The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Biafra

  • ‘Quit order good for Biafra, bad for business’

    A Kano-based Igbo businessman who asked to be simply identified as Maduagwu has said while the quit notice to Ndigbo in the North may help Biafra agitators’ cause, it hurts business investments in the North.

    In a chat with our reporter, the businessman said that the relocation order could fast-track the agitation for the state of Biafra, but a setback for Igbo businessmen who have investments across the northern states.

    The businessman, who recalled events that led to the brutal civil war in 1967, said that the quit order by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) would further promote acrimony among the Igbos and their Northern brothers.

    He said, “I have lived in the North for over 30 years where I have invested all my fortunes and have equally trained my children who rarely speak even their dialect except Hausa language. I have landed properties and other investments in the North too, even when I had the choice of establishing such in the East, all in the spirit of one Nigeria.

    “Just recently, such unscrupulous individuals, who never moulded a block in their father’s compound and apparently would not point to any investment in any part of the country including their state of origin, emerge from the blue to tell [the Igbo] to leave the North simply because some people are agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra.

    “If I may ask, what is wrong for people to agitate for self-determination? Does it mean that because our brothers are agitating for a country of their own that every other person leaving in the North should go back to their states? Does it equally mean that when a state is created that people leaving in the old state should pack back to their new state? Are they equally saying that if a state of Biafra is created that no Igbo man should come to the North and invest? Remember that Czechoslovakia and the current Czech Republic and Slovakia were once together. Now that they are separate, does it mean that all Czech citizens in Slovakia left their old residences? The North should count themselves lucky to have already had on ground huge investments by Igbos scattered across the North by Igbos that will make them grow economically not to drive people away.

    “For me as a businessman residing in the North, I hope that this threat and other issues will be addressed urgently by stakeholders. We will keep our ears to the ground to monitor events, but when the situation becomes unbearable, I will have no other option but to relocate to the East with my family members alive than dying helplessly in a strange land.”

  • Biafra: Nuruddeen Lemu’s posting

    Yoruba language, being a phonemic language written in morphemic script, may not be philologically rich in vocabulary and grammar. Its adopted script may may have limited its ambition to spread beyond the shores of its native speakers. But this kwa ‘linguistic bud’ in the armpit of Congo-Bantu family of languages is exceptionally rich in proverbs and adages. It is quite capable of serving as the jewel of African languages if serious and dedicated efforts are made to enrich it through a redesigning of its script and thereby wean it from the ladle of a dead language like Latin.

    Readers may be at sea relating today’s article in this column with the context it carries. The immediate motivator of this article is the thought of an axiomatic Yoruba adage that goes thus: “If, in a games forest, trees fall severally upon one another, the clearing should start from the top”.

     

    Change of topic

    At the point of writing this article a patriotic Nigerian of Arewa origin sent a thought-provoking article into my box which I found sharable and decided to share with other numerous readers of this column. The article was written by Nurudden Lemu, a supposed prominent member of Arewa Youths who entitled it:  RE: 1ST October Igbo Evacuation: Just thinking Aloud

     

    Here it goes unedited: Attachments

    I honestly believe, or choose to believe that the call by some of my Northern/Arewa brothers and sisters for the evacuation of Igbos from the north by the 1st of October was probably only meant to demonstrate to the authorities that Hate Speech is game they can play too.

    I also think it was meant to help drive home the point that Igbos have major economic interests across the North which they should admit, appreciate and be grateful for, and stop behaving as if everyone else is their parasite. That we should each respect our mutual interdependence and dignity, and stop behaving as if we are a nation better off without each other.

    “I believe that the call for an actual evacuation was in no way meant to be taken literally and seriously. Or so I hope.

    However, it seems that some are taking the “game” a little too seriously and are even looking forward to business opportunities, job vacancies and promotions as a result of an Igbo-free Arewa.

    It is for this reason that I’d like to do ask some questions with the hope of getting us to think through and more deeply about the possible consequences of such an ultimatum, even if it was notmeant to be executed.

    What the longer term political and economic arrangements will finally look like is very important, but that is not my present concern in this piece.

    So, and just for the sake of argument and enquiry, I’d like you to please ponder over the following questions:

    ”How would a call for the evacuation of all our peaceful Igbos brothers (Christians and Muslims!) be carried out? Are they all hostile “pro-Biafrans”? Are they not still “innocent until PROVEN guilty”? Are there any plans for equitable compensation? By whom? Can the target of this operation be justified by any ethical or religious principles? Do fairness and justice matter to us?

    “Who will conduct the evacuation operations in the various towns and villages across Arewa and how? Would it be by the army, police or our ever-ready hooligans? Do hooligans know how to identify the difference between the various tribes of the South-South and South East? Or are they simply all “Igbos”?! Can you guess who would be more eager, and in fact not be ready to wait for the October date? Should we please not lift the October deadline while a more peaceful and less risky solution is worked out by our leadership?

    “Would any Igbos want to defend their property and life savings? What if they rightfully defend themselves and resist evacuation? Then what? What happens when one Arewa hooligan gets injured or killed? On whose hands is the blood of any of the innocent dead victims? How many victims should be expected? Who called for it?

    “How do you think the Nigerian Army and security services will respond to a “security situation”? Have we seen them in action before? Who will they target once they land? Will the Army target the GRA parts of town and those who started this, or will the victims once again be the poor and already wretched talakawa and almajiris? Haven’t these people not suffered enough in life already? Should we please not denounce the October “deathline” while a more peaceful and less risky solution is worked out by our leadership?

