₦airaland Forum

kmariko:
Exactly What?...My point is that no modern society was ever created through a diverse ethnic group as Nigeria..America I premised is not a diverse society..The different white groups came into an already defined dominant Anglo group with similar cultural values, religion..They subsumed themselves into this group as white as against other different racial group as classified in their society....Irish, German, poles, etc, see themselves as white and strive to imbibe the cultural values already set by the anglos to make themselves less ethnic and culturally uniform.

So in all we cannot compare Nigeria to USA as we have natively ethnic cultural norms that is increasing entrenched and protected by each group..

Nigeria as per your definition would not become successful as it does not have the values that make a nation successful.

Having and retaining these cultural norms and working together to build a successful, developed nation are not mutually exclusive. These cultural norms are not what develops a nation, else Igboland would be a paradise right now since according to fellow Igbos, our culture and tradition just naturally makes us better than other tribes. But in real life, we can see that is not the case because Igboland is as lacking in infrastructure and basic social amenities as the rest of Nigeria. A different poster asked why Lagos has to be developed and not, say Enugu or Owerri. Well, each region has their own developed points while the rest suffer underdevelopment. Abuja is for North, Lagos for the South West and Port Harcourt for the South East/South South. Outside these places, most other places in the respective geopolitical zones are far behind as far as development and infrastructure are concerned. In essence, we are not as different mentally from the rest of the country when it comes to nation building. All these "other regions are holding us back" stories is basically us just passing the buck and refusing to take blame for our own individual failures.

Do the South Eastern and South Southern states get allocations? What have the governors and local government chairmen done with them? What kind of representation are we getting from our senator and representatives and how much different is it from what people in other regions are getting?

kmariko:
Good let's take America as in USA as an example..
Based on your previous ingredients of what makes a nation....common values, culture and goal ( unity of purpose)..
America is factually not a multicultural society ...Depending on ones definition...
Here's why I think not
In the 40s when America was most dominant with over 40 percent of world products, and production with a population of 132 million of which 89.8% were white Anglo...Culture.. WASP... Religion over 90 % christianity..Unity of purpose...Dominant power with Monroe doctrine firmly in place...
In other words USA was never like Nigeria. Where major ethnic groups with diverse culture, religion, goals and aspirations are at each other's neck..

American and americans purpose till date has been well defined for even would be immigrants on the cultural ethnics of the white dominant Christian populace period... Today white population is still dominant at 77%. More than 89% Christian.. Ultimately the culture is still white dominated Christian Culture.

Third every cultural group irrespective where they are found is all about the survival of their specie ..Think Darwin..It is this survival that derives progress...not absence of corruption, or fathom political will... Trump rise is an expression of this phenomenon where the dominant ethnic group is questioning there own survival..

This is the very reason that gave rise to this Biafra phenom...The igbos in particular are questioning their own ability to survive in the presently structured Nigerian....They feared being subsumed in an alien culture of Islam that they believe (whether real or not) is genocidal for their well being.

That brings us to Switzerland...The major ethnic groups their share essentially the said culture, religion, food, but the major difference is in the language​ which each jealously guard...As a loss of language is seen as a loss of their existence..Now they evolved a system that protects and alleviate these fears, where it does not depend on the phantom political or social wills but the actual fears and survival or each of their ethnic groups.

Thanks

Exactly. Now an offshoot of my argument is that we can create such a society where we are diverse and yet united. It's not an impossibility. Now my article addressed Biafra but I still have an article in the works that addresses all the tribes within Nigeria, our failings and what values we need to adopt to make this country work. America may be predominantly white, but even amongst the white population it is rare to find pure bloodlines. Most of the white people in America are of mixed English, Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Dutch, Spanish and even Russian descent. And it's not like they are ignorant of their roots - they know. But they don't identify as Irish-American or Scottish-American, or Italian-American. They identify primarily as American. Their ancestry is just a side bonus.

Nigeria's breakup is inevitable...... Yet he ran for,won and served as a senator in the same Nigeria whose breakup is inevitable.

Okay.

agaba77:
stop saying "we" you are not igbo, have to courage to be yourself.

Yhhh, I'm quite sure you can't tell me who I am or am not. If thinking I'm not Igbo makes you sleep better at night, please, by all means, keep thinking it. Regardless, I don't have to and I won't defend who I am to a faceless person on the internet.

MrEverest:
How will anybody or ethnic groups wether big or small feel marginalized when every part will control its resources and develop at its own pace?

Remember what they say about the road to hell? This thing you are saying - is it impossible to achieve in Nigeria? If yes, why?

inkon:
If your own purpose of blogging is this, fine. But you will agree with me that that moment when money got involved in blogging did blogging hop away from the arena of anything-can-go. And remember I said "some streaks of professionalism" - let that ring a bell. It's so because anything worth doing is worth doing well. And if it is not about the money, I'll question the essence of the link attached to your write up. It is up to you to be biased or not, I've no problem with that, personally. But does it occur to you that certain furtive utterances against the legitimized aspiration of a people can be considered offensive, especially when such utterance came with a not-well-hidden malicious intent?

