bukifemi1:
1967-70: WE WERE SURROUNDED

THEY FOUGHT FOR OUR OIL, WE WERE HUNTED FROM EVERY ANGLE AND WE HAD TO CHOOSE A SIDE, WE HAD NO CHOICE

We are Ijaws, Ogonis, Ikwerres (coastal Igbo), Efik, Ibibios.

They came for our lands and waters. We were students, teachers, workers, farmers, fishermen, old men, old women and children.

We had no guns to defend ourselves, yet the treasure in our lands is the reason the Nigerians would not give up and the Biafran military government would not succumb.

Nigeria needed our oil for themselves and needed our lands and waters to incapacitate the Biafran military. The Biafran government needed to protect our lands and oceans from the Nigeria forces so they will not be rounded up.

The Biafran government lacked enough men to combat Nigeria forces. Nigeria needed to use Biafrans against Biafrans in order to preserve Nigerian lives.

They came after us from every angle. The Biafran government took our young men to battle sometimes against their wish and the Nigerian forces destroyed our communities, kill our young ones, rape our women when they capture a community loyal to the Biafran government and her young men actively fighting for the Biafran military.

We were like in the midst of the ocean and the deep blue sea. Either way we are caught in the net.

Many of us were forced to break camp of the Biafran military and go to join the enemy Nigerian forces, not because we liked it so much but because that's the only way to preserve our communities from extinction.

We were forced to denounce every affinity with Igbo (the largest and leading Biafran ethnic group) and those of us who were really Igbo were forced to drop the Igbo identity and adopt the identity of our sub-tribes.

We had to change our former Igbo names given to us by our parents as a result of close friendship with the Igbo and expression of love shown by one Igbo friend or the other.

As a result, the Biafran military described our actions as acts of betrayal. No, but it wasn't betrayal, neither was it out of hatred for the Igbo. It was for survival.

In order to survive, you must submit to the superior powers and Nigeria appeared to be the superior power between the two sides. BIAFRA had no weapons, no international support, no food. Whereas, Nigeria had all the world powers supplying them with weapons, Nigeria had foot in abundance and had the media to deceive us as much as they could.

Because BIAFRA military considered us saboteurs, when they over power the Nigerian forces and get a hold of our communities, they don't spare those of our young men who have jumped over to the other side and many were buried alive because BIAFRA couldn't afford prisoners of war because it is far too expensive to keep a prisoner when you have no food for your loyal soldiers.

We were never at peace as we were ran over by the two sides and each time a new side takes over, we suffer a new tragedy.

For thirty months of 1967-70, we were in the worse nightmare a people could ever be subjected to.

We hated Nigeria for starting the war but we hated the Biafrans the most for not understanding with us. Even though we were Biafrans ourselves, we tagged Igbo Biafra and blamed the ills of the war on the Igbos who didn't reject their identity.

I couldn't blame us, it is painful to see your brother killing you by himself when all you were trying to do was to survive.

And

I couldn't blame the Biafran military instead because it grieves to see your brother jump out of your camp to join the same enemies you were protecting him from.

We were separated by the war.

The battles continued, Nigeria continued with their hate propaganda against Igbo, using every advantage to destroy Igbo image among the coast and the experiences of the war were cementing the lies told by Nigerian media.

They didn't stop there, before the war was over, they ensured they killed our foremost combatants that fought on their sides. They kept killing our people in the army even after the war secretly and openly until they ensured that the high ranking Biafran Nigeria military officers that knew their secrets had been wiped off.

They didn't stop at the military, they also waited for the civilians that had guts to show it and they chopped off their heads in secret and in the open before the world and the world did nothing.

This is our story. We are no saboteurs, we only wanted to save our race from extinction and our brothers in the hinterland doesn't hate us either, they only wanted to win the war and to win a war you must show no mercy to saboteurs; that's what they were taught in the military.

We are to blame those who spreaded propaganda across our lands.

We should blame those who set brothers against themselves to kill themselves.

We should blame those who invaded our lands and started a war of genocide against our people.

We should blame the international community that saw the genocide but rather turned a blind eye and cheered the terrorist (Nigeria) army because of the treasures beneath our lands and waters.

Blame those who after many years have killed more people in our region, left our lands polluted and turned our young ladies to prostitutes and our young men to political thugs, armed robbers and kidnappers.

Tari Nemi is a revolutionary writer and a refined teacher from Odoni town, Oyiakiri kingdom, Ijaw nation, Biafra.

TheOdd1sOut:
Biafra is a dream and it will always remain to be that. Nigeria remains one no matter what

stefanweeks:


Dreams come true

stefanweeks:


Dreams come true

TheOdd1sOut:
Biafra is a dream and it will always remain to be that. Nigeria remains one no matter what

resurgent4oodua:


I feel at some point in time, we would have to let the igbos go with their 5 states only. Nigerians would never vote igbos as President and they will continue to kick.

As much as I would like Nigeria to be one, the igbos have made too much enemies of the rest of us to be able to stake a claim to the highest office in the land.

Unless of course the igbos dont mind not being able to ascend the Nigerian Presidency and other sensitive security positions in Nigeria.

#istandwithbuharitill2023

TheOdd1sOut:
[s]Biafra is a dream and it will always remain to be that. Nigeria remains one no matter what[/s]