    “What’s the duration of this evacuation operation? A few hours, days, weeks, months or years? When, where and how will it end? Will there be any violent reprisals in other parts of the country? Who will prevent these?

    “Would an opportunist wait for October 1st, or will fake news and exaggerated rumours start a chain reaction earlier than that date? Who else is interested in anarchy in the North or in Nigeria as a whole? When will some fool or evil genius start that ball rolling? Should we please not denounce the October dead-line while a more peaceful and less risky solution is worked out?

    “Will any perpetrators be taken to court or prison? Will those who called for this be able to call it off once there is blood on the ground? (God forbid!) Will they even still be in the country?

    “How many more widows, orphans and IDPs nationwide? Who will support the new IDP camps? You?! The government? Have we really thought this through? Is this godliness, reason and conscience at work? Do we really want to go down this road?! Is it worth it from any positive angle? Should we please not denounce the October deadline while a more peaceful and less risky solution is worked out?

    “Have you been involved in sharing Hate Speech through any social media? Has the ball started rolling? Were you involved? Who should help stop it? What if we don’t? Who will it hit, or not hit? Who are the ultimate victims of this approach to “ending insults”, “better justice” and “the dignity of Arewa”? Do these ends justify these means? Should we please not condemn the October deathline?

    “Hmmm…. Are all these questions just silly pessimistic and impossible speculation? Is this a real, imminent and very possible scenario that has actually played out in this exact way in other societies? How did genocides and “ethnic cleansing” start elsewhere? Was it not also “like play, like play!?” – “June 12th 1993”?, Southern Sudan, South Africa, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Germany, Poland, the Balkans, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Northern Ireland, Everywhere!, etc., etc.!?

    “Are we somehow immune to the laws history and of social cause and effect? Have we really thought this issue through?

    “What is it that is said about wise people learning from other people’s mistakes? What kind of people will we be tagged as, if we make the same mistake twice? Can as many of us as possible (yes, you too!) rise above the ethnic-tribal sentiments that has been the bane of many political and economic instability of failed or failing countries.

    “What are our religious obligations regarding this – irrespective of your faiths? Or is it not a “religious” issue?! Should it be of interest or concern to faithful Muslims, Christians and anyone with a conscience?

    “Should we put this “little” fire out ASAP or should we wait a bit? For what, and for whom? What is the value of any religion, religious leader or religiousity if it can’t help prevent primitive tribal instincts from over-riding our virtues, beliefs and value systems of justice, compassion, wisdom, goodness and humanity? What is God-consciousness for if it can’t correct wrong with the “hand,… tongue,…or heart”?

    “Could calmer and more pragmatic minds like yourself (by God’s will!) go ahead and plan and prevail in your own neighbourhoods, organisations and institutions, etc.? Can you go ahead and reassure the Igbos you know?

    “If one person is being unreasonable, should that justify others behaving in a similar manner? It’s said, that it is easy to blow out a fire while it is still on the matchstick. But once it meets fuel…!!!

    “Should ALL OF US not please DENOUNCE and CONDEMN the October DEADline ASAP, while a more peaceful and less risky solution is worked out?

     

    My sincere prayer?

    May God guide how we answer these questions?

    May God grant us the wisdom to learn from the painful mistakes of others, and not repeat these ourselves.

    May God show us the truth for what it is, and give us the strength to follow it.

    May He also show us falsehood for what it is, and give us the strength to avoid it.

    Wassalamu ‘alaikum – and may PEACE be with you, and upon Nigeria. Ameen!”

  • Personal reflections on Biafra

    The Nigerian polity is currently heated. Apart from  President Muhammadu Buhari’s health challenge, which has virtually relegated him to the background, there are renewed agitations for an independent State of Biafra.

    Not only that, there is unease in the Middle Belt state of Benue, where leaders of Fulani cattle breeders associations are vowing to disobey anti-open grazing law made by the state. They have even gone a notch higher to claim that they are the original inhabitants of the Benue valley and are involved in a struggle to assume control of its natural resources. Since then, the Benue people and government have been kicking, urging the Federal Government to call the Fulani herdsmen to order and thwart their occupation agenda.

    Back to Biafra. An Igbo group has reportedly given the Federal Government six months to conduct a referendum in Biafran ‘territory’ on its independence from the rest of the federation. In response, a coalition of youth organisations in the North under the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) ordered the Igbo out of Northern part of the country, giving them October 1 ultimatum to leave. The group also urged Northerners living in Biafran ‘territory’ to leave by the same deadline.

    While Nigerians are reacting in various ways on the social media and elsewhere, the Federal Government has dismissed the eviction notice served the Igbo. Kaduna State governor, in whose domain the Arewa youth declaration was made, ordered the arrest and prosecution of all signatories to the war-mongering document. The Northern Governors Forum (NGF) also condemned the eviction notice by the Arewa youth. The Emir of Katsina openly assured the Igbo in Katsina of their safety.

    But, every Northern group that matters has not come out to openly condemn the eviction notice. The Northern Elders Forum, for instance, has refused to call the Arewa youths to order. Its leader, Prof Ango Abdullahi, reportedly told newsmen that the forum would not condemn the declaration until Igbo elders condemn agitations for Biafra. At the moment, the Igbo are caught up between whether to succumb to the Arewa threat or put their trust in the assurances of the government.

    While these issues have become deeply entrenched emotional flashpoints in our federation, a peaceful way forward cannot be articulated without a proper impartial evaluation. Agitators for Biafra have made their point again and again – they are feeling sidelined in the Nigerian project and also feeling being victimised in national affairs since the Civil War.

