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MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers - Politics - Nairaland

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MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Kamanuozuzu: 7:16am On Sep 23, 2016
Once again, President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed the agitations over Biafra. Like the previous times, he evinced the same obstinate posture he had always maintained on the issue. Speaking to a group of youth corps members who visited him at his home in Daura, Katsina State, during the sallah celebrations, Buhari told them to go tell their colleagues who want Biafra to “forget about it.” The sort of condescension, aloofness and rigidity that he packs into his message to the youth corps members for onward transmission to their “colleagues” is antithetical to the spirit of democracy. His body language communicates that Buhari takes the separatism of the Biafra evangelism personal and responds in like fashion. He should know that Biafra is not about him but about citizens registering their discontent with the Nigerian state as guaranteed by the tenets of democracy.

In responding to Biafra, Buhari has barely done more than dish out rather superficial answers to insist that as far as he was concerned, the request was dead on arrival! He keeps reminding the agitators that they were not born when the civil war took place and therefore have no clue about the costs of war. With such infantilising rhetoric, he disdains the agitators and reiterates his unwillingness to engage the subject at all. Now and then, he mentions the casualty rate of the civil war (although conveniently elides the part about the protesters who were recently killed under his watch) before stubbornly insisting that Nigeria is “non-negotiable.”

Responding to such a weighty demand by a section of the population with sound bites is rather troubling because it suggests that Buhari also thinks in sound bites. The kind of response that a leader produces to serious national issues is telling because it is often directly proportional to their level of critical engagement and reflectivity on matters. If Buhari thinks in sound bites, then it can only mean that he has a superficial understanding of issues.

When Buhari harks back to his role in the civil war, he never quite connects it to why it fuels his drive to keep Nigeria one. Yet, if there is anyone who should be able to advocate one Nigeria, forging potent words from the raging fire of patriotism burning in his heart, it should be Buhari who spent 12 years trying to be President. Buhari frequently refers to the civil war but that is as far as it goes. What does he think it matters to anyone that he fought in the civil war when daily life in Nigeria is gradually becoming a war in itself? Yet, for the most part, he has never quite been able to enunciate his stand with more than a cut and paste response.

Buhari claimed that as a military commander he walked miles on foot while the war lasted, all in the bid to keep Nigeria one. But so, what if he walked the length and breadth of Africa? What makes his sacrifice superior to those who fought on the side of Biafra and who till now insist that remaining chained within Nigeria is a triumph against their will? Besides, was Buhari the only one who trekked during the war? What of the war victims and refugees who were made to trek too? As a soldier, was he not doing his job or did he go to war at his own expense?

It has been almost 50 years since the war fought ostensibly to preserve Nigeria’s unity, and Buhari’s reflections on Nigeria’s unity are still a derivation of what his military superiors made him do then rather than an impassioned, reflective, and convincing plea on the imperative of keeping Nigeria as one. What epiphanic moments did Buhari have when he was trekking from Degem to Cameroon that boosted his conviction that Nigeria should remain one? What did he learn that can inspire the rest of us to make an emotional investment in Nigeria? If his resolve for keeping Nigeria one came from the personal discomfort he suffered during the war, why can he not grant similar courtesy to the Igbo who incurred far costlier and incalculable losses to take a stand opposite to his?

President Barack Obama’s speech writer once narrated an experience with him. He said when Obama was going to visit Charlotte, North Carolina, after a crazy white man shot some black people in a church to start a race war, he wrote a speech for the president to deliver at the church service. He got to work the next day to find that Obama had added a six-paged annotation to the original speech. When he asked the president why he had done his job, Obama responded that the subject of race was one he had had all his life to ponder. Buhari too has been a spectator of Nigeria’s history as it unfolds for three quarters of a century and he has to have evolved deep introspective ideas on nationhood beyond “non-negotiability.” Why can he not look within his heart and serve up his passion for an undivided Nigeria on a platter of sincerity, instead of offering nostrums and reciting mere platitudes that cannot move a mosquito to bite?