If you are offended or read malicious intent into my writeup, well it's quite unfortunate. I only documented my personal thoughts and i posted a link to to it for the purpose of those who might want to read any other articles i've written. In a previous thread I commented on, someone asked for a link to my blog - feel free to check for it. This way, whoever wants it doesn't have to ask. Besides, I posted a link to the same article, not the blog's homepage so anyone who wants to respond off Nairaland has an avenue to do so as the article also has it's own comments section.

Again, if it doesn't read to your taste, I can't help you because I wrote it to MY taste.

MrMaestro:
Nigeria will remain united. People need to start taking politics and voting seriously. We are the reason Nigeria isn't functioning as best as it could. If there is anything we should clamor for, it is true federalism, so that state leaders on the ground can have greater flexibility of development.

This exactly.

ChimaAdeoye:
Bros, when the time comes, some people will want to keep the south by force and a few bullets will be exchanged.

I just want the south to keep getting ready and meeting with stakeholders to iron out a workable constitution for a true Federalism to thrive in the south.

If southern Nigeria were a country, it's human development index will rival Brazil or Argentina.

Right - then in a Southern Nigeria, you think the smaller tribes - the Efiks, the Ijaws, and all the rest of them won't eventually start claiming marginalization by the larger tribes i.e Igbos and Yorubas?

kmariko:
I apologise for repeating this quote...
If you don't mind going through this particular paragraph​ of your writing you will notice
1. Your are mixing up values systems with mere physical yearnings
2. You on one hand defined successful nation's or countries as having common goals and on the other hand insisting that Common language, culture cannot give that. Where then are common value systems derived if not from culture.
3. You inferred that what Nigerians want are merely, the provision of social amenities, where everything works, and not common , goals and values,....Is it not a bit confusing...So Nigerians, dont need to play down on the religious bit, subsume themselves in a yet to be created culture and discard their inherent millennia culturally tested values..

Now you see why it is necessary to give us an example or two of a successful nation which will serve as a base of reference on your assertions on Nigeria and it's derivatives

I'll give you two; the USA and Switzerland. Basically, the US is a melting pot of various cultures, nationalities, religions and ideas. You know what has made the US work so far? It's the people (at least by an large) rising above their backgrounds and differences to "be American" and work towards the American dream. America is beginning to face it's current challenges because people are beginning to accentuate and play up differences. Funnily enough, Canada has recognized that it was America's united diversity that has made it so great and Canada is beginning to copy the American model. Switzerland is made up of four major regions and has four official languages - German, Italian, French and Romanish. In spite of these difference in language and culture, they all share a common ideology and values. Switzerland is proof that people with different cultures and languages can work together to create one successful country - a lesson we seem to find impossible to learn in Nigeria.

inkon:
Nothing wrong, nothing at all, just that it also requires some streaks of professionalism to get it right which one can barely find in your article

Yhhhh, first off blogging doesn't require professionalism. A blog is just like a diary where you write and share your personal thoughts or whatever else you wish to write. Sure, people have turned blogging into a moneymaking venture in recent times - fair f*cks to them. I'm not claiming to be a journalist, which requires professionalism. As a blogger, I can be partisan, biased or anything else because it's basically MY thoughts, not a documentation of universal truths. So if you're looking for professionals, read The Guardian or Vanguard or The Sun because they are supposed to be journalists.

kettykings:
if Biafra is an escapist fantasy of disillusioned igbo biafrans then i beg you what is Nigeria, to describe nigeria as a huge tragedy

this is the only country in the whole wide world that gave away its only oil rich peninsular to a smaller neighbour leaving the indigenes of the peninsular as abandoned refugees in an IDP.

Cursed is anybody who will advocate for the palestinian state, advocate for the south sahara state ,push for the emergence of scotland , supported and signed away Bakassi peninsular ,but fight against Biafra and support the killing of unarmed protesters. May God in his wisdom restrict such a person to the deepest part of hell fire , may the person die a thousand times for chronic disllusionment

Lol, that's one hell of a curse. I personally don't believe in any of these entities. They may end up being successful or they may fail if the people agitating for them get what they want. I'm personally a firm believer in the ability of any state to work out if all it's people set aside and rise above sentiments and divisions and concentrate on working together for a developed, civilized beneficial society. I mean, aren't there countries around the world where the people largely share one language, culture or religion and yet they are complete failures? Doesn't that tell us that these aren't the prerequisites for the success of any nation?

kmariko:
Am afraid sir, am still confused..."a failed Biafra" I thought that Biafra is still a concept yet you allude failure to it!!!. At the same time you have failed to tell us the mentality of successful nation's or countries that lead to their success...

The very basic assumption from your treatise is that since my parents are thieves it follows that I will never be anything but a thief as am incapable from learning from the smart kid down the block.

Secondly you seemly created a group-think that is uniquely Nigerian, that was keyed in by everyone,..If that's the case why then have multitude of divisions within the "failed Nigerian state".

Third, you have failed to let us your readers know what a successful nation is, examples there of, what made them successful and why " failed biafra" is incapable of learning from them.