    Consequently, following the failure of the Federal Government to reassure the Igbo through dialogue and appropriate policy adjustments, they prefer an independent state of their own. The truth is, Nigeria has always responded only superficially to the complaints of the Igbo. For the most part we have responded by reminding them that they ought to be content with their lot since it has not been very long since they fought to secede from the federation. We have continued to treat every agitation of the Igbo with suspicion and sometimes frank animosity. The body language of most Nigerians seems to show they are tired of the Igbo. However, for not very clear reasons, they don’t want the Igbo to leave.

    The Igbo may have become rather popular for agitation, but the remaining regions of the country are not doing much different. In the Middle Belt, indigenes are vehemently expressing their tiredness about putting up with Fulani herdsmen who have no apparent regard for law and order, and also human life. The indigenes are equally not amused by the Federal Government’s lack of a firm policy on the Fulani phenomenon and are desirous of an arrangement that will give them more control over their affairs.

    The Southwest has made it very clear that in the event of the secession of Biafra, it will also automatically cease to be part of the federation. Elsewhere, there is a consensus that, as the country is currently constituted, it cannot achieve equity in administration of resources and political power.

    Therefore, the truth is that the Biafran agitation is not an isolated pathology by itself. Instead, it is only the chief complaint of a nation with multiple pathologies. The scientific thing to do is not to try to suppress it, but to do a thorough search into the history and conduct investigation in order to properly diagnose what the problem is.

    Notwithstanding the narrative that best appeals to our side of the dispute, we must realise that the way forward requires us to look objectively at our position and see the excesses in our own proposition. For example, we cannot pretend that Nigeria has been fair to the Igbo. The country has not.

    Since the civil war, an Igbo man has carried the stigma of a betrayer. This notion exists not only in political circles; we hear in our daily interactions with the Igbo on social media and across the several markets in this country.

    At the slightest provocation, the rest of us have often told the Igbo to “go home”, as though they belonged to a different country. Be that as it may, the Igbo must also realise that constant agitation for secession has considerably worn-off the goodwill of Nigerians. Particularly, they must recognise that there is no armed solution to this problem. It failed in the past and has no potential to succeed in the present. The language and approach of the Biafran agitation must reflect sober reality.

    All Nigerians must realise that we owe ourselves the truth. We cannot totally avoid one another even if every region becomes an independent state. At best, we will be neighbours to one another, still having to deal with cross border security, trade and citizen diplomacy. Since only partial separation is possible – and total separation is not desirable even if it were feasible – why don’t we try to achieve a new structural configuration that provides just enough separation while retaining unity in other areas?

    This will enable each region to develop at its pace and establish such legal and cultural structures that suit the aspirations of its people without causing or attracting offense from other regions. The means of attaining this configuration may be difficult, but we are better-off if our conversation is focused on it than on the self-destroying allures of secession.

     

    Msonter, 500-Level Medicine and Surgery, BSU Makurdi

  • The Biafra/Arewa youths confrontation

    SIR: The present posturing of two major ethnic groups in Nigeria should have been foreseen. The gathering storm began quite casually with the ‘resurgence’ (for lack of appropriate word) of the young people, mostly romantics and adventurists who relish the expression ‘Republic of Biafra’.  They are youngsters who are invariably below 50 years, who only heard the story of the civil war from their older ones.  The way  the deadly combats of the three year destruction of lives and properties  was told to the new ones perhaps makes them wish to have a re-visit to that national calamity.  Surely the elders did not tell the young ones of the suffering, the disaster, the untold destruction that the nation, particularly what is now South-east, and parts of the South-south experienced. What they passed on to the new ones was the bravery, the resistance, the prowess and the fighting spirit of the Igbo man.  Tragically fictions rather than facts have been fed to these innocent youngsters.

    Of course society, or rather government bears much of the blame. For about two decades history has been banned as a subject or study in our schools, rather government pays lip service to the study of science – the definition of which is not clear.  If our secondary and tertiary institutions include the study of history in their curriculum, many of our youths in the South-east would hesitate to canvass splitting Nigeria into ‘Biafra’, ‘Oduduwa’ or ‘Islamic Republic’.

    Of all the ‘elders’ that have commented on the festering issue, only two have come out speaking the truth.  The others have spoken from both sides of the month.  The first is Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State who warned his restless people of the dangers inherent in their pursuit of an independent Biafra.  He reminded them (he should have gone further by giving some details) to desist from a pursuit which can dislocate our delicate Federation.  He affirmed that Igbo people can achieve their ambition within the Nigeria Federation if certain modifications were made in the polity. The Second leader is Prof Ango Abudulahi who I knew very well from the days of the 1988-1989 Constituent Assembly and of the People’s Front (PF) led by the Senior Musa Yar’Adua.  Ango talks his mind so easily that he could be misconstrued to be a warmonger.  An intellectual who combines radicalism with some fringe nationalism, he is assumed to speak for the core – North.  He says the northern youths are only helping the Igbo in their political ambition.

    It is very unfortunate that rather than chastising the dissidents and separatists, respectable leaders including governors, a past vice-president, an international public servant of repute and several notable people in the South-east asked the federal government to sit and negotiate with the Biafrans.  Some have suggested that this tacit support ignited the not too favourable reaction of notable people from the North.

