LordMecuzy:
Long Live TonyeBarcanister My Brother

Tycoflu:



E na ako bullshit. Compare Enugu of 2015 with that of 2007 before Chime. He did a lot and never show casted his achievements on tv; a rare virtue among Nigerian Politicians.

Na who be dis?

Park well joor. Wetin you know?

I won't compare Enugu; I will compare Enugu State. Chime wasn't elected as Mayor of the City of Enugu. If I want to compare, I start from my LG. You, compare your own LG, not Enugu.

Unless you are one of the SAS abi SSAS? Otimkpus! Or one of the chicks?

Anyway sha, I have very little to say on Chime. His ummunna in Udi kpom kwem have given him a rounded "F". No be me talk am.

Bye

atbu1983:


Since ur 5 eastern states have everything why not make Biafra ur 5 eastern state only.
Stop dragging any south south nations.
The whole of Delta State (Including Asaba) was never at anytime in history part of Eastern region and will never be.

Unemadu:
mej67 nwanne! i thought u and ur evil twin otil1 have been kidnapped. Good to see u guyz. Whats happening in our dear Enugu state

bugzbunny:


Barcanista is an attention seeker
I urge all patriots including the Op to ignore his thread... D dude is confused.. Collectively we can make him irrelevant on Nairaland...

AZeD1:
Using a 1967 map in 2015? Like seriously?
Are you going to also fight Cameroon for Bakassi since it was also part of the Eastern region then?

mej67:
When you research the term ‘spin doctor’, you are likely going to have such definitions as “Somebody who works in or for the media who ensures that the public understands things from a certain perspective” and “a person (as a political aide) responsible for ensuring that others interpret matters from a particular point of view”

TonyeBarcanista is a spin doctor. I must confess that I am one of those who have been proud of his work. Ride on, Barcanister.

I make this current submission in response to TonyeBarcanista’s “Dear Igbos, We Don't Hate You... We Are Not Your Antagonists” at Politics – Nairaland¹, which essentially wanted the Igbos not to ever make claim to Port Harcourt, that Port Harcourt is not Igboland.

Guess what? Tonyebarcanister is right! Port Harcourt remains the aboriginal home to Ikweres and Okirikas, as he said; not Igbos.

Now, to the point. Barcanista, Sir, Igbos are not claiming Port Harcourt. Igbos never at any point claimed Port Harcourt and I am sure that there is no plan or intention for the Igbos to ever lay claim to Port Harcourt.

Issue is, there is now a growing number of spin doctors who equate Biafra with Igbo. That is an unfortunate twist of history for Biafra is not Igbo or should I say Igbo alone. Attributing Biafra to Igbo is incorrect. Igbo may be predominant in Biafra but it is wrong to think of Biafra territory as Igbo land. Biafra was Biafra as then declared and Igboland is but part of it. Whenever Biafra is defined or discussed, Port Harcourt will be part of the territory that was Biafra. That is just the historical facts. Can TonyeBarcanista disprove this fact? No, he can’t. Reason: There has been no new discussion and definition of Biafra territory except as it was on the day of declaration of the republic in 1967. Given, the Nigerian army decimated and devastated the entire area and re-annexed it into ‘one Nigeria’, but anytime reference is made to Biafra, what is meant is that original nation that was and was no more.

Ikwere was Biafra. Bonny was Biafra and Port Harcourt was Biafra.

Today, the issue of Biafra is becoming narrowly defined as an Igbo affair, but that is wrong from historical perspective. Biafra was not an Igbo-alone project! That is revisionism. That is a fallacy.

Hear TonyeBarcanista “Show Respect For Our Territories: I believe that it was Kanu that spread the fable that Portharcourt is an Igbo city, which some of you now call Igweocha. This is absolutely insulting on us the Okrikans/Ijaws especially.” This is a bad spin. If you replace “Igbo” with “Biafra” in above expression, you get the fact. Port Harcourt was a Biafran city. IPOB is about Biafra not Igbo.

Quite Frankly, I don’t really know much about Igweocha, but natives may have an old dialect for referring to a place yonder their territory. I have heard of Fernanda Po, I have heard of Potokiri but these are colloquial references to places. Even the Biafran administration did not rename Port Harcourt.

For all those being deceived by spin doctors that Igbos brought about Biafra, please a good look at history books will be necessary.

In Barcanistar’s style, I usher the following points:

1. The geographic territory of the defunct Biafra nation has never been in doubt and actually pre-dated Nigeria².
As a simple guide, there were three regions –the Eastern, Western and Norther Regions of Nigeria and later, the Mid-Western region. Biafra would be equal to the entire old Eastern Region and mainly the Igbo-speaking Mid-west. The Biafran war was never about expanding the Igbo territory, but to defend the new nation called Republic of Biafra. Alas, it became impossible. Please note this quote from Wikipedia on Biafra (para. 6) “Biafra as a territory existed long before the amalgamation and independence of Nigeria as a republic.”

