Editor’s note: A lot of Igbos have been championing the agitation for an independent Biafra state and the agitation seems to have increased since Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential election. In this opinion, Joe Igbokwe argues that Igbos are being fooled into believing that Biafra is the solution to their problem and blindly following those calling for secession when they have no idea what the Biafra war was like Silence is something not golden Let me start by appreciating Mr. Churchill Okonkwo for this thought-provoking piece. I have read the piece like this from wonderful Igbo like Prof Ozodi Osuji, Peter Claver, Chike Okonkwo, SKC Ogbonna, CDon Adinuba, Zara Gift Onyinye, Geo Uguru, etc who see what other Igbo cannot see. Churchill Okonkwo has in this piece taken the debate further on what Igbo is losing by the hate they preach every day and the rude celebration of ethnic bigotry at a time like this. I cannot thank Churchill Okonkwo enough for this courageous exposition when men who should know better are shamelessly and cowardly maintaining a grave silence. They know the truth but cannot speak.
When a writer is silent he is lying. Churchill, I join you to raise my hands for the world to see where I stand at a time like this. Real men take a stand in the days of trouble. Twenty-one years ago, I wrote my first Book, Igbos: 25 YEARS AFTER BIAFRA. In that book I wrote that it is true that Igbo have been marginalized in every sector in Nigeria be it at the Federal level, State, Local Government, Army, Navy, Airforce, Police, House of Reps, Senate, and even in Revenue allocations, Appointments, Infrastructure distribution, National institutions, etc. I acknowledged the fact that even as painful as it is our people marginalize themselves even further without knowing it. Learning from history I had thought that 46 years after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, Igbo would have been matured enough to throw persecution complex, leadership complex and defeatism attitude into the dustbin of history knowing fully well that the victors of that Civil War are really not better than Igbo today in Nigeria, everything considered. I have even justified this claim from the world-class research conducted by The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council “that all forms of indignity against human lives, against human persons, debase the perpetrators more than the victims.Today Igbo are at it again just like what took place before pogrom in 1966. Immediately after the 16years struggle for democracy ended in 1999, a coward and lily-livered Igbo clown called Ralph Uwazurike who could not raise a voice against IBB or Abacha in the days of the locust began to call for the State of Biafra.
He was ignored because it was seen as a business venture to raise money for himself and his family. Soon it became a big business for carpenters and bricklayers. Soon suspicion came in, and the center could no longer hold. The rest is now history. Before the 2015 elections, I warned Igbo that a President Jonathan will not fly in 2015 given the obvious and painful fact that Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani have formed an alliance which left South East and South-South to a miserable minority. Igbo did not listen because they believed so much in the power of incumbency. When it became obvious that Card Readers and PVCs will be deployed to checkmate rigging and falsification of results, Jonathan’s handlers bribed OPC and MASSOB to stage a protest against Prof. Jega in Lagos, Umuahia, Anambra, and Abia. The rest is not history. TAN had planned to give Jonathan 25 million votes by all means possible. Soon we began to hear of one funny character called Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB, abusing other Nigerians and calling Nigeria a zoo. It soon became another huge business as this unknown, untrained and gullible boy flew First Class to travel all over the world preaching hate and ethnic bigotry, deceiving gullible Nigerians like him in diaspora, including economic refugees and cultural savages. Like every other business, the lowest of the low in Igboland keyed into his useless and brainless project. Anger across Igboland due to Jonathan’s failure to clinch the presidency grew like wildfire and our people found solace in Kanu’s brigandage. The Biafra cry today Today we hear Biafra, Biafra on the internet; we hear it in Igboland, but one thing is certain; we have to debate this one. We did not discuss the 1966 to 1970 Biafra and the 1967 to 1970 Civil War, and we all know the consequences. Now the Biafra of 2016 will be hotly debated, every option weighed, every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed.
The self-evident truth is that I have 25 reasons why Biafra cannot stand in Nigeria again. But will my people listen to me? Did they read Churchill Okonkwo’s hot potato? Did Kanu witness the Civil War? Where did they tell the stories? Did they see the pictures? Do they know the Igbo investment in Nigeria? Do they know that Biafra is too small for Igbo enterprise? Do they know about the ethnic war in Rwanda? Do they know about the state of South-Sudan Republic? Do they know about our children flown to Gabon and other places that never returned? Do they know anything? I can go on and on.
A bright Igbo son Prof Ozodi Osuji has described Igbo mentality these days as one saddled with a childish sense of superiority and paranoid grandiosity, but we can do better than this. Igbo are not the best God ever created in Nigeria. Every ethnic group in Nigeria has its champions and stars. The North of Hausa-Fulani feeds the South. This is huge power, SIMPLICITA. The people of Southern Nigeria have their own prodigious power too. This is the power of diversity. My take is that sensible Igbo in Nigeria must begin to speak out like Churchill Okonkwo and others. They are the real thinkers in Igboland who see what other Igbo cannot see. Let the real debate start and let all the sides be heard loud and clear. I throw my hat into the ring, and I am ready to go the whole hog. Let the real men stand up so that charlatans, crooks and biafrauds will disappear.
source:https://www.naij.com/861780-igbos-will-realise-nnamdi-kanu-deceived-biafra-joke.html

