Those “wise ones” who had authoritatively “decreed” the disintegration of Nigeria must be laughing quietly at current developments – the banter of insults between ethnic nationalities. The disintegration of Nigeria is what they are wishing for, the collapse of the possibility of a predominantly black nation ranking among the important nations of the world. Remember, they have always believed themselves to be members of the superior race who cunningly enslaved our peoples, as well as colonised “inferior” nations.

When Nigeria fought a civil war between 1967 and 1970, the rest of the world was not looking at our nation from the prism of future greatness. On the other hand, the young African nation was still perceived as the burden of the British, the erstwhile colonial masters who played a major role in ensuring that Nigeria remained one nation. Were there to be another senseless war today, there is bound to be a u-turn. External influences will conspire to partition Nigeria into very small and somehow subdued nations!

I take the position, even when it could be unpopular, that the amalgamation of Nigeria should not continuously be visited as the problem. Any nation that would play an important role in world politics must have among other indices of national power and prestige, the compliments of size and population. A nation can only expand by merging with adjoining territories, and not with some distant cousins. If the British had not created a massive nation for us, visionary Nigerian leaders should have attempted it.

There would have been no space in America for those rushing daily “to deliver their babies”, if that important world nation had got no space for others, if it had remained the 13 confederal states it was at independence.

The problem with Nigeria has been principally that of leadership, a thesis competently articulated by the immortal Chinua Achebe in his book, “The Trouble with Nigeria.” Our nation has had a great misfortune with a string of post-independence purposeless leaders, more ethnic than national in their orientations. The military ones have been ordinary in the art of managing a plural society. The immediate reminder that the civil war of 1967-70 had not concluded matters came in April 1990 when an attempted coup challenged the very essence of our nation, with the coup leaders announcing a temporary expulsion of some key states of the north from the Nigerian federation. Crude military leadership of General Sani Abacha would later give rise to quite a number of disruptive ethnic militias in the late 1990s.

But I would like to say that it has not been all gloom for our nation. We have had uninterrupted civil rule since 1999, and the general mood is that the nation will not trade that development for any opportunistic military intervention. We have, during this period, had two elected presidents from each of the major divides – north and south. If one must be brutally honest, the system has not been as hegemonic as it previously was. It must continue to be emphasised that no component unit is superior to the other, regardless of selfish assumptions. Henceforth, our preoccupation should be to get true democrats into democratic politics while limiting the space for opportunistic politicians. Of course, democracy cannot fully deliver its dividends if the larger electorate remain docile participants. Opportunistic politicians cannot be bothered if the nation was brought to its knees; everything is about their selfish objectives.

By the way, there have been allegations or insinuations that the agitation for Biafra by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was sponsored by disgruntled politicians. Coming into existence soon after the 2015 elections, with crooks and rascals who had embezzled public money turning it into an anti-Buhari movement, such allegations or insinuations could hardly have been over-exaggerated.

Whatever the case, it would be sad if Nigerians born after the civil war were to misguidedly lead us into another war and end the dreams of our founding fathers.

The unending agitation for the break-up of Nigeria by pro-Biafra elements, and the tirade of ethnically-directed insults and abuses that go with it, must have propelled the so-called coalition of northern youths to issue a “quit notice” to their Igbo compatriots in the north. They said the Igbo should quit the north latest by the 1st of October, or be evicted. They also ordered northerners resident in Igbo territories to reciprocate the ultimatum. I assume the quit notice to be a way of calling the bluff of pro-Biafra agitators, more or less reminding the Igbo of the enormity of their physical and material presence in the north. It is somehow commendable that sensible leaders have come out to condemn that threat, but it must not only be when selfish interests are threatened that genuine leaders speak for unity and peaceful co-existence in the polity.

Not unexpectedly, the quit notice has had a bandwagon effect of some sort. Some ethnic nationalists and jingoists have seized upon it to issue directives of their own, and this reminds one of that important warning by the great Edwin Madunagu of the danger of intelligent men and women remaining on the sidelines while extremists take to the centre stage. Those in positions of authority must now wake up to their responsibilities and accept that discussions about the future of society are a subject of consistent and paramount importance. We must not pretend that all is well when they are not.

