The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Biafra

  • Biafra: The wound that refuse to heal

    Biafra; the sunset in the east, when brothers went to war against each other for about three and half years over political brouhaha.

    The avoidable civil war that ended in January 1970 with the message ”  No Victor, no vanquished”, while in reality, there were victors and there were the vanquished. The victor was the Nigerian state. The vanquished were the Igbos. General Yakubu Gowon tried to heal the wound with the three Rs; Restoration, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation. Good as the mantra sounds, our friends from the Eastern part have kept telling the nation about the maginalisation they suffered in the hands of our rulers. First, the Igbos first Army General came almost forty years after the end of the civil war. The post of Inspector General of Police suffered the same fate, as none of the Igbos have had a taste of the post. The highest political post, the presidency, appears unatainable,  as Igbo candidates only got votes from the “Biafrans” majorly. The coming of President Muhammadu Buhari to power and the political appointments opened old wounds that no single Igbo man was among the top seven political leaders in the nation, despite their clamouring for it.

    THE BIRTH OF BIAFRA

    Chief Emeka Ojukwu led the Igbos to three and half years civil war with reasons, even though some schools of thoughts were of the opinion that the war was avoidable, if  Ojukwu and Gowon had buried their ego and put national interest above personal interest. Ojukwu was an aristocrat, had a better background and education than Gowon. He was a senior to the latter in the military. So, for Gowon to boss Ojukwu, despite the prevailing situation then was anathema.

    Young Igbo military officers, massacred the politicians, notably, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief S. L. Akintola and several others on the ground of effecting a change of government through coup d’etat. The death of civilians and military officers of northern origin and the promotion of 20 military officers out of which18 were of eastern origin provoked counter coup of 29 July, 1966. The Murtala Mohamned-led coup killed the then military Head of State, General Aguyi Ironsi and several igbo Army officers. The innocent easterners living in the north were visited with retaliation of the death of the northern leaders. The Igbos lost not only lives but properties. So they were admonished to return home.

    While justifying the birth of Biafra, Chief Ojukwu stated: ” Biafra nation were fighting for unity, self determination, social justice. ”  He went further that the pogrom in the north and the failure of the Federal Government to guarantee security of lives and properties made the birth of Biafra inevitable. Chinua Achebe wrote: ” The only thing left for persecuted easterners to do was to establish our own state and avert destruction. ” Herbert Hoover, once stated older men declare war but it is the youths that must fight and die.” That was the situation when Ojukwu and Igbo leaders declared war that claimed over 6 million lives from both sides. Forty years after the end of the civil war, it seems the sound of war is on again in Biafra. The wound might have been healed but the scars persist. Although there is no pogrom,  the Igbos are not facing persecution in the dimention of the level that led to the civil war. But the People are not comfortable with the political sharing of offices. Their grouse now is political marginalisation.  The Igbos were better placed than the Yorubas under President Goodluck Jonathan. They were the pillars that held Jonathan administration intact. But they miscalculated by putting all their eggs in a basket by voting for the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) hoping Jonathan would retain his post. But unfortunately,  Jonathan’s defeat was a loss to the Igbo political camp. What they could not derive through the ballot boxes,  they believe that agitation for a Biafran state may grant them.

    The governors from the Eastern States must come together, reason together and dialogue on the demand for a Biafran state. It is painful that majority of the protesters were not born before the war. So it is easy for them to demand for war. Those who sufffered as a result of the civil war and alive today will likely think twice before venturing into another war. Novelist George Santayana asserted: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. Both the Federal Government and the states agitating for cecession cannot pretend that all is well.  The Igbos have the right under African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and the United Nations Charter on Human and People’s Rights to demand for a separate state. But the agitators must follow the law. The procedure is clear enough but to do otherwise would run contrary to the law of the land , this would likely make mockery of the intelligence of the great men and women of the Igbos.

    India and Pakistan were once together but today they are independent states. The remote cause of Pakistan separation from India was due to leadership crisis. Nehru Ghandhi and Marhatma Ghandi clashed over religion. Both leaders underestimated Jinnah, Muslim League,  its ambition and outreach. The instigation of religious violence, retaliation and counter violence led to the inevitable; Partition of two brothers,  fighting over petty issues, not ready to listen and even the parents acting as stubborn kids.