That's where you're getting it wrong. What I mean is that if a child doesn't learn lessons from the life of it's parents who are thieves and instead carries the same mentality as it's parents, that child could very well end up being a thief too.

kmariko:
Am afraid sir, am still confused..."a failed Biafra" I thought that Biafra is still a concept yet you allude failure to it!!!. At the same time you have failed to tell us the mentality of successful nation's or countries that lead to their success...

The very basic assumption from your treatise is that since my parents are thieves it follows that I will never be anything but a thief as am incapable from learning from the smart kid down the block.

Secondly you seemly created a group-think that is uniquely Nigerian, that was keyed in by everyone,..If that's the case why then have multitude of divisions within the "failed Nigerian state".

Third, you have failed to let us your readers know what a successful nation is, examples there of, what made them successful and why " failed biafra" is incapable of learning from them.

I wasn't referring to Biafra as a presently existing entity but as a possible future entity and whenever I allude to the failure of Biafra, it's as a future possibility not certainty. That's for the purpose of clarity. For instance I have said if we do not rid ourselves of some of the mindsets, behaviours and characteristics that have brought Nigeria to it's current state, then if we carry those same things into Biafra, we're almost certain to end up in the same situation Nigeria is. It's basically doing things the same way _ you can only expect the same results.

As for what makes a successful nation, on one hand, it's not what this article is about and on the other, it is so,ething that is evident to anyone that bothers to observe. A successful nation is one where the people consistently strive to rise above their differences to achieve a common goal. As I've mentioned before, no nation of people is completely homogeneous. There will always be dividing factors. You want to split Nigeria along cultural lines? Even within the divisions, there are further subdivisions you can find - like religion, political ideology, language and dialect, even food and personal and individual tastes. In a successful country, these differences are played down and instead what we share are accentuated - common values that are aimed at creating a society that's beneficial to all citizens. What do we have in common in Nigeria? We all, regardless of tribe, religion and political affiliation, want a country that everything works, that social amenities are provided by the government, that cost of living is low and standard of living high. Being in a country where we just share language and culture won't give us that. We need a change of mentality about our approach to government and society. When we adopt proper values and ideas, it won't matter whether we are still part of or outside Nigeria - we would have a successfyll country.

inkon:
And you are blogger too? Lol

Well, I would have loved to comment on your write up but I can't find the relevance and it lacks needed cohesion, to say the least.

Pray tell, what's wrong with blogging or being a blogger?

kmariko:
mr
Sir/madam,

Your treatise i presume was projected to spark a conversation among "biafrans" in other to dissuade them from continuing with their "fantasy" project...
The argument presented would have had more chutzpah if you have tried to
first define what makes a successful nation or country with examples,
secondly how these succesfull countries came to being
with these definitions, one can easily see through your oracular presentation whether the Biafran project will be a success or a failure.

In your reply to one of the contributors, you inferred that it is the lack of political and social will among the Nigerian populace that is the cause of the "failure" of the Nigerian state...Bystanders like me would like to know the nature of "political and social wills" that made other countries a success and how they cannot be transfered to the biafran project....in other words why the present "political and social will" of the failed nigerian project will be copied and implemented by the briafrans instead of those of the more successfull nations.

Thanks and have a great day

On a final note a schematic diagram on a piece of paper does not make a nation or country.

Good response!

First off, the intent of my post here is not necessarily to dissuade anybody from asking for a Biafra. It's to make people deeply examine their reasons for it and assess it's feasibility as things things stand because a lot of the people that I've spoken to and with about this call for a Biafra haven't really considered the most important things involved. What's the difference between a failed Nigeria and a failed Biafra? Nothing! If we do not critically examine the roles we have played in the failure of Nigeria, rid ourselves of the mentality that has brought Nigeria to where it is and not be able to agree on the basics of what we want Biafra to be, then by creating Biafra, all we would be doing is creating another Nigeria, albeit one where we all speak the same language.

As for the political and social wills we don;t have as a Nigerian nation (which we Igbo people share with the rest of Nigeria), I have already severally outlined them: participation in corrupt practices that are detrimental to economic, social and political growth, a glorification of connections and wealth at the expense of merit and hardwork, failure to hold those who we have elected to represent us responsible for their failures instead supporting them because they are from their tribes or regions and so much more. These things are mainly a function of the mentality we all share as Nigerians and creating a new entity called Biafra WILL NOT rid us of that mentality.

SGTsmith001:
. afonja skull miner, the guy you quoted is a confirmed yorubastard like you.onye ara

How reasonable and mature. Your family must be proud.

Afam4eva:
This your comment just shows that you don't understand Nigeria. I'm sure you're typing from somewhere like lagos or Abuja. Why not Enugu, Owerri or Aba?

Because I consider myself a Nigerian. I should have the right to settle anywhere I want in this country so long as I follow the provisions of the Nigerian constitution. I am not sharing thus outdated and retrogressive mentality that I shouldn't associate with or have dealings with people of other tribes because "they hate me" and "they don't wish me well". You know why those people in the North are killing Southerners living amongst them? It's because they are buying the same lie their leaders are selling them that Southerners hate them and don't wish them well.

