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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Neo-Biafra: The absurdity of neo-Biafranism

Topics:
The absurdity of neo-Biafranism
Neo-Biafrans and the Nigerian state
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The absurdity of neo-Biafranism
By Tochukwu Ezukanma - Lagos Nigeria (The SUN).

With the ravages the first attempt by the Igbo and other peoples of Eastern Nigeria to declare their region an independent country of Biafra wrought on Eastern Nigeria, especially, Igbo land, it is perplexing that some Igbo are still agitating for Biafra. The previous attempt at secession dealt the Igbo a bludgeon blow: it decimated the youth, the flower and promise, of Igbo land, starved more than one million to death, left a horde of sorrowing widows and grief-stricken mothers, etc. And worst of all, it left deep and raw psychological scars on the Igbo. It left a talented, proud and progressive people paranoid and wallowing in self-pity and feeling of victimhood.

The earlier Igbo leaders realized that one Nigeria is most beneficial to the Igbo, the better. Our boundless resourcefulness, barging industriousness and effervescent entrepreneurial spirit were to spill beyond the confines of our regional borders, and take us to the ends of Nigeria. When we wholehearted pursued this one Nigeria strategy, we excelled in every facet of Nigerian social life. We, even, became giddy with success that, in our triumphalism, we boasted of dominating not only Nigeria but the whole of Africa. Chukwuemeka Ojukwu rejected the one Nigeria policy and opted for secession.

Secession was a colossal waste of human efforts and lives; unavoidably, it ended in unmitigated disaster. Following those nightmare days, when the Igbo, defeated, battered and tattered, surrendered unconditionally and Igbo land laid completely prostrate, the Igbo made a phoenix-like resurgence. They again fanned out across the length and breadth of Nigeria and, once again, distinguished themselves across the entire spectrum of Nigerian life and gained the respect, confidence and admiration of other Nigerians. Neo-Biafran activism is distracting the Igbo and undermining our credibility. It portrays us as subversive elements and implacable, irredeemable rebels.


I am baffled by the father of neo-Biafranism, Ralph Uwazurike, of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who said that, "When I started talking about Biafra, I did not know what I was doing. But, as democracy allowed me the right to express myself, I started talking about it, and as, people started listening, I continued".

That is, by his own admission, he started talking aimlessly because democracy guarantees his freedom of expression.

Nnamdi Kanu of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) does not sound like a man that does not know what he is doing. But when it comes to his reasons for secession, he makes no sense; the absurdity that is the hallmark of neo-Biafranism becomes evident. As to why the Igbo should secede from Nigeria, Kanu said, "all the Igbo are getting in Nigeria is punishment, death and disaster". This is tendentious rubbish. Life is generally hard for the average Nigerian (not just the Igbo). The average Nigerian is buffeted by poverty, ignorance and misery. He is a victim of police brutality, official corruption, anti-people policies of the government, etc. To insinuate that only the Igbo are victims of the horrible realities of life in Nigeria is falsehood. All Nigerians, irrespective of ethnicity, are victims. Secondly, the Boko Haram terrorism that has visited much death and disaster on Nigerians is not an anti-Igbo crusade; it has not targeted the Igbo exclusively.

He said: "In Igbo land, you will see misery upon misery. Igbo land is decaying. We are not (just) marginalized, we are enslaved". Yes, like in many other parts of Nigeria, there is heartrending decay in parts of Igbo land. But the state governments, more than any other level of government, are responsible for the decays in these states.

The rot and squalor that pervade the city of Aba are ineffable; impossible to describe with any degree of accuracy. The rot in Aba and other parts of Igbo land is a testament to the failure of Igbo governors. Like most Nigerian governors, Igbo governors are not so much committed to the welfare of their people. To blame the failure of Igbo governors on the federal government is cheap propaganda. The Igbo are not enslaved.