A number of parrots have taken up the refrain from the President and crassly repeat it: Nigeria is non-negotiable. Such an answer and its re-echo are worrisome because in the context of democracy, nothing should ever be too sacrosanct to be negotiated. Nigeria is not a religion and even if it were, nothing says one’s relationship with one’s God cannot be renegotiated. One of the greatest attributes of African traditional religions is that people make their gods earn their keep. If a god does not serve his people well enough, they destroy its shrine and set up another! If we can question the idea of gods why can we not question a country’s existence? Countries are artificial creations that can cease to exist, have their borders re-drawn, be annexed by other countries, or break into discrete parts. We see this in the examples of East/West Germany, Yugoslavia, Texas, Hawaii, and even the idea of the United Arab Republic.

Here is one of the problems with the whole idea of the non-negotiablity of Nigeria: it premises the country over the people and their concomitant dissatisfaction with the terms of their national existence. Rather than inflexibly, insisting that Nigeria must remain one, why not make Nigerians themselves the starting point of the discussion on Nigeria’s unity? That way, we would not obscure the many real issues that endanger Nigeria.

If Buhari listens to the wrangling on Biafra he may find that breaking up Nigeria is not all that is at stake for the pro-Biafran agitators but a vehicle through which they articulate the symptom of other underlying discontent with Nigeria. Maybe, the “Biafra Question” is about calling attention to the agitators’ sense of non-ownership in the construct called Nigeria; maybe, it is an amplification of some other kind of discontent over the emptiness of the Nigerian identity and the constitution of the Nigerian life; maybe, the Biafran agitation is a touchstone for the renegotiation of the terms of our existence. Whatever it is, why keep shutting down the argument as white noise and acting irritated that some people dared voice their resentment?

Buhari is of course entitled to his personal stance on Biafra but he owes it to the agitators to listen because listening is a trait of effective leadership. Like Woodrow Wilson once said, the ear of a leader must ring with the voices of the people. Even when their voices are discordant and incoherent, or whether it is raucous, or perhaps a mere mumble of a silenced minority, it is still the job of a leader to listen. Great leaders listen intuitively until they see with their ears.

Source: http://punchng.com/on-buhari-and-biafra/

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Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by mrvitalis(m): 7:22am On Sep 23, 2016
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election

1 Like

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Laveda(f): 7:31am On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election

Well said.
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by wecan: 7:37am On Sep 23, 2016
ZOOOOOOOOOOGERIANS ARE FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSS

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Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by joeprince23(m): 7:59am On Sep 23, 2016
As a rivers-man from ndoki-igbo i stand with the majority of SE people on this biafra issue... Enough of this marginalisation,to hell with one nigeria

15 Likes 1 Share

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by nwasinachi(f): 8:03am On Sep 23, 2016
Punch on punch! u are so point.

2 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by klbakare(m): 8:04am On Sep 23, 2016
Make I dey observe from here
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Gchimez: 8:10am On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election
typical Yoruba claiming to be an Igbo we all know your strategy fools.

16 Likes 1 Share

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Gchimez: 8:13am On Sep 23, 2016
joeprince23:
As a rivers-man from ndoki-igbo i stand with the majority of SE people on this biafra issue... Enough of this marginalisation,to hell with one nigeria
bro Nigerians are jealous of u bcus they know that Biafra land is where sun will always rise from.

11 Likes 1 Share

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by EternalTruths: 8:13am On Sep 23, 2016
Nigeria is non negotiable but Buhari

1) Divided the country into 97% and 5%
2) Appointed only the 97%
3) Kept quiet against the 97% herdsmen terrorism
4) Sent soldiers against 5% peaceful demonstrations
5) etc


I laugh at Buhari because I believe God will destroy him and his hypocrisy

11 Likes 2 Shares

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by ROCE: 8:38am On Sep 23, 2016
The focus here is wrong - we concentrate too much on the Number 1 citizen like that is where the problem is.


If the agitations were serious, just like the ND militants, the legislators and executive governors representing these people will be at the forefront. Otherwise, targeting Buhari or whoever is president is a cry baby tactic. Let the National Assembly consider having a referendum and see whether Buhari will respond or not. Let the so-called Biafran people unite and put up acts of civil disobedience and see what pressure can do to any government.

Because he knows that the agitators don't seem to know what they are really doing, he has paid less attention.

Once again, the focus is not the man at the center. The more you emphasise Buhari, the more it shows that some people have not healed from the defeat of the last elections.