ExpiredNigeria:
You are not Igbo, you're one of the unity beggars here in Niaraland, opening and managing a fake account just to rubbish Biafra for whatever reason, If you still claim to be Igbo then, translate this sentence to Igbo language, "I'm a confirmed Igbo man, not a slave"

I have read all your ridiculous replies to every opinions here, I have given you instance with "Rome was not built in a day" and I also asked you a question you have refused to answer.

You said Biafra have no plan and I asked you ever since Nigeria got independent in 1960 they had all the master plans in this whole wide world and they still do, why are we agitating today, why is she suffering epileptic power supply, why is her oil being refined abroad, why is she being looted to death, why are Nigerians too poor a very rich country. and many more question, So I need you to help me with the answer to those question. Thank you

Looool, you amuse me. You think I have to prove my Igbo credentials to you or anyone? My brother, I don't! If you think I'm not Igbo, well good luck to you; it doesn't change my heritage or parentage or ideology.

Forget about Rome not being built in a day - at least the Romans knew what they wanted and worked towards it. Nigeria has largely failed not because it is a union of different tribes but because there is a lack of political and social will to make it work. These things won't magically appear in Biafra. It's a mentality that us common to all Nigerians not just Yorubas or Hausas and if we don't deal with this mentality now that we are part of Nigeria, we will inevitably carry it over into Biafra and cause it to fail.

Eventoned:
Even hell fire can work but that doesn't mean that people who are currently in hell, won't want a better deal or atleast what they think t's a better deal.

Some of you Lagos Igbos (which i'm one) do not fully understand the concept that led to the idea and is still sustaining it. Even majority of the IPOB youths who are shouting BIAFRA on a daily basis don't understand the concept. They just think it's a cool idea to have a new country with a new currency, flag, national anthem etc. But it's beyond that.

Now, what gave rise to the Biafran idea in the first place? It's because of the ill treatment meted out to Igbo pre and post independence which inavariably led to the civil war. The people responsible for them have sworn with their fathers and mothers graves that Ndigbo will never prosper as far as Nigeria is concerned and they're determined to keep it so. We can see it from the appointments and projects that are been cited in Igboland (I mean, there are actually no federal projects been cited in Igboland). So, it's not just that people just want Biafra from thin air. We have accepted for true federalism where every region will develop at their own pace and they have also refused. What else do you want them to do?

I don't think anyone with common sense will say that Biafra will turn to Dubai overnight or even in 100 years should Biafra come into fruition. What this people are fighting for first and foremost is their freedom. There are many problems plaguing this country and it's not a bad idea to get rid of even one of the problems not minding the others.

Btw, i'm not PRO Biafra but i'm not stupid enugh to downplay whatever i don't believe in. See Biafra as an idea rather than a country then only then will you understand it's shenanigans.

You should know that this idea that one tribe or set of tribes just hate us is patently false. How does it even benefit them if Igboland isn't developed? Is their own land developed? What exactly are their people enjoying that ours aren't? The North is overwhelmingly poor, underdeveloped and lacking most infrastructures. So why are we being told all these by our regional leaders? Simple - they don't want us to examine their own failures and hold them accountable for the underdevelopment in our regions. I have said it and I will continue to say it - all of us are complicit in Nigeria's failures. It is just sad that none of us wants to admit complicity and take responsibility for the roles we have played in stunting Nigeria's growth.

kingzizzy:
Your problem is that you are looking at Biafra as an 'Igbo project', it is not. As I said before, the last President of Biafra, General Philip Effiong, was not Igbo. How can Biafra then be termed to be an Igbo thing? The word "Biafra" was suggested as a name by Frank Opigo, an Ijaw man. If Biafra had been just about Igbos, the name would not be Biafra but something Igbo, the national anthem would be Igbo, the flag would not have the rising sun but rather, something Igbo. Biafra is not and has never been about just Igbos. If Igbos decide to go for an Igbo only country, the agitation will be very different from the Biafran agitation.

Most of the minorities you are calling South/South are even more tired of 'one Nigeria' than Igbos. They have nothing to show for the many decades of their Oil and Gas wealth being explored and exploited in the name of 'one Nigeria'. As everyone knows, there is a broad consensus amongst Biafran agitators that before Biafra is declared, there must be a referendum to allow everybody choose their destiny. There over 40 tribes in the south of Nigeria, if given the opportunity to leave for Biafra with the majority Igbos or to stay back in Nigeria doing South/South, what would they choose? It should be noted that Biafra is only for those who are tired of Nigeria. Any ethnic group that has a majority that is happy with Nigeria is not welcome in Biafra and should vote accordingly when referendum comes.





Nigeria ia a country that has never and will never work, Igbo/Hausa/ Yoruba are too different to ever be united and anyone hoping that will change isnt ready for reality. Im quite confident that Igbos and the minorities who are comfortable with us will do well outside Nigeria. If a country like Gambia of less than 2 million have not starved to death, we shall be fine

You may be right about some of the minority tribes that make up the South South being tired of Nigeria but neither are they clamoring for a Biafra. They don't see themselves as Biafrans as they consider themselves NigerDeltans. The original Biafra idea may not have been about Igbos alone but right now, both we Igbos and non-Igbos consider Biafra a primarily Igbo project.