The leaders of MASSOB and IPOB have a false sense of messianism, they think they are the looked-for liberators of the Igbo. They invented enemies and demonize them, and are inciting the deepest hatred, amongst their followers, against them. They are preaching hate and inflaming the passion of Igbo youths against non-Igbo and Igbo opposed to secession. This is extremely dangerous as youthful idealism and exuberance can be fashioned by rabble-rousers into veritable tools of overwhelming hate, violence and destruction. In their intolerance, they castigate every Igbo opposed to secession, calling them vagabonds and saboteurs.

Nnamdi Kanu reportedly instructed his followers to "begin massive destruction of everything around you, if you do not hear my voice on the radio for up to four days." So, he believes that his demise must spell doom for all, as it should ignite massive destruction of everything around?
MASSOB and IPOB pose serious threat to the peace of the country and the wellbeing of the Igbo. They need to be rejected by the Igbo. The former attempt to create Biafra was a saga of human misery, the next will be a tale of collective suicide.
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Neo-Biafrans and the Nigerian state
Written by Ayo Olukotun - Punch.

Ayo Olukotun
For much of its history, the Nigerian state has been administrated, rather than governed. Task forces, reshuffles, and the edicts of rulers all implemented with immediate effect have been the familiar languages of Nigeria’s successive administrative rulers.

In short supply is the strategic mindset which sets direction, creates the framework for renewing the federal bargain in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. Related to this is the mantra approach to national unity built on the war-time slogan, “To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done” or “The unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable.” It is this mental framework which explains why our leaders believe that by detaining Nnamdi Kanu, the director of Radio Biafra, which evokes the pirate “Radio Kudirat” of the 1990s, the rising Neo-Biafran groundswell will simply vanish. As is becoming increasingly obvious, strong arm tactics, or even judicial murder, as in the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, merely postpone the day of reckoning for a nation that refuses to confront its true identity.

A recent book on comparative federalism, edited by influential American political scientists, states in its introductory section that “Nigeria is the only federation discussed in this book whose future is uncertain.” That was not revealing an obscure reality, but pinpoints the vulnerability of a nation state, where the wide play of centrifugal forces is the norm, rather than the exception. Professor Richard Joseph, it was, who not so long ago referred to a statement made by a Northern politician to the effect that several of today’s rulers appear to lack an instinctual understanding of how Nigeria works. That same insight was articulated by a former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the late Ishaya Audu, who remarked jokingly that Nigeria can be likened to the flowing Hausa dress “babanriga”. When you adjust it on the left, the right side of the dress threatens to come unstuck, and begins to flap in the winds.


To be sure, Biafra today is little more than nostalgia for a republic that in reality was far from the ideal which it professed. The youths agitating for it, with a touch of Nollywood eccentricity, contacted Biafra through a garbled version of history mixed with a huge dose of myth, since history is no longer taken seriously in our schools. Biafra, to clarify, was an autocratic state suffused with internal contradiction such as, for instance, the repression of non-Igbo minorities who were forcibly conscripted into its bastion. It aspired to an alluring socialism in the shape of the “Ahiara Declaration”, but backslid, in the end, to a military oligarchy. Founded on ethnic self-determination, it became little more than a showpiece of the ravages of warlordism.

Its contradictions notwithstanding, it represented the aspiration of self-determination, ethnic justice and true federalism in the larger context of a Nigeria which almost routinely denied these rights.

Calling Nigeria a Zoo as one of the Neo-Biafran leaders did may appear unpolished, but it does underline the arbitrariness of successive leaders, the syndrome of rotating power through the whim of autocrats, rather than civilised and agreed procedures. It also underlines the exploitation of techniques of blackmail employed by disaffected ethnic groups in order to force their demands of power rotation on a system lacking firm procedures. In this perspective, the Yoruba, it is said, invoked the June 12 movement and the National Democratic Coalition, to procure a Yoruba presidency, the Niger Delta used the Ogoni struggle and the militancy of their militias to achieve a South-South presidency, the Hausa allegedly employed Boko Haram in its early incarnation to force upon the nation the need to restitute northern marginalisation. In the same vein, or so the argument runs, the Igbo political class are nurturing their own terror instruments to draw global attention to the historic neglect of the Igbo, and to win the coveted price of an Igbo presidency.