    The above does not mean the Ibos have no valid grouse against the Nigerian state.  Their main concerns are an Igbo President, and creation of another state in the South-east. On the first, one would honestly inform our brothers across the Niger that the six years prior to the Buhari administration was essentially or a de facto Igbo presidency.   Just refresh your minds on the activities of the trio – Goodluck Jonathan, Mama Peace, SGF Pius Anyim.  What would a people want that the troika did not provide the South-east and the South-south?  Over 70% of political and senior management positions in the federal set up went to these lucky regions.  The South-west had less than 5% of these positions. South Easterners should plan and hope for six years i.e 2023, then no one would grudge them of their right to the presidency.

    The other request is achievable in a restructured Nigeria –creating a new state to match those of other regions.   But the imbalance has to be rectified further.  It is inconceivable that Lagos with a population of over 15 million has 23 ‘constitutional’ Local Government areas, whereas Kano with less than eight million has 44 Local Governments. But are these adjustments possible in today’s Nigeria?

     

    • Deji Fasuan MON. JP,

    Ado Ekiti.

  • Northern youths write Osinbajo

    Northern youths write Osinbajo

    …say, Igbos unrepentant about Biafra

     

    The Coalition of Northern Youths who recently issued quit notice to the Igbos living in Northern has again written an open letter to the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, saying that the Igbos are not repentant about Biafra.

    The Northern Youths in the open letter jointly signed by ShettimaYerima, Joshua Viashman, Aminu Adam, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman and Nastura Ashir Sharif said, Igbos have declared full allegiance to a “Republic of Biafra” and continue to preach hatred and war virtually every day.

    They said, “KANU and IPOB have declared full allegiance to a “Republic of Biafra” and continue to preach hatred and war virtually every day, and not for once did any Igbo leader call them to order. Instead, many of the leaders including Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy senate president, the most senior elected Igbo, pay Kanu courtesy calls to prove that he is speaking for the entire Igbo. It is glaring to all that Kanu has serially breached all the terms of his stringent jail conditions in total disregard to the sanctity of our justice system”.

    The letter read in full “APPRECIATION On behalf of this coalition and all the peace-loving people of Northern Nigeria, we begin this letter by commending your efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the lingering Igbo-induced crisis that is undoubtedly overheating the polity.

    “We sincerely believe Your Excellency’s good intentions as shown by your prompt and genuine actions towards ensuring peace and stability in holding talks with leaders of the North and the South-East.   Though we do not doubt Your Excellency’s bona fide concerns for the peaceful resolution of the crises, we nevertheless have reservations as to the efficacy of this approach in ensuring lasting solutions.

    “Our doubts are informed by the following historical antecedents that have characterized the behavior and conduct of the Igbo in Nigeria and previous efforts at containing them.

    “PAST EXPERIENCES: The Igbo of Eastern Nigeria manifested their hatred for Nigeria’s unity barely five years after we gained our independence from the British when on January 15, 1966, their army officers carried out the first-ever  mutiny that marked the beginning of a series of crisis which has profoundly altered the course of Nigeria’s history.

    “By that ill motivated, cowardly and deliberate action, the Igbo killed many northern officers from the rank of lieutenant colonel upwards and also decapitated the Prime Minister and the political leadership of the Northern and Western regions but left the zenith of Igbo leadership at the Federal level and the Eastern region intact.

    “In line with the Igbo plan, General Aguiyi-Ironsi took advantage of the vacuum and, instead of returning power to the remnants of the First Republic government; he appropriated the coup and attempted to consolidate it for his people.

    “Army officers of the Northern Region were eventually compelled to execute a counter coup on July 29, 1966 following a coordinated series of brazen provocations from the Igbo who taunted northerners on northern streets by mocking the way leaders of the region were slain by the Igbo. This unfortunately resulted in mob action which resulted in the death of many Igbos.

    “And when Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon, from the North took over as Head of State following the counter coup, the Igbo through Lt. Col. Ojukwu, characteristically refused to recognize Gowon.

    “Ojukwu declared the secession of the Igbo people from Nigeria and the formation of the republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967 resulting in a civil war that led to the tragic deaths of more than 2 million Nigerians.

    “It is important to note here that the Igbo eventually capitulated and conceded defeat in an unconditional surrender, not an armistice,  on January 15, 1970 which renders any talk about Biafra at any other time,  a repudiation of the terms of that surrender signed by Phillip Effiong and other Biafran leaders.

    “BIAFRA REINCARNATED: In a shot out of the blues, the Igbo have over the last 2 years regrouped and fiercely and openly started discussing Biafra again under Ralph Uwazuruike of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State Of Biafra MASSOB.

    “This was given greater impetus by a more furious Igbo rogue group called the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB under Nnamdi Kanu who even operates an illegal radio station spreading hate and war messages across the nation, calling other ethnic groups all sorts of names and threatening them with violent extermination.

    “The activities of the Igbo under Kanu’s IPOB has grown exponentially ranging from ordering people of other regions out of the South East – particularly the Yorubas and Hausa /Fulani from the South West and the North respectively, to open declaration of the amassing of arms and forceful total shutdown of the entire South-East.

    “KANU and IPOB have declared full allegiance to a “Republic of Biafra” and continue to preach hatred and war virtually every day, and not for once did any Igbo leader call them to order. Instead, many of the leaders including Mr Ike Ekweremadu, the deputy senate president, the most senior elected Igbo, pay Kanu courtesy calls to prove that he is speaking for the entire Igbo. It is glaring to all that Kanu has serially breached all the terms of his stringent jail conditions in total disregard to the sanctity of our justice system.

