₦airaland Forum

There will never be a Biafra - Aghanya, retired police commissioner
There will never be a Biafra

Considering the security situation in the North-East, where soldiers are still battling insurgency; what is your view on the current agitation for a Republic of Biafra by some Igbo people?

Nnamdi Kanu and Ralph Uwazurike, who are now agitating for Biafra, were born in the 1980s. I was a boy of about 15 years during the war. I didn’t go to war, but when federal troops entered Port-Harcourt, I trekked for about 35 kilometres from Port-Harcourt to Igita. We were running like the refugees you now see in the North-East.

They would shell some places and we would take cover. All of us would fall into gutters and other dangerous places. People were abandoning their children. Nobody wants that type of thing again. Uwazurike, Kanu and his sister don’t know anything about Biafra, and they have not read any book written on Biafra. If they had read books on Biafra, they would have known why the agitation failed and whether it can rise again. They would know whether the circumstances prevailing now were the same thing then. They are quite different. If these boys talking of Biafra had read Achuzie’s book, they would ask why Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik of Africa), at a particular stage, ran back to Nigeria. It was Zik who took Ojukwu to get the recognition of Tanzania, Ivory Coast and other countries for Biafra. Why did he (Zik) go back to Nigeria and declare to the whole world that there was no genocide in Biafra?
It is instructive that the late Biafran warlord, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and told the whole world that his mission was to reintegrate the Igbo into the mainstream of Nigerian politics.
So who is telling Kanu and Uwazurike and the rest of them that there is still something called Biafra? Ojukwu even contested to be the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This means that before he died, Ojukwu submitted himself to the authorities of the Nigerian government. It means that Biafra is dead and buried.
Now, let us look at why Kanu is talking of Biafra. On one hand, he said he wanted to liberate the oppressed people that are bound genetically and culturally by the same value system. He started mentioning Idoma people, Igbo people, the Efik, Anang, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Igala and so on. The Idoma have nothing to do with the Igbo. These people he is mentioning can never join the South-East to agitate for Biafra. He cannot go to Warri and tell them that they are Igbo. I remember that when the Igbo were making noise during the elections, Edwin Clark told them that Jonathan did not need their votes to win presidential election. And he will be disappointed to believe what Asari Dokubo is saying. Dokubo should be talking about resource control, not Biafra. Recall that the people of South-South respect the late freedom fighter, Isaac Adaka Boro, a lot because he never wanted to have anything to do with the Igbo.
Unfortunately, I don’t know why the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) is breeding all these militants. Isaac Adaka Boro dropped out from the UNN, Kanu is also a UNN dropout. I heard that Kanu went to London because of strike in Nigeria. He is a university dropout.
Kanu agreed that the Igbo have shops all over Nigeria, and they are making profits and are wealthy; so how can he say they are oppressed? As far as I am concerned it is the Igbo that are oppressing other people all over Nigeria. They are everywhere trading, including Maiduguri.
You see, the Igbo are no longer what they were before the 1966 coup. They were humble, meek and mild, but had the courage of a lion. The claim that the Igbo are being oppressed is not true. I served in the Nigeria Police Force for 35 years and nobody oppressed me. My wife is doing business in Makurdi and nobody is oppressing her. Igbo people are buying plots of land all over the country. If you go to Enugu today, no Hausa or Yoruba man has been allocated any plot of land. It is the same in Anambra and other eastern states. But in the North, lands are allocated to the Igbo. So no Igbo man should be talking of oppression. They should be humble wherever they are. They should be meek and mild but have the courage of a lion so that one day, the Igbo man will contest election in Sokoto, Maiduguri and so and win. That is what we want.

What actually led to the initial proclamation of Biafra?
The late Chinua Achede said there was a country called Biafra. Before the 1966 civil war, the Igbo were dominant in all aspects of life in Nigeria: trade, education, military, police etc. In the army, we had the highest number of high- ranking officers. In the police, we had the highest.
The 1966 coup was not in the interest of Nigerians. As a result of that coup majority of the present crop of politicians are not working in the interest of Nigerians, unlike Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, Obafemi Awolowo etc. The 1966 coup caused a lot of problems in this country. From what Major Gen. Ejoh, who was in charge of the military barracks in Enugu said, the only Igbo man, Col. Unduegbe, who was killed in that coup, was in charge of the armoury. And he was killed because he refused to surrender the keys to the armoury.
Later, there was a dialogue between Yakubu Gowon and Ojukwu. They went to Aburi for peace talks, but it failed. Then, Gowon decided to create 12 states, and by so doing, changed the country from regional structure. The minorities in the South - the Anang, Ibibio, Ijaw etc - were happy about the state creation because they believed the Igbo of the South-East were oppressing them. That was why Isaac Adaka Boro started rebellion in Niger-Delta. He believed the Igbo were oppressing them. They were not in support of Biafra. And they are still not in support of Biafra.
After the war, Gowon brought reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation. And I can tell you that all these were achieved because if you go to the South- East now you will not see any trace of war. There are beautiful houses in villages and everywhere.