In other words, if Nigeria is indeed a zoo, it suggests that the rule of combat is the brandishing of physical strength and threat to employ the Samson option, which is to bring the roof crashing down on everyone, if grievances are not heeded. But Nigeria need not be a showpiece of dysfunction in which disaffection can only be rectified by the invention of terror. Only a political class hooked on short term remedies can afford to live in the kind of squalor in which nothing can be taken for granted. For there is the possibility, that the wild dogs trained for the purpose of raising the social thermometer and compelling attention to grievances, may be impossible to silence, even when the initial objective of resolving a few grievances has been achieved.

Evidently, the cry of Igbo marginalisation and a return to Biafra have been with us for some time. Even the Ikemba of Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, in partial recognition of the activities of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, called for “a Biafra of the mind.” Presumably, he meant by this that there was a need to tackle the structural inequities that resulted in the creation of Biafra. Talking about structure, Nigeria would have been a much better and greater country had the Aburi Accord which in effect prescribed a confederal state or at least, a weaker centre with powers devolved to subnational authorities, been implemented. Recall for example, that the competitive regionalism of the First Republic in which the centre was coequal to the regions produced accelerated development and is today seen as the golden age of Nigerian federalism. It is a rebuke of successive leaders that they have failed to engineer consensus around a more federal union, than the country had ever enjoyed.

The exception to this appears to the National Constitution Conference of 2014, which took far-reaching decisions in the direction of a more equitable federalism. It is not a perfect document, as it contains some glaring contradictions, such as the recommendation to create more states. But it remains an important starting point for reinventing and making more equitable, Nigerian federalism. For example, if the centre is weakened, the recurrent agitations by ethnic groups to control the Presidency will go down, while the federating units will become the locus and agency of development. Until this happens, we can expect unending wails about internal colonialism on the part of disadvantaged ethnic groups.

Important too, is the need for leaders, especially the President to reinforce the symbols of nationhood, through gestures, appointments, and policies. There is a link between some of the early appointments made by President Muhammadu Buhari, believed to have disfavoured the Igbo who did not vote for him, and the resurgence of the pro-Biafran movement. The point to take home is the need for our leaders to be conscious of the national history of interethnic strife, and a costly civil war. They should also bear in mind that perceptions once formed are difficult to erase.

Finally, the authorities should display a more sense of humour and tolerance in handling dissent, in a democratic setting. Imagine how easily pressure can go down if Buhari were to invite Kanu, for a chat in the Presidential Villa as opposed to the current official belligerence.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a reply to Neo-Biafrans and the Nigerian state by Ayo Olukotun from TellEm's Blog:



To be sure, Biafra today is little more than nostalgia for a republic that in reality was far from the ideal which it professed. The youths agitating for it, with a touch of Nollywood eccentricity, contacted Biafra through a garbled version of history mixed with a huge dose of myth, since history is no longer taken seriously in our schools. Biafra, to clarify, was an autocratic state suffused with internal contradiction such as, for instance, the repression of non-Igbo minorities who were forcibly conscripted into its bastion. It aspired to an alluring socialism in the shape of the “Ahiara Declaration”, but backslid, in the end, to a military oligarchy. Founded on ethnic self-determination, it became little more than a showpiece of the ravages of warlordism.


I have heard and read a lot about the Civil War, and the myths and fabrications have consistently come from the Nigerian side. When Biafrans like myself talk about the Biafra of Ojukwu's time, we have no illusions. We are inspired by the creativity of the Biafran people in desperate times: we are amazed at their ability to manufacture weapons of war like missiles, guns, tanks, and their ability to refine crude oil (while Nigeria is still struggling with this today). These are recorded FACTS, not fiction. The technology used by the Biafrans were "crude", but then again, all technologies - at foetal level - is crude and improved upon over time.

