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Tag: Biafra

  • Biafra: Time to put a closure

    Biafra: Time to put a closure

    Memories of two personalities of Southeastern origin have etched on the psyche of Igbo nation and on the mind of an average Igbo man in Nigeria, including myself. They are Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha and the Biafran warlord, Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba of Nnewi.

    But both represent two opposing phases in the transitional history of Igbo nation or our people. Also, each one of them made influential imprints on the lives of our people, irrespective of whether it was for good or bad. A society or community remembers its own, based on the extent anyone impacted positively on the lives of the people. It is reason, in most African communities, personalities are canonised, deified or elevated to remarkable historical monuments. Legends sprout from such background.

    The Ghanaians talk of the Great Kwame Nkrumah and South Africans endearingly worship Nelson Mandela. In Nigeria, South-westerners idolise the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Northern Nigerians have erected multiple monuments after the Sardauna of Sokoto and first Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

    But I believe what is central to the erection of fond memories around personalities, whether dead or alive, is to espouse and enliven the progressive visions, ideas and legacies they embodied as source of inspiration to the upcoming generation. I consider it absurd and in fact, I have not experienced any community where a son or daughter who brought destruction on his people is immortalised. There is no community of sane people that propagates such retrogressive inclinations.

    But I find my people, the Igbo nation, attempting to consciously make this silly historical mistake. Last week,   Nigerians converged on Abuja to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Biafra.  Personally, I feel there is nothing wrong with such a gathering, to the extent it serves to remind us of the thorny road we once traversed.

    The counsels at the forum by respected Nigerians like former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the further pursuit of the Biafran cause were witty and instructive. As a father to us all, he provided better insights into how we can actualise the Biafran dream that boots and guns could not accede to us as a people between 1967 and 1970, during the bloody Nigerian civil war.

    However, what I find disconcerting with my kinsmen is the latter-day resurrection of Biafran instincts by people I prefer to brand as over ambitious brothers and a few sisters in the fold. Perhaps, we have failed to learn from history why Ojukwu’s version of a Republic of Biafra failed. And so we are prepared to repeat the same mistakes and thereafter, we begin to cry out to the world, about appalling mass genocide of our people.

    I don’t think it’s enough for anyone to garb himself in war-like apron, grab a few desperate youths in the Southeast, arm them with sophisticated weapons and then begin the  public march  on streets and cities of the Southeast, proclaiming “life or death,” if Nigeria does not concede to our demand of a Biafran state.

    If we are prepared to extract Biafran state for ourselves by the dictates of brute force as has become the end game of  the Ralph Uwazuruike’s MASSOB or Nnamdi Kanu’s  IPOB, then we must have made serious and  covert arrangement for it.  Only that can save us from the pitfalls that swallowed Ojukwu when he declared what he later discovered was a war he lacked the strength to prosecute to a victorious end.

    On the reverse side, if we are adopting the stick approach, we must ensure it is grounded in the ethos of democratic civility, law and decency; the universal conventions prescribed by world bodies, such as the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), African Union (AU) and the lot. But it is sadly not the case with today’s agitations for secession.

    We are overtly applying both the stick and carrot approach simultaneously, a sign of our confusion. I am not convinced that such would work, if a Biafran state at this phase of our history is anything worthwhile to pursue with such vehemence.

    But beyond this plank of reasoning, I am tempted to ask myself again, that based on the allusions of legends I made earlier in this piece, where is Ohaneze Ndi’gbo heading with a Biafran state now?  Of the two most pronounced figures (Azikiwe and Ojukwu), whose legacies are worth emulating? Is it Ojukwu who by every nuance of assessment can be described as someone who selfishly anchored the massacre of our people and the destruction of our land, human and material resources, or should it be the popular Zik of Africa, who fought to his grave to accord Igbo nation an identity in the configuration and context of unity of Nigeria?

    Or is it not more sensible to copy the footsteps of Zik, our modern patriarch, whose vision developed us and deposited worthy legacies of unity and human development and the relics dot our landscape today?

    We are pleaded upon to be reasonable for once. I know many will chastise me for the position I have taken. But maybe, they are yet to come face to face with the harshness of the vagaries of life and so, we feel it is easy to fetch knives, bows and arrows and guns to proclaim Biafran state on the streets. I am sure, for many more, when they hear counselling, such as  “no nation survives two civil wars,”  like some elements in Ndi’gbo are pushing, so crudely,  it sounds to them like echoes of distant drums.

    But I wish to use this platform to remind us of our failings as a people. Any society or community that aspires to progress, downplays its retrogressive past. It is not positive thinking to continue to emulate the virtues of Ojukwu. The respected army officer has lived his life and in his own time and passed unto eternity in blissful ease. He made mistakes, committed blunders and confined us to the fate we now face, and desperately trying to extricate ourselves. But I don’t think it is plausible for us to continue to fashion our destinies after such an idol or his visions.

    What has stopped us from striving to live the more positive and progressive life of the Great Zik of Africa. Today, this great nationalist and Pan-Africanist and whatever he represented; the positive values have been buried by us. I nearly wept when I read the motion for the establishment of Nnamdi Azikiwe Foundation by Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia.

    He said: “For reasons that cannot be explained, we seem to have ignored the necessity of establishing a foundation in memory of the great Nnamdi Azikiwe. By all definitions and descriptions, Nnamdi Azikiwe is a hero, not just in Igboland, but also in Nigeria and beyond.”

    These are issues that should preoccupy our minds. A foundation was coming for Nnamdi Azikiwe decades after his contemporaries in the Southwest or the North had theirs established for them by their own people. Yet he was a son who made bold marks on the sands of time. Zik was the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of independent Nigeria. He was known as a Pan-Africanist; radical and irrepressible journalist, nationalist, party leader, legislator, minister, premier, Senate President and Governor-General, who lived for Igbo nation and Africans generally.

    An extremely very proud descendant of the Igbo race, Azikiwe’s lifestyle influenced and propelled hundreds of Igbo graduates to enlist in the public service with his support in post- independence Nigeria.

    He lived and defended the Igbo self-worth.  For instance, at the 13th Annual Assembly of the Ibo Union, held in Owerri Hall, Enugu on December 19, 1954, Azikiwe decried the verbal attacks on his people and berated security for their inaction.

    The Zik of Africa vehemently argued for self-determination by the establishment of an Ibo state to place the Igbo on a pedestal equal to other ethnic groupings that comprise Nigeria and the Cameroons, but emphasising the indivisibility of Nigeria.

    Desirous of development and unity among his people, Azikiwe initiated and promoted Ibo unions and town unions in all the Igbo communities, which later blossomed and embarked on development projects. These unions also assisted brilliant Igbo natives to gain admission into Nigerian and foreign universities.

