THE NAME BIAFRA, ITS ORIGIN AND MEANING:
“ Early modern maps of Africa from the 15th-19th centuries, drawn by European cartographers from accounts written by explorers and travellers, reveal that the original word used by the European travellers was not Biafra but Biafara, Biafar and sometimes also Biafares.” Now let me correct one impression about the meaning of Biafra as some believed it is a name given by Portuguese explorers. Biafara people are already known and addressed as Biafara people before they came in contact with the first European merchants. The word Biafra has its generics from “Ephraim” as pointed out by Martin Simon Ukegbe (a religious activist who suggested that the new Republic of Biafra of 1967 be called the Christian Democratic Republic of B”Ephrayim) the B there signifies the bay or bight so the word Biafara or Biafar has its root from B”Ephraim but the Europeans at that time called it Biafar-Biafara or Biafares. Researchers hold the view that the region is inhabited by descendants of Ephraim. Mitchell map of 1839 stated that the important estuaries from where the rivers flow into the ocean is called Ephraim town which is located 60 miles from River Nun which is in the south-south Nigeria today. The river is named after Nun the father of Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim. Biblical meaning of the name “EPHRAIM” is “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction”. The question now is who are the most afflicted, deprived and mostly killed in the contraption called Nigeria “Biafra people” who are the most fruitful, blessed by nature and skills within the contraption called Nigeria “Biafra people” before 1967-1970 genocide war against Biafran people they have been killed in their
thousands by the Northerners and Westerners 1966, during the war, all the public facilities where completely destroyed, that includes
Schools, Hospitals, Markets, Power plants, Churches, Post offices, Biafra land (south-east Nigeria and some part of South-south) where desolate with no life sustaining amenities, after the war in1970, Awolowo the finance minister gave £20 to every Biafra no matter the amount you have in your bank account, and declared all their properties outside Igbo land abandoned property, including Port Harcourt where Ikwere Igbos denied their Igbo identity with the intention of annihilating and breaking the spirit of Igbo to make them perpetual beggars and people of no hope for the future. The rest are history today which you can confirm for yourself. Today an average Igbo man that has his Igbo identity are far much better than every other Nigeria from all perspective, you can disprove that if you think otherwise.
BIAFRAN ETHNIC NATIONALITIES:
Ibos (Igbo speaking Biafrans), Ijaws (speaking Kalabari, Edoid, Izon language etc) others includes: Ibibio-Efiks and Ogojas, and this Great Nation has been coexisting thousands of years ago as Biafra people many centuries before losing her sovereignty to colonial powers before being balkanized into various countries like Guanine Bissau, Kamerun, etc, the Archaeological evidence and African Ancient map stands as a proof that Biafra people are a nation and are Indigenous people.
Origin and meaning of Igbo/Ibo as a language and people: (this part is written in Ibo Biafra perspective and all other Biafra Ethnic Nations shared same experience and linkage with their Ibo Brothers, they all came from the same root)
Many people including those of Igbo extraction often confused the term “Ibo and Igbo”, some accused the Europeans of removing the G letter, but the truth remains that the current Igbo language letters were written by the whites I mean English people who as missionaries wrote the Igbo alphabet in order to convey the Gospel in Igbo language that is why the English alphabets and that of Igbo are just same A B C D…. a b ch d….., the original form of Igbo written has been lost with near impossibility of being used again. Just as Biafra has its generic root from B”Ephraim so do Ibo has its generics from Heebo, Eboans, Ebo, then Ibo, while Igbo is the language of Ibos. Ibo is a people and Igbo is their language, just like England is a people and English is their language. We call them English people, many English speaking people of England, while Ibo is a people and Igbos are Igbo speaking people of Ibo. The word “Ibrit” which has its English equivalent as Hebrew were corrupted and mispronounce as Iburus, Heebros, Igbos, Eboes and FINALLY Ibos. But from research findings the word Igbo is found to be an derogatory ancient Sudanese word meaning “People of the forest”. This is how Biafara neighbours address our forefathers as Igbo people meaning people of the forest and as the geographic settlement of our forefathers are in tick rain forest of Africa till date Igbos still occupy the same territory, there are other people refer to with the Igbo word in Yoruba land, e.g Connection of Biafra people, Ethiopians and Jews (Bible references):
In a reference about Ethiopian minority, the details of that account proved that both Ethiopia and Biafara shared same boundary located beyond the Ethiopian River and there are similarity in customs and tradition of the Ethiopian Minority and Biafara people which many scholars argue that Igbos Migrated from Ethiopia. These Ethiopia minority are descendants from the son of Solomon who was the product of marriage with Queen sheba, the Ethiopian queen, these Ethiopians has been taken back to Israel as part of the lost tribe. And their extensions beyond the rivers of Ethiopia are settlement of Biafra people as accounted in the Bible Zephaniah 3:10 “"From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings. 11"In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.… this is the root or point of people arguing that Igbos-Biafra people are Jews owing to the fact from the ancient African map which shows that Biafraand Ethiopia share same boundary and Biafra people inhabited the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia , I will not go further than this to remain on course.