I am yet to meet a pro-Biafran who thinks that Ojukwu was democratically elected. Biafra was ruled by the military at that time, like South Korea was at its founding. So, your assertion that Biafra "backslid, in the end, to a military oligarchy" is a cockeyed reading of history. Biafra was a military state, but was not an oligarchy. Biafra was engaged with a battle for her survival, so there were no structures or industries to be ruled by oligarchs other than the military. Biafra did not have the luxury of peace or a truce that South Korea had with belligerents. The World Powers at that time were also at the wrong side of the fence. Countries that had nuclear weapons aimed at each other somehow ended up siding with Nigeria for purely selfish reasons. There really was no time or opportunity for a Biafran beginning with all the odds stacked against Biafra. There certainly wasn't an opportunity for Biafra to "backslide in the end". That assertion is disingenuous. If I didn't know that Ayo Olukotun was supposed to be a university lecturer, I would question whether he knows what "oligarchy" means and question whether he was just seeking a fancy word. But I do wonder who he thought Biafra's oligarchs were.
...[Page 1]

Anonymous said...

...
The talk of "repression" of minorities is a load of baloney. The Eastern region was what broke away to form Biafra. If the Aburi Accord, which you support, was adhered to by Gowon, the Eastern region would have been a block of the confederacy. The people of the Eastern region, with the majority and minority therein, would form a confederating unit. If that is not seen as a "forceful conscription of the minorities", why should that be different for the secession? The fact is that the minorities of the East have lived with the Igbo in peace long before the Igbo realised that they were an ethnic bloc. Such strong words like "repression" do not apply here. The minorities were never repressed in the Eastern region. It was even more the other way round: the Ijaws made a living selling Igbo slaves to Europeans to years. The minorities do not complain of real discrimination in the Eastern region. Even the biggest demagogue of the Delta - Adaka Boro - benefited from a scholarship from the Eastern government. Many of the minorities, when they choose to be honest, miss the progress of those years. And many of them realise that their fear of "Igbo domination" - Nigeria's biggest bogeyman - was irrational in the light of recent events and their increasing interactions with other ethnic groups in Nigeria. For example, there is a growing resentment in the Niger Delta for what is seen as Yoruba appropriation of Niger Delta oil due to their political influence. There is also the issue of Obasanjo's Odi Massacres, the tension and conflict between Ijaw and Yoruba residents of Ondo, Awolowo's interference in Warri politics by giving the Olu of Itsekiri more statue in that region as against other monarchs, and the perception that the Yoruba cannot be taken at their word (which was expressed by some militant groups after the bombing of the Atlas Cove in Lagos). Are there unnecessary rivalries in the East between and among ethnic groups? Yes. But there is everywhere else. The problem is not the existence of this so-called "internal contradictions", but the handling of it. Nigerian politicians, journalists and commentators have striven to profit from these divisions and make them more serious than it should be. Dele Sobowale of Vanguard, for example, dabbles into Akwa Ibom's ethnic politics in his articles and often tries to stoke the divisions between Ibibio, Efik, Anang and Oron. This is irresponsible. Maybe I feel more concerned because a serious, Rwanda-like conflict in that region is quite close to home. But this shouldn't be the case; journalists are supposed to be more responsible in forming opinions, despite the distance they feel from the subject matter. Creating divisions where there is none, and asserting that the Eastern minorities were treated differently by the Biafran authorities is not just false, it is irresponsible.