1 Like

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Tallesty1(m): 8:40am On Sep 23, 2016
It's only in Nigeria that someone will tell you how he fought hard to keep "Nigeria as One" and then turn around to call you 5%.


If he has common sense he would know that Igbos don't like anyone who fought or still fights to keep Nigeria as one.


Funny enough, it's the same people who claim oneness that will show you through their actions and inactions that you're truly no one.

An alligator and a crocodile may claim oneness but a crocodile is a crocodile and an alligator is an alligator.

13 Likes 4 Shares

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by fearNORTH: 8:50am On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election


Mehn.... your ignorance is nauseating.

Eritrea had their government officials in the Ethiopian parliament throughout the push for freedom till the time of war.
Igbos participating in the day-to-day activities of Nigeria don't connote they are not serious in their pursuit of freedom.

12 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Nobody: 8:56am On Sep 23, 2016
please, who read it. anyway, we are getting there
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by mrvitalis(m): 9:01am On Sep 23, 2016
fearNORTH:



Mehn.... your ignorance is nauseating.

Eritrea had their government officials in the Ethiopian parliament throughout the push for freedom till the time of war.
Igbos participating in the day-to-day activities of Nigeria don't connote they are not serious in their pursuit of freedom.
Going through war will only kill more igbos
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by PhilemonObende: 9:25am On Sep 23, 2016
Even a goat is sensible enough to know that Nigeria will NOT EXIST FOREVER.

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Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by evilapc: 10:16am On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election
Stop diabolically using the word "We", even if you osu igbo, though the truth remains you are a devilishly imposter from the north.... Ndi Igbo demand for Biafra, but are handicapped because the British and their chosen prefect "hausa/fulani, are still holding IGBO down

7 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Naijiant: 10:22am On Sep 23, 2016
Both pro and anti Biafra should read this! http://www.naijiant.com/articles/the-biafran-question/
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Alexbrain(m): 10:29am On Sep 23, 2016
PhilemonObende:
Even a goat is sensible enough to know that Nigeria will NOT EXIST FOREVER.
Certainly, this forked-up and by force marriage called Nigeria will not last forever. Even if the division does not take place now, in the nearest future it will.

6 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by EnEnPeecee: 10:48am On Sep 23, 2016
Tyrant Buhari and useless midget Helrufai are in support of Palestine state out of the present Isrealee border but refused to recognise Bia_-_fra

Hypocrisy stinks to higher heavens in this regime

7 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by nwaanambra1(m): 11:11am On Sep 23, 2016

Buhari is of course entitled to his personal stance on Biafra[size=13pt] but he owes it to the agitators to listen because listening is a trait of effective leadership.[/size] Like Woodrow Wilson once said, the ear of a leader must ring with the voices of the people. Even when their voices are discordant and incoherent, or whether it is raucous, or perhaps a mere mumble of a silenced minority, it is still the job of a leader to listen. Great leaders listen intuitively until they see with their ears.

the op forgot that the old tyrant's ears have been blocked by bacterial infection!


its a huge shame to me that i have been campaigning for the tyrant since 2003 thinking that he will unite Nigeria - binding all the tribes as a united front not knowing that the man is so full of hate and bile.


the lesson i learn from buhari is very educative - never ever give any responsibility to a man who has nothing to show after having several years to himself but couldn't make his life better no contribute positively to the society he belongs.

Buhari left power since 1985 or so but couldn't further his education, couldn't establish a foundation nor charity to help even the almajiris in daura but just focused all his attention on uttering insensitive statements and threatening Nigerians - even after we gave him the power, he still continue to issues threats and massacre oppositions and any one that speaks against him.

the man is such a brute! am sorry to say that nothing good will come out of him. he is soo empty!


2019 loading. . . this time no more mistakes, we have learn from experience.

3 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by proeast(m): 11:22am On Sep 23, 2016
I dont see how Nigeria will survive as an entity. The forces pulling us apart are far greater than the forces uniting us and to worsen matters, increased poverty, increased awareness, corruption, frustration and ethno-religious strife is spiking. The only instrument that can save Nigeria now from total collapse is true fiscal federalism & regionalism.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by MadamExcellency: 11:51am On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:

Going through war will only kill more igbos

What has independence got to do with war?


