For 15 years, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has become one of the leading pro-self-rule groups in the country and has been assiduously agitating for the Sovereign State of Biafra for the Igbo.
Formed in 1999 by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, a soft-spoken but strong-willed lawyer, MASSOB was initially pushed aside with a wave of the hand by prominent Ndigbo as one of the self-serving and militant groups. Based on this, it was rejected by the very people whose interests it vowed to protect.
It was not until 2005 when the founder, who declared a secession of the ‘Biafra Republic’ from the Nigeria and consequently clamped into detention alongside other members of the group for treasonable, that some Igbo leaders and international organisations began to regard MASSOB as a group fighting for self-determination on behalf of the people, even though such attempt through a civil war failed.
As a non-violent organisation, MASSOB continued with the sensitisation of Ndigbo in Nigeria and in the Diaspora on the need to support the agitation for the actualisation of Biafra Republic. Most wealthy Igbo businessmen and politicians, who had sympathy for the group, took over its funding, even though they could not publicly identify with it.
With time, MASSOB did not only evolve into one of the major pro-self-government groups, such as the Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), among other groups, but became the voice of Ndigbo, especially in the face of seeming intimidation or harassment by other ethnic groups.
But like every other such organisation, the movement is threatened by leadership crisis that has engulfed it.
No fewer than four members of the group had been killed, with several others wounded in the leadership tussle between Uwazuruike and some aggrieved MASSOB Commanders.
The cause of the crisis, according to the commanders, was the leadership style of their boss, who they accused of fraudulently enriching himself from the resources meant for the struggle and his expensive lifestyle.
The last incident occurred at the national headquarters of the Movement in Okwe, in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State, when Uwazuruike allegedly ordered the ejection of the commanders and MASSOB security officers who had earlier seized the secretariat.
According to sources, fighting started at the administrative headquarters of MASSOB as early as 7:30 a.m. when armed thugs numbering over 5, 000 invaded MASSOB headquarters on the alleged orders of the MASSOB leader, to dislodge the commanders who had earlier taken over the premises.
Speaking with our correspondent, the National Secretary of the Movement, Comrade Ugwuoke Ibem, Ugwuoke, confirmed that they were attacked by thugs allegedly recruited by the embattled leader, adding that the thugs stormed the headquarters with sophisticated weapons but were resisted by the Commanders.
Ugwuoke said: “So many people were wounded in the early morning attack and those people were not members of MASSOB. They were hired from Onitsha by Uwazuruike to assassinate us because we challenged his style of leadership. But we overpowered them and have taken over the headquarters of MASSOB again. Uwazuruike has turned the struggle into a personal property.”
Continuing, he said: “Our crime was telling him to reduce the amount of money paid as dues by poor members of MASSOB who toil monthly to pay money into his personal account. As I speak with you, over N20 million is remitted to his account monthly, while those who died in the struggle are abandoned in the mortuaries.
“What we are saying is that we can no longer be used by Uwazuruike to enrich himself. While we are dying, he is busy buying houses and exotic cars; we cannot continue like this anymore. We are calling on Igbo leaders to intervene because Uwazuruike has used the blood of innocent Igbo youths, who are killed daily while obeying his orders to make money.”
Also, the leader of the Biafra Defence Mission, Comrade Ndubuisi Igwekani, warned that if swift actions were not taken to call Uwazuruike to order, the security situation in Igbo land would be seriously compromised.
He said: “We have called on Igbo leaders, especially Ohanaeze Ndigbo to call Uwazuruike to order because his kind of Biafra was not the one Ojukwu fought for. He has abandoned the struggle and now uses the MASSOB as a means to extort Ndigbo; we are out to stop him no matter what he does.”
However, to resolve the crisis, some of the aggrieved members met with civil war veteran, Col. Joe Achuzia, who advised against the pursuit of a sovereign state.
The delegation, headed by Ndubuisi Igwekani, (aka Agu Biafra), agreed to drop the Sovereign State of Biafra to adopt the State of Biafra instead on the advice of Col. Achuzia.
Further revealed that the visit was to solicit the assistance of the Ohanaeze chieftain on how to avert the impending bloodbath in Igbo land over the alleged betrayal of the Biafra struggle by Uwazuruike.
He said: “After the death of Odimegwu Ojukwu, Achuzia is the next Biafra leader. So, the MASSOB leaders and commanders visited him to complain about the fraudulent activities of Uwazuruike and to ask him and other Igbo leaders to prevail on Uwazuruike to put an end to spilling of the blood of innocent Igbo youths.”
Achuzia, who confirmed the visit in a telephone chat with our correspondent, revealed that the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, was opposed to the adoption of Sovereign State of Biafra.
He said: “When I was the Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, we told Uwazuruike that he should drop the ‘Sovereign State’ in the group’s name because you cannot be talking about sovereign state within another state. But now that the members have agreed to drop the ‘Sovereign State,’ we can now know how to intervene.”
The group also raised an alarm over looming bloodshed in Igbo land if measures were not taken to tackle the crisis rocking the group.
In a statement signed by the Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu, the Movement said: “We see the development as another evil plan to sacrifice the blood of some members due to the face-off between Uwazuruike and the Nigerian Police with regard to the unwarranted death of some members from Onitsha who came to dislodge their fellow brothers at Okwe on the orders of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike.
“The death of our members from Onitsha has exposed the selfishness and insensitivity of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike to the members. He does not care for the well-being of members. He has always used us to popularise, revive and shoot himself to limelight without regard to the welfare of the members. The wives, children and families of dead members are not taken care of.”
However, in a swift bid to exert his authority, the embattled MASSOB leader expelled the Director of Information and his personal security aides for what he termed gross disobedience.
Uwazuruike, at a general meeting of the group at the Ojukwu Memorial Library, Owerri, the Imo State capital, accused the expelled members of inciting other members to rebel against the leadership of the group and other anti-MASSOB activities, stating that they were working in concert with politicians to destabilise the Movement.
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting in which journalists were debarred, and signed by MASSOB’s Deputy Director of Information and Uwazuruike’s Personal Assistant on Media, Maxi Chris Muocha, the MASSOB leader warned that the affected persons would no longer represent or speak on behalf of MASSOB in any capacity.
It also cautioned the public not to transact any business with the expelled members on behalf of MASSOB or the leader, stating that anyone who ignores the directive does so at his or her own risk: “Any person or group that does business with the affected former officers, does so at his or her peril.”
But the expelled spokesman challenged Uwazuruike to announce his purported expulsion from the struggle and face the consequences.
He said: “Muocha, who is my junior in the struggle, cannot announce my sack. Let Uwazuruike announce it and I will expose his secrets of how he betrayed the Biafra struggle back then in prison to regain his freedom which members were not aware of. I will also expose the secret documents he signed with agents of government for Nigerian unity.”
He further vowed to let MASSOB members and entire Ndigbo into the secret behind most of the actions taken by the MASSOB leader.
“I will expose why Uwazuruike ordered the sit-at-home in June, which was mistaken as a boost to the struggle and how he took bribe to ensure the killing of MASSOB members whose corpses were found floating on Ezu River in Anambra State.
“I will also expose to the members and Ndigbo why the international communities were no longer responding to the Biafra struggle as was the case in the past. I will equally expose how he has been spending the millions accruing from dues and levies paid by poor MASSOB members on women and drinks.”
Efforts by our correspondent to get Uwazuruike’s views on the development on phone failed as he did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his phone. But Muocha, said the purported crisis did not affect the Biafra struggle nor has any effect on Uwazuruike’s position.
“Those behind the crisis are just insignificant few who are sponsored by politicians to destabilise MASSOB,” he said.