All in all, the garbled version of history is all yours, Mr. Olukotun. You need to educate yourself on this part of Nigerian history. I understand that history was removed because of guilt on the part of Nigerians on the Biafran war and the possibility of people offering different interpretations to historical events. I do share Mr. Olukotun's regret that history has been expunged from the curriculum, and the ignorance and hearsay that has taken its place.
[Page 2]

THE IGBO RANT

I am an Igbo, I was born an Igbo, I live the life of an Igbo, I come from Igbo, I speak Igbo, I like to be Igbo, I like to dress in Igbo, I eat Igbo food, my heritage, culture and tradition is Igbo, my parents are Igbo.

Am sorry I cannot help it if you hate my lineage. Am sorry I cannot help it if you detest Igbo, am sorry I cannot help it if you hate me because am Igbo. Igbo is who I am, my name is Igbo and I must die an Igbo.

You see Igbo as a threat, why? You call Igbo rapist, criminals, ritualist, prostitutes, kidnappers. You attribute all negative vices to represent Igbo? Why do you do that? You do because you feel threatened that Igbo might outrun the rest of the tribes. Why do you hate Igbo and despise us? You do that because we are creative, enlightened, hardworking, industrious, genius, intelligent, smart, rich, beautiful and amazing. But its difficult for you to admit it because you feel jealous of my race.

Igbo do not own politics, Igbo do not control the economy neither do we control the natural resources and the common wealth of the nation. You do, we don't and yet, despite the fact that you own everything, we still remain one indispensable race that has outshined the other race in all ramifications.

You fear us because you want to exterminate and annihilate our race, you deny us many things and yet we are stronger, richer and mightier. You fear us because we are everywhere. You fear us because no matter how rural a place might be, when Igbo steps in, they turn it into a Paradise. We have our own resources, which lies in resourcefulness, we do not bother you and your control over the polity, but yet when we cough you and the other race begin to shiver.

Am proud being an Igbo, am proud of my heritage and culture. Igbo means high class, Igbo means independence, Igbo means hard work and strength, Igbo means riches, Igbo means resourcefulness, Igbo means self belonging, Igbo means self esteem, Igbo means pride, Igbo means swag.

Udo diri unu umunnem.
# IgboAmaka
# AnyiBuNdiMmeri

Michael Ezeaka
------------------------------

This is beautiful poetry ...

In response to Alaba Ajibola, the Babcock Lecturer Hate Speech against Igbos.

BIBLICAL TRADITIONS OF NDI IGBO BEFORE THE MISSIONARIES CAME TO AFRICA* IGBO 101.

1. NSÓ NWANYĮ
In Igboland women live apart from their husbands and neither cook for them nor enter their husband's quarters when they are in their period. They are seen as unclean. Even up till today such practice is still applicable in some parts of Igboland especially by the traditionalists. Before a woman can enter the palace of Obi of Onitsha, she will be asked if she is in her period, if yes, she will be asked to stay out.

Leviticus 15: 19-20
When a woman has her monthly period, she remains unclean, anyone who touches her or anything she has sat on becomes unclean.

2. ANA OBI
An Igbo man's ancestral heritage, called “Ana Obi” is not sellable, elders will not permit this. If this is somehow done due to the influence of the West the person is considered a fool and is ostracized by the community.

1 Kings 21:3
I inherited this vineyard from my ancestors, and the Lord forbid that I should sell it, said Naboth.

3. IKUCHI NWANYĮ
Igbos have practiced the taking of a late brother's wife into marriage after she had been widowed until the white men came. Now it is rarely done but except in very rural villages.

Deuteronomy 25:5
A widow of a dead man is not to be married outside the family; it is the duty of the dead man's brother to marry her.

4. ĮGBA ODIBO
In Igboland, there is a unique form of apprenticeship in which either a male family member or a community member will spend six (6) years (usually in their teens to their adulthood) working for another family. And on the seventh year, the head of the host household, who is usually the older man who brought the apprentice into his household, will establish (Igbo: idu uno) the apprentice
by either setting up a business for him or giving money or tools by which to make a living.

Exodus 21:2
If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you for six years. In the seventh year he is to be set free without having to pay you anything.