Nigeria has the potential to be great; the component units are a lot more interdependent than many can imagine or would want to admit. There are challenges we must collectively and patriotically seek to resolve.

Boko Haramism, kidnapping, herdsmen nuisance, ritual murders, robbery and corruption, are major problems that transcend ethnic and religious boundaries. They are problems that can only be resolved by the collective will of Nigerians and a leadership that is both purposeful and patriotic.

http://punchng.com/short-sightedness-in-separatist-agitation/

Punch newspaper an arm of Afonja propaganda machine


Is it the white men who told you guys to marginalize the Igbos

Is it the white men that told you guys to negate the SE region

ScotsReferendum:
Punch newspaper an arm of Afonja propaganda machine


Is it the white men who told you guys to marginalize the Igbos

Is it the white men that told you guys to negate the SE region

...and who knows.
What if a referendum is held and the S.E vote like the Scots?
What are we to expect then?
In your opinion what should be done?

Celcius:

...and who knows.
What if a referendum is held and the S.E vote like the Scots?
What are we to expect then?
In your opinion what should be done?

let's try referendum first.

All those who love one Nigeria as it is , should then allow Igbo to be on top while hausa/fulani and yoruba should be down... A parasite would always want the host to remain...Let the igbos corner all the benefit of one Nigeria and let Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba become 2nd class citizens, then we can continue one Nigeria

Celcius:

...and who knows.
What if a referendum is held and the S.E vote like the Scots?
What are we to expect then?
In your opinion what should be done?

Don't be clever by half

Igbos in SS Benue and SE will vote

NigerDeltans will also vote



As for the result, you and I know that Nigeria is an oppressive state and definitely my people will opt for freedom

There is nothing shortsighted in seeking freedom.
I would rather live as a middle class free man , than a rich slave.

Oppression of Biafrans in general have continued for too long and it is even getting worse. It's about time the issue is addressed or Biafrans have a right to rule themselves. By the way, those that want a war on this should bring it on.

There is nothing shortsighted in seeking freedom.
I would rather live as a middle class free man , than a rich slave.

Oppression of Biafrans in general have continued for too long and it is even getting worse. It's about time the issue is addressed or Biafrans have a right to rule themselves. By the way, those that want a war because of this issue should bring it on.

Celcius:

...and who knows.
What if a referendum is held and the S.E vote like the Scots?
What are we to expect then?
In your opinion what should be done?

No one should decieve South East to landlock themselves. They want South East to leave withput a single seaport, Not the Igwe Ocha (Port Harcourt seaport), not the Igwe Nga (Bonny SeaPort). After that they will squeeze out very high tariffs from the new country, shattering its destiny at birth. Say No To The Plot To Landlock The South East.

ScotsReferendum:



Don't be clever by half

Igbos in SS Benue and SE will vote

NigerDeltans will also vote



As for the result, you and I know that Nigeria is an oppressive state and definitely my people will opt for freedom

You didn't answer the questions in anyway.
Let me move on. Say there's a referendum and the verdict is in support of Biafra. I will be happy myself.
In another case let's imagine its not and the country must divide by force and there is widespread chaos and killing which is inevitable.
My question: have you ever been haunted before? Have you ever been running for your life from secret cult group or any other set to kill you.
What is the clear cut agenda/framework for Biafra?
Should we jump into the unknown like the foolish Nigerians that refused advice and jumped into Buhari's agenda?
Biafra has not crystalized, else I will be one of the most vocal. What is termed Nigeria today existed as 3 countries. If it must return so, I support, but a structured state.

cjrane:
There is nothing shortsighted in seeking freedom.
I would rather live as a middle class free man , than a rich slave.

Oppression of Biafrans in general have continued for too long and it is even getting worse. It's about time the issue is addressed or Biafrans have a right to rule themselves. By the way, those that want a war on this should bring it on.

By Mazi Onyebuchi Eze

As Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the Supreme Command of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (De Great) has waited on Nigeria government for too long in an expectation to announce date for Biafra referendum and coupled with the recent ultimatum of vacation of Arewa republic issued against Biafrans by Coalition of Arewa youths, IPOB should to that effect have no other option than to fix and announce to the world the date for Biafra referendum.