    When the Biafran war raged, Azikiwe delivered a speech at Oxford University on February 16, 1969, where he outlined a 14-point peace plan for implementation by a United Nations (UN) Peace Keeping Force.  He made frantic efforts to resolve the conflict, though both the UN and the Federal Government of Nigeria rejected the proposals as unworkable. But at least, he expressed his desire for peace.

    But in contrast, Ojukwu negated all that the Great Zik represented in respect of unity, peace and development of Igbo nation. But unfortunately, we are more interested in copying his legacies. The events of January 15, 1966 putsch led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu could not have necessarily exploded into a civil war. But unfortunately, Ojukwu exploited this incident to settle a personal score with the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon.

    My understanding of it was more of an egoistic battle of sophistry between Col. Ojukwu and Gen. Gowon. And he had to drag his kinsmen into it to give it a broader patronage and sympathy.

    Have we imagined that it could have been excusable for Ojukwu to go to war without widespread dialogue and approval of his people? Can we excuse him for declaring a Biafran Republic which he knew would lead to war, without stocking himself with arms and ammunition or consulting widely and seeking the approval of the community he wanted to protect through war? It is the same mistake we want to repeat today.

    And Col. Ojukwu sneaked away into self-exile, when it became evident he could no longer sustain the fire he ignited; while hunger and disease killed thousands of our people as a consequence of the war. I think we need to be more circumspect today, than ever. We have licked the dried wounds of Biafra for too long.

     

    • Ibekwe writes from the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State.

  • BIAFRA: AN OPEN LETTER

    REPRESSION OF THE INNOCENT POPULATION OF NIGERIANS BY SEPARATISTS IN THE SOUTH-EAST: THE WORLD MUST ACT NOW
    On May 30, 2017 small businesses in Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Imo and Ebonyi were forced shut down by separatists as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the moribund Biafra Republic. The separatists attempted the same economic blockade to some extent in Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa states while they were completely rebuffed in Edo, Akwa-Ibom and Cross River states.
    These separatists operated under names like Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) and assortments of street gangs that act as the militant wings of these groups.
    The extent of suffering and economic hardship unleashed on the helpless population can be gauged from the headlines of newspapers in the aftermath of the punitive action. The Vanguard reported that “Biafra sit-at-home: Total shutdown in S-East” while the Sun read “Biafra: South-East shuts down” and the Guardian has “Sit-at-home order grounds South East”.
    Separatists leaders quoted in all the reports gave the misleading impression that owners of these small shops and businesses voluntarily complied with the directive to shutter their premises to mark the anniversary of the tragic republic but the opposite was the case. Owners of these businesses were repeatedly threatened with arson, looting and rape (of women) for any business that dares to defy the orders of the Biafran “Supreme Leader” not to open for transactions.
    Apparently, in an effort to avoid confrontation with the armed militant wing of the aforementioned groups, government security operatives refrained from interfering. Past interventions by security operatives to prevent economic blockades had resulted in their personnel being attacked and some killed by the militants in the process.
    Unfortunately, while the approach of the security agencies averted confrontations, the economic blockade has further impoverished the low income earners that were forced to go one day without earning their livelihood. It must be stated here that the majority of the families that bore the brunt of this oppression from Biafran militants earn less than $2 per day – the implication of this loss of income for one day will amplify over time to further impoverish them.
    More unfortunate is the fact that the sponsors and warlords that declared the forced closure have businesses that are considered too big to harass and were therefore not affected by the shutdown. These businesses include big brands like hotels and supermarkets chains that opened in other cities, oil firms that operated in other parts of the country and other firms with branded names that do not give away their Igbo ownership.
    We therefore call the attention of the world to this atrocity, which has become more frequent as the separatists continue to find new excuses for declaring sit-at home orders that effectively translate into forced closure of businesses. Well meaning countries and international organizations must condemn the activities of the Biafran militants as the terrorism that it is. Actions must be demanded to protect the vulnerable population from being further impoverished by economic shutdowns that have no connection with the genuine calls for fiscal restructuring of Nigeria.
    Demands must be made of the Federal Government of Nigeria not to again abandon the wellbeing of its citizens for political consideration. It is the responsibility of the government, through its security and military agencies, to uphold the Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement and freedom to earn income from legitimate means that applies to all Nigerians.
    Yours faithfully,
     Iloduba is Director of Strategy, Igbo for Nigeria Movement [INM], Awka, Anambra State.‎
  • Biafra@50: Activities paralysed in Southeast

    Biafra@50: Activities paralysed in Southeast

    Social and economic activities were paralysed in parts of the Southeast as the people obeyed a call by two pro-Biafra groups for a public holiday to commemorate the declaration of the defunct republic.

    Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had declared May 30 a public holiday for their supporters to commemorate 50 years of the declaration of Biafra.

    They also said they wanted to remember those who died in the Nigerian civil war fought between Nigerian troops and rebel Biafra forces.

    Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that markets, schools, government and private offices were shut in obedience to the call.

    Meanwhile, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, the leader of MASSOB and Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) said the two groups under him were not part of the call for sit-at-home.

    In Umuahia, workers in federal establishments and those of the Abia Government stayed away from their offices.

    Abia State Secretariat Complex, public and private schools, markets and major supermarkets in the city were shut and transporters stayed off the roads.

    Umuahia city centre, known as Isi-gate, was empty and quiet, while the shops in the area and the adjoining streets were all closed.

    Many residents remained indoors, while children used the opportunity to play football on some streets.

    On the streets,  detachments of police and other security agents patrolled, while a police helicopter  hovered in the sky to monitor events.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in Abia, Mr Geoffrey Ogbonna, told NAN by telephone that there was no threat to public peace.

    He said that security operatives were adequately deployed in all parts of the state to checkmate any possible breach of the peace.

    Ogbonna said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr Leye Oyebade, was leading a combined team of all  -security agencies to maintain the peace.

    “The commissioner has been leading the heads of other security agencies in the state to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.

    “Abia is calm and people are going about their lawful businesses without any fear of molestation,” Ogbonna said.

    In Owerri, two major markets, Eke Onuwa and Relief Markets, remained closed, likewise shops on some major streets, Wetheral Road and Mbaise Road.

    The busy Douglas Road, which usually bustles with heavy traffic, was free as traders stayed home.

    Banks, eateries and boutiques also closed business activities.

    A bank worker, who pleaded  anonymity, said the workers were awaiting further directives from their headquarters before they could open for business.

    There were few commercial vehicles on the road, while Imo Transport Company shut operations.

    Some passengers who arrived at motor-parks early to leave the city were stranded.

