When then Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu declared that the Eastern Region had seceded from the rest of the country on May 30, 1967, many had thought mere police action was all that was required to quell the Biafran rebellion. But it took three years for the administration of General Yakubu Gowon to end the civil war on January 16, 1970 when Ojukwu’s then chief of staff, General Phillip Effiong, made a formal surrender statement/declaration at a ceremony in Lagos. At the end of the war, the Gowon regime invented the ‘No victor no vanquished’ slogan to signal that there was no winner or loser in the war.The administration followed up the slogan with the catch-phrase ‘One Nigeria’. But 50 years after Ojukwu declared the hostilities that claimed millions of lives, mostly on the Biafran side, many Igbo people say the conditions that made the civil war inevitable still haunt them today. They allege that they are still marginalised by the Nigerian federation. Consequently, whereas some Igbo are taking the extreme option of asking for separation from Nigeria, many others want a
restructuring of the federation to redress the alleged marginalisation.
Meanwhile, the fact is that 50 years after the secessionist bid was launched, many of the challenges that ignited Biafra are unresolved remains an issue for many Igbo people. For instance, Mazi Kalu Onuoha Orji, a septuagenarian, who fought on the side of Biafra in the civil war, believes nothing has changed in then situation of the Igbo in the federation and now. ‘What led to the declaration of Biafra 50 years ago is still happening. Look at how we are being treated, not even as a second but third class citizens. Our people are using their blood to develop this country,” Orji told Sunday Vanguard last week. “The Federal Government must show courage and give Ndigbo their deserved sense of belonging; otherwise the agitation for Biafra will not die.”


Not an Igbo coup


A former National Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nduka Eya, said the Biafra issue had been on the lips of everybody even as people had been reacting differently about it. “But why the declaration in the first place? It was because the Igbo are the only Nigerians that accept the country the British put together for us and only the Igbo accepted it as a country of their own. The late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe fought for it all his life and had to wait for the North to be ready. He was a pan-Africanist. “Then the pogrom came and the coup followed and instead of seeing the coup as involving every nationality, they saw it as an Igbo coup. Biafra came because they were telling us we were not part of the country.” On General Alani Akinrinade’s regret on the fight against Biafra, Eya said: “General Akinrinade is now looking in retrospect. He has found out it was not an Igbo coup. He is right. He now understands what Biafra was all about. Biafra was lost to international conspiracy. Biafra included the entire old Eastern Region, now the South-East
and South-South. “The states created by Gowon were to destabilize the region. Now Akinrinade has seen it is true because of the self- determination agitations in some other places. 50 years after, we still cry to know if we are part of Nigeria. We want to be on our own. “Akinrinade is seeing it too late. He fought against Biafra. I urge the Ndigbo to stay calm because it is a constitutional issue.” The Eastern Consultative Assembly, ECA, said the war was still on-going 50 years after the declaration of Biafra and 47 years after the war ended.