Its clearly stated in the article. A bright Igbo son Prof Ozodi Osuji has described Igbo mentality these days as one saddled with a CHILDISH sense of superiority and paranoid grandiosity. So, how can they speak against it?

I go with Op.
how can we sacrifice Lagos, never.
Lagos belong to us all, Igbos and yoruba inclusive.
Lagos is a NO MANS land.
proudly Igbo proudly Lagosian.
egbon op sotigbo

very soon fact less and ignorant children will start bashing from left, right and center.

Please don't attack the writer just bring out your facts to counter his claims as I will also learn from it.

In case u don't have facts to counter, just remain silent for ever instead of showing how uncultured u are by throwing insults at your elder.

To me I think a lot of people need to know the truth and learn instead of sitting in the shadow of ignorance and showing hatred to innocent people around.

please let's all move this piece to front page.

rommyth:
Editor’s note: A lot of Igbos have been championing the agitation for an independent Biafra state and the agitation seems to have increased since Goodluck Jonathan lost the presidential election. In this opinion, Joe Igbokwe argues that Igbos are being fooled into believing that Biafra is the solution to their problem and blindly following those calling for secession when they have no idea what the Biafra war was like Silence is something not golden Let me start by appreciating Mr. Churchill Okonkwo for this thought-provoking piece. I have read the piece like this from wonderful Igbo like Prof Ozodi Osuji, Peter Claver, Chike Okonkwo, SKC Ogbonna, CDon Adinuba, Zara Gift Onyinye, Geo Uguru, etc who see what other Igbo cannot see. Churchill Okonkwo has in this piece taken the debate further on what Igbo is losing by the hate they preach every day and the rude celebration of ethnic bigotry at a time like this. I cannot thank Churchill Okonkwo enough for this courageous exposition when men who should know better are shamelessly and cowardly maintaining a grave silence. They know the truth but cannot speak.
When a writer is silent he is lying. Churchill, I join you to raise my hands for the world to see where I stand at a time like this. Real men take a stand in the days of trouble. Twenty-one years ago, I wrote my first Book, Igbos: 25 YEARS AFTER BIAFRA. In that book I wrote that it is true that Igbo have been marginalized in every sector in Nigeria be it at the Federal level, State, Local Government, Army, Navy, Airforce, Police, House of Reps, Senate, and even in Revenue allocations, Appointments, Infrastructure distribution, National institutions, etc. I acknowledged the fact that even as painful as it is our people marginalize themselves even further without knowing it. Learning from history I had thought that 46 years after the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War, Igbo would have been matured enough to throw persecution complex, leadership complex and defeatism attitude into the dustbin of history knowing fully well that the victors of that Civil War are really not better than Igbo today in Nigeria, everything considered. I have even justified this claim from the world-class research conducted by The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council “that all forms of indignity against human lives, against human persons, debase the perpetrators more than the victims.Today Igbo are at it again just like what took place before pogrom in 1966. Immediately after the 16years struggle for democracy ended in 1999, a coward and lily-livered Igbo clown called Ralph Uwazurike who could not raise a voice against IBB or Abacha in the days of the locust began to call for the State of Biafra.
He was ignored because it was seen as a business venture to raise money for himself and his family. Soon it became a big business for carpenters and bricklayers. Soon suspicion came in, and the center could no longer hold. The rest is now history. Before the 2015 elections, I warned Igbo that a President Jonathan will not fly in 2015 given the obvious and painful fact that Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani have formed an alliance which left South East and South-South to a miserable minority. Igbo did not listen because they believed so much in the power of incumbency. When it became obvious that Card Readers and PVCs will be deployed to checkmate rigging and falsification of results, Jonathan’s handlers bribed OPC and MASSOB to stage a protest against Prof. Jega in Lagos, Umuahia, Anambra, and Abia. The rest is not history. TAN had planned to give Jonathan 25 million votes by all means possible. Soon we began to hear of one funny character called Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB, abusing other Nigerians and calling Nigeria a zoo. It soon became another huge business as this unknown, untrained and gullible boy flew First Class to travel all over the world preaching hate and ethnic bigotry, deceiving gullible Nigerians like him in diaspora, including economic refugees and cultural savages. Like every other business, the lowest of the low in Igboland keyed into his useless and brainless project. Anger across Igboland due to Jonathan’s failure to clinch the presidency grew like wildfire and our people found solace in Kanu’s brigandage. The Biafra cry today Today we hear Biafra, Biafra on the internet; we hear it in Igboland, but one thing is certain; we have to debate this one. We did not discuss the 1966 to 1970 Biafra and the 1967 to 1970 Civil War, and we all know the consequences. Now the Biafra of 2016 will be hotly debated, every option weighed, every ‘i’ dotted and every ‘t’ crossed.
The self-evident truth is that I have 25 reasons why Biafra cannot stand in Nigeria again. But will my people listen to me? Did they read Churchill Okonkwo’s hot potato? Did Kanu witness the Civil War? Where did they tell the stories? Did they see the pictures? Do they know the Igbo investment in Nigeria? Do they know that Biafra is too small for Igbo enterprise? Do they know about the ethnic war in Rwanda? Do they know about the state of South-Sudan Republic? Do they know about our children flown to Gabon and other places that never returned? Do they know anything? I can go on and on.
A bright Igbo son Prof Ozodi Osuji has described Igbo mentality these days as one saddled with a childish sense of superiority and paranoid grandiosity, but we can do better than this. Igbo are not the best God ever created in Nigeria. Every ethnic group in Nigeria has its champions and stars. The North of Hausa-Fulani feeds the South. This is huge power, SIMPLICITA. The people of Southern Nigeria have their own prodigious power too. This is the power of diversity. My take is that sensible Igbo in Nigeria must begin to speak out like Churchill Okonkwo and others. They are the real thinkers in Igboland who see what other Igbo cannot see. Let the real debate start and let all the sides be heard loud and clear. I throw my hat into the ring, and I am ready to go the whole hog. Let the real men stand up so that charlatans, crooks and biafrauds will disappear.
source:https://www.naij.com/861780-igbos-will-realise-nnamdi-kanu-deceived-biafra-joke.html