    Mrs Oluchi Uchenwa said she arrive in Owerri at 7a.m. to travel to Port Harcourt but could not get a vehicle.

    Students also failed to turn up in school in spite of their teachers coming to work.

    The situation also affected activities at the courts with   some sitting and others not working.

    A lawyer who did not want to be named, called on the Federal Government to look into the agitation of the pro-Biafra groups and others.

    “This kind of situation does not tell good for the corporate image and identity of Nigeria that we are in one country, yet everyday it is Biafra agitation, the other day it is Boko Haram and OPC,’’ the lawyer said.

    Uwazuruike  said: “The position of MASSOB and BIM under my watch is that we are not part of any sit-at-home order, all what I am aware is the week-long celebration to mark 18th  anniversary of MASSOB and 50th anniversary of Biafra.

    “Anybody talking about sit-at-home is on his own and I have nothing to tell anybody on such activity neither should any problem associated to it be attributed to me,’’ he said.

  • CAN distances self from IPOB sit-at-home order

    CAN distances self from IPOB sit-at-home order

    The Archbishop of the Enugu Province, Anglican Communion, Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma has said the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is not in support of the sit-at-home declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

    Chukwuma spoke yesterday during the democracy day celebration and second year anniversary of Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

    The cleric called on the people of the Southeast to go about their legitimate businesses, saying that the clergy were against the declaration.

    “Before I offer the opening prayer, let me state the position of the clergy on the sit-at- home declared by IPOB and MASSOB.

    “We are not in support of the call. We advise all to ignore it and go about their legitimate businesses,” he said.

    He said the people of Southeast would fare well and enjoy more and better dividends of democracy in a united Nigeria.

  • BIAFRA: Rising sun or dying dream?

    BIAFRA: Rising sun or dying dream?

    Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, just back from a tour of South- East states in the last two weeks, reports that preparations are ongoing in the major cities and local communities for the May 30, Biafra 50th anniversary, notwithstanding threats and warnings by security agents against such celebrations.

    THREE youths, wearing yellow T-shirts and black beret walked leisurely pass the security checkpoint just at the foot of the Niger Bridge and made towards the towering statue of the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi. Time was 9.48am. As they approached the Biafran leader’s statue and paused momentarily, perhaps to savour the artistic or historic details of the grand statue, the armed security officials became overtly alert, watching closely, and seemingly clutching their guns more tightly, thus forcing the youths to proceed hastily towards the market, away from Ikemba and the armed men: Thursday, May 18, 2017.

    There was no sign of conflict that day, but The Nation observed that like those armed security operatives at the foot of Niger Bridge in Onitsha, Anambra State,  there is bottled up tension among residents of South-East cities and villages over the uncertainties surrounding the alleged determination of government security agencies to frustrate the planned 50th Anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Biafra and the commemoration of the fallen heroes and heroines of the yet-to-be realised republic.

    As the agitators prepare for the annual Biafra remembrance, which incidentally is the golden anniversary, the federal government and some organised nationality groups had openly expressed unwillingness to allow the realisation of the Biafran dream. Elder Nigerian statesmen and top political leaders have advised agitators to reconsider their resolve, arguing that division is not the right approach to achieve the dreams of a better life for the people of the eastern part. Amongst the leaders that had offered such an advice during the week included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who played a prominent role in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war, and the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. The two leaders spoke in an event on the 50th Anniversary of the declaration of Biafra, by the Military Governor of the East, Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu.

    Obasanjo had called on the federal government to negotiate with those agitating for the creation of a Biafran Republic. Comparing the Nigeria-Biafra saga to a relationship between a husband and his wife, demanding for a divorce, Obasanjo said, “It is like a love affair.  If in a house with a husband and a wife and the wife says ‘I am fed up, I am going’ and every day, that is the song you hear, you will soon get fed up yourself as the husband and you will say, ‘if you want to go, you can go’.

    Greater together

    “But if there is any misunderstanding and you resolve it, and you find a solution, you will live together almost forever. I believe there is no substitute for holding Nigeria and massaging it as you massage love. There is no alternative and I will say we should even appeal.

    “If anybody says he wants to go, it is not that you will say ‘you can go if you want to go’. Don’t go! There is enough cake for each and every one of us. If what you are asking for is more of the cake, then ask for it in a way that is pleasant, not in a way that will make others feel you are not entitled to what you are asking for.”

    Osinbajo spoke in the same vein at the event while delivering his speech. Describing the civil war as a stain on the history of Nigeria, Prof. Osinbajo said, “The most successful nations of the world are those who do not fall into the lure of separation but who through thick and thin forge unity in diversity. Nigeria is no different. We are not two or three but more of 300 ethnic groups between the same geographical spaces, presented with a great opportunity to combine all of our strengths into a nation that is truly more than the sum of its parts.”

    He added, “I fully believe that Nigerians should exercise, to the fullest extent, the right to discuss and debate the terms of our existence. Debates and disagreements are fundamental aspects of democracy.”

    Reacting, the President of Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, blamed the agitation on what he described as jaundiced political system, which he said was hindering proper development. He contended that with fiscal autonomy, every state would develop faster.

    The Nation investigation however shows that the agitators are not yet convinced that it would be in the interest of the people from the part of the country to stop the agitation. They are therefore resolved to go on with the agitation notwithstanding alleged resolve of security forces to deal with agitators. So, there is tension in the communities east of River Niger and other Igbo speaking states in the country.

    As soon as he came out of detention through a court bail, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, told critics of the Biafra agitation to have a rethink, saying the Biafran Republic “is a place where things will work.” Speaking in Umuahia, Abia State, Kanu said nothing will make him to back out of the agitation until his people are free, adding that, “many people have misconceptions about the agitation.”

    To confirm its determination to continue with the agitation after the release of its leader through what critics called strict bail conditions that are designed to frustrate future agitations, IPOB issued a sit-at-home order for all “Biafrans” on May 30 to observe the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra and to honour the heroes and heroines who died in the 50 years quest for Biafra. The government, on its part, had not only expressed disapproval of the planned remembrance but has also, according to pro- Biafran elements, tightened security in the South-East states and other communities where the agitation is popular. But our investigation this week shows that the Biafran agitators are not deterred by this arrangement as they have gone ahead to prepare for the anniversary.

    IPOB has said there is no going back on the sit-at-home order, in a statement by the Media and Publicity Secretary of the movement, Mr. Emma Powerful, he advised “Biafrans” to stay at home, alleging there were plots to kill or maim protesters that day. Quoting IPOB intelligence unit, Powerful said, “There are series of meetings going on between security agencies and saboteurs in our midst who wish to sabotage the Remembrance Day celebration of our fallen heroes and heroines scheduled to hold on May 30. Nevertheless, we are calling on every Biafran to stay at home on that day to avoid security operatives from killing innocent members.