New battlefield


Deputy Leader of ECA, Chief (Mrs) Marie Okwo, told Sunday Vanguard in Enugu that the Federal Government had not stopped fighting the Igbo, adding that the war has now shifted to political and economic marginalisation. “As I have always say, the war has not really ended. It is still on but there is a new battle-field. It is not a conventional war as we are being deprived of our rights both ecomically and politically. We are not given our dues contrary to the Constitution that guides the country. The war is fiercer now than what it was between 1967 and 1970 when the physical war was fought. They should restructure this country. The North think they own Nigeria and that we are their tenants or slaves. This is why the country will continue to be in a mess”. The Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, said it no longer believed in Nigeria as a country for Igbo people. Founder of IYM, Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu- Uko, said this was why many Igbo people were behind the leader of the Indegenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, in his efforts to realise the Biafran dream. Ugochukwu-Uko is also the Deputy Secretary, Igbo Leaders of Thought, ILT. His words, “Your question is begging the issue, our reasons are obvious. Our people are behind him simply because he has proved to be devoted, dedicated and committed to freeing our people from the prison called Nigeria. He has also proved that he can make sacrifices for the sake of our people. “You see, Nnamdi Kanu is not the problem of Nigeria, rather the problems of Nigeria threw up Nnamdi Kanu. He and his followers are merely reacting to the wickedness of the system. “On the 29th of July, 1966, 51 years ago, some northern soldiers in their twenties killed then Head of State, General Agwuyi Ironsi, and Col. Fajuyi, then military governor of Western Region, in Ibadan and seized power, led Nigeria through a bloody civil war, carved Nigeria along their whims, created states and local governments, designed the Nigerian Constitution according to their interests and have held Nigeria by the jugular ever since. “They left sorrow, tears and blood, established the Nigerian corrupt political culture and still insist on dictating our future whether we like it or not. “It does not matter to them that the Nigeria they designed is not working, that 20 states cannot pay salaries, that 90 percent of the citizens want Nigeria returned to regional arrangement, that more than half of our population have completely lost faith in Nigeria, and that about one quarter of the population are completely bent on seceding from Nigeria. These soldiers of fortune and their civilian accomplices have continued to resist every plea to restructure Nigeria back to regional autonomy. “Every effort, since Aburi, Ghana 50 years ago, Abacha’s conference 20 two years ago, Obasanjo’s conference 12 years ago and Jonathan’s confab three years ago, has been frustrated, resisted by these small gods, who believe they own Nigeria. Kanu and his followers only represent the voice of the masses who are simply saying ‘We can’t take it anymore’. “Those who destroyed Nigeria and their accomplices, plus those who are in comfort zone are probably the only people who still believe in Nigeria the way it is. The fact that the trio of Buhari, Buratai and Daura of DSS turned Kanu into a hero overnight, simply shows that Kanu’s activism positively resonates with millions of our people. So it is the injustice initiated and condoned by some people that inspired Kanu to embark on a project to free his people from servitude. So, Kanu is not the problem, the problem are those who believe they are born to rule and dominate others perpetually”. Utter neglect The Chairman, South East Caucus of Inter-Party Advisory Council, Chief Emeka Okafor, said what South-East people are going through is horrible. “These are people that almost laid the foundation and built Nigeria with their investments all over the country. They are now utterly neglected in every aspect of the polity,”Okafor said. “After the Biafran war, the ‘No victor no vanquished’ slogan was introduced. But what we have witnessed is a greater level of marginalization. No infrastructure. Look at the state of the Niger Bridge, it is because it is in Igbo land; if it were to be located in other parts of Nigeria, they would have rehabilitated it long time ago. “The Igbo people developed Ogbunigwe during the Biafran era; ordinarily the nation would have tapped into the ingenuity of the people and brushed up what they did. But it was neglected and Nigeria spends billions of Naira procuring arms and ammunition. This great idea was abandoned simply because it was done by Ndigbo. Technicians of first class brains abound in Igbo land who government should have brushed up to get the best that will help in building this nation to where it ought to be, but it is not so.” He, however, urged the Ndigbo to stop talking of leaving Nigeria. He argued that the Ndigbo have about 70 per cent investments in Nigeria and should not abandon their hard earned wealth. Okafor said the Federal Government should, in line with its programme of raising funds for the rebuilding of the North-East, also compensate the Igbo for their loss during the war. “We should remain here to fight and get what is due to us, we are not going anywhere. We have invested a lot in Nigeria,” he added.



Reflection
AN Igbo leader in Ebonyi State, Chief Abia Onyike, said the reason the North is opposed to the agitation by some Igbo separatist groups is that the success would turn the tide against them economically and politically. Onyike explained that the regret expressed by Akinrinade on Biafra was a reflection of the fact that those who participated in the war against Igbo acted out of ignorance, stressing that it was not the duty of a statesman to fight against those agitating for self-determination.
“The expression of regret by Akinrinade is not the first time he will be saying so. He said so in the 1990s when the June 12 election was annulled. It shows that most people who participated in the war against Igbo acted out of ignorance. It is not the duty of a statesman to go about fighting those agitating for self-determination. Even the British have never fought the Irish and Scottish for wanting to secede”, he stated. “Now the Nigerian federation has run into a mortal crisis, no thanks to the unitary system imposed by the Hausa-Fulani-Yoruba military dictators who have held Nigeria hostage for three decades. “The clamour for the restructuring of the federation is an impossibility given the rigid disposition of the Arewa faction of the neo-fascist hegemonic alliance because the Northern leaders see the clamour as an attempt to turn the tide against them. Only a national democratic revolution can resolve the problem by democratizing the centres of feudalism in northern and western Nigeria; otherwise there is no solution to the hydra-headed crisis of this national question.”