    “Even the latest statement by the South-East Governors Forum signed by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State in a response to the Northern reaction, did not condemn Kanu and Uwazuruike but characterised their action as “peaceful”.

    “While all this is going on,  neither the Igbo political and cultural leaders nor other regional leaders of the North or West nor the international community or any religious body ever found it necessary to call these renegade groups to order or in the very least admonish their leaders to do so.

    “Furthermore, none of the Igbo leaders holding various positions in this government ever disowned IPOB or condemned its operations until lately with Governor Rochas Okorocha’s mild condemnation after the Kaduna Declaration by our Coalition .

    “GROUNDS FOR SUSPICION: Given the unrepentant antecedents exhibited by the Igbo as highlighted above,  we strongly believe that the gruesome picture that the Biafran agitation represents is beyond a few people showcasing to Your Excellency that the Igbo will eventually heed the call for peace and desist from their dangerous campaign against Nigeria.

    “The seed of hate planted in the name of Biafra is evidently so deep that the ongoing interaction between you and the leaders from the South East cannot in our well informed opinion douse or address the underlying deep seated underlying problems.

    “We base our concerns on the following grounds. Despite the fact that the Igbo have been the most accommodated and tolerated of all the ethnic groups of Nigeria, the renewed incessant, spiteful and vile threats and insults on Northern leaders and their people, culture and religions that are the targets of this venomous agitation for Biafra,  can hardly be addressed through a series of two hours dialogues.

    “As if to prove this, barely hours after Your Excellency’s meeting with the South-East leaders, the Biafran Igbo openly disowned the leaders and dissociated themselves from the meeting.

    “More disturbingly, Kanu has openly claimed that the Biafran agitators have amassed arms in readiness for a war of secession which is quite conceivable given the fact that since 2009, catches of dangerous weapons routinely smuggled into the country and occasionally intercepted  by the Nigerian authorities , were all traced to Igbo sources.

    “The situation continues to be baffling and alarming and therefore unacceptable – especially with the Igbo political and opinion leaders openly legitimizing the violent comments, insults, threats, hate speeches and call to anarchy that the Biafrans led by Nnamdi Kanu are making against the North and the Nigerian state in general.

    “South-East leaders have instead, enthusiatically given Kanu the platform, patronage and symbolic legitimacy through an ignominious display of homage, reception and open embrace.

    “OUR CONCERNS: Concerned by the fact that the Biafrans have confessed to arming themselves for a violent breakup,  we feel that it is risky for the rest of the country particularly the North to go on pretending that it is safe for us to co-habit with the Igbos given how deeply they are entrenched in our societies .

    “And since evidently the Igbo have not been sufficiently humbled by their self-imposed bloody civil violence of 1966, we are strongly concerned that nothing short of granting their Biafran dream will suffice.

    “And since the Igbo have virtually infiltrated every nook and cranny of Northern Nigeria where they have been received with open arms   as fellow compatriots, we strongly believe that the region is no longer safe and secure in the light of the unfolding threats and the fact that for a long time,  the Igbo have gone to extra ordinary lengths to ensure that in their domain in the South East, Northerners and Westerners are as much as possible disenfranchised from owning any businesses whereas in Kano alone, they own not less than 100, 000 shops across all the business districts.

    “That since the younger generation of Nigerians makes up for more than 60 percent of the nation’s population, it is our hope that they inherit this country in better shape so that they can build a much better future for themselves and their off springs in an atmosphere that is devoid of anarchy, hate, suspicion and negativity that characterize the polarized, and clearly irreconcilable differences forced on us by the Biafran Igbos.

    “To make a bad situation even worse, their leaders have continued to show support for  this treacherous cause and thus giving credence to our concern that what they say against us is what they truly mean and intend – “Kill everyone in the Zoo” (North). Your Excellency, we cannot afford to discard this as mere mischief as the utterances that caused the terrible Rwandan genocide still resonates in our minds.

    “Lastly Sir, it is quite impossible to expect that other nationalities would simply stand by and watch while a certain ethnic group perpetrates all the above heinous misconducts that involve threats, call to violence and extermination, insults and songs of war without responding.

    “OUR STAND: While we unequivocally restate that we are not waging war or calling anyone to violence, we nevertheless are also not willing to continue tolerating the malicious campaign and threats of war that the Igbos have continued to wage against us.

    “Neither can we afford to continue giving the keys to our cities to a people whose utterances, plans and arrangements are clearly geared towards war and anarchy.

    “We therefore demand that the only enduring solution to this scourge that is being visited on the nation is complete separation of the states presently agitating for Biafra from the Federal Republic of Nigeria through a peaceful political process by: 1. Taking steps to facilitate the actualization of the Biafran nation in line with the principle of self-determination as an integral part of contemporary customary international law.

    “The principle of self-determination has, since world war II become a part of the United Nations Charter which states in Article 1(2), that one of the purposes of the UN is “to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.

    “We submit that this protocol envisages that people of any nation have the right to self-determination, and although the Charter did not categorically impose direct legal obligations on member States; it implies that member States allow agitating or minority groups to self-govern as much as possible.

    “This principle of self-determination has since been espoused in two additional treaties: The United Nations Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 1 of both international documents promote and protect the right of a people to self-determination. State parties to these international documents are obliged to uphold the primacy and realization of this right as it cements the international legal philosophy that gives a people the right to self-determination.

    “As the Igbo agitations persist and assume threatening dimensions, we submit that there is need to ensure that they are given the opportunity to exercise the right to self-determination as entrenched under the aforementioned international statutes to which Nigeria is a signatory.

