₦airaland Forum

BUMP!!! Where's everybody?

KenGali:
@Onlytruth, Ezeuche, Udezue
I do not understand why you guys resorted to making fun of this. If we are going to have hausaland or Arewa republic then we will be dividing Nigeria, to call it excision is purely insulting.

I was actually expected you people to encourage this line of thought. In fact I have thought of the possibility of the Eastern region (SS and SE) supporting the North in such a quest for a couple of years by letting them own some significant size of offshore oil acreages. They can use the proceeds to fire an agricultural and technological revolution, as well as produce oil from around lake Chad basin like Chad is currently doing on the other side of the lake. When every one is well independently settled we can begin to form a co-operative community "the Empire States of the Niger" just like the European Union, with each member having its own laws and revenue. It can even extend beyond today's Nigeria.

Their is no part of Nigeria that is not blessed with enough resources to flourish on its own. A lot of our staple foods like beans, beef, yam, onions, tomatoes etc must come from the north unless we perform scientific miracles in agricultural science which I do not see coming. Any one who is under rating that dependence is simply playing with fire. Recently just because Russia refused to export wheat, Egypt was shaken. Not to talk of minerals. Travel to Kogi state and see loads of marble formation which people pass everyday to import Italian marbles.

Let us stop spreading the Fallacy that the North is a barren place, I have been there and I know it is not barren, rather the minds of her people and that of most of Nigeria is barren. Even the most economically vibrant Lagos is nothing if you remove the mouth that feeds (Demand) through it from the North and East. In fact the current market size of Lagos is due to the poor planning capacity of Nigerian leaders which means that almost half of all companies in Nigeria are located on a small island connected by three bridges. Remove the number of people they serve directly and indirectly around the country and you will have empty stalls.

If we are to boast about wealth only oil producing communities should open their mouth, the rest of the country are merely lazy parasites who are sitting on gold mines but insist on being blind to it.

Brilliant. I would like us to have a serious discussion about this. I have discussed a similar configuration on the topic "the true extent of Alaigbo" (culture section). By the way are you from the north?

Can anyone of us here in Nigeria give a first person or close 3rd party account of the sit-in event on August 26 2004? Thanks.

You should go to www. ; a very fascinating website with a lot of news on the ongoing struggle. Also has info on the BGIE (Biafra government in exile) and BPG (Biafra provisional government) which is on ground in Alaigbo and the old EAST. Oh and it seem they recognize the arrangement as a union as opposed to one homogeneous entity; its made up of 11 provinces (11 different nations) further divided into districts.

Have a loook at the Biafara charter. It pretty much covers all these aspects. This should be the centre of this subject discussion.

[url=http://www./BGIE/Biafra%20Charter.htm#_Toc175246517]Section D[/url]

"6.                 Secularity
[A]          The Nation of Biafra is founded on the Original Identity Principle which declares the self-evident: that the individual is an expression of the ultimate Original Principle, with Whom or with Which the individual shares and enjoys a unique, unalterable relationship. It is up to the individual to personalize and or personify this relationship according to the individual's understanding.

[B]          As such, the Nation as a collective does not endorse any particular religion, and freedom of religion-choice, association and worship is guaranteed. The supreme laws that regulate and arbitrate interactional behavior and transactions among citizens of Biafra shall at all times derive from the Nation's constitution, regardless of the parties' religious affiliation.

[C]          The Nation of Biafra does not recognize as Religions institutions that propagate hatred, bigotry, racism, sexism and inequality of human beings as their primary doctrine; nor does it recognize as religion any institutions or institutional practices which do not recognize the fundamental rights of the individual as declared above, or which as a matter of doctrine violates those rights. The Nation of Biafra does not recognize as Religions institutions which preach or practice coercion, including forced conversions or forced membership. No exceptions shall be made just because of the acceptance or classification of such institutions as religions elsewhere."

it appears that the concept of a USB ([url=http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&biw=1679&bih=919&q=%22united+states+of+biafra%22&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=%22united+states+of+biafra%22&gs_rfai=&fp=f1232bdfd13d2256]United States of Biafra)[/url] has already been well established . . .