You think Igbos, Hausas and Yorubas can't live together? Are you for real? Some of us have theae views go abroad and live in peace and harmony with complete strangers, we become law-abiding, we pay taxes and we contribute to the development of the society but we come back to Nigeria and suddenly, we can't live with our neighbors that we have more in common with than those in Europe, Asia and America? Come on!

You have bought into this lie that our regional leaders have sold and keep selling us that we cannot live together in peace and harmony and build a united, developed country. These same leaders relate very well with each other, regardless of tribe, religion or political affiliation then tell us we can't do the same amongs ourselves and we are buying it wholesale.

kingzizzy:
The is another misguided 'one Nigeria' apologist. It is funny how these people keep running in circles trying to justify why Lugard made them Nigerians.

If someone gave you a badly damaged car but after analysis you realize that the car can still work completely fine if you fix it, would you throw away the car saying "why would this person give me a bad car? Let me go and buy my own car" when you know you don't have the resources to buy your own car or that the car you would buy might not be as good as the one you were given and it would cost more and take longer for you to get a new car?

Only free or independent people make plans. You dont make plans while you are in bondage unless you know when you will be free. The only plan for Biafra at this time is freedom, there will be enough time to draw up a comprehensive blue print for Biafra later.

This is laughable. It is simply a recipe for failure. It's like a student saying "let me register for JAMB first, then i'll start reading my books". Countries don't work that way. We have to first ask ourselves amongst ourselves "what do we want for our country? How do we want to run it? Who will our allies be? What will drive our economy? What will we do to make sure we don't repeat the mistakes that brought Nigeria to where it is now?" and all such pertinent questions before clamoring for a secession. This failure to plan will only result in the failure of Biafra which would end up being costlier than Nigeria's current failures.

Biafrans are not Nigerians. Biafra means the rejection of Nigeria and what it stands for. The Nigerian way of reasoning and acting are some of the many negatives that Biafrans want to jettison which is why they agitate for a separate state. Biafrans are not Nigerians, if they were, they would not agitate for Biafra

Well we aren;t doing a good job of jettisoning all these so-called Nigerian values now that we are still a part of Nigeria and if we aren;t different now, they will also become Biafran values in Biafra. It's not Yorubas or hausas or fulanis that are perpetrating the corruption that goes on in the South East - it's our fellow Igbo men and women. We are equally complicit in the failure of the Nigerian project but when clamoring for secession, we claim saintliness. Even Ojukwu who led us into civil war and went into exile returned to run for the Nigerian presidency. If he believed wholeheartedly in Biafra, then under no circumstance would he run for Nigerian presidency. Just imagine if Nnamdi Kanu were to be released from his unlawful incarceration and then decides to run for the Nigerian presidency? What would that tell you about his agitation for Biafra? We also need to ask those selling us the Biafra what their true motives and intents are else we would just be led like sheep not knowing what we are doing or why but following anyway.

You dont have to do basically better in your region to decide if you want to part of Nigeria or not. Scotland that is agitating to leave Britain has not done better than England. Baltic countries like Lithuania and Estonia were not doing better than Russia when they left the USSR. Nobody needs to be doing better to seek their freedom.

Scotland has done well enough for itself as a part of the UK so if they say they can do much better as a sovereign entity, they have a pretty good case. The baltic countries are a lesson in how not to take off to build your own house when you don't even know what it will look like. A lot of Eastern European countries are still struggling with underdevelopment as evidenced by the high rate of emigration by their nationals to other countries. The more ironic part is that despite them being sovereign countries, Russia still wields overwhelming influence over them, their economic activities and their political life. The Russia they were running away from IS STILL WITH THEM because they didn't chart their future outside the USSR before its breakup.

Biafra is not just about Igbos. Igbo is just one tribe amongst many in Biafra. Most of these minorities will tell anyone who cares to listen that their Oil wealth has been stolen while they are marginalised. Marginalisation is as a result of Nigeria not been run equitably





I have never seen any family, let alone people, who speak with one voice.

Biafra is not about speaking with one voice, it is about what the majority wants.




As said before, Biafra is not an Igbo only thing, it never was. The last President of Biafra, General Philip Effiong, was not even an Igbo man. Biafra is no escapist illusion, it is a dream. A dream of forging a new existence away from the disasterously failed British colonial experiment called Nigeria. How can it be escapist for one to seek their God given right to self deternination, freedom and self rule? How can it be escapist for one to seek to control their destiny? Biafra is a dream and God willing, it will become reality, again.

My brother, let's face it, Biafra is mainly an Igbo thing. The South Southerners consider themselves NigerDeltans, not Biafrans. Their language and culture is remarkably different and distinct from ours. Roping them into project Biafra just amounts to Nigeria all over again.

We may not all need to speak with one voice but we need to have a general consensus about our future - which we don't. We are still very fragmented and right now, we are murmuring different things so what the rest of Nigeria hears is incoherent noise with Biafra mentioned here and there. That's not good enough. History has provided us with ample examples that we need to learn from instead of trying to learn on the fly. If Nigeria were working as it should, do you think there would be a clamor for a secession? I strongly doubt it - which is why I see Biafra as being a fantasy to many people disillusioned with the current Nigeria.[/quote]

kingzizzy:
But you have had each other for 103 years yet you are not a great country, is it another 103 years you are hoping the greatness will finally come?