    Sudan’s recent example should be an eye opener for any of the group, who sees the need to stand alone. Sudan’s separation came after 50 years of political and arms struggle.  The national question has been an old challenge.

    The Igbo youths have the rights to express themselves and to demand for their needs. But it must be done in a civil and legal manner. The burning of Nigerian flags and the tearing of Nigerian passport are violation of the law of the land. No government will fold its arms when a group of people felt aggrieved and take laws into their hands. From state to states the agitators can march peacefully to the State Assembly with their demands for separate states. They could hold meetings with their state representatives at the National Assembly with a written letter demanding for the state of Biafra. It is those that are alive that can benefit from the demand for a new Biafra. To confront the state with the security agents in a violent manner could be termed felonies.

    Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted,  the indeference of those who should have known better and the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph. ” We expect the Igbo leaders to dialogue with the Federal government before their youths commit harakiri.

    The agitators for the state of Biafra can take time off and ask questions with regards to the Igbo investments all over Nigeria. Will it be wise to provoke another war? What will happen to all their businesses here and there. The safety of the Igbos all over Nigeria should be paramount in the heart of the agitators. It is true that one may know the begining of war, only God can determine the outcome. It is an act of immaturity for any group, be it Yoruba, Hausa/Fulani or Igbo to be beating the drum of war each time their demands are not met. There is no ethnic group that has not attempted to quit the country at one time or the other.  Civilisation should make the aggrieved to take the path of litigation than taking laws into one’s hands.

    President Muhammadu Buhari should address the marginalisation of the Igbos. A statesman is not only a father of his people but a man who rises above the shenanigans of the opposition to win them to his side with political sagacity. He is a man who see solution to every challenges where adversaries see nothing but failure.

    Under the ousted regime of President Jonathan,  the Igbos were better placed than the Yoruba and Hausa/ Fulanis, even though the MASSOB were busy with their agitation for the state of Biafra, the mobilisation was not as it is today. The Buhari government might have compounded the political imbalance that the Igbo are now catching on to demand for separation.  The nation needs peace and cooperation of all the ethnic groups in Nigeria. We must call all the parties involved in the campaign for Biafran state to come to the negotiating table  as a matter of necessity before things get out of hands. Is long ago that the sun set at Biafra, whatever the Igbo want today they must not allow innocent blood to flow again across the Niger.

  • Cleric condemns pro Biafra protests

    Cleric condemns pro Biafra protests

    A Catholic Priest in Enugu, Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka has condemned the recent agitation and protests for Biafra nation describing the action as `evil.’

    Mbaka made the condemnation in Enugu on Saturday in a sermon at his weekly Adoration Ministry.

    The cleric urged youths in the South East and South-South to go back to their business as the protest could lead to their death.

    “Locking up your shops and disrupting economic activities will not add any naira to your pocket, whatever grievance you have could be resolved through dialogue,’’ the cleric said.

    He lambasted those leaders that were behind the agitation and protests, saying that they should use their children for the struggle.

    Mbaka commended President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing ministers from the zone and assigning them with good portfolios.

    “President Buhari’s action has proven that the South East has not been marginalized. I would have reacted if no minister emerged from the zone,’’ he said.

    He said that the five states in the zone had minister each as prescribed by the Nigerian constitution as well as other key security and protocol officers that serves under president and his wife.

    The reverend father attributed the recent free health screening initiative by the Wife of the president, Mrs Aisha Buhari, in Enugu to her love for the people of the region.

    He blamed the Igbo leaders for not living up to the expectation of the people in the area, adding that past governors, National Assembly members failed woefully in discharging their mandates.

    “President Buhari is not the cause of poor roads, unemployment and other decay infrastructures in the south east, we should blame our leaders.

    “Most of the roads had been awarded but our leaders squandered the fund, even the university teaching hospital in Enugu is a no-go-area and our leaders are not concerned about it,” he said.

    Mbaka called on the new Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, to use his office to employ youths in the zone, adding that it would stop what he called another Boko Haram in the south east if not curtailed.

    He praised Buhari’s war against corruption, saying it had enthroned due process and sanity in governance.

    The cleric, however, urged Nigerians to be patient with the president as he had good plans for the country.