    IPOB is not alone in this. The older pro-Biafran organisation, the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has also given its members directives to celebrate the golden anniversary irrespective of any threat or intimidation. Leader of  MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, said in a statement on Thursday in Awka, Anambra State, that: “We will never give up on this Biafran self-determination struggle until justice is guaranteed and victory achieved for the people of Biafra.” He said, “MASSOB is drawing the attention to our legitimate and peaceful upcoming events of commemoration of the fallen Biafran heroes and heroines and celebration of 50 years anniversary of Biafra independence declaration by General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on May 30th, 2017…

    “MASSOB is hereby encouraging the people of Biafra not to be intimidated or discouraged by the antics of external and internal blackmailers or overzealous Nigerian security agents but continue to prepare and mobilize to observe our proposed commemoration of the fallen Biafran Heroes and Heroines and celebration of 50 years anniversary of Biafra declaration as scheduled on May 30, 2017 in our usual peaceful and non-violence manner, devoid of intimidation or compulsion in line with the guiding principle of our organisations.”

    Earlier, the group had called on the United Nations (UN) to step up action by granting freedom to Biafra with a view to stop what it described as “unending killings and brutal treatment already meted out to people of the defunct eastern region by Nigerian government.” Okigwe zonal leaders of MASSOB and Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) made the call in a statement jointly issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Biafra and MASSOB’s 18th anniversary.

    The statement by Chief Samuel Ogubuike (Zonal Leader Okigwe), Ezeugo Kingsley (Elders Council, Okigwe), and Rev. Linus Iweanya (Elders Council, Okigwe) was distributed to journalists in Owerri.

    It reads in part: “Beside the over two million people that were killed in the genocide that took place during the Nigeria/Biafran civil war, thousands of pro-Biafra agitators have been killed in Nigeria.

    “More than 500 pro-Biafra agitators were massacred on March 29, 2003 in Okigwe while hundreds have been gruesomely murdered in various parts of Nigeria because of their stand that Biafra must be independent.

    “MASSOB and BIM have been taking care of the families of those people killed in Okigwe and ex-Biafran soldiers who sustained injuries during the civil war without any compensation from government.

    “It is all these unfair treatments to Biafrans that is fuelling the endless agitation for freedom and we are calling on international organisations, especially the United Nations to hasten up the process of Biafra independence.”

    How the anniversary will hold

    Community leaders who confirmed public announcements so far made in the villages and town union meetings by pro- Biafran groups told The Nation in virtually all the Igbo speaking states visited that the agitators have put everything in place to observe the May 30 anniversary. Confirming this, IPOB spokesman, Powerful, said: “We all are aware that IPOB, under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu doesn’t say something and renege, therefore, we must remember and honour our fallen heroes and heroines who died for us to live.

    “Biafra liberation movement is a divine project which no man, born of a woman, can stop unless God Almighty (Chukwu Okike Abiama) says so.”

    He also gave an insight into how they planned to hold the remembrance anniversary. “This May 30, remembrance day and sit-at-home order will serve as a notice to the world, Nigerians, federal government and security agencies, that this set of Biafra generation under the banner of IPOB, led by Kanu, means business. They are a different set of people who cannot relent in the pursuit for the liberation of our dear nation, Biafra.

    “In line with this, we expect every Biafra citizen, both home and abroad to endeavour to honour our soldiers who died on battle field, children who were starved to death and other foreigners who laid their lives during the genocidal war and killings against the people of Biafra between 1967 and 1970. We must remember and honour them, no going back.

    “With this, every IPOB member in Biafraland must travel to his or her native community to enlighten the people in our villages to observe the sit-at-home order issued by IPOB and our supreme leader, Kanu. Also, those in Diaspora must inform their people in Biafra land to sit-at- home on that fateful day to avoid regrets.

    “However, Biafrans and IPOB members outside Biafra land, both those in Diaspora must take to the streets in the country of their respective residents in honour and remembrance of Biafrans that died during the war of genocide between 1967 and 1970. They must also let the governments of the countries of their respective residents to be aware of our plight in Nigeria since 1945 till date.”

    Between fear of saboteurs and follower-ship

    Biafran agitation leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has, in one of the statements he made soon after his release, given a hint of the challenges the Biafran agitation groups are currently facing when he said many politicians are afraid of identifying with the cause “because they think we are after their position which has made them to allow the status quo to remain at the detriment of our people.

    “We are not after any politician’s position and will never be. All we want is to ensure that things are done the right way so that our people can be free from modern day slavery,” he said.

    As was the case during the bloody Nigerian/Biafran civil war, there is so much talk about saboteurs and betrayal by some political leaders. This has helped to build up tension as everyone is being suspected or at least closely watched. This notwithstanding, The Nation observed that the pro- Biafran groups still enjoy tremendous support, especially in the commercial cities of Aba and Onitsha and places like Owerri, Okigwe, Umuahia and most of the university towns in the region where we have large concentration of youths.

    Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, the founder of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Secretary of Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA) and Deputy Secretary, Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), explained to The Nation who the Biafran agitation groups are still enjoying high follower-ship in spite of threats from the government and efforts of some leaders to redirect the focus of the agitation. “Your question is begging the issue, the reasons are obvious,” he said, in response to a question on why Kanu, the leader of IPOB has managed to attract so much support from both the youths and some influential Igbo leaders. “Our people are behind him simply because, he has proven devoted, dedicated and committed to freeing our people from the prison called Nigeria. He has also proven that he will willingly make painful sacrifices for the sake of our people.

    “You see, Nnamdi Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria, rather the problems of Nigeria threw up Kanu. The problems are those who believe they are born to rule and dominate others perpetually. He and his followers are merely reacting to the wickedness of the system.

    “On your question about the May 30th event, I assure you that our people are 100% behind Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB. They have called on our people to stay at home on that day and meditate on the blood of our brethren unnecessarily shed in our recent history. I will assure you that in spite of the attempt by enemies of the people to sabotage the stay at home order, I believe our people will comply because they know that Kanu and IPOB mean well for our unborn children.”

    Throughout the 50 years struggle for the realisation of Biafra, the issues of follower-ship and betrayal have played a major role. Since Chief Ralph Uwazuruike founded MASSOB way back in 1999, there has remained division among Ndigbo as for the possibility of realising the project unlike the near-overwhelming support, 50 years ago, which the then military governor of the East, Ojukwu enjoyed when he made the declaration. The issue of betrayal or saboteur was, according to Biafran insiders, one of the major challenges of the republic during the war. By 1999, when Uwazuruike came up with MASSOB, many Igbo leaders dismissed him as a joker. But many youths, especially the ones that never witnessed the bloody war, embraced the movement. As the movement grew, spreading its tentacles in all areas of Igbo land, including Igbo speaking communities in the South-South and all over the world where large number of Igbo live, the government and Igbo elite began to take it seriously.