Switzerland is just a landlocked country of 8 million people but Switzerland is far richer than Nigeria.

What is the point of having Nigeria of 200 million but nothing is working? Far better to have a country of far less people but things are working, like in Switzerland.

"Na population we go chop?"

My brother, what is the difference between a Nigeria were nothing works and a Biafra were nothing works? Do you think I would be any happier in an underdeveloped, corrupt Biafra than I am in an underdeveloped, corrupt Nigeria? My major concern is that, as it stands, a huge chunk of the problems we are facing as Nigerians would crossover into Biafra but unlike Nigeria, we wouldn't even have NigerDelta oil money to bail us out because let's face it, those guts don't want to be a part of Biafra, the oil we have in the South East is not in such commercial quantity for us to survive on for long, we still haven't decided what would drive a Biafran economy and we aren't even speaking with one voice for what we want. We need to first distance ourselves from the traits, habits, ideas and methods that have brought Nigeria to where it is today, sit down, plan and come up with a blueprint of what a Biafra would and should be BEFORE starting this agitation. A Biafra can work but then also, a Nigeria too can work. We are just not investing time and effort into planning and carefully executing those plans to make either entity work.

iSlayer2:


Myopic. Very very myopic.

It's not enough to type "myopic" or "smh". Those aren't good enough reasons for an agitation. Counter these points i've made with a well thought out response. It's obvious that some of us are just clamor7ng for a Biafra but we are not willing to have a conversation about it.

ExpiredNigeria:
It would have made sense to me but it wouldn't matter anymore because you don't believe in Biafra, I would have said here is another good leader who knows what is needed to be done but the problem again is that same declaration of yours of not being in support of Biafra, so I have one question for you and your answer to that question would determine my next contribution.

Are these points you listed the reason you are not in support of Baifra or as you summarized in one sentence (for the benefit of those who don't like reading long articles) that you're not in support of a Biafra.

If the points you listed are simply your reasons then, lets talk Baifra but, if your reasons are really summarized in one sentence "I'm not in support of a Biafra." as your final conclusion then, carry on I don't have discussion with you because it won't yield anything

Right now, I am not in support of Biafra because we the Igbo people have not done the required minimum to show we are willing to create a country that will work. Using an analogy, one quite familiar to Ndiigbo, before an apprentice can be put in charge of his master's shop, he has to show that he can manage it well while tge master is around. As "apprentices", we have failed to show ourselves worthy in managing the resources we have available to us in our own corner of the Nigerian "shop". If anything, we are equally complicit in the failure of the Nigerian project. You think it's just people on the other side of the Niger that are corrupt? Have we looked at our own regional leaders? What have they done to create a land of equal opportunities for Igbo men and women? How have they (and we) managed the resources at our disposal. I ma mmadu permeates Igboland just like it does the whole country. Why do we think that would suddenly change with Biafra?

Before we can call for Biafra, we have to show ourselves as essentially distinct from other Nigerians because right now, all that differentiates us from the others is our language. We engage in corrupt practices like the rest of them, we don't hold our leaders accountable like the rest of them. Everyday we prove ourselves to be as Nigerian as the Hausa or Yoruba man. First we need a change of mindset, a change of approach to governance, government and society, we need a unifying ideology of what it would mean to be Biafran - not the various contradictory ideologies being floated by different pro-Biafra groups. We need to plan for the country we want to have because failure to plan first is basically just putting the cart before the horse.

pazienza:
Lol! Igbo is a nation made up willing members,it's a real nation in every sense of it, and none is being forced to be Igbo . You don't decide for Ndiigbo what we ask for, we are free people and reserve the right to demand for our collective self determination.
Igbo nation is united by shared Language , culture, descent and location. You can't compare it to a colonial abomination called Nigeria, made up of people of uncommon descent, language and culture , that needs the use of force to keep people in its union.
Even at that, every Igbo speaking community would be given the chance to vote in favour or against Biafra in a referendum.
I find it disturbing that a human with brain cells would compare the Igbo nation with Nigeria.
And no, Biafra is not about keeping previously independent groups in bondage under force like is obtainable in Nigeria.
Biafra is about independent Igbo groups and willing non Igbo neighbors, coming together to form a nation built on mutual agreement and consent of all involved groups under sustainable political structures and United by shared political, religious, cultural and lingual ideologies.

Interesting response. That last part though - about having a shared political, religious, cultural and lingual ideology - that's patently not true. The Igbo nation as it is right now is extremely fragmented. What is our uniting political ideology? Nobody knows because each person speaks for themselves. Cultural values? I am Anambra but I schooled in Owerri and I can tell you there is a pretty clear difference between our cultural values in both states. My mother has consistently warned us against marrying people from Imo state and this is a sentiment shared by a lot of other people from Anambra state. While I know it's a warning I will definitely ignore if I fall in love with, say, an Owerri or Mbaise or Orlu girl, it shows a distinct lack of trust even amongst ourselves that we are yet to resolve. All we share are similar languages. We still don't speak with one voice in Nigeria. Why do you think that would suddenly change in a Biafra?

malton:
Wow. These are words of wisdom. I admire your perspective of unity in particular and life in general.