What is the way forward?
The Igbo should seek to be accepted as indigenes of wherever they are. That was what I told the then Governor Akume when I was posted to Benue as commissioner of police. I told him I was an indigene of Benue State and a native of Anambra. So, I will fight for my right in Benue, as well as Anambra State. Our people go to America to give birth to children, and those children are regarded as American citizens and they have equal rights. So let every Igbo man fight for his right anywhere he is as a taxpaying citizen of Nigeria. Fight for your right if it is trampled on. You can go to court and pursue the case.
After the civil war, abandoned properties were declared in Rivers State. They took away properties belonging to Igbo people. Up till now, if you go to Creek Road, Bonny and so on, there are houses occupied by the Ijaw and others, which do not belong to them. They are not paying rent to anybody. Those houses belong to Igbo people. My father got his own back because he ran away with his documents. Somebody wanted to take one of his properties, but we are now in court with that man. There were abandoned properties in Rivers, Cross River and other places after the war, but there were no abandoned properties in the North.[b] In the North, permanent secretaries were in charge of abandoned properties. You only had to come with documents to prove that the property is your own. Apart from that, the moment a native identified you as the owner or son of the owner of the property, they would give it to you. [/b]I served meritoriously for 35 years in the Nigeria Police Force and I know how I protected the rights of the Igbo and those of other citizens. We will not allow Kanu to cause confusion again in Igbo land.
During their rally, they have no right to block public highways. Is that how to look for Biafra? Is that how the Scottish are looking for a country? Is that how Catalonians are looking for a country in Spain? He just brought miscreants to cause trouble. The security agencies should expose their sponsors. The Minister of Defence has said that their action is treasonable.

As a security expert, what is your advice to the governors of the southeastern states and security agencies there?

They said they would come in full force in December. I want to advise the governors of the southeastern states to nip the situation in the bud. That is what I did in Okene., Kogi State. I brought peace in Okene when I was there. The governors of southeastern states should not be talking of who will vote for them in the next election. They should ban processions on Biafra. Anyone who wants to talk about Biafra should write articles and publish. They can also hire a hotel where they can sing about Biafra and dance if they want, but they should not come to the highway. These people closed markets in Aba, Onitsha, Enugu, and they are now abusing all prominent Igbo people and threatening their lives. That is why people are not speaking up. They are afraid because when you talk against Biafra, they would threaten to kill you. But people like us are not afraid to say our minds.
Governors of the eastern region should be very careful because in December, there will be terrible crisis in the South-East. Do you know that Uwazurike prevented the Igbo from being counted during the population census? He told them that they were not Nigerians; hence they should not come out to be counted. Do you know that Uwazurike and co prevented Igbo people from getting Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs)? That is why you saw that the total votes in Igbo land were not more than the total votes in a small hamlet in the North. They didn’t register.
What I am saying is that security agencies should brace up now because problem is coming in the South-East. I believe that this problem is being engineered by corrupt Igbo people who are afraid that President Buhari would come after them. They want to create confusion to divert attention.
The commissioners of police in those states should not chicken out. I did not chicken out in Kogi State when Okene people were making trouble. I used only half a unit and brought Okene people down. Let them fight for Biafra inside their rooms. Let them go to Uwazurike’s village and Kanu’s autonomous father’s kingdom. Look at the beads the man and his wife are wearing. And they said they are fighting for people’s rights. I know the cost of the beads. Look at Kanu’s sister’s hair. She’s not natural. That hair is Brazilian or Indian. And they said they are fighting for the rights of people. These people are just there to make money, and they want to bring problem. If they go violent in their protest and kill anybody from another tribe, there could be reprisal attacks and that will definitely affect Igbo people in different states across the country. At the end of the day we will lose.
The Igbo should understand that they have all the opportunities in Nigeria. They make money all over the country and nobody stops them. Those of us who are anti-Biafra will resist them.

http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/there-will-never-be-a-biafra-aghanya-retired-police-commissioner/120617.html

Wonderful post. Glad to see we still have elders who will speak truth to power. KWENU!

