Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,143,356 members, 7,780,964 topics. Date: Friday, 29 March 2024 at 06:28 AM

Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) - Politics - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Politics / Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) (680 Views)

Ijaw Side Of The Biafra-nigeria Conflict-must WATCH!!! / Asari Dokubo Forms His Own Wing Of The BIAFRA Movement / U.S. Slams Military Option In Resolving Nigeria’s Conflicts (2) (3) (4)

(1) (Reply) (Go Down)

Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) by pureorganic: 6:53am On Jun 14, 2017
Resolving the Biafra question
— 14th June 2017
By SIXTUS CHIBUEZE EZENNAYA
PRESIDENT Sekou Toure of Guinea once said, “Our textbooks taught us about the battle of the Gauls, about the life of Joan Arc or Napoleon, the list of French departments, the poems of Lamarine … as if Africa never had a historical past, a geographical existence, and a cultural life”.
Biafra is not the invention of any of the European countries. The name, Biafra, has existed before the advent of the Europeans to Africa. In the ancient map of Africa of 1660 and 1707, Biafra was in it. Bight of Biafra was also in the map when Europeans came to Africa.
Nevertheless, the agitation for the restoration of the Republic of Biafra started officially from the time Lt. Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegu Ojukwu as the Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria (Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers) made the declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra at Ahi- ara-Mbaise on May 30th, 1967.
The announcement precipitated a fierce fighting between the Eastern- ers and the rest of the country as the latter believed that Biafra excision means paralyzing Nigeria. So, to stop or kill Biafra was the target of the war-protagonist. The gruesome war which lasted for thirty months was presumed to have consumed over two million Biafrans.
However, since the “no victor no vanquished” civil war, so many things have been done and many policies introduced by the Nigerian Government to willy-nilly kill or stop Biafra but none has succeeded. As things stand, more groups are identifying with the Biafran struggle despite all odds. From the newspaper report as at the time of this write-up, over thirty groups are now agitating for Biafra restoration, prominent among them, the Biafra In- dependent Movement (BIM), Indigenious People of Biafra (IPOB), MASSOB, Biafra Zionists, Bilie Group etc. Even activities of some groups are now pronounced hence catalyzing the agitation.
If Radio Biafra is alarmist and propagandist, Biafra Television may not be so, as a picture is worth a thousand words according to a Chinese proverb. Besides, the lens of a camera never lies.
The MASSOB three-day sit-at-home in 2004, one day in 2005 and 2008, if that could be taken for a mini-referendum, recorded more than 80% success. In 2017, the IPOB one-day sit-at-home of 30th May, 2017 despite economic situation of the country, recorded a huge success of over 85% as more South Eastern and South-Southern Nigerians are getting more disenchanted with Nigeria as they see Nigeria as a failed state. In these areas, the authority does no longer lie with the so called politicians but the militant grassroots.
The late Agwu Okpanku, a Columnist in the East Central State then newspaper “Renaissance” later Daily Star wrote in his column, “The Third Eye”, in the 70s “Killing Biafra” which led to his detention by Ukpabi Asika administration in Enugu. In his articulation, he posited that Biafra could not be “killed” by unnecessary hostility against persons who were on the secessionist side during that war.
What Agwu Okpanku said in the 70s is still relevant today.
Killing Biafra will only be possible when the people of the former Republic are treated as human-beings. Killing Biafra will only be possible when Nigerian government stops colonizing Biafrans through the courts using quota judges.
Killing Biafra will be a possibility when soldiers, policemen, paramilitary officers (dead and alive) etc who fought on the side of Biafra in that war are compensated and paid their pensions. For killing six million Jews by Hitler’s German Army, Germany paid compensation to Israel. In fact, until Nigeria stops valuing cows, sheep, goats, etc more than the Biafrans, killing Biafra dream will be impossible.
That one is supporting the res- toration of a Biafran State does not mean one wishes Nigeria dead. In the United States of America dur- ing the crusade against slavery, Booker Taliafero Washington was a well-placed Black College Principal yet he campaigned against slavery. In Sudan, Dr John Guarang was the Vice-President. Earlier he had formed Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) to fight for South-Su- dan independence.
On his death on July 30th, 2005 through a helicopter crash, Major Gen. Sylva Kiia, his Deputy, succeed- ed him as the leader of the SPLA and the Vice President of Sudan until the referendum of 9th January 2011. To show the gravity of the enmity of the South-Sudan and Sudan, he refused to live in Khartoun but rather chose to live in Juba. At a point, the parliamentarians were seating accord- ing to their loyalties. Those for Sudan sat on one side while those for South-Sudan sat on the other side. All this while, their salaries, allowances and estacodes were paid by the Khartoun Government.
Today, Sylva Kiia is the President of South-Sudan. As he agrees to the splitting of Sudan after the referendum which produced 99.5% yes-vote, President Omar Hassan Al Bashir said, “I will be happy if separation brings peace though I feel sad to the splitting”.
Today, Sudan has not died and will never die and Al Bashir as the President has set a record in Africa for other presidents to emulate while South-Sudan as the 53rd member of the African Union and 193rd member of the United Nations Organization is contributing her unique quota to the peace and development of the world.
Nigeria has, from time immemorial, been directionless hence Sonny Okosun’s question in his album, “Which way Nigeria?” Is it not Idris Abdulkarim who also sang that “Nigeria jaga jaga, everything scatter scatter, kposa kposa”. There are many other unpalatable public comments about Nigeria and the need for its break-up, at worse restructuring.
It is a pity that when the patriot, Col Mamman Ghaddaffi of Libya called for the division of Nigeria along religious lines, he was derided by Nigerian leaders. What Ghaddaffi saw as a solution to Nigeria’s intractable problem, Nigerian leaders failed, ignored or pretended not to see.


Ezennaya writes from World Igbo Times Magazine, London.





http://sunnewsonline.com/resolving-the-biafra-question/

Re: Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) by pureorganic: 8:17am On Jun 14, 2017
This is the real foundation
Re: Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) by pureorganic: 1:09pm On Jul 12, 2017
so deep!
Re: Resolving The Biafra Question ( MUST READ ) by live4ever: 1:10pm On Jul 12, 2017
wrong analysis

(1) (Reply)

Deployment Of Armed Forces To Over 28 States Worrisome —dogara / The New Age Qualification For Running Office As Passed By The Senate / "Yahaya Bello Is Not An Elected Governor" – Dino Melaye

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 17
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.