Middle Belt Congress seeks regional autonomy

By Wilfred Jibril
Friday, September 17, 2010


•Oma-Baba
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on this Section
Disturbed at several years of neglect by successive governments in the country, the United Middle Belt Youth Congress, a socio-cultural and economic pressure group, has canvassed a regional identity for the zone.

The group, whose membership is drawn from Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Nasarawa, Taraba, Kwara, Niger, southern Kaduna, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, said that the appeal has become germane in view of the gross underdevelopment which has characterized the region.

Rising from a meeting of the Central Working Committee held in Lagos recently, the group predicated their agitation on the United Nations charter on the rights of indigenous peoples as enshrined in Articles 2,3 and 33 and International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Convention on Civil and Political Rights as well as the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action which, they said, provide that indigenous peoples have the right to determine their own identity or membership in accordance with their customs and traditions.

In a statement jointly issued and signed by the President-General and National Public Relations Officer, Barrister Abuka Onalo Oma-baba and Mr. Abass Mafeng Chioji, respectively, the group agreed to espouse the idea and philosophy that the Middle Belt is a distinct geographical entity in the context of the present-day Nigeria.

According to the statement, the stakeholders opined that the region covering a landmass of approximately 320,927sqkm out of Nigeria’s landmass of 923,768sqkm and with a large population covering the aforementioned states and Abuja which constitute the minorities in northern Nigeria, is qualified by every standard to be a distinct geographical entity in the country.

Consequently, the stakeholders called on all sons and daughters of the region to remain steadfast in championing the cause of the region as well as harnessing its potentials for its development. It stressed that the people must not relent in their agitation for the establishment of Hydro-electricity Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYEPPADEC) and the Middle Belt Farming Development Commission (MBFADEC) by the Federal Government. They further argued that the agitations were imperative in order to ensure the agricultural growth and industrial development of the region.

“We must insist to take control of our natural resources that will promote the spirit of oneness and to work together under one umbrella for the purpose of achieving economic and social stability in the region and that will also promote self-discovery and self-reliance philosophy that will strengthen the sense of brotherhood of the minority ethnic kingdoms that constitute the present Middle Belt region,” the group said.

The congress revealed that they were already working hand in hand with United Nations General Assembly, the Commonwealth and the African Union to actualize their identity as indigenous peoples, adding that the cause they are fighting is not any way a disservice to the Nigerian nation. “We only see it as an agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria into a true federalism in order to accommodate the minority ethnic kingdoms”, the stakeholders quipped.

“Inasmuch as we have faith in the indivisibility of Nigeria, the rights of the indigenous peoples in the Middle Belt region should be respected”, adding that the socio-economic development of the region was more important to them than the 2011 general elections,” the group said. It called on all sons and daughters of the region to shun political thuggery, ballot box snatching, cheating, kidnapping and other forms of violence.

Brilliant Article.

Bastion Of Violence: The Need To Redraw The African Map.

afam4eva:
Yeah, i won www.internetvisa.net. My email is info@internetvisa.net.

Thanks.

[center]Ireland and Biafra'

at

The Moore Institute Seminar Room (AC203), NUI Galway.


Thursday 30th September[/center]
[img]http://www.nuigalway.ie:83/mooreinstitute/download/image/132/[/img]



Will anyone be attending?


[Sorry for the large size]

afam4eva:
Yep.

Great. Are you also in charge of internetvisa.net?

Can I have your email then if you don't mind or could you please drop me a line (my email is on my profile) so I can respond and inquire about your services.

Thanks.

afam4eva:
Have you guys ever considered a change of name for Biafra if we get our own country? The name Biafra does not represent anything important to Igbos. We can choose name like IGBO or AlaIgbo just like Germans have germany. Then the people of the federal republic of IGBO will speak IGBO.

Alaigbo has been accepted.

P.S. Are you an IT pro? (from your sig)

By the way, does anyone know what happened to VOBI (Voice of Biafara International)?

Can you still receive news every Friday on shortwave?

Like this; and a second row to the rays if need be. There are currently 29 rays.

ezeagu:
The rays represent provinces, so that may have to be changed, and if there are too many provinces then the meaning of the rays may have to be changed as well.