    Worried by the development, the then Chief Olusegun Obasanjo-led civilian administration began a clampdown on the group and its leader, Uwazuruike. Many times, Uwazuruike and his supporters were severally arrested, charged for unlawful gathering and later released. He was once arrested in Lome, Togo, for appearing at the 36th Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Summit, which had in attendance several African leaders.

    In 2005, the MASSOB founder was arrested in his Okwe hometown by security agents and flown to Abuja, where he was remanded in Department of State Services (DSS) underground cell.

    As was repeated during the recent arrest and detention of Kanu the leader of IPOB all efforts to secure an unconditional release for Uwazuruike then failed. He therefore spent almost three years in prison without trial until October 26, 2007, when he was granted three-month conditional bail by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako to enable him go and bury his late mother. Other conditions attached to the bail were that Uwazuruike would return to the prison and that he should regularly report to the nearest police station as well as ensure that peace reign during the three-month period.

    Standing as sureties for Uwazuruike then were two serving senators from the South-East – Uche Chukwumerije now late and Ikechukwu Obiora and two traditional rulers, Eze Christian Uchechukwu Nwachukwu (Eze Ndigbo Lagos) and Eze Nwosu Ibe (Eze Ndigbo of Abuja).

    This scenario was almost replicated with the arrest and detention of IPOB leader,  Kanu, who was arrested and hauled behind bars for almost two years before he was granted bail under very stringent conditions.

    Besides the fear that IPOB activities and Kanu’s enthusiasm may wane as was the case with MASSOB under Uwazuruike’s leadership (before the emergence of the more radical Uchenna Madu-led MASSOB), some Kanu’s followers, who spoke in Owerri, Imo State, expressed worry over the fate of the three pro-Biafra agitators – Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi- who are facing trial with him but were denied bail by Justice Binta Nyako.

    They are also wandering if the stringent bail conditions given to Kanu would diminish the Biafra struggle?

    Where Igbo elite stand

    Unlike before, when Igbo elite were accused of not taking any public position on the Biafran agitation by the youths, most Igbo leaders are coming out to say what they consider the root cause of the agitation and how to resolve it. Earlier, some active Igbo leaders had told the media what they feel about the development. Chief Chekwas Okorie, the founder of UPP, for example had said: “The Biafra struggle is not a violent one, but attempts to avoid being violent sometimes lead to unavoidable violence. The Biafra struggle is no longer about the Igbo. It is now a national question. It has shown that the country needs urgent restructuring for easy development and co-habitation.”

    First civilian governor of Enugu State and former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo, had also taken a position on the matter. According to him, “As far as Igbo are being marginalised and pushed to the wall, they would push for Biafra independence. The agitation will not fizzle out, unless the government does the needful by giving them their place and fair share of the country’s patrimony. What is happening to Igbo is unacceptable and inhuman,” he said.

    Other leaders, whose positions are already on record, include the former President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who said, “It is about the push for restructuring of the country for fair representation, equity and justice. It is about quest for self-determination that has not been achieved. So, there is no way Kanu’s release will be an end to the struggle. It cannot be. I don’t know who will be at the forefront of the struggle now, but there are many people talking about it and they will not stop until the independence is achieved.”

    Such positions notwithstanding, some observers said since Kanu’s release all have not been the same with IPOB. Such fear was heightened recently when reports said Kanu suddenly effected a re-organisation with the leadership of IPOB a few weeks ago. But as Chief Uzoma Uba said, the apprehension over the reported re-organisation in IPOB does not measure up to the recent unity amongst the various pro-Biafran groups over the May 30 anniversary. Is this the beginning of a new phase in pro- Biafran quest? Time will tell.

    Known Igbo groups are not left out. In their reactions to Obasanjo’s suggestion during the week, Eastern Consultative Assembly, (ECA), Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) and Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), did not hide their stand over the Biafran agitation.

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Rev. Father John Odey, on Friday, Eastern Consultative Assembly dismissed Obasanjo’s statement as “medicine after death.”  According to the group, “courting Ndi Igbo like women without restructuring Nigeria will achieve nothing; begging them to come back, that there is enough cake for everybody is unhelpful. The solution is immediate restructuring of Nigeria into six regions without further delay. Obasanjo knows that, he chose to dance around the issues, deliberately avoiding the truth.”

    Igbo Youth Movement, in its reaction to Obasanjo however said: “Obasanjo has clearly repented and is probably remorseful of his early position in calling the much abused, long suffering and oppressed youths of Eastern Nigeria miscreants and fraudsters. We should forgive him and plead with him to advice Buhari his good friend to do the needful and return Nigeria to six regions without delay.” The statement by IYM founder, Ugochukwu-Uko, however added, “The window to save Nigeria is fast closing, soon even restructuring will no longer be acceptable to the millions of angry youths of Eastern Nigeria. His plea for negotiations is late in the day. Only immediate restructuring can save Nigeria now.”

    For Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), “Obasanjo is a joker, he knows the right thing, which is immediate restructuring; he does not want to say it. A release by the leader of IWA, Chief (Mrs.) Maria Okwor, added, “Nothing can save Nigeria now except immediate return to six regions and a new constitution. Obasanjo is part of the problem. Massaging us like women or begging us not to leave Nigeria will not solve the problem. The delay to restructure back to the regions is dangerous.”

    Notwithstanding such explicit positions by Igbo leaders and groups, coupled with the pro-Biafran agitators’ open resolve to step up the agitation, some observers said since Kanu’s release all may not have been the same with IPOB. Such fear was heightened recently when some reports said Kanu suddenly affected some forms of re-organisations with the leadership of IPOB a few weeks ago.

    But as Chief Uzoma Uba told The Nation, “the apprehension over the reported re-organisation in IPOB does not measure up to the recent unity amongst the various pro-Biafran groups over the May 30 anniversary.” Added to the observed cooperation, we also observed that Kanu, who has been visiting key Igbo leaders; including former Vice President Alex Ekwueme, now enjoy the kind of acceptance amongst the high and the mighty in Igbo land that has never been enjoyed by any pro-Biafran leader after Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu. For example, where Kanu resides now in Umuahia, very close to Ojukwu bunker, the last headquarters of the defunct Republic of Biafra, The Nation observed that the Biafran sentiment has become electrifying. To a large extent, the same sentiment was observed in the country homes of Uwazuruike and Madu. Added to the unending sensitizations in commercial cities of Aba and Onitsha, only armchair critics residing far away from these communities will dismiss the current agitation with a wave of the hand.