Nigeria could be great but the people don't love themselves so they suffer.

Lies! I don't see this on the VG site

Cooler heads shall prevail.

Happy Bornday! REST IN PEACE!

I kept on hoping I was seeing things and that the last comma was a decimal but nope that was a comma. WHO STEALS BILLIONS!?!?! He needs heinous things done to him if this is true. I'm talking unspeakable atrocities.

Mboi:
APC is a huge joke. A fake cooked up stories from fake back-yard source. Keep exposing your Presidiot with more links of sycophantic stories like that you just posted. The worst thing that can happen to a man is being blind while his eyes are open.

You aggy as all get out fam. That's unhealthy. High blood pressure is real outchea. That much salt is gonna be your undoing.

He's bringing in some major investments. It's allowed!

https://www.nairaland.com/2743433/nigeria-benefit-u.s-11.6-billion

I'm impressed by both sides. My cooler heads prevail. Kwenu.

By Bayo Oladeji

The trip of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States recently has brought financial benefits of about $11.6billion to the country aside from the promissory notes from the G8 and the United Nations.

This disclosure was made yesterday by the minister of defence, Brigadier General Muhammad Mansur Dan-Ali, while declaring open the Defence Advisers/Attaches Annual Conference 2015, where he expressed optimism that the menace of Boko Haram terrorism will soon come to an end.

He said, "Some of the more immediate benefits of the president's trip to the US include: the proposed USD2.1billion fund from the World Bank for the redevelopment of the Boko Haram-battered Northeast; USD5billion from the US investors in Nigeria's agricultural sector; USD1.5billion investment from the US in our country's power sector."

The minister also recalled the steps taken by the president shortly after his inauguration that has brought a new vigour and approach to the military in the ongoing operation against the terrorists in the Northeast.

"It may interest you to note that since taking office in May 2015, President Buhari has made efforts to revive the government's campaign against Boko Haram and the Nigerian Army has reclaimed territories from the extremist group.

"The president has met with his counterparts in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, three neighbouring countries that have also suffered from attacks by the insurgents and are contributing to the regional fight against the terrorists.

"He similarly embarked on consultation with major powers like the United Kingdom, France and the United Nations.

In all these engagements, he solicited cooperation and assistance in ending the Boko Haram insurgency which all came with tangible responses and promises of deepening cooperation with the country", he stated.

Having asked the participants some rhetorical questions, the minister said, "As a nation, we must make useful choices, maximally explore our opportunities, engage in partnerships that promote our defence interests while projecting our national values by being a more functional and respected player in the international system."

Earlier in his remarks, the chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku, observed that one of the tasks of the DIA and the Defence Attaché system is to enable the armed forces and the entire national security system to function within the nation's environment.

He stated, "Without the appropriate economic, sociological, technological and alliance comprehension, our military forces cannot be equipped, cannot function, and cannot succeed. These trends in the wider world dictate whether we will have allies or lose them, whether we have markets for our energy and other products and whether transnational ideological trends will affect our own society".

"We have already embarked upon a significant programme of cooperation in military operations and intelligence with our multi-national Joint Task Force coalition of which Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin Republic are members, with the support of out of continent allies".

"As a provider of internal and external defence intelligence for defence planners, the agency has deployed technology in intelligence gathering and further evolved a sustainable psychological operations mechanism for the armed forces to address and complement the counterinsurgency operations in the North East".

"It has similarly embarked on de-radicalisation, re-integration and rehabilitation programme dubbed Operation Safe Corridor in the North East".

Present at the occasion were the chief of defence staff, the chief of army staff, the chief of naval staff, the permanent secretary, Defence Ministry, Ambassador Danjuma Sheni, representative of the inspector general of police, and some para-military agencies.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201511170047.html

Bingo!