  • Rivers elders reject Biafra

    Rivers elders reject Biafra

    The Rivers Elders and Leaders Council (RELEC) Chairman Chief Albert Horsfall and Secretary Lawrence Ibiayenie, yesterday warned that Port Harcourt should not be turned to a battle ground by pro-Biafran agitators.

    The elders described the protests by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as uncalled for. Rivers people are not Biafrans, they insisted.

    According to them, it is wrong to transport Igbo youths in trailers and buses from the five states in the Southeast zone, to protest in Port Harcourt, thereby halting commercial activities, destroy property and cause untold hardship for motorists, commuters and pedestrians.

    RELEC said: “The attempt by these elements (IPOB members) to focus on Port Harcourt for their political rascality is totally unacceptable and is hereby condemned by Rivers Elders and Leaders Council. The action so far taken by the Biafran protesters in Port Harcourt is highly provocative to all genuine sons and daughters of Rivers State, who have so far restrained themselves from confronting the demonstrators in Port Harcourt.

    “The choice of Port Harcourt (for IPOB’s protests) may be a deliberate ploy to make the Rivers State capital the battle ground for any fracas that may follow their rascality. We reject these moves in its entirety and hereby repeat our warning that they (Biafran protesters) must desist forthwith.

    “Rivers State people are not Biafrans and had never been and will never be. The RELEC wishes to call on all elders and leaders of the states from which these youths have been pouring into Port Harcourt, for this unwelcome and unwholesome political rascality, to call their youths to order and forbid them from forever staging further demonstrations and protests in Port Harcourt and other parts of Rivers State.

    “RELEC wishes to observe the good neighbourly relationship which has always existed between Rivers people and their neighbours. We wish that the cordial and mutually beneficial relationship should continue to exist. Persons responsible for the pro-Biafra protests must immediately halt the unfriendly activities forthwith.”

    Rivers elders and leaders also stated that they “strongly” supported Wike’s ban of protests in Rivers state, which they said would go a long way to promote peace, thereby moving the state forward.

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike in a broadcast on Wednesday banned further protests by IPOB members and demonstrations by other groups.

    The Rivers Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, also noted that his command would not allow lawlessness or breakdown of law and order.

    Senate minority leader Senator Godswill Akpabio also condemned the Biafran agitators.

    Speaking at the venue of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) conference in Abuja, Akpabio, a former Akwa Ibom State governor, called on the Federal Government and the states where the militias are protesting to stop the spread of the agitation.

    “The Biafra agitators must be told that those who witnessed the Nigerian civil war will never wish to experience another war in their entire lifetime.

    “If you don’t like the government of the day, you must wait for another election to vote them out”, Akpabio said.

  • Aba’s losses amid Biafra agitations

    Aba’s losses amid Biafra agitations

    Residents of Abia State’s commercial capital lost cash, their freedom and convenience as pro-Biafra protesters held up the city for days. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    One of the protesters warned Aba residents to stock up food because the protest would cripple activities for a week. For three days, members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) very nearly crippled the commercial city. For about eight hours on each day, shops and other business facilities were shut as the protesters took over the streets. From their balconies and windows some residents watched the procession below, of mostly young men with a sprinkling of the elderly and women. They saw the crowd swarming through their streets holding aloft the Biafran flag.

    Commuters had quite an ordeal. The buses and taxis were shut out and people had to trek over long distances. Shop owners, especially those at Ariaria Market, dared not open up for business, fearing they  might be attacked by IPOB members.

    “Most of our customers were stranded,” said a trader who simply wished to be identified as Nnamdi. “Some of them came from Akwa Ibom; Ugep, Ogoja, Oron in Cross River; Port Harcourt, Ogoni, Bayelsa and other parts of the country and the West African region only to meet the market locked. Some of them waited till evening and when it became obvious that the market was not going to open, sadly went back.

    “Some who came from Cameroon, Togo and Ghana including some of our customers from the North decided to sleep over in Aba in hotels or were accommodated by their core customers to observe things for themselves and later bought what they wanted to buy on Tuesday. Even while they were sleeping in some of our houses, we also were praying that thieves won’t come because banks on Monday, we learnt, were forced to close for business, making it difficult for people to go to bank to deposit their money.

    “It was really an experience that we wish not to have again and I am using this opportunity to call on the federal government to see how they will address the situation that brought about the protest.”

    A patent drug marketer in Ariaria, George Obiefule corroborated Nnamdi’s position, stressing that he lost about N1m during the days of the protest.