    So the question in the minds of many is whether this is the beginning of a new phase in pro- Biafran quest or whether government security agencies will easily stop the agitators? The outcome of the May 30, 2017 anniversaries will give a hint of what the future agitation will look like.

  • Biafra at 50

    Biafra at 50

    Can we talk in any true, accurate or meaningful sense of Biafra at 50? Didn’t the short-lived Republic collapse and its bones interred with the military capitulation of the Igbo on 12th January 1970? Haven’t we been going on ever since then, no matter how precariously and tremulously, with one Nigeria to borrow from the slogan of the federal side during the war? We may, however, have sung the Nunc Dimittis for Biafra too soon. Fifty years after Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu proclaimed what turned out to be its ephemeral and transient existence as a sovereign entity, the spirit of Biafra is obviously alive, well and vigorous. This is most evident in the near instantaneous catapulting of a hitherto obscure Nnmadi Kanu of the emergent Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) fame to folk hero status in the South-East on the wings of demagogic Biafran rhetoric.

    Of course the whole notion of indigenous people of Biafra is utterly fictional and mythical. No such thing exists. The birth of Biafra was not a function of some deeply held primordial sentiment of shared nationhood by the Igbo. Biafra was a product of fortuitous circumstances arising from the unanticipated and unintended consequences of the January 15, 1966, coup of the five majors that resulted in the collapse of the first republic. The details are too well known to detain us here. Widely perceived particularly in the North as an Igbo coup, the Kaduna Nzeogwu-led putsch precipitated the counter coup of July 1966 that not only targeted top Igbo leaders but also ignited the gruesome pogrom against the Igbo in the north.

    The massacre of Igbo in the North was clearly unjustifiable even as the pattern of killings with northern political and military leaders as the major victims in the January coup was equally inexcusable. True, the rather enthusiastic celebration of the assassination of the Premier of the North, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, particularly by Igbo traders in northern urban centres as documented by the late Professor Billy Dudley in his classic, ‘Instability and Political Order’, was provocative. But it did not legitimise the retaliatory killings against innocent Igbo citizens. In the heat of the moment, the fury of the young Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu was understandable. There are those who argue that Ojukwu had no choice but to play the role history had bestowed on him as the defender and protector of his beleaguered people.

    But another school of thought contends that Ojukwu was motivated as much by his own ambition as the passion to protect his people. His undoubted erudition, they argue, could have been tempered by a higher degree of wisdom. Had Ojukwu’s youthful martial brashness been restrained by a more acute sense of strategic long term thinking, perhaps about two million Biafran lives could have been spared in an avoidable war. Maybe this is only being wise after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. But just as Biafra was born in spontaneous and unplanned reaction to the perceived injustices suffered by the Igbo in the first republic, its spirit is being sustained today more by reflexive emotive response to the perceived injustices of contemporary Nigeria than rational contemplation and action.

    There is no deep pan-Igbo bond that can necessarily sustain the cohesiveness of an independent Biafra. This much was demonstrated by the internal schisms within Biafra that led to the persecution, even execution ordered by Ojukwu in many cases, of so-called internal saboteurs against the Biafra cause. It is the lesson of Southern Sudan, where contending forces in the new nation turned against each other with brutal ferocity once the goal of independence had been achieved.

    The post-civil war Igbo generation that did not witness the fratricidal blood- letting, but is championing the cause of Biafra today invest the idea with an emotional energy that has no deep and enduring roots. Professor Billy Dudley makes this point brilliantly in his book, ‘An Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politics”. Dudley’s colleague, Professor James O’Connell, had visited the East shortly before the war in a bid to persuade Igbo academics who had fled Nigeria particularly from the University of Ibadan to return as part of efforts to assuage the tension between both sides and ultimately help to avert violent conflict. O’Connell during the visit came across an Igbo Professor of Medicine who was utterly disgusted with what he considered the lack of seriousness of his people. At a village meeting, which he attended, the Professor of Medicine was shocked to discover that elders were more interested to talk about raising funds for a new village hall than the serious crisis of Biafra. As Dudley tells the story, “On remonstrating with the elders about what he took to be their frivolousness, he was calmly told ‘Young man sit down! Biafra may come and go but Nimmo (the name of the village) will be here forever’. The dismay of the Professor was to find that, for most people, ‘Biafra’ was too much of an abstraction to be comprehensible…”

    The lesson of this narrative is that Biafra is no less artificial a construct than Nigeria is. When faced with a perceived common enemy, there may be a semblance of internal cohesion just as the Nigerian nationalists affected during the struggle against British colonialism. But once the common adversary is out of the way, hidden fissures come to the fore with dysfunctional consequences. Just like Nigeria, Biafra is an alien coinage. I do not think there is any Igbo word for the concept of Biafra. Yes, the Igbo are bound by a common language and culture. But this does not offset the stronger influence of their fierce sense of individual autonomy. As Professor Green Onyekaba Nwankwo put it, “The individualism gone berserk is both a cause and a product of yet another main trait- his extreme republicanism manifest in Igbo Enwe Eze – the Igbo has no King – no restraining influence like the Oba of the Yoruba or the Emirs of the North”.

    Ironically, the expansiveness of Nigeria provides the Igbo ample space and opportunity for the unbundling of immense Igbo energy and resourcefulness across the country. The Igbo have heavily invested in property, commerce and sundry businesses all over Nigeria including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna etc. Surprisingly, the Igbo homeland has itself not been a beneficiary of the developmental capabilities of the Igbo to the extent it can be. Again, as Professor Nwankwo put it, “As long as the Igboman continues to sink money to reclaim swamps, and clear forests, construct shopping malls, skyscrapers and posh houses in his resident states while gullies and erosion continue to sap and wash away roads and destroy the environment in his home states, so long will he continue to be marginalized as life chances elude him in his home state”.

    Since the restoration of civil rule in 1999, the dynamics of democratic governance has had some positive impact on the quality of governance and the pace of development in the Igbo states just as in other parts of the country. But the energy being expended in the misguided struggle for Biafra can be more profitably invested in the quest for a truly federal Nigeria in which all component parts enjoy autonomy of resource control and policy initiative to actualize their potential for the collective benefit of all. In the final analysis, replacing a structurally suffocating Nigeria with a no less asphyxiating enforced homogeneity of Biafra cannot be a viable option for the Igbo.