I need context. Please let this not be his normal convoy.

hinwazaka:
Does the Dutch minister have Al-Shabab to worry about.

touche'

RevDesmondJuju:
Ohh... How I wish I could go back to being as naive as you.


https://media.salon.com/2014/11/matrix_steak.jpg

Matrix references in 2015? Word son? That's fine. I'll bite the bait.
Please do elaborate enlightened one.

All this hate is unhealthy. What have we become?

Somebody is about to die. An enemy of an enemy well we all know the rest.

fiftynaira:
Rochas the guy that deceived us "imolites"



#IamIgboNotBiafra

I like that hashtag. I'm gonna have to borrow that from time to time.

espionagesavvy:
I tire for the headlines, since 2009 I have vowed not to waste my hard earned money or my fugal spent MB to check Nigerians news, it always the same story either blasting or storming e.g
1. Amaechi blasts Jonathan for thinking about blasting him. Daily times 2012
2. Fayose blasts buhari for blasting Jonathan and thinking he go go scot free without some blasting.
3. I challenge anybody to blast me for speaking the truth and blasting corrupt politicians- samusi lamido sanusi
4. Soyinka will blast so many politicians in new book - punch news 2015
5. I can blast anybody who I want to blast and if they blast me I blast them some more - fani kayode 2013.
6. I am thinking of blasting Peter obi - Willie obiano 2014
7. I will blast Willie obiano if he blasts me, after all I did not blast ngige so why should he be blasting me - Peter obi 2014
8. Sanotor Bruce blasts APC and APC wrath burns and would soon blast - 2015
9. Saraki blasted out of the seat by Apc blasters, but responds, I fear no blasts. 2015
10. Obj warns blasters on twitter, promises that his new book would contain so much blsting for corrupt politicians
11. Ike ekweremmadu blasted left and right looks toward pdp for help. 2015
12. I must blast someone today, fani kayode twitter 2015
13.Nigeria will be blasted into a blazed existention, when our guns will blast. Nnamdi Kalu radio biafra.
14. Please Nigerians don't blast me, I am sick. Allison madueke 2015
15. Huge blast in yobe, senator Bruce blast buhari, blast boko haram, blast APC, blast Lia Muhammed, blast boko haram again, blast tWitter follower, blast Ndume, blast Arewa forum, blast Nigerian senators and blast himself
16. Huge blast in blast bornu state.
17. Buhari blast south easterners, they are preparing to blast back, and he warns against indiscriminate blasting,

Everybody is blasting everybody

2, storming

1. Buhari storms out of talks with Apc leadership 2015
2. Senate storms out of plenary hearing, as some laters storms in again then storms out.
3. Ali Ndume warns, I will storm out if the senate is director by Ike ekweremmadu
4. Ipob storms owerri, ph, aba, onitsha, London embassy, downing street, police barracks. 2015
5. Boko haram storms police barracks, police men stylishly storms away
6. Please storm in, saraki begs senators
7. Please don't storm away on me nah, saraki begs tinubu
8. Storms brew as Apc and pdp prepare for epic clash 2015
9.i faced major storms, alamesigha 2015.


I am new here, please be nice don't blast me and before you storm out, please like

YOOOOOOO!!!!! I thought I was I crazy! I laugh at these headlines everyday. And when something goes wrong you better believe someone will "lament" the situatation.

adepiero:
leave her, no be today wailers dey NL

Gbagam!

All this is showing me is that literally my Igbo family is worldwide! Finland? What made these brothers go all the way to cold ass Finland?

FreeGlobe:
Visiting the idp camp is a smokescreen. Buhari was in Yola for wedding period!

You said he didn't visit. When provided with evidence that he in fact did visit you're now saying he visited but only because he was in town? Let's not move goal posts.

You might be able to cross reference fallingrain with this list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Local_Government_Areas_of_Nigeria

webcalculator:
Fallingrain listed all communities but didn't organize them into LGAs. Is a nice one though.
The problem with nipost is that some LGAs are missing. Check Lagos for example.
Thanks all the same

No prob fam. I hope it works out for ya.

Sorry fam. This is the best I could find. I hope this helps.
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/NI/
http://web.archive.org/web/20091007011423/http://www.nipost.gov.ng/PostCode.aspx

Chimaritoponcho:
viviangist i don break ur record today .
in flavor's voice 'you think u are fast but am faster'



FTC for me jare

NOOOO! AHAHAHAH!

OBAGO!

my ribs hurt!

I've seen buses with more people than this. Womp womp wommmmp

No pics? What gives?