* Protest movement demands independent
Biafra
* Group leader's arrest prompts anger in
southeast
* New challenge for President Buhari
By Alexis Akwagyiram
ENUGU, Nigeria, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Nearly
half a century after a civil war in which a
million people died, 27-year-old Okoli Ikedi
is part of a new protest movement in
southeastern Nigeria calling for an
independent state of Biafra.
Such calls have become common since the
leader of the group Ikedi represents in
Enugu, the region's main city, was arrested
in October, prompting thousands in the oil-
producing southeast to join demonstrations
in recent weeks calling for his release.
It's another challenge for President
Muhammadu Buhari, who is grappling with
a sharp slowdown in Africa's biggest
economy, the bloody Boko Haram
insurgency in the northeast and fears that
militancy may resume in the oil-rich
southern Delta region when an amnesty
ends in December.
Like many in the surge of southeastern
secessionist sentiment, Ikedi was born long
after the war ended.
Displaying nothing that would betray his
pro-Biafran leanings such as a flag or
campaign T-shirt, to avoid unwanted police
attention, the diminutive baker said poverty
and high unemployment in the region were
symptoms of government neglect.
"They want to make us economically poor.
They believe the only way to control us is to
increase our suffering," said Ikedi in a
trembling voice, adding that his group, the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), wants a
referendum.
The group points to basic problems to
support its demands for an independent
Biafra, on which presidential spokesman
Garba Shehu declined to comment, adding
that he was not aware that the government
was doing anything on the issue.
POTHOLED HIGHWAYS
The highways that connect southeastern
cities are a source of frustration for
business people in the region who say the
partially tarmaced roads, punctuated by
potholes, should be arteries of commerce
but are dangerous to navigate.
And the refuse strewn by roadsides,
combined with the acrid stench of open
sewers, hints at the dilapidation that has
fomented discontent in the 45 years since
the civil war ended.
The 1967-70 conflict followed a secessionist
attempt by the eastern Igbo people. Most of
the million who lost their lives died from
starvation and illness rather than violence.
Now, like then, Igbos say they have been
marginalised - excluded from key
government posts and denied vital funding
for infrastructure development, schools and
hospitals.
IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu - an activist who
divides his time between the UK and Nigeria,
spreading his ethos on social media and
Radio Biafra - was arrested last month on
charges of criminal conspiracy and
belonging to an illegal society.
Political analyst Okereke Chukwunolye said
the decision to arrest Kanu, previously a little
known figure whose social media following
outweighed actual support on the ground,
was a mistake because it "increased his
popularity and made him more visible".
The sight of the red, black, green and yellow
Biafran flag at largely peaceful protests in
the southeastern cities of Port Harcourt and
Aba, and the capital, Abuja, has prompted
secessionist debates in newspapers, on
radio and social media.
"The issues that brought about the Biafran-
Nigerian civil war have remained
unresolved," said Chukwunolye.
In the 1960s, Enugu - which was the capital
of Biafra - became known for its coal
production which created jobs, as did steel,
cement and gas industries.
"NO VICTOR, NO VANQUISHED"
When the civil war ended, Yakubu Gowon,
the general who led the government side to
victory over Biafra, declared that there
should be "no victor, no vanquished", in a
pledge of reconciliation. But the Igbos feel
left behind.
Local people say the demise of Enugu's
industries, a decline that coincided with the
oil boom in Africa's top crude producer, led
to widespread unemployment and was a
consequence of the federal government
failing to fund projects in the region.
At a market in Asata, an impoverished city
centre district of Enugu, it is hard to find
anyone who supports the government.
"Why can't you leave a slave to go?" asked
vegetable stall holder Victoria Emelue in
response to the question of secession,
raising her voice above the cacophony of
traders, shoppers and blaring music.
She said her three children - all graduates in
their twenties - had been unable to find
work, prompting her to be fearful about the
future.
"Of course I'm in support of Biafra," said 28-
year-old wholesale food trader Uchenna Ede.
"If we are freed, the eastern part of Nigeria
would have a huge turnaround."
A common complaint is that Nigeria's
presidents have tended to come from the
north or southwest - areas dominated by
Hausa and Yoruba people - which, some say,
has led to Igbos not being appointed to
influential government positions.
The constitution says there must be a
minister from each of Nigeria's 36 states,
but the presence of a Muslim northerner as
president with a Yoruba vice-president,
Yemi Osinbajo, has been cited as evidence
that the north and southwest remain
dominant.
It's a reminder of the complex alchemy that
brings together 170 million people in
Africa's most populous nation, split roughly
equally between Christians and Muslims
across around 250 ethnic groups, who
mostly co-exist peacefully.
Tensions are rising. IPOB campaigners say
they are committed to peaceful protests, but
their demonstrations prompted the military
to issue an "unequivocal warning" that
efforts to bring about the "dismemberment
of the country" would be crushed.
Chukwunolye said it was unlikely that Igbo
anger would result in bloodshed, in stark
contrast to Boko Haram militants who have
killed thousands and displaced 2.1 million
people since 2009 in an attempt to set up
an Islamic state in the northeast.
"There is no separatist movement - it is just
an agitation by some youth elements," he
said. "Those who were involved in the thick
of the Biafran struggle will never wish to see
war again."

We don't ask for war all we ask for is freedom