     

    Herbert Macaulay’s day of resurrection

    The embers of knowledge glowed. The rays of enlightenment glittered like a million stars. The radiance of wisdom and insight shone with luminous intensity. The light-bearing angel of history descended, removed the stone of obscurity and ignorance that had hitherto blocked the entrance to the tomb of Herbert Macaulay and the great Wizard of Kirsten Hall, who died in Lagos on May 7, 1946, literally rose from the dead. The day was Thursday, May 25. The venue was the Lagos Country Club Ikeja. Mr. Femi Macaulay, scion of the legendary family and member of The Nation newspaper’s Editorial Board, summoned the audacity of courage, spoke the word and the annual  Herbert Heelas Macaulay Gold Lecture Series was born.

    Accomplished diplomat, historian, author, polemicist, academic, witty conversationalist, fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters and dignified denizen of the elitist Metropolitan Club among others, Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, delivered the inaugural lecture. The Wizard of Kirsten Hall was brought to life, iron clad moustache, stentorian look, bow tie and all by the Ambassador’s capacious memory, meticulous research and amazing synthesizing and analytical skills. The lecture was an intellectual tour de force – a fitting launch pad for the Gold Lecture series. The chairman of the occasion, accomplished editor and journalist and now Rector of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Mr. Gbemiga Ogunleye and the MC, author, poet, historian and columnist, our own Sam Omatseye all contributed to making the event a memorable one. And of course one cannot forget the graceful and gracious Mrs. Macaulay, Femi’s better half, whose alluringly sonorous rendering of the national anthem and the immortal ‘Baby jowo ko mai lo o’ among other soulful tunes to the delight of the audience is firmly etched in the memory. It was an unforgettable three hours.

  • We are greater together than being apart, says Osinbajo

    We are greater together than being apart, says Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday said that Nigeria as a nation is greater together than being apart.

    He made the statement in Abuja at the colloquium on “Biafra: 50 years after’’ organized by the Yar’ Adua Foundation at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre, Abuja.

    Osinbajo also harped on the need for Nigerian leaders to give the younger generation the vision on a pathway to unity in diversity.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said “As we reflect on this event today, we must ask ourselves the same question that many who have fought or been victims in civil wars, wars between brothers and sisters ask in moments of reflection….“what if we had spent all the resources, time and sacrifice we put into the war, into trying to forge unity? What if we had decided not to seek to avenge a wrong done to us? What if we had chosen to overcome evil with good?’’

    “The truth is that the spilling of blood in dispute is hardly ever worth the losses. Of the fallouts of bitter wars is the anger that can so easily be rekindled by those who for good or ill want to resuscitate the fire. Today some are suggesting that we must go back to the ethnic nationalities from which Nigeria was formed. They say that secession is the answer to the charges of marginalization.

    “They argue that separation from the Nigerian State will ultimately result in successful smaller States. They argue eloquently, I might add that Nigeria is a colonial contraption that cannot endure.

    “This is also the sum and substance of the agitation for Biafra. The campaign is often bitter and vitriolic, and has sometimes degenerated to fatal violence. Brothers and sisters permit me to differ and to suggest that we’re greater together than apart.

    “No country is perfect; around the world we have seen and continue to see expressions of intra-national discontent. Indeed, not many Nigerians seem to know that the oft-quoted line about Nigeria being a “mere geographical expression” originally applied to Italy.

    “It was the German statesman Klemens von Metternich who dismissively summed up Italy as a mere geographical expression exactly a century before Nigeria came into being as a country. From Spain to Belgium to the United Kingdom and even the United States of America, you will find many today who will venture to make similar arguments about their countries. But they have remained together.

    “The truth is that many, if not most nations of the world are made up of different peoples and cultures and beliefs and religions, who find themselves thrown together by circumstance. Nations are indeed made up of many nations. The most successful of the nations of the world are those who do not fall into the lure of secession. But who through thick and thin forge unity in diversity.

    “Nigeria is no different; we are, not three, but more like three hundred or so ethnic groups within the same geographical space, presented with a great opportunity to combine all our strengths into a nation that is truly, to borrow an expression, more than the sum of its parts.” he said

    According to him, research has shown that groups that score high on diversity turn out to be more innovative than less diverse ones.

    He added “There’s also research showing that companies that place a premium on creating diverse workplaces do better financially than those who do not. This applies to countries just as much as it does to companies.

    “The United States is a great example, bringing together an impressively diverse cast of people together to consistently accomplish world-conquering economic, military and scientific feats.

    “It is possible in Nigeria as well. Instead of trying to flee into the lazy comfort of homogeneity every time we’re faced with the frustrations of living together as countrymen and women, the more beneficial way for us individually and collectively is actually to apply the effort and the patience to understand one another and to progressively aspire to create one nation bound in freedom, in peace and in unity.

    “That, in a sense, should be the Nigerian Dream – the enthusiasm to create a country that provides reasons for its citizens to believe in it, a country that does not discriminate, or marginalize in any way.

    “We are not there yet, but I believe we have a strong chance to advance in that direction. But that will not happen if we allow our frustrations and grievances to transmute into hatred. It will not happen if we see the media – television and radio and print and especially social media – as platforms for the propagation of hateful and divisive rhetoric. No one stands to benefit from a stance like that; we will all emerge as losers.”

    He stressed that Nigeria’s strength is in her diversity.

    “That we are greater together than apart. Imagine for a moment that an enterprising young man from Aba had to apply for a visa to travel to Kano to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, or that a young woman from Abeokuta had to fill immigration forms and await a verdict in order to attend her best friend’s wedding in Umuahia.

    “Nigeria would be a much less colourful, much less interesting space, were that the case. Our frustrations with some who speak a different dialect or belong to a different religion must not drive us to forget many of the same tribe and faith of our adversaries who have shown true affection for us.

    “My God-son is Somkele Awakalu, his father Awa Kalu, SAN, and I taught at the University of Lagos. My first book was dedicated to Somkele and my two other God-children. Chief Emmanuel Dimike is almost 80, he was my father’s friend and business associate in his sawmills in Lagos. Chief has been like a father. I see him most Sundays; he worships with me at the chapel.

    “The individual affections and friendships we forge some even deeper than family ties, must remind us that unity is possible, that brotherhood across tribes and faiths is possible.

    “Let me make it clear that I fully believe that Nigerians should exercise to the fullest extent the right to discuss or debate the terms of our existence. Debate and disagreement are fundamental aspects of democracy. We recognize and acknowledge that necessity.

    “And today’s event is along those lines – an opportunity not merely to commemorate the past, but also to dissect and debate it. Let’s ask ourselves tough questions about the path that has led us here, and how we might transform yesterday’s actions into tomorrow’s wisdom.