    Obiefule expressed mixed feelings about the protest. He said though the protest on Monday had a huge impact on their businesses, he hoped it would help to draw the attention of the federal government to the plight of the people of the Southeast and Southsouth.

    The protesters have been growing in strength, staging their procession through Onitsha, Anambra State; Asaba, Delta State; Enugu, Rivers, Bayelsa and now Abia. They said they want their leader Nnamdi Kanu, Director of Radio Biafra released unconditionally from detention. Mr. Kanu is held by federal government security agents.

    The protest, though peaceful saw the protesters move round the length and breadth of commercial city forcing business owners to close for business as the IPOB members had warned.

    There was traffic gridlock and in some places and commuters had to wait long for a ride, or trek to their destinations.

    The situation was so overwhelming that even the presence of security agencies could not stop the protest even after the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase had warned the group against the protest.

    Some of the traders who spoke to our reporter on Monday expressed mixed feelings on the protest.

    While many of the traders were in support of the protest, others lamented its negative economic effect.

    Mrs. Janet Ibe, a vegetable trader told our correspondent that she lost over N10,000 to the Saturday and Sunday protests. She said she could not sell the veggies and all went bad.

    Another trader at New Market who gave her name as Mrs. Ginikanwa lamented that the crowd pushed down her wares during the protest.

    Major markets in the city including Ariaria, New Market, Shopping Centre, Bakassi Shoe Plaza, Ohabiam Motor Spare Parts including shops on major streets and financial institutions closed for business until the end of the protest. Traders who came from other parts of the country and the neighbouring ECOWAS region were stranded.

    Throughout the protest, vehicular movement on major roads  including Azikiwe, Aba-Owerri Road, Okigwe Road, Faulks, Umule, Port Harcourt Road, and Osisioma Junction was almost at snail speed which caused commuters to either wait endlessly before boarding commercial buses or trek to their destinations within the time the protest lasted.

    Some of the group members who spoke to our reporter on the ground of the protest vowed that they would continue with the protest at the end of this week if the federal government failed to release their leader who is currently in detention.

    They said the one-million-man-march was peaceful and successful, adding that it was an attempt by the group to draw the attention of the global community to what they described as inhumane and injustice the Federal Government of Nigeria was meting out on their leader who has been in detention for over two weeks.

    They said that unlike other Biafra agitators, they chose not to be violent because the “price has already been paid by our forefathers and the price we are going to pay for the sake of Biafra in this our time is exactly what our director (Kanu) is paying for at the moment”.

    “Remember the role the Aba Women Riot of 1929 played when they were asked to pay taxes by the Europeans? We decided to join in the call for the release of our leader and director because he has stayed in detention more than required. Onitsha, Asaba, Bayelsa, Anambra, Awka, Imo parts of Southeast and Southsouth states are equally protesting. The case of Aba will not be different and what do we have in our shops that will be more important than joining our brothers to call for the release of our detained leader? It is a struggle that we will not relent in pursuing even when our harmless members that I regard as martyrs of this cause were shot by the police and its agents without any good reason for their actions”, a protester that gave his name as Chukwudi said.

    According to them, Aba residents should buy foodstuff and store in their homes because there was going to be a massive protest for one week or more even as they stressed that they would ensure that markets in Aba and its environs would be shut down as long as the protest lasted.

    The residents of Aba however appealed to the federal government to see ways to listen to the yearnings of the group even as they expressed fears that the situation could degenerate into chaos if the protest was allowed to continue without being stopped by the government.

    Until the time of this report, it was not clear if there were members of the group that were arrested by the police or other security agencies in Aba and the state.

    But The Nation gathered that the three day protest gave the police and other sister agencies headache as they worked tirelessly and more troops from various parts of the  state deployed to Aba to ensure that hoodlums do not capitalise on the protest to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens.

     

  • Biafra agitation as big business

    Only a few Nigerians are aware that the whole noisy affair about agitation for Biafra is just big business.  Starting from Ohanaeze’s dim-witted campaign about Igbo marginalization to MASSOB’s hysteria and IPOB’s war cry about self-determination for the Igbo, the agitation for Biafra is about the personal aggrandizement of the leaders of these groups that has nothing to do with the Igbo interest.