This my opinion is neccessary for consideration by IPOB Highest Command at this period of time because judging by the body language of Nigeria government, especially its ministry of interior which kept mute after the ultimatum was given to Biafrans residing in the North, Nigeria government has indirectly implied that Biafrans are on their own already.



By this, if Biafrans are still waiting for Nigeria government to fix and announce a date for Biafra referendum, IPOB may be wasting their time and lingering on a mirage that can never happen till eternity, after all Nigeria government did not fix May 30th Sit at Home for IPOB but it was complied with and was successful.

As it has become obvious that Nigeria government is buying more time for herself due to IPOB continuous waiting for her to announce date for Biafra referendum, it is time for IPOB Highest Command to stop waiting on a mirage but take the bull by the horn by fixing and announcing a date for Biafra referendum by itself to the world.

According to the international protocols and relevant conventions guiding procedures for conduct of any referendum which I consulted and researched before coming up with this opinion, an Indigenous govt or Customary govt of Indigenous people such as IPOB Directorate which already has the total command and loyalty of the people has right to organize a referendum to test the political desire of its people, if the colonial kept occupational govt like Nigeria refused to organize such referendum when called upon to do so.

It is in history that there was Customary govt structure of confederacies in Biafraland headed by Kings and local Chiefs, but were destroyed completely before 1904 by British govt and established colonial administration in Biafraland. It is that same govt which Lord Lugard and his team of invaders destroyed in 1904 that IPOB Directorate of State headed by Mazi Chika Edoziem had restored.

know that this Indigenous govt of the people known as IPOB Directorate has waited on the colonial occupational Nigeria govt to announce date for the said referendum, so that these indigenous people of Biafra will chose via referendum whether to remain in colonial arrangement or decide to return the sovereignty of their territory lost to the colonnial invaders in 1904 Southern Protectorate arrangement.

It is upon these corresponding realities, that I hereby call on IPOB Directorate of State to apply the above mentioned protocol empowering Indigenous govt of the people by announcing the date of its choice for Biafra referendum since Nigeria occupational government has refused to do that since years ago of notice.



It is important to understand that it was this right exercisable by Indigenous govt that empowered Catalonia Self-Determination govt to announce Catalonia referendum for October 1, 2017 without Spain.

If IPOB Highest Command fix the date of the referendum, it will announce it to the world, gazette it to relevant Biafra Indigenous govt gazettes and begin to notify without delay all relevant world powers and international organizations. After this IPOB will begin to train adhoc staff, polling workers, returning officers and other personnels required for the referendum and at same time prepare voting centers in Biafraland.


IPOB will also at the time gather both local &international observers and journalists to come and witness Biafra referendum as it happen in Biafraland.

Celcius:
Those “wise ones” who had authoritatively “decreed” the disintegration of Nigeria must be laughing quietly at current developments – the banter of insults between ethnic nationalities. The disintegration of Nigeria is what they are wishing for, the collapse of the possibility of a predominantly black nation ranking among the important nations of the world. Remember, they have always believed themselves to be members of the superior race who cunningly enslaved our peoples, as well as colonised “inferior” nations.

When Nigeria fought a civil war between 1967 and 1970, the rest of the world was not looking at our nation from the prism of future greatness. On the other hand, the young African nation was still perceived as the burden of the British, the erstwhile colonial masters who played a major role in ensuring that Nigeria remained one nation. Were there to be another senseless war today, there is bound to be a u-turn. External influences will conspire to partition Nigeria into very small and somehow subdued nations!

I take the position, even when it could be unpopular, that the amalgamation of Nigeria should not continuously be visited as the problem. Any nation that would play an important role in world politics must have among other indices of national power and prestige, the compliments of size and population. A nation can only expand by merging with adjoining territories, and not with some distant cousins. If the British had not created a massive nation for us, visionary Nigerian leaders should have attempted it.

There would have been no space in America for those rushing daily “to deliver their babies”, if that important world nation had got no space for others, if it had remained the 13 confederal states it was at independence.