2. Biafra was NOT an Igbo affair:
The old Eastern Region was home to Igbos, of course. So it was for many other tribes, all making up one region –Efiks, Ibibios, etc., etc., quite a long list; and they all existed and operated well in the region that, at some point, had a higher economic growth rate than the Asian Tigers. It is on record that the man that suggested the name “Biafra” was Chief Frank Opigo an Izon, not Igbo, who later served as the administrator of Yenagoa Province of Biafra and the commissioner for rural development³. The second in command to Col. Ojukwu, the Vice President of the defunct Biafra was Obong Philip Efiong, who actually became the Head of State as Ojukwu departed and saw to the surrender and closure of the Bifran chapter as at then. Not an Igbo man. He is from current Akwa Ibom. I don’t need to mention Victor Banjo and others.

Note that at the declaration of independent Biafra Republic on 30 May 1967, there was no record of revolt in any part of the then Eastern Region (Biafra). The Ikweres did not revolt, the Okirikas did not, the Efiks did not, the Izons did not. We were all together in the venture until they started to divide us.

3. Igbos never annex territory:
Start from the defunct Eastern Region; although the Igbos was the predominant tribe by population, there were no incidences of annexation of territories or acquisition of homesteads of other tribes within the Region. The Region was peaceful and was able to achieve great economic feats that would have been impossible in an environment of hostility in between the tribes or between Igbos and the other tribes. Igbos simply need to trade with others, not acquire their lands, territories, properties and wives. What Igbos make from trading is enough for them, and they use it to buy, acquire and develop property, not annex or expand territory. Igboland has a more or less known and fixed territory and has been so for many centuries. Igbos do not want to conquer at the same time, they do not want to be conquered,


4. Denial of Biafra is an induced reaction since the end of the war:
As Biafran terrirories fell into the hands of Nigerian army, denial of Biafra was made a condition for staying alive for all those in the Biafran territory and every Biafran was faced with either accepting and professing “one Nigeria” or execution. We all professed “one Nigeria”, no shame about it. One has to be alive to agitate.

[b]5. The current agitation for Biafra hopes to adopt a different approach –a civil approach, not war:
Other than violence and strife, I am one of those who believe that something positive can be achieved from drawing attention to the poor conditions of a people forced to be in an arrangement that is not beneficial to them. Such was the birth of the concept of indigenous of people of Biafra, which, I believe, is hoped to be more acceptable and understandable, especially to the international community and the UN. Of course, in fullness of time, there shall be discussions and choices on who wishes to be in the new Biafra because, Biafrans cannot complain about Nigeria being foisted on them and then end up foisting Biafra on those that do not want it.


On another note, for all those being deceived by spin doctors that Igbos want to dominate you, that Igbos want to expand and take your homes, please worry not. Igbos are not interested in these things and I can prove it. Ask yourself, whose territory have Igbos annexed before in history? Who have the Igbos really dominated before? Find the answers to this question by knowing that as Igbos travel all over the world, if their goal was to dominate or annex territories, they would not be everywhere you find the Igbos today. Igbos would rather lord it on people they are able to dominate or find it easy to take their territory rather than being in the developed Western world, the now blossoming Asia and in fact, in every part of the globe.

Truth be said, the Igbo simply want to be successful. The Igbo want to live decently. The Igbo detest strife. It spoils business for them. The Igbo is not after your land or territory. If an Igbo man wants your land, he will come to you with a keg of palm wine or equivalent like carton of Carlo Rossi, ask you nicely, negotiate with you, and pay you a reasonable price in exchange.

Now, speaking from Igbo perspective, for our neighbours in South South (mind you, I did not say brothers), it remains to be seen what the gain is to you of siding the grand beneficiaries of the Nigerian project. First, to weaken Biafra, there was the first creation of States to give you a false sense of independence (from Igbos). But that ended up the way it has today –with your resources being spread across the length and breadth of the Northern Nigeria who now has no incentive to collect taxes from their people because your crude revenue is just what they need. Check the recent listing of States and their IGR⁴ and see what is happening.

They made you believe the Igbo was/is your problem but that is not supported from any empirical evidence. Imagine if all that revenue did not have to be spread to Chad basin. I sometimes like to fantasize about this. Meanwhile, if it is about crude and gas. The Igbo is not as baren as Sokoto and Borno.

Anyway, going on, following the first creation of states, was the declaration of abandoned property, which basically was about bribing you with the ‘spoils of war’, to strengthen your resolve to part ways with Igbos forever. Extreme divide and rule, I'd say. This you gladly embraced and went ahead to appropriate Igbo property in Port Harcourt and environs. This, Igbos have long forgiven and moved on. That's history now. But the question continues to be there –is the South-Southerner better off today? What I personally see are issues everywhere -the needless killing of Prof Ken Saro Wiwa, the devastation of Ogoni land which became an evenue of politicking even when President Jonathan was there, the begging for 50% derivation, the broader Niger delta militancy, etc., etc...

That's an aside. The choice remains yours. In the new Biafra, if you do not want, you will not be part. But since discussion is about the only Biafra we have always known, Tonyebarcanister, if you are truly from Okrika, you are a Biafran, that is, if you agree that Biafrans are those that inhabit the territory then and today referred as Biafra; Port Harcourt a Biafran city, Okrika and Ikwere, Biafran territories (of course, as it then was). Let me hear you say tuffiakwa! But, yes, you are not Igbo and there is no interest in making you one.

Notes
1. https://www.nairaland.com/2691679/dear-igbos-dont-hate-not
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra
3. https://www.nairaland.com/2689230/photo-man-suggested-name-biafra#39345850
4. https://www.nairaland.com/2689625/states-internally-generated-revenue-see