op your father died of kwashioko ni

pele for that

olaitoro:
I go with Op.

how can we sacrifice Lagos, never.

Lagos belong to us all, Igbos and yoruba inclusive.

[size=15pt] Lagos is a NO MANS land.[/size]

proudly Igbo
proudly Lagosian.

egbon op sotigbo

Ka Chineke mezie okwu

Nigerian leadership has proved itself as incapable of being reasoned with. Over many decades there have been dialogues upon dialogues to make a headway in this union to no avail. The 102 years of existence attest to that verdict.

The Northern oligarchy and their SW collaborator use propaganda coupled with divide-and-rule tactics to entrench evil, injustice, lopsidedness, looting and continual bloodletting. They ensured that there exists a lopsided representation at every level of government to their own advantages.

It's worthy to note that the Igbo Nation never asked to be made Nigerians. Igbos were coerced into this fraudulent union.

It's therefore wicked and evil to so use any trumped up excuse to support the continuation of this expired entity cum contraption which has hitherto been sustained by gross injustice, lopsidedness and continual bloodletting.

For the benefit of doubts, there exists two groups of Igbo people who rant carelessly about 'One Nigeria':

1. The ignorant who bear Igbo names but lack the requisite Igbo resilience and independence - the products of strange marriages.
2. Those who gain from the fraudulent system and/or are afraid of their post-Nigeria survival.
(And the fact is that both groups are in the minority; be they in/around politics/politicians or in plum jobs).

And there are only two options available for Nigeria's problem:

1. Kowtow to the whims and caprices of Yorubas and accept Hausa-Fulani hegemony.
2. Support self-determination and eventual balkanization of the country as espoused by Igbos aiming for Biafra and some other ethnic groups for their respective republics.

Any other option save a UN supervised referendum is merely tantamount to fooling around.

quid:
Ka Chineke mezie okwu

ndiofe amaghi na uche ha ezughi ezu ihe ha ga ebido kwuwe bu go back to your vilage and leave lagos for us, hahaha

nwanne anyi ga emesi ha ike na one Nigeria.