5. IRI JI OFŲŲ
In Igboland , the yam is very important as it is their staple crop. There are celebrations such as the New yam festival (Igbo: Iri Ji) which are held for the harvesting of the yam. New Yam festival (Igbo: Iri ji) is celebrated annually to secure a good harvest of the staple crop. In the olden days it is an abomination for one to eat a new harvest before the festival. It's a tradition that you give the gods of the land first as a thanksgiving.

Deuteronomy 16:9
Count 7 weeks from the time that you begin to harvest the crops, and celebrate the harvest festival to honor the lord your God, by bringing him a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing he has given you. Celebrate in the Lord's presence together with your children, servants, foreigners. Be sure that you obey my command, said the Lord.

6. IBE UGWU
In Igboland it's a tradition that the male children are circumcised on the 8th day. This tradition is still practiced till date.

Leviticus 12:3
On the eighth day, the child shall be circumcised.

7. ÓMŲGWÓ
In Igboland, there is a practice known as "ile omugwo ". After a woman has given birth to a child, a very close and experienced relative of hers, in most cases her mother is required by tradition to come spend time with her and her husband. During which she is to do all the work of the wife, while the new mom's only assignment to the baby will be to breastfeed. This goes on for a month or more. In the Igbo old tradition, at this time, the new mom lives apart from her husband, would not cook or enter his quarters.

Leviticus 12:1-4
For seven days after a woman gives birth, she is ritually unclean as she is during her monthly period. It will be 33 days until she is ritually clean from the loss of blood; she is not to touch anything that is holy.

THE IGBO TRIBE AND ITS FEAR OF EXTINCTION

The Igbo tribe is in a serious problem and danger of extinction for the following reasons:

50% of Igbos are born outside Igbo land. Meaning that those children are not likely to live and work in Igbo land and cannot speak Igbo language but foreign language (Yoruba, Hausa, French, English).

40% of Igbos girls between the age of 25 & 45 are single with no hope of marriage because 35% of Igbo boys live overseas and they have all married white ladies.

75% of Igbo youths leave Igbo land every year in search of opportunities in Yoruba, Hausa land or overseas.

85 % of Igbos have family houses and own investments outside Igbo land. They strongly believe in one Nigeria but failed to know that NO Yoruba or Hausa man has a family house or investment in Igbo land.

Igbos are the only people who believe that living outside their land is an achievement.

Igbos are the only tribe that celebrate their tradition outside their land e.g. Eze Ndi Igbo, Igbo Village in America and this is because they have family homes in foreign lands.

Igbos have failed to know that the children you have outside Igbo land especially overseas will never think of living in Igbo land. So what happens to the properties you are building for them when you are gone?

Igbos are the only tribe who see their land as a place to visit or a tourist site than a place to work and live.

Igbos are the only tribe who instead of promoting and appreciating their culture through movies and documentaries they have sought to ridicule it by portraying rituals, killings, wickedness, love for money and other social vices which were not originally inherent in our culture thereby cursing more harm than actually promoting their culture.

Igbos are the only people who without hesitation believe their history and description when it is told or written by an enemy or a foreigner. E.g. that you do not love yourselves or that you love money.

Igbos are the ONLY largest tribe on earth who fought for their independence and failed to achieve their freedom after 40 years.

Igbos are the only tribe who fails to honour their brave heroes and heroines especially the innocent children starved to death during the Biafran war.

Igbos are the only tribe who embraced their enemy after a bloody civil war and subsequently become slaves.

Igbos do not find it necessary to teach their own version of history to their children.

Igbos fight for marginalisation in Nigeria but has no collective strength or teeth to bite.

Igbos how long are you going to fight for your relevance in Nigeria?

How long are you going to fight for a functional airport, rail networks and other structural establishments that underpin sustainable development?

How long are you prepared to wait for your enemy to guide you to your destiny?