I see. Then for the rays to be more candid in that picture, they would have to be separated from the sun like flares and then maybe put in rows of two.
{Catch my drift, can't seem to find the right images on the net now }.

ezeagu:
I think the flag should be left how it is, with the number of sun rays changed. Why?

1. In honour of people who died under it.
2. For the 'Pan-African' Garveyist connotation of the colours and in honour of those affected by slavery and colonisation.
3. For the importance of the sun in the Igbo spirituality
and 4. Because Alaigbo is not Niger

How many sun rays do you recommend?

Football kit nko?

How about this for flag?

ezeagu:
Population density (non-Nigerian). From this we can see that Alaigbo has the same density as Lagos which is said to have over 10 million people, now compare Lagos States land size to the 5 Igbo states.

I see. This welcome news. As for population distribution/density, I can authoritatively say as a northener (Alaigbo North ) that we are fewer here than in central and south Alaigbo.

Minerals in Alaigbo. Anyway to fit this on a blown map

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abia

Glass sand, limestone, salt, shale, ball clay, galena, granite, marble, laterite, bentonite, phosphate, kaolin, pyrite, feldspar, petroleum, lignite, gypsum, sphalerite, clay, [crude oil]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anambra

Clay, iron stone, natural gas, petroleum, sand stone, kaolin, pyrite, lignite
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delta

Kaolin, lateritic clay, gravel, silica sand, natural gas, petroleum, ball clay, bauxite, granite, river sand, clay, spring water
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ebonyi

Lead/Zinc ore, salt, limestone, ball clay, refractory clay, gypsum, granite
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Imo

Crude oil, shale, natural gas, kaolin, laterite sand, limestone, salt, marble,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enugu

Lateritic clay, crude oil, kaolinitic clay, ball clay, iron-ore, glass sand, petroleum, gypsum, coal, silica sand, ceramic clay
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rivers

Petroleum, natural gas, silica sand, glass sand, clay
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source

asha 80:
I actually know nnewi is important enough to have its own division.just wanted to clarify something with onlytruth.

Ermm for the population in igboland.Don't you think it is a bit exaggrating pointing to 35million?35 milla no be beans o.However sometimes i actually wonder how thickly populated is igboland compared to the landspace it is mind boggling

Was thinking the same.

ezeagu:
The regional names are town names because of a lack of name from the groups that inhabit the province. Groups that are too small come under a larger group that have many things in common like Igbene, Omabala and Orimili. The first name considered is a group name, if the group does not have one name or are made up of small closely related groups then a geographical feature (Idemili, Omabala, Orimili) is used instead, if there is no significant geographical feature then it's a town's name (usually the capital, but sometimes not name after places with new capitals created by the British, e.g Umuahia, Port Harcourt, etc). I think this is a fair way of naming the region: Idenity, if not then neutral landmark, if not then headquarters.

Idemili is a river.

I think this is a fair method as well.

Wait o! nna, u no dey sleep  . All these night pipul sef.

On the population issue, we need a figure to work with now (esp in density of areas) as an indicator for representation within the govt.

1. Abakeleke (Abakaleke) 141438
2. Ahoada (Ahoada) 130000
3. Ahagba (Ahagba) 1723745
4. Aro (Arochukwu)
5. Ehugbo (Ehugbo)
6. Enugwu (Enugwu) 722664
7. Eche (Umuechem?) 600,000
8. Etiti (Otoko)
9. Ezza (Ebiji) 433000
10. Idemili (Oka) 301657
11. Igbanke (Igbanke)
12. Igbene (Umuahia) 359230
13. Ika (Agbon) 240000
14. Ikwo (Onuebonyi Echara)
15. Izzi (Oferekpe Izzi Inyimagu) 478000
16. Mbaise (Aboh) 1000000
17. Ngwa (Aba) 820900
18. Nsukka (Nsukka) 309633
19. Obigbo (Diobu)
20. Okigwe (Okigwe) 535765
21. Omabala (Aguleri)
22. Onicha (Onicha) 1003000
23. Orimili (Aboh)
24. Orlu (Orlu) 220000
25. Owerre (Owerre) 401873
26. Udi (Udi) 234002
27. Nnewi (Nnewi) 391227
28. Ikwerre (Igwuruta) 200000

All from Wiki

~ 10 million within Alaigbo (minus the blanks)

Excellent article.

ezeagu:
I wouldn't call it 'infantile'. Some of these boundary issues have led to recent wars. I actually think the last parts of the thread are important for Igbo people and others because it shows them the depth of their diversity and shows, to an extent, where each group stands, especially considering that Nigeria's politics is involved a lot with ethnicity.

