Editor’s note: Since the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, his supporters launched a new protest movement in southeastern Nigeria calling for an independent state of Biafra.

The author of the Vanguard in this opinion piece seeks to discuss a new book entitled: The Politics of Biafra and the Future of Nigeria, written by Chudi Offodile. The new book throws light on this phenomenon called “Biafra” and the future of Nigeria.


You guessed it right: this article seeks to discuss a new book entitled: The Politics of Biafra and the Future of Nigeria, written by Chudi Offodile, a lawyer and former Honourable member of the House of Representatives who says he has retired from “electoral politics”.

Offodile’s new book throws light on this phenomenon called “Biafra”. Most Nigerians don’t really understand what it is. Even those in the army of Eastern youth who swear it is either Biafra or death need to read this book to understand what they are asking for. Offodile strongly believes that there is a great dialectical nexus between understanding the politics of Biafra and forging a viable future for Nigeria.

Who are the Biafrans? Many Nigerians think it refers to people of the South East geopolitical zone. Some think it refers to the Igbo ethnic group, but as Offodile’s analysis shows, the Igbo groups are found in the South East, Rivers and Delta states. Some groups in Delta and Rivers deny their Igboness and distance themselves from Biafra, though other non-Igbos see them for who they really are. For instance, when Dr. Peter Odili was running for president, Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark, said he was Igbo and unqualified to benefit from the South-South agitation for the presidency. When President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as the Minister of State for Petroleum and with Mr. Godwin Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank, CBN, he was satisfied that the “Igbos” were well accommodated in his government. But would Kachikwu, Emelfiele and Chibuike Amaechi openly admit being Igbos, let alone being classified as Biafrans? Yet, it was a coup led by Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu, an Igbo from today’s Delta, that led to the Biafra-Nigeria war. What a complex case this Igbo thing is!

The Biafra issue is not easier to understand. Obviously, Biafra consisted of the old Eastern Region, made up of the Igbo and their Minority neighbours/cousins. But when General Yakubu Gowon created Rivers and Cross River States, most Minorities pulled out of Biafra to join the Federals in the fight against Biafra.

Today’s Biafra agitators are looking at the former Eastern Region as their dream territory, but how many of the minority groups will willingly sign on for Biafra in a free and fair referendum? For that matter, how many Igbos will actually vote “Biafrexit”?

So, Offodile observes (correctly) that even the Igbos of the South East are divided between the “Ojukwuist separatists” who want to pull out of an unfair, unjust and unworkable Nigeria and the “Zikist nationalists” who prefer to remain in a better Nigeria. Says he: “But given a choice between a more equitable Nigeria and a new Biafra, without doubt, a more equitable Nigeria would be the preferred choice of a greater majority of the Igbo”.

Source : https://www.naij.com/997031-will-kachikwu-amaechi-openly-admit-igbos-classified-biafrans.html

Peace and Unite is all we need!

Let's watch and see

They ( Nigerians) are all screaming Peace and unity, yet none of them want Justice and equity.