Oh Igbos!
Where are your leaders?

Unfortunately, none of them live and work in Igbo land. If you wish to save the future of your children, your identity, your generation and your race then you need freedom and that freedom is Biafra.

Ukpana Okpoko gburu bu nti chiri ya!

By Chime Eze
#COPIED

The Igbo: We die for causes, not for personalities

Written by Emeka Maduewesi

~on fb. 28th September, 2016.


The Igbo will never die for anyone. We will not even riot for anyone. But the Igbo will die for any cause they believe in because the Igbo have a true sense of justice and a determination to obtain it.


The Igbo will not riot because one of their own lost an election. Operation Wetie was the Western response to a massively rigged 1965 election. The Yoruba doused fellow Yorubas in petrol and burnt them alife. Properties were burnt with occupants. The Igbo will never do this.


In 1983, the Yoruba went on a rampage again over the massive rigging by NPN. Lifes were lost and properties destroyed. The riots were over personalities.


Contrast that with Anambra State where Chief Emeka Ojukwu was rigged out by his own NPN, who also rigged out Chief Jim Nwobodo. The Igbo did not protest because the goat's head is still in the goat's bag.


In the North, ba muso was the battle cry when Sultan Dasuki was imposed on the Sokoto Caliphate. The riot and protest lasted for days and crippled economic activities.


The Igbo will riot over issues and causes. The Aba Women Riot was over Tax. The Enugu coal mine riot was about conditions of service. The Ekumeku Uprising was over British colonialization.


Those of "Ekumeku" ancestry - Umu Eze Chima and Umu Nri - were at the forefront of the struggles for Nigerian independence, with people like Dr. A A Nwafor Orizu and Chief Osita Agwuna serving prison terms. Any struggles the parents could not conclude is continued by the children by other means.


The Biafran war was a response to the genocide. The war in fact was brought upon us. The battlefield was Eastern Region. The war ended in 1970 but the issues and causes were not resolved. That is where we are today.


The Igbo will also jointly rise to fight evil in their midst. They did it in Onitsha in the 1980's, Owerri in the 90's, and with Bakkassi in the 2000.


The Igbo will not die for any man. But the Igbo will stand by any man who symbolizes their cause and their pursuit of justice. Even if the man dies, the struggle continues, and like the Ekumeku warriors, the children will pick up the baton from their parents.


This is the Igbo I know, the Igbo I am, and the Igbo we are. This is my story. Feel free to tell yours.

RT. HON. DR. NNAMDI AZIKIWE TO DR. CHUBA OKADIGBO (1981)

"My boy, may you live to your full potential, ascend to a dizzy height as is possible for anyone of your political description in your era to rise. May you be acknowledged world-wide as you rise as an eagle atop trees, float among the clouds, preside over the affairs of fellow men.... as leaders of all countries pour into Nigeria to breathe into her ear.

But then, Chuba, if it is not the tradition of our people that elders are roundly insulted by young men of the world, as you have unjustly done to me, may your reign come to an abrupt and shattering close. As you look ahead, Chuba, as you see the horizon, dedicating a great marble palace that is the envy of the world, toasted by the most powerful men in the land, may the great big hand snatch it away from you. Just as you look forward to hosting the world’s most powerful leader and shaking his hands, as you begin to smell the recognition and leadership of the Igbo people, may the crown fall off your head and your political head fall off your shoulders.

None of my words will come to pass, Chuba, until you have risen to the very height of your power and glory and health, but then you will be hounded and humiliated and disgraced out of office, your credibility and your name in tatters forever...”
THE REST IS HISTORY AS EVERY WORD OF THE CURSE ON CHUBA CAME TO PASS.

LET'S BE AS PASSIONATE AS WE WANT TO AND BE MODERATE IN OUR CONTRIBUTIONS IN PUBLIC DISCUSSION TO ISSUES AS WORDS OF OUR ELDERS ARE WORDS OF WISDOM

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