    As a matter of fact, the struggle of Eastern Nigerians (Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw, Ekoi, etc) for self-determination concretely ended when Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi) contested the Onitsha Senatorial seat of the old Anambra State (Anambra, Enugu and parts of Ebonyi states), participated in the Sani Abacha national constitutional conference of 1995 as deputy leader of Ndi-Igbo delegates, and also contested the presidency of Nigeria in 2003 and 2007 under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) founded by Chief Chekwas Okorie.  Apart from 1967 when the Consultative Assembly of Eastern Nigeria made up of political, bureaucratic, cultural and business leaders, mandated then Col.  Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to declare a Republic of Biafra as a means of ensuring the survival of the peoples of Eastern Nigeria, there has not been any platform (Igbo or otherwise) through which Ndi-Igbo, for instance, has mandated anybody or group to agitate for the actualization or realization of Biafra. All the noise about Igbo marginalization and actualization of Biafra today remain the antics of the leaders of Ohanaeze, MASSOB, Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), etc, to serve their private and selfish economic interests.

    Now, that is not to suggest that the Biafran dream is dead.  The issue is: What is the Biafran dream?  As Ojukwu himself pointed out in his book entitled, “Biafra: Selected Speeches”, published in 1969 by Harper & Row Publishers, New York, USA, “The Biafran dream is the creation of an African state that will act as a bulwark against foreign impositions.  Our struggle, therefore, is African nationalism conscious of itself and fully aware of the powers with which it is contending.  Biafra is about the creation of a black African state with; (a) common citizenship, with equal rights and privileges for all men anywhere in the country; (b) common laws and a common judicial system; (c) a common electoral system; (d) equal rights of all citizens before the law; (e) rights to acquire property and make a living anywhere in the country; (f) equal rights to employment anywhere in the country; and (g) equal rights to protection of life and property”.  In other words, the Biafran dream was, and remains, the building of a New Society – a progressive black people’s republic based on African nationalism, not on Igbo or Eastern Nigerian nationalism.  Biafra, as projected by Ojukwu, the symbol of that struggle, in 1969, is more than a government or a place; it is an idea about the freedom of the Black race.

    Now, in what way could it be said that today’s hysteria about Igbo marginalization or agitation for Biafra is or resembles the Biafran dream or vision just highlighted above?  Let us start with Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo.  This is an organization that was formed in 1978 by some Igbo politicians of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN).  All these years, it has embarked on activities that have nothing to do with the projection or protection of the Igbo interest.  Everything that Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo have done till date is about advancing the private and selfish economic and political interests of its members – retired or serving public officers, bureaucrats, military leaders, traditional rulers, few professionals, etc.  When Ohanaeze is not organizing solidarity visits to public officials to seek contracts or extorting funds from governments of the states in Igboland to fritter away in their so-called Igbo Day celebrations every September 29, they are scheming to have their members become ministers or Secretary to the Government of the Federation.  All the noise about Igbo marginalization from Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo is simply the craving for contracts and the positioning of their members for public office.

    Next is the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.  Since 1999 when this organization was formed, it has been a troubling menace to the lives of Ndi-Igbo.  When MASSOB is not busy coercing Ndi-Igbo not to participate in activities like the census and electoral exercises that have the capacity to impact their lives in Nigeria because they are supposed to be Biafrans, Uwazuruike would be dressing up young impressionable Igbo in military fatigues and exposing them to the line of fire.  Of course, when Ndi-Igbo, especially those in the Americas (US, Canada, etc) and Europe, because of their emotional attachment to the name, Biafra, send monies to MASSOB to address matters arising from its so-called non-violent protests, the funds only end up in private pockets.  Today, Uwazuruike has a Helipad in his country home at Okwe, Imo State.

    It is not surprising that Chekwas Okorie, pointed out in a Pamphlet he released in 2009 entitled. “The MASSOB Misadventure”, that “The MASSOB project as being implemented is the greatest and most massive fraud and deceit that has ever befallen the beleaguered Igbo people since we were created on planet earth by the Almighty God”.