The problem with Nigeria has been principally that of leadership, a thesis competently articulated by the immortal Chinua Achebe in his book, “The Trouble with Nigeria.” Our nation has had a great misfortune with a string of post-independence purposeless leaders, more ethnic than national in their orientations. The military ones have been ordinary in the art of managing a plural society. The immediate reminder that the civil war of 1967-70 had not concluded matters came in April 1990 when an attempted coup challenged the very essence of our nation, with the coup leaders announcing a temporary expulsion of some key states of the north from the Nigerian federation. Crude military leadership of General Sani Abacha would later give rise to quite a number of disruptive ethnic militias in the late 1990s.

But I would like to say that it has not been all gloom for our nation. We have had uninterrupted civil rule since 1999, and the general mood is that the nation will not trade that development for any opportunistic military intervention. We have, during this period, had two elected presidents from each of the major divides – north and south. If one must be brutally honest, the system has not been as hegemonic as it previously was. It must continue to be emphasised that no component unit is superior to the other, regardless of selfish assumptions. Henceforth, our preoccupation should be to get true democrats into democratic politics while limiting the space for opportunistic politicians. Of course, democracy cannot fully deliver its dividends if the larger electorate remain docile participants. Opportunistic politicians cannot be bothered if the nation was brought to its knees; everything is about their selfish objectives.

By the way, there have been allegations or insinuations that the agitation for Biafra by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was sponsored by disgruntled politicians. Coming into existence soon after the 2015 elections, with crooks and rascals who had embezzled public money turning it into an anti-Buhari movement, such allegations or insinuations could hardly have been over-exaggerated.

Whatever the case, it would be sad if Nigerians born after the civil war were to misguidedly lead us into another war and end the dreams of our founding fathers.

The unending agitation for the break-up of Nigeria by pro-Biafra elements, and the tirade of ethnically-directed insults and abuses that go with it, must have propelled the so-called coalition of northern youths to issue a “quit notice” to their Igbo compatriots in the north. They said the Igbo should quit the north latest by the 1st of October, or be evicted. They also ordered northerners resident in Igbo territories to reciprocate the ultimatum. I assume the quit notice to be a way of calling the bluff of pro-Biafra agitators, more or less reminding the Igbo of the enormity of their physical and material presence in the north. It is somehow commendable that sensible leaders have come out to condemn that threat, but it must not only be when selfish interests are threatened that genuine leaders speak for unity and peaceful co-existence in the polity.

Not unexpectedly, the quit notice has had a bandwagon effect of some sort. Some ethnic nationalists and jingoists have seized upon it to issue directives of their own, and this reminds one of that important warning by the great Edwin Madunagu of the danger of intelligent men and women remaining on the sidelines while extremists take to the centre stage. Those in positions of authority must now wake up to their responsibilities and accept that discussions about the future of society are a subject of consistent and paramount importance. We must not pretend that all is well when they are not.

Nigeria has the potential to be great; the component units are a lot more interdependent than many can imagine or would want to admit. There are challenges we must collectively and patriotically seek to resolve.

Boko Haramism, kidnapping, herdsmen nuisance, ritual murders, robbery and corruption, are major problems that transcend ethnic and religious boundaries. They are problems that can only be resolved by the collective will of Nigerians and a leadership that is both purposeful and patriotic.

http://punchng.com/short-sightedness-in-separatist-agitation/

This is as myopic opinion as one can get from the ongoing saga of Niger-Area problem. Please it is waste of time to continue the bet on disintegration of Niger-Area. There is no apparent factor that begs for the continuation of Nigerian state as presently configured.

bounty007:


let's try referendum first.

I do not think IPOB has time for dramatic and distractive referendum. Nigerians did not have referendum when Niger-Area was created. It must either end on a gentleman's agreement or war.

Celcius:

...and who knows.
What if a referendum is held and the S.E vote like the Scots?
What are we to expect then?
In your opinion what should be done?

That is an IF question my friend.

Guesses are hardly reliable for planning purposes.

That is why there's YES and NO on the ballot.

Heaven will not fall.

People have the right to self-determination no matter how wise or foolish, allow people to exercise their wisdom or folly.

What are the Scots doing now?

What are the South Sudanese doing now?

And those Nigerians who voted Buhari based on no single scientific reason, what are they doing now?