₦airaland Forum

Nigeria, Biafra and Cross River State
by joe oko odey

With Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and his followers increasingly calling for secession and the creation of Biafra, it is time to clear the air on certain matters concerning the said Biafra and Cross River State of Nigeria. It is a historical fact that present day Cross River State formed the easternmost part of the Eastern Region in the period before 1967. Cross River State was also a part of the break-away Biafra republic before it was liberated piecemeal by Nigerian forces in the early days of the civil war. Recall that Cross Riverians like the late Philip Effiong (from old Cross River State) and Okokon Ndem were very prominent on the Biafran side during the war.

In current maps of the proposed Biafra Republic drawn by its proponents, Cross River State is still shown as being part of it but it is time to inform the world that Cross River State will not be in Biafra again. If eventually, the five states of the South East become a country and cease to be a part of Nigeria, Cross River State as it is today will become an independent entity. We Cross Riverians will have our own country and govern ourselves.

Cross River possesses everything it takes to be a sovereign, self-sufficient country. Having a landmass of over twenty thousand square kilometers, Cross River is even larger than countries like Singapore, Jamaica and Kuwait. In the event of a Biafran split, we shall take full advantage of our land, strategic coastal location as well as our God given natural and human resources to make a great country out of Cross River state. Federal Republic of Cross River

[Government & Constitution]

As stated above, if Nigeria is balkanized to create Biafra, Cross River State shall become an independent nation – a federal republic modeled after the system of government practiced in the United States of America with possible modifications. The executive capital of the new country will be in any of the towns of central Cross River for easy accessibility from both the northern and southern regions of the federation. Legislative and judicial headquarters can be split among the northern and southern zones for parity as practiced in states like Malaysia and South Africa.

The eighteen local government areas currently existing in Cross River will become states with the local government headquarters becoming state capitals while the one hundred and ninety-six wards in the state will be given local government status. For easy coordination of government activities in the federation and to dilute the usually humongous powers of the federal government, the Republic of Cross River might develop a system of having regional presidents. One president will be elected from each of the three regions presently called senatorial district. The regional presidents will have some of the powers of the central government and shall be the leaders of the governors of the states in their regions.

The simple majority electoral system practiced in Nigeria has serious flaws. This is because the system allows relatively unpopular candidates to win public office and it creates major fissures in the process of governance because the mass of citizens who voted for opposing candidates are often unwilling to cooperate with the winner of the election neither are they eager to support policies initiated by him.

This is evident in the conduct of Nigerians after the presidential elections of 2015. The winner of that election polled a reported fifteen million votes while the other candidate garnered twelve million. There has been friction in the country due to the discomfiture of the twelve million on the losing side who (rightly or wrongly) feel that their interests are not being adequately represented.

To avoid such conflicts which can threaten national existence, the Cross River Republic will practice an absolute majority electoral system. The majority percentage can be set at seventy – implying that for a candidate to be declared winner of any election in the republic, he/she must have obtained at least 70% of the total votes cast. This will ensure that any person or government in office has the backing of an absolute majority. The new country will operate a Federal Constitution to ensure an effective devolution of power between the central government and the constituent federating units.

[Economy]

The new republic will certainly be a free market (capitalist) economy. With the immense mineral and human resources readily available in Cross River, the Republic will certainly be a viable country and within a period of fifty years, Cross River will have earned a respectable place even among developed countries. Minerals presently known to be available in vast commercial quantities in Cross River include: salt, limestone, coal, gold, quartz, petroleum, natural gas, kaolin, tin ore, lead zinc, tin ore, uranium, and barites. Through economic utilization of such a considerable store of natural resources, the Republic of Cross River would have enough fiscal muscle to build a sturdy, prosperous republic with a high and sustainable per capita income. Considering our large home population of almost four million (according to 2016 estimates) and the over one million Cross Riverians in the diaspora, there will be enough manpower to drive a vibrant and productive economy.

[Nigeria]

Learning from the leadership mistakes that has bedeviled the Nigerian federation since independence in 1960, it is certain that the leaders of a new Cross River Republic will steer clear of the pitfalls that has stymied the growth of the Nigerian and confined her to the league of third world countries when it would have been competing on the world stage with noveau technological and economic giants like China, India, Brazil, Japan and others.

[Finally] While advocating for a peaceful settlement of the Biafra agitation and the continued existence of the Nigerian state, let be emphasized once again that if Biafra is created, Cross River will NOT be roped into it but will chose its own path separately and seek her fortunes as an independent country.

Op why re u answering igbo name(oko). Anyway what happens to indigenous igbo people in cross river, like abi LGA, isobo in obubra etc

Op whether paid or not just wrote his own opinion down. Igbos should determine an Igbo state first not limited to southeast but as the following Anambra
imo
Abia
Anioma(enuani specifically)
ebonyi
Enugu
upland Rivers(of igbo extraction)
mimute indigenous igbos of Kogi, benue, CR,Edo and orashi axis of Bayelsa.
Where Ibibios of Akwa ibom/bakasi wil be granted a right to union through referendum.

victorDanladi:
In current maps of the proposed Biafra Republic drawn
by its proponents, Cross River State is still shown as
being part of it but it is time to inform the world that
Cross River State will not be in Biafra again. If
eventually, the five states of the South East become a
country and cease to be a part of Nigeria, Cross River
State as it is today will become an independent entity.
We Cross Riverians will have our own country and
govern ourselves.


Cross River possesses everything it takes to be a
sovereign, self-sufficient country. Having a landmass of
over twenty thousand square kilometers, Cross River is
even larger than countries like Singapore, Jamaica and
Kuwait. In the event of a Biafran split, we shall take full
advantage of our land, strategic coastal location as well
as our God given natural and human resources to make
a great country out of Cross River state.
Federal Republic of Cross River


.

I think it is important to state that the Biafran agitators want a referendum. In that referendum, the only choice there will be to choose remaining part of Nigeria or seeking independence as Biafra. If Cross River chooses to remain part of Nigeria, it will continue with the rest as Nigeria.

If CrossRiver chooses to go with Biafra, it will be part of Biafra and if it wishes to leave Biafra in the future, a referendum can be held for it.

But if CrossRiver wants its immidiate independence, they have to start agitating for it because nobody will allow CrossRiver to use the Biafran agitation as its own independence movement