    Of course, the latest fads are the antics of Nnamdi Kanu of the so-called Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).  After breaking away from MASSOB, he set up Radio Biafra which he has used to spew hate speeches against fellow Black Africans who happen to inhabit the same Nigerian geographical space with the Igbo.  Perhaps, in the bid to test his popularity, he jumped into a plane and landed in Nigeria to the waiting arms of the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).  However, as an institution that believes in the rule of law, the DSS dutifully arraigned him (Kanu) in court where he was granted bail.  Unfortunately, the inability of Kanu to meet his bail terms has ensured that he remained in the custody of the DSS.  Now, instead of helping Kanu to meet his bail conditions, his hirelings are busy mobilising funds which they are allegedly using to fund the protests for his release in major towns and cities of the South-east and South-south.

    Let no mistake be made about the positions being canvassed here.  The Igbo really held the short end of the stick in the 70s.  This was when any Igbo account holder was given only Twenty Pounds, the equivalent of today’s N40, no matter how much he or she had in the bank.  This was when the Indigenization Decree came on stream and denied the Igbo any chance of buying into the economy of Nigeria.  This was when none of the industries in the Second National Development Plan, (NDP, 1970 – 75), was sited in the Igbo geo-ethnic areas.  But things have changed since 1979.  The Igbo have participated in the making of all the constitutions of Nigeria since 1978. The Igbo have been represented at all arms and levels of government.  The Igbo have been Vice-Presidents, Senate Presidents, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Justices of the Supreme Court, ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, as well as Inspector-General of Police.  The problem of the Igbo is no longer marginalization or threat to his existence in Nigeria as happened between 1966 and 1970.  The problem of the Igbo is that they have refused to assert their rights as First Class Citizens of Nigeria as guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).  The constitution never provided anywhere that the Igbo are slaves or Second Class Citizens.

    When Igbo senators and honourable members in the National Assembly fail to ensure that federal projects for Igboland are not only accommodated in the national budgets but are also executed, rather than deploy the provisions of Section 69 of the Constitution to recall such lazy and unserious lawmakers, the Igbo looks askance and acquiesces in the stupid belief that their political leaders are untouchables who have been elected or appointed to take or “eat” their own share of the national cake on their behalf.  When state governors and local government chairmen openly mismanage or embezzle federal allocations meant for the development of the human and material resources of Igboland, rather than mobilise members of their Houses of Assembly to impeach such governors or remove such local government chairmen from office, the Igbo behaves as if they are slaves with no powers to force their state and local leaders to account for how their own share of the national resource is expended.

    • Ibekwe, is chairman, Mezie Ala-Igbo Foundation.
  • Biafra protest: What people say

    Biafra protest: What people say


     

  • Biafra campaigners and Dele Giwa’s agitators

    SIR: Since the historic election of President Muhammadu Buhari which signified the rejection by Nigerians of impunity and the corrupt old order, there seems to be people who are yet to appreciate the reality that change has come to Nigerians and that a new sheriff is in town. This people are daily working hard to ensure the reversal of the gains Nigerians recorded on March 28. Of particular interest is the effort to reincarnate issues hitherto considered dead and buried. These issues had to do with renewed agitation for state of Biafra and the agitation for reopening of Dele Giwa’s murder.

    The kind of media attention being given to these issues of late leaves much to be desired, leaving one to wonder at the motives behind bringing these issues now.

    Why is it that since after the civil war in 1970, the agitation for state of Biafra has not been so loud and clear until now when President Buhari took over? Some few months ago, it was in the news that they printed their currency, hoisted their flags and even launched their radio station.

    And in the case of Dele Giwa’s murder; why the renewed agitation for reopening of the case now? Certainly these forces are trying to distract President Buhari from pursuing his policies and programmes as well as distract his attention from pursuing his anti-corruption crusade. From the time Dele Giwa passed away to the taking over of President Buhari, we had almost six different heads of states and governments spanning across well over 24 years.

    We all know that those who are opposed to Buhari’s presidency would stop at nothing to cause destruction in the polity since they lost the election. It is therefore up to us not to allow them succeed. We must be vigilant so as to detect all those elements capable of retarding our progress in this country. Our efforts in bringing about change must not go in vain.

     

    • Rayyanu Bala,

    Lafia Nasarawa State

  • Biafra: PDP wants FG to dialogue with Southeast leaders

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday told  the Federal Government to seek dialogue with political leaders in the Southeast with a view to resolving  the renewed agitation for an independent  Biafra.

    The party expressed concern over the growing activities of ethnic militias in the Southeast and the South-south geopolitical zones.