I seriously wish these people get their biafra , the kind revenue wey Nigeria go get from them.. Visa, work permit, residency permit etc I just pity the gala sellers among them because they will be regarded as illegal immigrants and they can't go back to their village

omofunaab:
I seriously wish these people get their biafra , the kind revenue wey Nigeria go get from them.. Visa, work permit, residency permit etc I just pity the gala sellers among them because they will be regarded as illegal immigrants and they can't go back to their village

The same gala sellers that have bought all your father's properties and made you a perpetual tenant?

You don't need to worry about the welfare of Igbos and Easterners.

BTW, when did Yorubas begin caring for the Igbos that they so much detest?
If Yorubas, without hesitation, colluded with their Northern masters to almost annihilate the Igbos and Easterners just because they sought a separate existence in 1967-70 then Yorubas are simply playing to the gallery with their usual hypocrisy and double-faced mien.

Learn to channel your negative energies towards consolidating OduaArewanistan republic.

Joe Igbokwe seriously needs to go and question his mother about his paternity. Nigeria this, Nigeria that. Do people like him realise that Igbos survived before there was anything like Nigeria? Now that there is Nigeria, he has 25 reasons why Igbos cannot survive outside Nigeria? This same Joe Igbokwe said that Igbos should not seek independence because Igbo land cannot contain all Igbos yet the Lagos where Joe Igbokwe lives has a population of over 20 million and is just half the size of Abia state. Did Joe Igbokwe say anything when an Igbo woman was recently beheaded in Kano? Did he react when 100 unarmed Biafran protesters were murderd in Onitsha 2 weeks ago? What was his reaction when several people were shot dead as the were praying in a School field in Aba? What has he said about herdsmen attacking communities in Enugu, Anambra and Imo? What was his reaction when the Igbo Monarch of Ubulu-Uku in Delta state was kidnapped by Fulani Herdsmen and murdered last year? Everything is about shouting 'one Nigeria' all over the place and licking the a$$ of the Northerners. Joe Igbokwe is just what we Igbos call an "Efulefu"

omofunaab:
I seriously wish these people get their biafra , the kind revenue wey Nigeria go get from them.. Visa, work permit, residency permit etc I just pity the gala sellers among them because they will be regarded as illegal immigrants and they can't go back to their village

that does not stop the fact that Lagos is no mans land.
welcome to one Nigeria alaye,

i have come to discover two type of igbo analyst especially when it comes to explaining biafra agitation. One Are Those That Are Running From Their Past And Others That Have Discovered Their Future. Igbos Especially The Former Are Those That Will Always Repeat What Their Captor Counterpart Told Them They Are While The Later Are Those That Will Resist It . Its

60xtr99r:


The same gala sellers that have bought all your father's properties and made you a perpetual tenant?

You don't need to worry about the welfare of Igbos and Easterners.

BTW, when did Yorubas begin caring for the Igbos that they so much detest?
If Yorubas, without hesitation, colluded with their Northern masters to almost annihilate the Igbos just because the Igbos sought a separate existence in 1967-70 then you lots are simply playing to the gallery with your usual hypocrisy and double-faced mien.

Learn to channel your negative energies towards consolidating OduaArewanistan republic.

Lol, Mr man i don't hate igbos Infact i want you guys to leave and have your own country.. You saying igbos have bought all the properties in Lagos and yorubas are now tenants is an exaggeration... You are also showing one of your qualities I.e chest beating.. .may chuku Ori ike Alabama be with you

zendy:
Joe Igbokwe seriously needs to go and question his mother about his paternity. Nigeria this, Nigeria that. Do people like him realise that Igbos survived before there was anything like Nigeria? Now that there is Nigeria, he has 25 reasons why Igbos cannot survive outside Nigeria? This same Joe Igbokwe said that Igbos should not seek independence because Igbo land cannot contain all Igbos yet the Lagos where Joe Igbokwe lives has a population of over 20 million and is just half the size of Abia state. Did Joe Igbokwe say anything when an Igbo woman was recently beheaded in Kano? Did he react when 100 unarmed Biafran protesters were murderd in Onitsha 2 weeks ago? What was his reaction when several people were shot dead as the were praying in a School field in Aba? What has he said about herdsmen attacking communities in Enugu, Anambra and Imo? What was his reaction when the Igbo Monarch of Ubulu-Uku in Delta state was kidnapped by Fulani Herdsmen and murdered last year? Everything is about shouting 'one Nigeria' all over the place and licking the a$$ of the Northerners. Joe Igbokwe is just what we Igbos call an "Efulefu"

forget that man, he is dancing to the tune of his pay masters.

omofunaab:




Lol, Mr man i don't hate igbos Infact i want you guys to leave and have your own country.. You saying igbos have bought all the properties in Lagos and yorubas are now tenants is an exaggeration... You are also showing one of your qualities I.e chest beating.. .may chuku Ori ike Alabama be with you

alaye, nobody is going anywhere, one Nigeria is here to stay.
Lagos our land cause it belongs to all Nigeria.