    “PRAYERS: Aware that the right of self-determination in international law is the legal right for a “people” that allows them to attain a certain degree of autonomy from a sovereign state through a legitimate political process, we strongly demand for a referendum to take place in a politically sane atmosphere where all parties will have a democratic voice over their future and the future of the nation.

    “The Igbo from all over the country and in the Diaspora should be advised to converge in their region in the South-East for a plesbisite to be organized and conducted by the United Nations and other regional bodies for them to categorically to decide between remaining part of Nigeria or having their separate country.

    “That government should at the end of the plesbite implement whatever is agreed and resolved in order to finally put this matter to rest. Lastly, we pray His Excellency to study the references forwarded with this letter dispassionately and decide who is more in the wrong between those who openly pledge allegiance to a country other than Nigeria backing it up with persistent threats of war and those of us whose allegiance remains with the Nigerian state but simply urge that the secessionists be allowed to actualize their dream peacefully throw universally entrenched democratic options.

    “CONCLUSION Your Excellency, we want to reiterate our high respect for your office and acknowledge the efforts you are making to lower tensions. We assure you, as well-brought up northerners, we listen to the advice and cautions of our elders, and in particular, their concerns that we do not create the impression that any Igbo or any Nigerian will be harmed in the North.

    “We assure you that we will defend the rights of every Nigerian to live in peace and have their rights protected. While we do not see this clamour for Biafra as an issue over which a single drop of blood should be shed,  we at the same time,  insist that the Igbo be allowed to have their Biafra and for them to vacate our land peacefully so that our dear country Nigeria could finally enjoy lasting peace and stability.

    “Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the letter read.

     

  • Agitations for Biafra, other secession plots unlawful, says Osinbajo

    Agitations for Biafra, other secession plots unlawful, says Osinbajo

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday reiterated that agitations for creation of Biafra and Arewa youths’ ultimatum for Igbos to leave the North are unlawful and against the Nigerian Constitution.

    He stated this  during his opening speech at a consultation meeting with traditional rulers from the South East led by Eze Udo 1 of Mgboko Ngwa Amaise in Abia State and Chairman of South East traditional rulers, Eze Eberechi Dick, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the manner, method and objectives of the agitations are wrong.

    The agitations, he said, deserve to be dealt with in accordance with the country’s constitutional provisions.

    Osinbajo said that where there were grievances to be addressed, the only way to make anything right is by doing it right, instead of threatening to break the law or the country.

    “As you are aware there has been agitation from some of our youths in the south east urging secession, the creation of Biafra. In apparent response young people in the north states, under the aegis  of Arewa youths have purportedly issued an ultimatum where they have said set a date for the eviction of persons from south east region who live in the northern states.

    “Those agitations, the manner of those agitations, the method and objective are wrong, unlawful and the violation of the laws of Nigeria and the constitution of Nigeria. I want to repeat that both the agitations for secession and the ultimatum to leave the northern states are wrong and a violation of our constitution.

    “Our constitution says in Section Two that Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “That is the law of our country. Let us not be in any doubt about the fact that the federal government is committed to ensuring that our country remains united.

    “And that anyone who violates the law in the manner such as we are seeing all over the place will be met with the full force of the law.

    “And the reason why it is so is because Nigeria’s unity enough blood has been spilled and many hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost. Many have paid for the unity of this country with their lives and it will be wrong of us as men and women of goodwill in this generation to toy with those sacrifices that have been made.

    “This is why men of goodwill in our generation must not tolerate any tendency that drags us in the direction of yet another civil conflict.

    “But we must be sensitive to the reasons why there are agitations by the various young men across the various zones of this country. Many have to do with perceived marginalization, some have argued safety in the different zones have been compromised. But I want to say the only way to make things right is to do things right. And it will be wrong of us to approach even our grievances by threatening to disobey the laws or by threatening the integrity of our nation,” he said

    He assured that the Federal Government is committed to listening to all the reasons, the various suggestions and the various agitations in order to ensure that justice is done to all persons.

     

    The meeting was a continuation of Osinbajo’s consultations with leaders of thoughts and traditional rulers from the North and South Eastern regions of the country, following the escalation of ethnic tensions occasioned by the agitation for Biafra and the vacation order issued by Northern youths for Igbo to quit the North.

    Present at the meeting were Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Da-Allah

    Others include Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Staff Abayomi Olonoshakin, Inspector General of Police,  Ibrahim Idris, National Security Adviser, Babangana Mongonu, Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and other top government officials.

  • ‘Shelve ‘Biafra’, negotiate for Nigeria’s presidency’

    Chief Donatus Nwankpa, the Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia, has advised pro-Biafra agitators to shelve their secession plan and negotiate to produce an Igbo president in the country.

    Nwankpa gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Sunday.

    The APC chieftain stated that the agitation for a Biafra Republic is not a viable option for the Southeast zone of the country.

    “For the Biafran agitators, I think Ndigbo need two things: One is that they should try and produce a president of Nigeria.

    “They should try and work hard to see that a president comes from the Southeast.’’

    Nwankpa said a president of Igbo extraction would make the ‘no victor, no vanquished’ declaration at the end of the 30-month Nigerian civil war more realistic.

    He, therefore, urged prominent Igbo politicians to mobilise their resources and contacts to negotiate for an Igbo president.

    Nwankpa further said Ndigbo needed to ensure massive infrastructure and economic development of the zone.

    “An Igbo man is hardworking, industrious and creative.