    The National Youth Leader of the PDP, Mr. Abdullahi Maibasira, said in a statement that the party has reservations about the methods adopted by the Federal Government in addressing the agitations.

    It urged the President to personally intervene as the matter affects the territorial integrity of the country.

    The Federal Government and its agencies, it said, have failed to approach the situation with the inclusiveness and seriousness it deserved.

    The PDP said President Buhari and the ruling APC  should be held to account for the escalation of the agitation, which is threatening the country’s unity and national security interests.

    It also urged the ruling party to ensure and guarantee an inclusive administration that will promote harmony among all sections of the country.

    The party further noted the seemingly lack of any clear-cut policy direction that concerned the development, mainstreaming and inclusion of young people in the country by the Federal Government.

    It cited what it described as a worrisome issue, which it said has brought to question the APC’s campaign promise to generate and give three million jobs annually to Nigerian youths.

    “The fact that none of the President’s ministerial appointees confirmed by the Senate is below 40 years also puts to question APC’s belief in the next generation of leaders, mentorship and transfer of responsibility.

    “So far, the resultant effect of this lack of clear-cut policy is the stagnation of the economy and laying-off of thousands of people from their jobs.

    “Rather than the use of force as an option which usually fails as a solution in this type of self inflicted socio political problem, President Buhari should as a matter of national interest and practical necessity, make haste to call representatives and leaders of the South East for discussions before the situation deteriorates”, the statement added.

    The PDP said President Buhari and his party should know that sidelining any section of the country is bound to generate unhealthy relations among the integral parts of the Nigerian people.

     

  • Biafra: Court remands 20 for alleged treason

    A magistrate’s Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has remanded 20 pro-Biafra protesters in prison for alleged treason.

    Benson Sunday (21), Emmanuel Ali (25), Ukeme Monday(32), Chibuzo Ezechina (33), Charles Eze (29), Egbo Okechukwu(24), Chibona Ifion (47), John Douglas(20), Ezenwa Alphonus (51), Wori Endurance (30), Chinomere Nwolu (25), Henry Eze (36), Friday Uzunwa(22), Igodo Abio(34), Akaniyene Uwem (22), Eni Iboro (27), Obinna Stephen (26), Monday Ocha (37), Obinna Ibekwe (27), and Kingsley Ezengorie (24) were arrested for destroying the Nigerian flag and chanting hate songs during Tuesday’s protest in the Garden City.

    The three-count charge against them reads: “…On October 20, 2015, at about 2pm, on Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt, the suspects and others now at large, did conspire amongst yourselves to commit felony to wit: treason and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 37(2), of the Criminal Code, Cap 38, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.

    “… On same date and time, did without lawful authority, demonstrate and chant war songs that Hausa is not part of Biafra, which caused panic in the neighbourhood, instilled fear on reasonable grounds with intent to intimidate or cause panic within the state and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 37(1) of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.

    “…All the suspects and others now at large at the same place and time, did wilfully and unlawfully damage the Nigeria flag which was hoisted at Zenith Bank Plc, Ikoku branch in Port Harcourt, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 451 of the Criminal Code, Cap 38 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.”

    Their plea was not taken.

    Chief Magistrate S. D. Andrew-Jaja refused their bail application, saying that he was not convinced by their counsel’s argument that he could exercise such powers.

    He adjourned the case till October 27, for address on bail application.

  • Director of radio Biafra granted bail

    Director of radio Biafra granted bail


    The Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who was arrested in Lagos on Saturday, has been granted bail. Kanu’s lawyer, Egechukwu Obetta lamented the treatment given to his client while in custody, saying that he was put in the same cell with terrorists despite his life threatening health challenges. According to Obetta, Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is selective to delicacies, adding that he (Kanu) vowed never to eat any food served by the Federal Government of Nigeria. However, midway into the chat with his lawyer, a call came in, indicating that Kanu has been granted bail in the sum of N2 million or with surety of N2 million with a civil servant of grade level 16. Obetta further said that “Last week, the Afenifere threatened to secede but nobody was vilified. I am talking about the recent Olu Falae’s kidnap case. The militants in the Niger Delta have done same”. Although, Kanu has been granted bail, but he is yet to fulfill his bail conditions. [news_box style="2" display="tag" link_target="_blank" tag="Biafra" count="6" show_more="on"]