Lagos is no mans land.

olaitoro:


that does not stop the fact that Lagos is no mans land.
welcome to one Nigeria alaye,

Lol, really I look forward to biafra nation and when you people will be declared illegal immigrants in Lagos, maybe by then you will know who truly owns Lagos

60xtr99r:


The same gala sellers that have bought all your father's properties and made you a perpetual tenant?

You don't need to worry about the welfare of Igbos and Easterners.

BTW, when did Yorubas begin caring for the Igbos that they so much detest?
If Yorubas, without hesitation, colluded with their Northern masters to almost annihilate the Igbos and Easterners just because they sought a separate existence in 1967-70 then Yorubas are simply playing to the gallery with their usual hypocrisy and double-faced mien.

Learn to channel your negative energies towards consolidating OduaArewanistan republic.

The same people they massacred during the pogrom before the cry for Biafra ever happened.

omofunaab:




Lol, really I look forward to biafra nation and when you people will be declared illegal immigrants in Lagos, maybe by then you will know who truly owns Lagos

egbon, Nigeria is one, and Lagos belongs to Igvos as well as yorubas.

Lagos is a no mans land.

ogun is fast turning to mans land, flex one Nigeria with "Ibos"

viewing this thread: rommyth, the cony op that chicken out from his own thread.
hahaha

olaitoro:


egbon, Nigeria is one, and Lagos belongs to Igvos as well as yorubas.

Lagos is a no mans land.

ogun is fast turning to mans land, flex one Nigeria with "Ibos"

So you don't want to go back to village

olaitoro:


ndiofe amaghi na uche ha ezughi ezu
ihe ha ga ebido kwuwe bu go back to your vilage and leave lagos for us, hahaha


nwanne anyi ga emesi ha ike na one Nigeria.

Ndi ala anyi achupula ndiofe n'ala nke ha
O bu ya kpatara ndiofe ji ewesara ndi ala anyi iwe di oku.

Mberedi nyiri dike, mana mberede k'eji mara dike.

olaitoro:

ogun is fast turning to mans land, flex one Nigeria with "Ibos"

omofunaab:

So you don't want to go back to village

which villiage
I am from Ogudu, Kosofe LGA of Lagos state.
I am typing from my villiage.
proudly Igbo
proudly Lagosian.

olaitoro:


which villiage

I am from Ogudu, Kosofe LGA of Lagos state.

I am typing from my villiage.

proudly Igbo

proudly Lagosian.

Oya tell this to your brothers.. .it seems you don't want biafra

olaitoro:


which villiage

I am from Ogudu, Kosofe LGA of Lagos state.

I am typing from my villiage.

proudly Igbo

proudly Lagosian.

When will you run for office of Lagos state governor

quid:

When will you run for office of Lagos state governor

nwanne, very soon,

as long as Nigeria remains, Lagos cum Ogun state will continue to be Igboland extension

omofunaab:



Oya tell this to your brothers.. .it seems you don't want biafra

tell that to your omoalabi that masturbate on hearing anything Biafra.
who open this thread no be your brother.

olaitoro:

nwanne, very soon,

as long as Nigeria remains, Lagos cum Ogun state will continue to be Igboland extension

Gbam.
Kita k'anyi bidoro ikpa ezigbo nkata.
Anu gbaa ajo oso, anyi agbaa ya ajo egbe.

Anyi kwu gi n'azu oge obula I putara izo ndoro-ndoro ochichi nke Lagos anyi

omofunaab:




Lol, really I look forward to biafra nation and when you people will be declared illegal immigrants in Lagos, maybe by then you will know who truly owns Lagos

there is one fact people keep forgetting.if igbos leave Lagos today,the Lagos that will be left behind will be different from the Lagos as it is known today.the economic activities will be severely affected.
In 1993,during the June 12 crisis,between June and August of that year.a lot of Igbos left Lagos for the East and because of the heavy bank withdrawals and very few economic activities,many banks nearly collapsed.any body who doubts should ask.
so the issue of igbos being illegal immigrants in Lagos will never arise rather it should be the other way.