enquire what killed this consummate freedom fighter. They
believed that the man was poisoned and they spoke with a few Igbo leaders.
Tobias Idika refused to abandon his people in Kano into the hands of Boko Haram
agents and he died in the process. All Igbo sons and daughters must troop to
his place and honor this freedom fighter who was allegedly poisoned while
fighting terrorism in the north.
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Society