I am actually pro one Nigeria. However, two cannot walk together except they are in agreement. The essence of unity is for people (a majority) to have a sense of being part of humanity, the pleasure of friendship, of mutual trust, and of the desire to cooperate and help each other every way possible. Citizens should be able to look each other in the eye and find hope instead of fears.

Our people should help us overcome feelings of helplessness and powerlessness. Instead, they have caused our brethren to suffer unnecessarily cruel fates. Our women have been subjected to pain, with no joy in sight. The greatest gift one can give to their child is the wisdom gained from experience. How then are they to forget all that has happened and run into the enemies' embrace so quick?

The differences aren't much of a problem if we're willing to work toward identified goals. I mean, Americans don't butcher their fellow countrymen as if the country were a slaughterhouse. The Hausa/Fulani Muslims do not tolerate dissenting views nor do they accommodate those that do not share their faith or come from their ethnic stock.

Why must they kill our people just because they do not share their views, faith or bloodlines?

What's happening in Nigeria is ethno-religious cleansing. Beyond just language, it will be difficult for an Nkpor man to understand an Nsukka man if his first words are carnage.

To mete out such punishment on any person at all is the most barbaric form of wickedness, let alone one's fellow countryman.

In America, there's the willingness to tolerate others regardless of how strange or absurd their views, faith or circumstances may be. In Nigeria, they just want to kill. How then can we ever understand each other?

I understand your fears. But as I have severally pointed out, we are being sold nonexistent theories by the people we look up to as leaders of thought and ideas. Do you think the average Hausa man or Yoruba man or woman is born with a natural hatred of Igbos? No! It's just sentiment passed onto us by our parents and religious and political leaders. I used to argue that Igbos were better than any other tribe back in secondary school till I realised that every tribe is unique in it's own way and no tribe is essentially better than any other. It's just a lie sold to us by people for whatever reasons they deemed fit and we bought those lies because we looked up to these people to provide us guidance. Some of my closest friends who have helped me at some of the most trying moments of my life have come from various tribes across Nigeria. They would not help me if this so-called hatred is inborn. But we have learnt to ignore what divides and separates us and instead focus on what unites us in a bid to make each other better. We need to stop selling this same lie to future generations because we would be doing them a great disservice, rob them of a chance to work together to build a country that's rewarding and developed and make them more susceptible to dubious and manipulative religious and political leaders.

Igbokao:
I'm not exactly sure how much Charlie Boy has profited from the Hausa/Yoruba gang up against the Igbos, but he seems to have profited immensely. He seems to have difficulty articulating his thoughts in a fact-based manner. And frankly, confused. He agrees that, of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, only the Igbos suffer marginalization and naked injustice, but somehow, he thinks Igbos should, despite monumental gang-up against them, be able to make political and infrastructural gains like Yorubas and Hausas.

The existential and political structure of Nigeria is seriously defective, and weighs heavily against any group of people that rejects corruption and accepts hard work. Igbos, generally, do not thrive in societies where meritocracy is ignored, for the Igbo psyche is wired to reward hard work, community service, and personal achievement. All selfless sacrifices and political overtures that Igbos make in Nigeria come to nothing. Yorubas and Hausas will alway gang up to thwart any igbo's sincere effort.

Nigeria is unraveling and it's people taking a dive to the bottom of human decency. The earlier the Biafra, the better.

Like Achuzia, Charlie Boy's believe that for Igbos to prosper politically and economically they need a central oligarchic command structure betrays his ignorance. In fact, it is the unique lack of such subservient structure that has enabled Igbos to do better than other ethnic groups. Our decentralized chiefdom is a huge advantage and serves to place no impediment to our efforts. Whatever an Igbo man, or indeed woman, has not been able to do is only that which the individual has not decided to do. Our ingenuity and intellectual prowess is not stifled by a blind obedience to any Oba or Emir.

The problem is that our hard work and ability to succeed in the face of enormous adversity has long been an intractable source of jealousy and hatred toward us. What we, Igbos, want to seize to exist is a situation where we continue to leave our destiny and those or kids in the hands of those who, not only wish us no good, but by all means hate us, and want to annihilate us.

Igbos are highly respectful of their elders and seniors, only to deserving ones, though.

What you have outlined are supposed to be Igbo values - but they are values that are expressed across the length and breadth of the country. They aren't peculiar to us alone. I was born and brought up in Lagos but returned to Igboland to school so I have a slightly balanced view of how things work at least in both the South West and South East. Are there hardworking Igbos? Yes, definitely. Same as there are hardworking Yorubas, Hausas, Fulanis, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw and the rest. And there are also lazy people from all these tribes. I have had the opportunity to interact with people from various tribes across Nigeria and the truth is that deep down, we don't hate each other because we know we are in this Nigerian struggle together. However, our leaders both at the national and regional stage keep selling us these lies that people from all the other tribes want to annihilate our tribes - and the sad part is that we are buying it wholesale.