    “He does not need government empowerment, which to me, only makes people lazy.

    “The Igbo man needs good roads, regular power supply and a conducive economic climate to drive his enterprise to the peak.’’

    Nwankpa, a one-time state legislator, also spoke on the growing agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria along regional lines.

    “The agitation for restructuring has to do with the problem of discomfort and suspicion of one another in the country,” he said.
    He said Nigerians needed to understand and coexist peacefully rather than to tolerate one another.

    The APC chair further said there was nothing wrong with the present structure of the country and its constitution.

    He said, “the Nigerian constitution is one of the best drafted constitutions in the world.”

    Nwankpa blamed the underdevelopment of some sections of the country on the excesses and self-aggrandisement of some of the past and present governors.

    He alleged that the governors wielded so much power but failed to channel such power toward the development of the country.

    Nwankpa described the three-month ultimatum issued to Ndigbo by some Arewa youths as “a wake-up call on Ndigbo to come home and invest and develop their area’’.

  • Biafra in their minds

    Biafra in their minds

    We must renegotiate the basis of our co-existence

    But for the involvement of some elders from both sides, one would have dismissed the ultimatum given the Igbo in the north by some northern youths to quit (the north) on or before October 1, 2017, and the response by an Igbo group that they would only leave if the north could return their N43trillion investments in the region, as ranting of some ants. They have never seen war and are therefore beating the drums of war. The northern groups that issued the ultimatum said they did so because of the shut-down of major towns in the south eastern part of the country on May 30 by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and their sponsors, which denied other people in the region from pursuing their livelihood.

    Such a threat is not new. The point though is; it is not only the east that is marginalised (to use our cliché here). Virtually all sections feel they are marginalised; all regions, including even the north that many of us see as over-pampered. But if the southeast or any other region has decided to go, there is little or nothing individuals can do about it. That is a job for the government. While not necessarily supporting the northern youths, I think all they did was put a deadine to the threat by what Igbo elders see as Igbo youths’ threat to leave Nigeria. This is what to expect when there is a dearth of  good elders in a place.

    For me, whoever wants to go can do so without offending the sensibilities of others. The Igbo have this impression that no one likes them in the country. It was obvious the southeast had been uncomfortable since the exit of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2015. In both the Olusegun Obasanjo and Jonathan years, the Igbo occupied some of what we term juicy cabinet positions. There were no secession threats then. Barely two years after losing some of these portfolios, some of their youths suddenly remembered Biafra.

    I agree that our size is something that we should flaunt as a nation because of its immense possibilities. But this should not be a do-or-die affair, especially if successive governments are not ready to face the reality of letting us renegotiate the basis of our continued co-existence. I personally do not care about who wants to pull out or pull in. I do not think there is any part of this country that is not blessed; the problem is that many of the leaders have thrown away their thinking caps. If the military had not tampered with our federal arrangement, we probably would have been better for it because every part of the country would have continued to develop at its own pace.

    But the point is; there is no way the Igbo can continue to claim that they developed every other section of the country without incurring the wrath of other Nigerians, because nothing can be more fallacious. That could be a major cause of their problem. Before now, the refrain had been, “we developed Lagos”. Now, we are being told that the Igbo developed the north. Or, how else does one interpret the statement that the Igbo would not leave the north until the northerners paid N43trillion that they (Ndigbo) invested there? How come it is only the Igbo that are able to move freely all over the country to develop other areas? How come they find it more convenient to develop other places even when the southeast itself is in dire need of investment and development? No one would think that with the accusations of selective hatred that the Igbo levelled against the other parts of Nigeria after the civil war in 1970, they would still go ahead to be ‘developing’ other places, to the detriment of their own largely undeveloped region. Has it not occurred to the southeast that something must be responsible for the ease with which they can thrive in other places and others cannot do same in Igboland? Has it not occurred to them that it is the large hearts of others that has made it possible for them to assimilate the Igbo, and vice versa? If many Igbo can follow the money to any part of the country and there a few people from other regions in Igboland, then there is a problem.

    Fortunately, I have friends from the southeast who do not share the views of these ‘youths’. The new face of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, even went to the ridiculous extent of saying that the Igbo who worship in Pentecostal churches with Yoruba men as pastors are idiots, fools, imbeciles and worse than Boko Haram! Certainly, a good number of my friends from the east do not share this ‘I before others’ mentality that Nigerians, rightly or wrongly, perceive the Igbo have. Or that when you give the Igbo man an inch; he wants to claim a mile! It is the Igbo that want to have ‘Ezes’ (kings) in other parts of the country, with all the paraphernalia of an ‘Eze’ as obtains in the southeast. How many Obas and Emirs do we have in the southeast?

    I remember the other time when the Babatunde Fashola administration banned ‘okada’ from some 475 of the over 9,200 roads in Lagos, many of those who criticised the policy happened to be from states where ‘okada’ was completely banned. I had issues understanding those of them from the southeast whose state governments did not restrict but actually banned ‘okada’  and they did not complain back home, now raising issues that the Lagos State government could not have restricted ‘okada’ the way it did. Naturally, I asked: how else could Lagos State have done it? Somehow, some of them just felt no, Lagos is different, and I was wondering what made Lagos different. Or what was it that should have made Lagos different in the contest they were using the word. If many other state governments had been responsible, Lagos would not have been this overpopulated because it is lack of opportunities in most other parts of the country that is largely responsible for the migration to the ‘city’.

