The Year Biafra Died

By UbongAbasi Ise | Published On Monday 18^th September, 2017 in The Sensor Newspaper, p.3

“When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw” ― Nelson Mandela

The recent video released online which purportedly showed how military men unleashed reckless brutality on Biafra apologists in Abia State is not only bringing embarrassment to modern civilization but I can say that it perfectly demonstrates the barbaric state of nature in which life was said to be nasty and brutish, to put in the parlance of Thomas Hobbes, the British pessimistic thinker.   It felt so bad to see how the citizens were subjected to such nefarious mishandling. The absurdity aptly called on the review of our history and the need, as a nation, to retrace our steps to where things started to go wrong as the country is drifting towards this perplexing Biafra’s phenomenon.

Indeed, Biafra – the Land of the Rising Sun, remains a story

of people's struggle, and a feature of Nigeria's history written in blood. Not everybody, except most Nigerians of Igbo extraction, would agree with me that Nigeria is unfair to Ndigbo. Please note that yours truly is not an Igboman, but I must state the obvious, and stand for the truth that indeed, there is a common resentment of Ndigbo by other ethnic nationalities in the Nigerian federation. The fact remains that the very nature of Igbo is enough to invite them cruel hatred because they tend to display crude pride, and emphasize materialism; they are seen being loud, noisy and have no regard to quiet life. But looking beyond these eccentricities, there are exceptional qualities that uniquely define the Igbos: they are warmth and accommodating; they are enthusiastic, committed to hard-work; they demonstrate astuteness in business; the Igbos are adventurous, versatile and flexible. Hence they find it easier to adjust to life in any society they settle in. No one can take away creativity and ingenuity from them.

To the main issue, the Igbos in the first place did not desire Biafra just for the want of a new country, rather, Biafra was forced on them by historical circumstances. It started with the January 15, 1966 coup d'etat by a group of junior army officers, mostly Igbos, led by Maj. Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, who lived all his life in the north. The coup was later hijacked by Maj. Gen. Aguiyi Ironsi (still an Igboman, who later sent Nzeogwu and co to Kirikiri Prison). In the coup process, prominent non-Igbo Nigerian leaders were killed, namely: Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa, Samuel Akintola, Okotie-Eboh, and so many were detained. Therefore the January 1966 coup was seen as an evil plot by ambitious Igbos of the East to seize control of Nigeria. Months later in 1966, Northern Nigerian security officers staged a revenge coup. They murdered about 185 Igbo officers. Around 30,000 Igbos in the North were massacred in pogroms that started in May 1966. The Igbos fled home and abandoned their investments both in the north and the west. But what did the federal government under Gowon do to end the organized genocide or bring the culprits to justice? Nothing, but silence. For the sake of seeking safety for his people, the then Governor of Eastern Region, Col. Emeka Ojukwu, with the backing of the Eastern Constituent Assembly proclaimed the Independence of Republic of Biafra from Nigeria on May 30, 1967. Thus, this single act committed the country to a full blown civil war. Biafra suffered heavy casualties. More than 3 million, mostly children, died mainly from starvation due to federal government blockade policies: after all, 'all is fair in war'.

                Well, this happened more than four decades ago. Today, under Buhari's administration, agitation for Biafra has resurrected based on reasons such as perceived political exclusion of Ndigbo; Buhari's divide and rule approach; infrastructural neglect in the southeast; lack of Igbo headship in Army, Police, Airforce, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Department State Security, Nigerian Prisons and Customs; assertion of right to self-determination, and so on. It is natural that they share common feeling of being treated as the second class citizens, and need a break from the status quo because the desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man according to the classical philosopher, Tacitus.

Now I want to put clearly to those demonstrating in the streets of Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Onitsha, Awka, Owerri, Okigwe, Oyigbo in Rivers State and some other places that considering historical circumstances, Biafra was dismantled on May 27, 1967 when East Central State, Cross River State and Rivers State were created out of Eastern Region where Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu had declared a secession state out of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  Ojukwu, being the governor at the time, enjoyed the privilege to join all sections of people from Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ugep, Okrika, Ijaw, and so on in the Biafra project because these ethnic groups fall under one political entity called Eastern region, i.e.  before May 27, 1967 when General Gowon announced the creation of 12 states. But times have changed, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge. Today, geo-political demarcations have forged new, different political experience and associations of some sort amongst the people of former Eastern Region which render the restoration of old boundaries of Ojukwu’s Biafra a near impossibility.  There are 11 states today in place of former Eastern Region, and each of them has the right to determine their destiny. It becomes apparent that Nnamdi Kanu, and other Biafra apologists would find it quite difficult to produce the connecting thread that would bind the 11 state governments subsisting today altogether into Biafra, then force a new country out of Nigeria. Failure to do this implies Biafra would never be.

It is not wrong for a people to agitate for a political entity where they believe their aspirations would be attained. The principle of self-determination in international law allows 'a people' to choose its own political status and to determine its own economic, cultural, and social development. At the same time, international law recognizes the principle of territorial integrity, which may be in contradiction with the principle of self-determination. Paragraph 6 of Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples stipulates that 'any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations'. Nnamdi Kanu’s alleged formation of Biafra Secret Force has jeopardized the chances of the Biafra by threatening the sovereignty of Nigeria and with this, IPOB has failed in an attempt to win the heart of the United Nations, and has incurred the wrath of Nigerian constitution.

At this juncture, I must also advise the federal government to stop daring the Igbos to avoid unthinkable atrocities in the future. Buhari government should address economic, socio-economic and political imbalance in the region. To Igbo people, they can achieve more if they solidly stand behind restructuring instead of languid attempt at secession.  They should call for dialogue because I believe fists could be unclenched and transformed into handshake. I believe conflict, resolved through dialogue, can bring sustainable peace and harmony.

Yes! I am UbongAbasi Ise. For comment, send SMS to 08189914609 |Email: ubongabasiise@gmail.com |

@ubongabasi_ise 

Credit: The Sensor Newspaper