Source: www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/biafran-war-veteran-others-lament-50-years-after-nigeria-has-shown-it-is-the-victor-igbo-the-vanquished/

All hope seemed lost, until biafra dispatched its favoured son. Enter kanu the destroyer of the zoo. Seems even seun is too tired of banning biafrans maybe he is regretting his actions too

Ogalanyachieze:
All hope seemed lost, until biafra dispatched its favoured son. Enter kanu the destroyer of the zoo. Seems even seun is too tired of banning biafrans maybe he is regretting his actions too

I don't know about that part about him regretting his action, but I have also noted that he might have reluctantly admitted to himself that there could be a certain merit to the Biafra agitators. I may be wrong, though.

I mean, if you give a man a level playing field and he couldn't succeed, he has no choice than admit to himself that he wasn't good enough. On the other hand, when you deny a man that level field, and you use whatever resources at your disposal to deny him from creating his own field, then there's bound to be disputes and uproar.

That's exactly what the present situation is. If the government will be bold enough to take that step and restructure the country back to the six geopolitical zones, the clamor about succession will die naturally. Restructuring the country is not an overnight task. There are so many intricacies involved. If the process were to begin today, it would still take years to iron out the finer points. But beginning is the first and important step.

The creation of new states were mere destabilizing factors, and not really aimed at speedy developments. If anything, it merely created more avenues for recurrent expenditures to more state governments, more commissioners and other state governments parastatals.

I find it difficult to understand this Biafra struggle. While some are dieng as a result of d struggle some others"wise ones"are using the struggle to enrich themselves. If u people (Biafrans) are serious why is it that ur leaders are not supporting d struggle ? why did Odumegu Ojukwu that started it failed woefully in Southeast (Biafra) when he contested for President? why is Ike Ekweremadu not at d forefront of d struggle? why is Ogbonaya Onu not at d forefront of d struggle? these are questions d young biafrans should ask them selves.tell Ekweremadu to present ur case at d Senate House

Gowon was only being magnanimous with that statement. Unfortunately those who lost have not moved on and are gearing towards an uncertain future in their renewed bid for a season 2 of the secession drama.

mydavidorf:
I find it difficult to understand this Biafra struggle. While some are dieng as a result of d struggle some others"wise ones"are using the struggle to enrich themselves. If u people (Biafrans) are serious why is it that ur leaders are not supporting d struggle ? why did Odumegu Ojukwu that started it failed woefully in Southeast (Biafra) when he contested for President? why is Ike Ekweremadu not at d forefront of d struggle? why is Ogbonaya Onu not at d forefront of d struggle? these are questions d young biafrans should ask them selves.tell Ekweremadu to present ur case at d Senate House

When I read comments like this, I burst into fits of laughter. I want to address some raised points here. Firstly, the agitation for Biafra is a Nationalistic move, the Igbos have realised the need to have a common voice together as one nation, this isn't a crime at all. What however is a "crime" is non possession of the right to secede in a Federation. That tackled, hitherto, I had always wondered why Ojukwu contested for the president of Nigeria when he wanted out of it, I want you to think about this, hypothetically, let's say Ojukwu became president, don't you think there is possibility that he could have called for a sort of restructuring, or perhaps moved to change Nigeria into a Confedracy, where the right to secede is legal? While these are mere assumptions, it is a possibility.
As I have pointed out earlier, the call for Biafra is a Nationalistic call, this however does not mean that all Igbos would be in support of it, hence Ekweremadu et al, even in India, there were those against Gandhi, did that mean that Indians didn't have a right to seek self governance or were not interested in it? The people that are eating from our national cake would not want it shared, and this is the case with people like Ekweremadu, this however does not mean the call for Biafra is not legitimate.

whirlwind7:



I don't know about that part about him regretting his action, but I have also noted that he might have reluctantly admitted to himself that there could be a certain merit to the Biafra agitators. I may be wrong, though.