    Please permit me to cite this other example. I was in one of the new development areas in Lagos about three months ago and was astonished when I saw the mansions that are springing up there. Upon enquiries, I was told many of them belong to southeasterners. When I asked if those building there were aware that the place was under acquisition, the answer I got was astonishing. They said they knew but that by the time the government woke up (so it is sleeping now) to find the mansions there, it would be left with no choice but to ask them to pay some money for ratification, or something!

    So, when the government eventually ‘wakes up from its slumber’ and, instead of asking for money for ratification, it brings in the bulldozers, they will start complaining that government is destroying mansions belonging to southeasterners. For how long are we going to live with this kind of cheap blackmail? Since when has ignorance become an excuse in law? And, to think that those breaking the law in this case are even aware of what they are doing? Are we saying people can just build houses in the southeast or any part of the country without first finding out the status of the land, or without getting the relevant government papers?  Ha! If that happens, even in a ‘no man’s land’, it is only a matter of time for that place to become a huge jungle.

    All said, I blame no one but successive governments in the country that have been glossing over the real issues agitating the minds of many Nigerians about the need to revisit the basis of our union. The point has been made over and again that unless this is done, we will keep having the kind of schisms that we are having. The Muhammadu Buhari administration must do something in this regard before it is too late.

    Fatai Atere Way

    When this campaign on the need to lighten the darkness of people at Fatai Atere Way (Ladipo) up to Ojekunle Street (Papa Ajao), Lagos, started in April, it was not meant to last this long. It was just to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the need to fix the street lights in these areas, in line with the state government’s dream in its Light Up Lagos initiative. Some progress has been noted on Ojekunle  Street. But Fatai Atere Way is still in total darkness. Some of the lights came on for a few days but darkness has returned there. At least this was the situation as at Friday when this material was turned in for publication. This is hoping the Lagos State Electricity Board would complete the repair job it has started.

  • Biafra: Groups want youth confab to discuss way forward

    The various ethnic nationality groups in the country have called for a national confab to discuss ways out of the tension generated by recent eviction notice given to Igbos in the North.

    The ‎groups met in Abuja where they called for a ceasefire among the various youth groups in the country.

    However, they ended the meeting with a demand for convocation of national youth confab.

    A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting was signed by Comrade Eric Oluwale of the Yoruba Youth Council Worldwide and Secretary General Ethnic National Youths Leaders, Comrade Emma Zompal of the Middle Belt Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, Barr. Oweilaemi Ereotubo of the Ijaw Youths and Alhaji Ibrahim Waiya of Arewa Northern Youths Assembly.

    The communiqué was read by Zompal, flanked by several members of the delegation.

    The groups hinged their call for ceasefire on the intervention of former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi.

    The communiqué reads: “Having observed with dismay, the ongoing tension across the country, which followed the quit notice given to Igbos in the Northern part of Nigeria, we met today, June 14, 2017 in Abuja and took far reaching decisions.

    “We condemned the quit notice served by Arewa youths‎ to Igbos resident in the North and have resolved for peace to reign in all quarters. The meeting has, however, initiated a peace process aimed at reconciling the north and the south east.

    “We are still insisting on restructuring of the country in order to guarantee equitable federalism and peaceful co- existence.

    “For the collective interest of Nigeria, we are calling for a ceasefire among all the aggrieved youth groups in the country. Pushing this matter too far has grave implication for Nigeria and by extension, the youths.

    “We have resolved to toe the line of peace due to the fatherly advice given by the former governor of Anambra State, Chief Peter Obi, the Okwute Ndigbo. The youths, without hesitation, are ready to heed his advice considering his towering reputation beyond the shores of Nigeria.”

     

  • ‘Quit order good for Biafra, bad for business’

    A Kano-based Igbo businessman who asked to be simply identified as Maduagwu has said while the quit notice to Ndigbo in the North may help Biafra agitators’ cause, it hurts business investments in the North.

    In a chat with our reporter, the businessman said that the relocation order could fast-track the agitation for the state of Biafra, but a setback for Igbo businessmen who have investments across the northern states.

    The businessman, who recalled events that led to the brutal civil war in 1967, said that the quit order by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) would further promote acrimony among the Igbos and their Northern brothers.

    He said, “I have lived in the North for over 30 years where I have invested all my fortunes and have equally trained my children who rarely speak even their dialect except Hausa language. I have landed properties and other investments in the North too, even when I had the choice of establishing such in the East, all in the spirit of one Nigeria.

    “Just recently, such unscrupulous individuals, who never moulded a block in their father’s compound and apparently would not point to any investment in any part of the country including their state of origin, emerge from the blue to tell [the Igbo] to leave the North simply because some people are agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra.

    “If I may ask, what is wrong for people to agitate for self-determination? Does it mean that because our brothers are agitating for a country of their own that every other person leaving in the North should go back to their states? Does it equally mean that when a state is created that people leaving in the old state should pack back to their new state? Are they equally saying that if a state of Biafra is created that no Igbo man should come to the North and invest? Remember that Czechoslovakia and the current Czech Republic and Slovakia were once together. Now that they are separate, does it mean that all Czech citizens in Slovakia left their old residences? The North should count themselves lucky to have already had on ground huge investments by Igbos scattered across the North by Igbos that will make them grow economically not to drive people away.

    “For me as a businessman residing in the North, I hope that this threat and other issues will be addressed urgently by stakeholders. We will keep our ears to the ground to monitor events, but when the situation becomes unbearable, I will have no other option but to relocate to the East with my family members alive than dying helplessly in a strange land.”