You know for a certainty that you're in the infinitesimal minority if a vote is called for any day hence you vehemently struggle to vent your anger against your peoples collective resolve to rule their destiny to the point that you can even stake your life to prevent a referendum.

I pity you. There is nowhere in the world where a course of this magnitude is 100% consensus.

4 Likes 1 Share

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by babyfaceafrica: 11:56am On Sep 23, 2016
Lolz
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by fxseven(m): 12:09pm On Sep 23, 2016
I feel you my brother. well said.
Tallesty1:
It's only in Nigeria that someone will tell you how he fought hard to keep "Nigeria as One" and then turn around to call you 5%.


If he has common sense he would know that Igbos don't like anyone who fought or still fights to keep Nigeria as one.


Funny enough, it's the same people who claim oneness that will show you through their actions and inactions that you're truly no one.

An alligator and a crocodile may claim oneness but a crocodile is a crocodile and an alligator is an alligator.

1 Like

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by mrvitalis(m): 2:24pm On Sep 23, 2016
MadamExcellency:


What has independence got to do with war?


You know for a certainty that you're in the infinitesimal minority if a vote is called for any day hence you vehemently struggle to vent your anger against your peoples collective resolve to rule their destiny to the point that you can even stake your life to prevent a referendum.

I pity you. There is nowhere in the world where a course of this magnitude is 100% consensus.
Let me get this.. . U don't want to get Biafra by war yet u don't want to follow democratic process... That's really smart

What is difficult in voting ipob members to elective position to represent the views of Igbos... no they prefer the old theifs
Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Nobody: 2:42pm On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election

Why do you push your responsibility to governors, senators etc. Freedom is collectively enforced but a man must lead the enforcement.

3 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Nobody: 2:44pm On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:

Let me get this.. . U don't want to get Biafra by war yet u don't want to follow democratic process... That's really smart

What is difficult in voting ipob members to elective position to represent the views of Igbos... no they prefer the old theifs

You no represent the view of a nation in a nation, the best you can do is to represent the view of a people in a nation. Biafra is a nation not a people.

2 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Nobody: 2:47pm On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:

Going through war will only kill more igbos

If all the Igbo will die except one man and one woman who will host the flag of Biafra. Igbo will gladly die.

4 Likes

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by Mcleo007(m): 3:40pm On Sep 23, 2016
ROCE:
The focus here is wrong - we concentrate too much on the Number 1 citizen like that is where the problem is.


If the agitations were serious, just like the ND militants, the legislators and executive governors representing these people will be at the forefront. Otherwise, targeting Buhari or whoever is president is a cry baby tactic. Let the National Assembly consider having a referendum and see whether Buhari will respond or not. Let the so-called Biafran people unite and put up acts of civil disobedience and see what pressure can do to any government.

Because he knows that the agitators don't seem to know what they are really doing, he has paid less attention.

Once again, the focus is not the man at the center. The more you emphasise Buhari, the more it shows that some people have not healed from the defeat of the last elections.



Exactly my thoughts! This new struggle for BIAFRA is wrongly premised, and its timing is telling to a single point, The Last Electoral loss.

1 Like

Re: MUST READ: "On Buhari And Biafra" - Punch Newspapers by asorocker: 3:48pm On Sep 23, 2016
mrvitalis:
The truth is this.. We igbos have not demanded Biafra... if we actually did.. We would have had referendum since

What u have is a man who claimed he was sent by God to librate Biafra (well doctors in the house know this is a medical condition)

If all the five governors, senators, representatives collectively feel the people they represent want BIAFRA do u think they wont demand for it??

Only a fool will shout Biafra and still vote in the Nigerian election

i dont really think the problem is the biafrans but Nigeria that has consitently and continously abused the rights , priviledges and well being of biafrans.

i took a passive look on the biafran issue until i saw the devilish , evil , usless soliders shooting at unramed protesters . not even ISIS or Alqeada troubles unramed protesters . this was where the usless military drew my ire and anger.

This same military looked the other way ehn bakassi took cameroon. and was only good in starvation of childdren and women in the war . the same inept military has not done anything about herdsmen killings .e.t.c

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