By GIACOMO GRISON from London
CHRONOLOGY OF A CONFLICT, ALSO INTERNATIONALLY
: May 30, 1967 the Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu,Governor of the region southeastern Nigeria, proclaimed the birth of theindependent republic of Biafra. In those years, Nigeria, recently undressed
colonial robes, was torn apart by continual blows status, powered by competition for power between the three largest ethnic groups country: the Hausa-Fulani in the north, Yoruba and Igbo in southwest southeast. At the root of disagreements played an significant weight economic factors: Southeast region, rich in oil resources, was always marginalized by the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, who was promoting a redistribution of wealth nationwide. After the unilateral declaration secession, Gowon with the military intervention and imposed an embargo food to reduce food and starved the population of the new republic of Biafra. One of the hallmarks of civil war, which ended
in 1970 with over 3 million Biafrans dead and yield secessionists, were the economic interests at stake, who gave to the conflict international importance. The Great Britain, was interested to preserve the mining agreements stipulated in particularly with the multinational Shell, so it sided with its former colony, which also received support from the Soviet Union. on the other side was formed, Instead, an array
including Portugal, Israel and France, ancient rival of the British in Africa, and supplied the weapons and Biafra mercenaries.
In Nigeria, almost 50 years after the civil war, we are still talking of secession of Biafra. Many still remember the terrible images that, in the late '60s, were on television channels around the world: skeletal children and a people reduced to the extreme by conflict which remained deeply engraved in world public opinion.
But why, after almost half a century, we return today to talk about Biafra? To answer the question we must take a closer look at the Galaxy Igbo movements, ethnicity
Southern, that arose in the last two decades. Some of these, such as MASSOB of Ralph Uwazuruike, began towards the end of the 90's, to exert new pressures on the federal government of Nigeria. But it was the emergence of a new powerful group/movements to give the necessary impetus to the revival of Biafran secessionist hope: the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), under the leadership of the charismatic young Nnamdi Kanu. British citizen but of Biafran origin, Kanu was the first among the Igbo to exploit the great potential of the new media as propaganda tools to reunify its people, who after the war had emigrated all over the world. And so, within a few years, the Pro-Biafra movement IPOB won the media isolation landing on online platforms and social networks. Of great impact was immediately the issuing of Radio Biafra, founded in London and directed by Nnamdi Kanu. Fully operational from 2012, the "pirate" channel (defined by the Abuja government, which has repeatedly tried to limit its spread in Nigeria but failed shamelessly) was able to gain an increasingly wider following , making Nnamdi Kanu the new face of rebirth secessionist.
2015 undoubtedly marks a turning point in the strategy of the movement pro-Biafra IPOB. First, the election to the presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, in
in March 2015, has aroused strong hostility in the community of Biafra, which considers it a serious threat to its Christian identity. The situation, already tense, has been further exacerbated by the abduction and arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, which took place during his stay in Lagos, October 14, 2015, bu the Nigerian Security Department (DSS). Accused of high treason, the director of Radio Biafra remains behind bars waiting the ends of the judicial process.
"Buhari held in prison our leader because he fears his charisma, " says Barrister Emma Nmezu, spokesman for IPOB, in an interview granted to Nigrizia in London, where Mr Nmezu resides. The President of Nigeria on several occasions spoke of reconciliation, even if, at the same time, he reiterated that he will not tolerate IPOB separatist movement. With the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu we have followed several peaceful protests of Biafrans across the Southeast of Nigeria. Aba, Onitsha and Port Harcourt are some of the cities that have seen parading thousands of peaceful protesters. There were also clashes with Nigerian Army and police: "More than 500 died in the hands of the Nigerian government," says Barrister Emma Nmezu. To make matters worse, on 25 April, a group of nomadic herders of the Fulani ethnic group is boundless in the state of Enugu, killing at least more than innocent 20 villagers of Nimbo community. Driven to south in search of grassland for their herds, in the past the Fulani had clashed with local farmers, but never with outcomes of such gravity.

wake up..this is 2016. not 1967

Hiss