I mean, if you give a man a level playing field and he couldn't succeed, he has no choice than admit to himself that he wasn't good enough. On the other hand, when you deny a man that level field, and you use whatever resources at your disposal to deny him from creating his own field, then there's bound to be disputes and uproar.

That's exactly what the present situation is. If the government will be bold enough to take that step and restructure the country back to the six geopolitical zones, the clamor about succession will die naturally. Restructuring the country is not an overnight task.

we have well gone beyond restructuring. D north wont allow it and can it even be sustained igbos wont have patience 4it biafra beckons

IPad will not like this

I agree dat some ssues dat brought abt the civil war r still unresolved but these present agitators ve no idea what such issues are n neither do they know how to resolve the ones they know.
that is y ppl like uwazurike n nnamdi kanu r smiling to the banks everyday.

Let the deputy senate president present the breakout on the floor of the house.

Abi the igbos no get governors, ministers, senators etc to push their matter? if truly igbos love themselves and not outsiders that hate them as acclaimed...

Okoroawusa:
I agree dat some ssues dat brought abt the civil war r still unresolved but these present agitators ve no idea what such issues are n neither do they know how to resolve the ones they know.
that is y ppl like uwazurike n nnamdi kanu r smiling to the banks everyday.

where did u see KANU going to bank
Ndi ara

BlackMbakara1:
Let the deputy senate president present the breakout on the floor of the house.

Abi the igbos no get governors, ministers, senators etc to push their matter? if truly igbos love themselves and not outsiders that hate them as acclaimed...

how you peeps sometimes reason is beyond me. according to the treason and treasonable offence decree 29 of 1993, uttering/publishing words to the effect of breaking naija is an offence punishable by death.

eduj:

how you peeps sometimes reason is beyond me. according to the treason and treasonable offence decree 29 of 1993, uttering/publishing words to the effect of breaking naija is an offence punishable by death.

There's a word called resignation and start pushing. They've already made a name for themselves...

prince9851:
where did u see KANU going to bank Ndi ara

bro,wait let me go n bring camera.

Why do Ibos talk as if the Yorubas and Hausas have it any better? I think, personally, that the Ibos are the most hypocritical of the big three Ethnic groups otherwise they would be questioning their Governors, Senators and Local Government chairmen instead of always looking to blame outsiders.

we are biafrans and not nigerians

mydavidorf:
I find it difficult to understand this Biafra struggle. While some are dieng as a result of d struggle some others"wise ones"are using the struggle to enrich themselves. If u people (Biafrans) are serious why is it that ur leaders are not supporting d struggle ? why did Odumegu Ojukwu that started it failed woefully in Southeast (Biafra) when he contested for President? why is Ike Ekweremadu not at d forefront of d struggle? why is Ogbonaya Onu not at d forefront of d struggle? these are questions d young biafrans should ask them selves.tell Ekweremadu to present ur case at d Senate House

How could you understand when you're not effected you should be asking FG to conduct a referendum as it's done in other parts of the world.

ISpiksDaTroof:
Why do Ibos talk as if the Yorubas and Hausas have it any better? I think, personally, that the Ibos are the most hypocritical of the big three Ethnic group otherwise the would be questioning their Governors, Senators and Local Government chairmen instead of always looking to blame outsiders.

How have you held yours accountable?

BlackMbakara1:
Let the deputy senate president present the breakout on the floor of the house.

Abi the igbos no get governors, ministers, senators etc to push their matter? if truly igbos love themselves and not outsiders that hate them as acclaimed...

Okpoko

Okoroawusa:
I agree dat some ssues dat brought abt the civil war r still unresolved but these present agitators ve no idea what such issues are n neither do they know how to resolve the ones they know.
that is y ppl like uwazurike n nnamdi kanu r smiling to the banks everyday.

Ozu keep ranting before was Facebook Biafra next miscreants, now banks? I can feel your frustration.

Mckennedy:


Ozu keep ranting before was Facebook Biafra next miscreants, now banks? I can feel your frustration.

thank u for d compliment.
ikwusigo? ka onwelu ife ozo icholu ikwu?