Some of my best friends through my life have come from the length and breadth of this country. I go to Lagos Island to buy items and see Igbos and Yorubas trading side by side and even helping each other make sales in the absence of each other. One particularly interesting incident occurred when I was in Idumota area of Lagos Island. I was in a store to buy some items from an Igbo trader which he didn't have and he asked me to wait while he went to fetch it from another store. While he was away, there was sudden;y a mad scramble and when I asked what was happening, it turned out that the CBD, a Lagos state outfit were approaching with their vans and seizing any items they found displayed on the roadside. It might shock you to know that it was the Igbo man's Yoruba neighbor that quickly evacuated his items into his store before the CBD agents arrived. If this widescale hatred was a reality, wouldn't she have just made sure her own items were secure and ignored her neighbor to his fate of losing his goods? This hatred is a myth and I find it extremely sad that we keep buying into it when it's not real.

malton:
This is quite compelling.

What's your blog, please?

I'm flattered!

https://anigerianrealist./

6) BIAFRA IS MAINLY JUST AN ESCAPIST FANTASY FOR DISILLUSIONED IGBO NIGERIANS: I shared a story on this Nairaland thread about my experience in a danfo bus in Lagos. the driver was an Igbo man and he got into an argument with a passenger, a Yoruba man. After the passenger alighted, I heard the driver muse that he was only taking "this nonsense" because he's still in Nigeria and that once a Biafra is actualised, he wouldn't even be anywhere near Lagos. I was quite frankly amused. What makes him think he would be any better than a bus driver in Biafra? Does he think that he would magically become a senator or an industry captain in Biafra, just because he's an Igbo man? And it became obvious to me that a fair number of those calling for Biafra are disillusioned with the current state of Nigeria and fantasize about instead being citizens of a country that actually works and the most realistic chance of that happening for most is Biafra. They forget that there is no assurance that Biafra would be a better country than Nigeria. Isn't it funny that most Igbos who have become citizens of other countries aren't/have stopped clamouring for Biafra? It's largely because their personal fantasy of not being citizens of an underdeveloped, corruption-ridden country has been realised - thus no more need for Biafra. If they were so personally invested in the Biafra project, don't you think they would be here, fighting the cause instead of taking up foreign nationalities and going silent?

This is just the first part. I would outline them all out but I really need to get some sleep. I'm not saying that the call for a Biafra is invalid, so those that think I'm just opposing their views or plans should not get me wrong. I am just saying that with the way things are right now and with the fact that we haven't really considered the implications of a sudden split, a Biafra would just not work right now.

https://anigerianrealist./2017/04/21/why-i-think-a-biafra-may-not-work-at-least-not-right-now/

drake2000x:
Afonja...thinking about Biafraa at 3am.

If this is your best reply, then I already fear for the future of a Biafra that hasn't yet been actualised.

4) BUT IGBOS ARE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS! NO - ALL COMMON NIGERIANS ARE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS: I have heard this line by so many people clamouring for Biafra: "Igbos are treated as second-class citizens in our own country. We aren't respected or given positions of authority or management just because of our tribe. Why should we stay in a country where we are not equal to every other person?". This is patently not true. You know what determines how you are treated in this country? How rich you are, your connections and how well you can ingratiate yourself with whoever you are dealing with. An Igbo man with connections has as much opportunities as any other Nigerian citizen with connections - same as an ordinary Yoruba or Hausa man would be denied those opportunities if they don't have the right connections like an ordinary Igbo man. They say it like the elite in this country think "Oh, he has connections but he is Igbo. Let's deny him opportunities." Hah! If you have the right connect in this country, you can get anywhere and do anything regardless of your religion or tribe. The funny fact is that most of the people being treated as second-class citizens in Nigeria would still be treated as second class citizens in Biafra.

"So how come Igbos aren't appointed or elected into positions of power or influence?". Well that's my next point:

5) WE STILL DON'T SPEAK WITH ONE VOICE: It might interest you to know that while the IPOB is the current trending Biafra secession advocacy group right now, MASSOB still very much exists. Remember MASSOB, that was led by Ralph Uwazuruike who had his own fair share of run-ins with the Nigerian Government? That group still exists - and if you consider what both groups are clamouring for, you would find that getting a Biafra may be their only common ground. Asides that, they differ on ideology, method, approach and every other thing that would have made them more formidable as a united group. Wasn't there even a splinter IPOB group not too long ago with it's own leaders and agendas? The South Eastern part of Nigeria suffers "marginalisation" because we are so fragmented. The fact is that at the Nigerian table, there is only one slot for each region. Multiple slots would not be created for diverse groups from the same region. Even our politics tells this story of unhappy disunity. Before the formation of the APC, the South West was predominantly ACN led by Chief Bola Tinubu while the North was largely CPC under the leadership of current president Muhammadu Buhari. Both leaders realised that they had a better chance of unseating the PDP led previous government by merging and even expanding their reach in their respective regions - which is what they did and the rest is history. The South East? Till now, we are not even sure what party speaks for the South East: PDP? It's not like Igbos exactly got the juiciest of government appointments in the party. APGA? A party that has been on a downward spiral for quite some time now and is only clinging to life in Anambra state. The South East is the only region in Nigeria that has three different parties shared amongst the state governments - the other regions are either PDP or APC. This is indicative of a fractious region that struggles to speak with one voice so that it can be heard.