1884 BERLIN CONFERENCE AND THE CREATION OF NIGERIA:
This is where Europeans gathered to share African territories like piece of meat on Butcher man table. They redrew the African map, with total impunity and disregard for the people that live as sovereign nations and their boundaries nations were cut off from their kens and merged with other nation, some they renamed it and some they created a new nation while some where completely removed from the map, Biafara was intentionally removed from the map and they have continued to try to eliminate any trace of Biafara, that’s why the Bight of Biafra in River State is renamed as bight of Bonny. The question is this, why do Britain and other world powers determined to eliminate Biafra. The answer can be traced to their pre-colonial experience when they came in contact with our forefathers, their way of life, administration,skills and knowledge supersedes the comprehension of the Europeans. Democracy, respect to Human life (Human Right) where part of the culture of our forefathers. If quick to learn, highly intelligent, Innovative, strength are all the attribute of our ancestors. It was impossible for them to conquer Biafara land like they did in the Northern Sokoto Caliphate and Western Yoruba kingdoms, they colonised Biafra land in the guise of business treaty which they entered with some clans as represented by Royal Niger Company now renamed Uni-Liver. You need to know the facts.
BIAFRA BEFORE 1914 NIGERIA BIRTH AND BIAFRA REPUBLIC OF 1966-1970:
I will be very brief on this, like I have already pointed out the Biafra before colonisation transcends the borders of Nigeria, aftermath of the 1884 Berlin conference balkanised African territories Biafara included. We all knew that Nigeria is a product of 1914 Amalgamation of three sovereign nations which includes parts of Benin kingdom which stretched from the Nigeria Edo state to Benin Republic where cut from the western part of River Niger, from the Northern part the River Niger Zamfara Nation which stretched to parts of Sudan was cut into Nigeria and the Eastern part of the River Niger which covers the Biafra land that stretched beyond the Bakkassi, some part of Cameroun, Guinea Bissau, Gabon etc. These three fragmented kingdoms where put together for the sole purpose of economic exploitation by Britain under Lugard. They used the North as puppets to exploit Biafra land through the contraption they created called Nigeria. When the killing of Biafra people became so much, the then military administrator of Biafra land (then Eastern Nigeria) Ojukwu declared the new republic and named it after its original name before the colonisation in the bid to revive the near lost Biafara Nation. So there is no difference in the people, language, tradition and geographical location of the Biafra before colonisation and that of 1966 as declared by Ojukwu. Chuudy please take note.
NIGERIA WAR AGAINST REMNANT OF BIAFRA (IGBOS) FROM 1966– TILL DATE:
It is no longer news to say that Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani went into alliance to invade Biafra land and lunched a genocide war with the help
of Britain and Russia to annihilate Biafra people, since then till now the war, hatred and subjugation if Biafra people has continue in various
forms against Biafra people within the contraption called Nigeria till today. Starting with brutal genocide war, economic war, religious war,
social war, media war and most current, political war.