Population estimate of Alagibo (citizens (resident and non-resident) and resident non-citizens). 

Obiagu1:
This thread has reached its low point, the ongoing exercise seems too infantile to me.

*Ignored until signs of civility are shown*

ezeagu:
More divisions.

1. Province (capital)
1. Abakeleke (Abakaleke) 2. Ahoada (Ahoada) 3. Ahagba (Ahagba) 4. Aro (Arochukwu) 5. Ehugbo (Ehugbo) 6. Enugwu (Enugwu) 7. Eche (Umuechem?) 8. Etiti (Otoko) 9. Ezza (Ebiji)10. Idemili (Oka) 11. Igbanke (Igbanke) 12. Igbene (Umuahia) 13. Ika (Agbon) 14. Ikwo (Onuebonyi Echara) 15. Izzi (Oferekpe Izzi Inyimagu) 16. Mbaise (Aboh) 17. Ngwa (Aba) 18. Nsukka (Nsukka) 19. Obigbo (Diobu) 20. Okigwe (Okigwe) 21. Omabala (Aguleri) 22. Onicha (Onicha) 23. Orimili (Aboh) 24. Orlu (Orlu) 25. Owerre (Owerre) 26. Udi (Udi) 27. Nnewi (Nnewi) 28. Ikwerre (Igwuruta)

I don't think it should be split any more, but it's up to the people.

Sound. I suggest Omabala (Nri).

This sets up a good foundation. Any other modifications could be made on-the-fly.

Now for the population of Alaigbo (within Alaigbo, outside Alaigbo (Ndigbo) and current inhabitants of other nationalities).

I would place the figure at a conservative estimate of 25 million. Thoughts.

Culled from the Biafara Charter,{replaced Biafara with Alaigbo nation}

2. The Participant Provinces
The concept, use and practice of “Provinces” is designed to ensure autonomy and respect for every group; to encourage the unhindered thriving of every group; to protect, preserve and respect the right of ownership and management by each group of its own natural, material and socio-cultural resources; and to ensure adequate and equitable representation both locally and at the National level, thereby retaining real power in the hands of the communities.
a) The geographic sub-units qualifying as “Provinces” and the criteria to be used will be determined by the peoples of Alaigbo nation, conscious of functional capability, practicality and stability factors.
b) There shall be 11 (eleven) Provinces unless and or otherwise amended by the peoples of Alaigbo nation.
c) Membership of a Province shall be automatic for all native peoples and other residents of the Provincial community at the time of creation of the Province;
d) Residence within a Province for at least one year confers on one membership of that Province
e) All rights of Citizenship of Alaigbo nation will be respected and enjoyed by all
f) The Laws of Alaigbo nation shall take precedence over the laws of Provinces.


3. Counties
Each Province shall be made up of Counties which are the equivalent of local government areas and function as such.

Onlytruth:
I really think there is a BIG information gap on ana edo (Anaedo) Nnewi group here and I'm baffled by the omission.

Meanwhile enjoy!

So, we replace Idemili with Anaedo, or split Anaedo out of Idemili?

P.S. The list is still in its infant stages, we need suggestions from all angles (sensible ones). The criteria for provinces are:
(1) Viability
(2) culture group (clan/dialect)

Thanks.

Moving on only slightly (as we are still in the process of consolidating provinces, listing their associated towns and choosing a capital) I would like us to get a ball park figure of our population (within and without Alaigbo plus other nationalities).

We shall move onto currency, economic activities/structures and leadership structures (all these preferably based on Igbo scholarly articles) when the above listed issues are more or less exhausted.

asha 80:
Ermm when did this one happen just asking

Been a while now. All the house of Jaja go to Orlu yearly.