    “Indeed our argument is not and will never be that we should ‘forget the past’, or ‘let bygones be bygones’, as some have suggested. Chinua Achebe repeatedly reminded us of the Igbo saying that a man who cannot tell where the rain began to beat him cannot know where he dried his body. If we lose the past, we will inevitably lose the opportunity to make the best of the present and the future.

    “In an interview years ago, the late Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, explaining why he didn’t think a second Biafran War should happen, said: “We should have learnt from that first one, otherwise the deaths would have been to no avail; it would all have been in vain.”

    “We should also be careful that we do not focus exclusively on the narratives of division, at the expense of the uplifting and inspiring ones. The same social media that has come under much censure for its propensity to propagate division has also allowed multitudes of young Nigerians to see more of the sights and sounds of their country than ever before.

    “And for every young Nigerian who sees the Internet as an avenue for spewing ethnic hatred, there is another young Nigerian who is falling in love or doing business across ethnic and cultural lines; a young Nigerian who looks back on his or her NYSC year in unfamiliar territory as one of the valued highlights of their lifetime. These stories need to be told as well. They are the stories that remind us that the journey to nationhood is not an event but a process, filled as with life itself with experiences some bitter, some sweet. The most remarkable attribute of that process is that a succeeding generation does not need to bear the prejudices and failures of the past.

    “Every new generation can take a different and more ennobling route than its predecessors. But the greatest responsibility today lies on the leadership of our country. Especially but not only political leadership.

    “The promise of our constitution which we have sworn to uphold is that we would ensure a secure, and safe environment for our people to live, and work in peace, that we would provide just and fair institutions of justice. That we would not permit or encourage discrimination on the grounds of race, gender, beliefs or other parochial considerations. That we would build a nation where no one is oppressed and none is left behind.

    “These are the standards to which we must hold our leadership. We must not permit our leaders the easy but dangerous rhetoric of blaming our social and economic conditions on our coming together. It is their duty to give us a vision a pathway to make our unity in diversity even more perfect,” he stated.

     

  • Obasanjo, Osinbajo to speak on 50 years after Biafra

    Obasanjo, Osinbajo to speak on 50 years after Biafra

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo,  Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and seven other leaders  will on Thursday speak at a conference on the Memory and Nation Building – Biafra: 50 Years After.
    At the one-day conference, which  will hold at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja by 9am, Osinbajo is expected to deliver a keynote address.
    A statementby the Yar’Adua Foundationlisted other speakers as a former Permanent Secretary Information, Education & Industry, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, President General, OhanaezeNdigbo Chief John NniaNwodo and Professor John Stremlau of the University of Witwatersrand will serve as lead speakers. ChudiOffodile and Nkoyo Toyo will chair panel discussions and Professor Pat Utomi will serve as the conference moderator.
    The statementsaid: “The 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of Biafra in 1967 offers an opportunity for sober reflection on a number of issues including lessons learned that may be useful in dealing with contemporary challenges confronting Nigeria.
    A Cultural Night will feature performance poetry and a screening of Afia Attack – the untold “survival stories of women during the civil war.”

    The foundation was established inhonourof the legacy of one of Nigeria’s foremost leaders.

  • Marking `Biafra day’ paralyses Onitsha

    Marking `Biafra day’ paralyses Onitsha

    The 17th anniversary celebration to mark the call for the republic of Biafra paralysed social and economic activities in Onitsha, Anambra on Monday.

    Members of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State Biafra (MASSOB) – Biafra Independent Movement (BIM) occupied major streets of Onitsha hoisting `Biafra’ flags.

    Some members who came from Nnewi, Awkuzu, Ogidi, Nkpor and Aguleri were seen moving on foot, in cars, tricycles and motorcycles which greatly slowed down vehicle and human traffic.

    Addressing the members, the Anambra North Zonal leader of MASSOB-BIM, Mr Vincent Iloh, reiterated the resolve of the group to sustain the agitation through peaceful means.

    “It is exactly 17 years today; what we in MASSOB-BIM are still saying through non-violence is for Biafrans to be granted independence from Nigeria.

    “That was what our great hero and the Peoples General, late Dim Chukwuemeka  Odumegwu Ojukwu tried to do in 1967 but was misunderstood.

    “This is what the new Biafran leader Chief Ralp Uwazurike has continued to say since 1999 without the use of force.

    “Until the needful is done, we will not relent.

    “We want Biafra because the resources of our land have been confiscated with military might to develop other areas while we are left to wallow in a state of despair,” Iloh said.

    The army, police, navy and civil defence were on the ground during the rally which lasted for several hours to forestall any breach of peace.

  • Biafra: Call for election boycott misplaced

    SIR: I encourage the people of South-east to apply common sense and logic as it concerns boycotting elections in the region. We must not adopt a militaristic approach on issues of this nature. Calling for a referendum or independence outside the official channel is treason, and we have seen this backfire. We must encourage our people to register en masse and elect those Pro-Biafran assemblymen and women that will do it differently. They must show that they can do better than the current crop of politicians by serving the people and representing them well.

    Agitators must be ready to offer an alternative. It is not enough to reject the process without offering or showing the light as an alternative. Have we ever elected someone based on his/her conviction on Biafra independence and campaigned on that? Let this phase of election be the season to start doing that if we feel so strongly about Biafra. Some say what of APGA? I ask: Did APGA at any point indicate in their manifesto that they were for referendum or self-determination? Did they ever promise to fight for Biafra restoration?

    Remember that Pa. Anthony Enahoro moved a motion for Nigeria self-governance from Britain in 1953, and it took seven years for that to be granted. Would Pa Enahoro have done that if he was not duly elected in the parliament? A voice of a senator in the red chambers talking about Biafra carries more weight than marching the streets of Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt or Asaba.

    Would the Scots have moved a motion to break away from the United Kingdom if they had no Pro-Scottish MPs? Who would have presented the motion for a referendum on their behalf?? Would marching the streets of London or Edinburgh have helped the Scottish get a referendum from Britain? They got the referendum because they had Pro-Scottish MPs who went to Westminster to demand referendum. Let the Pro-Biafrans do same and stop the self-inflicted injury called election boycott.

    I believe many of us agree on one thing, that the current system in Nigeria is not working. In wanting out, we must be realistic in our demands bearing in mind all workable solutions. I do not speak out of emotion but from the standpoint of a pragmatist believing that boycott is not going to help us in any way. The South-east is still suffering from the boycott of the 2006 census championed by MASSOB. Eleven years later, we are still part of Nigeria and still use her passport. It is time to create that change within the system.

    My final submission, register and vote for Pro-Biafran assemblymen and women and task them to go and demand referendum or self-determination on your behalf. That is the way it is done in the 21st century. Wake up and smell the coffee.

     

    • Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke,

    ezetochukwu@yahoo.com