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Opinion: Why I Think The Igbos Should Stop Agitating For Biafra’s Realization
August 25, 2016 – Opinion: Why I Think The Igbos Should Stop Agitating For Biafra’s Realization
Opinion article by popular commentator Endure.
I personally do not think agitating for the realization of BIAFRA is the best option for the easterners. No doubt the emergence of the call for BIAFRA in recent years emanate from lack of good governors from our leaders.
Obviously the easterners have being marginalized for decades especially after the civil war. Over the years the Nigerian government have failed to locate industrialization in the south eastern part of the country. The Nigerian government succeeded in reconciling with the easterners after the civil war but what they have failed to do is the reconstruction and the building of industries in that part of the country.
But for BIAFRAN movement to embark on the fight to realize their sovereign state will not be in their best interest at this time.
Firstly, there is division and the creation of new movement within the rank of Biafra.
Secondly, the Niger Delta region which is part of the Biafran map and at the same time an integral part that will serve as the back bone of the future economy of Biafran state is deeply divided with various indigenous leaders and armed groups turning their back at one another.
It is therefore hard to imagine the actualization of Biafra would succeed without the use of force from them which will still not be in their best interest.
Division of a nation sometimes is not always the best as the history of the newest nation in the world SOUTH SUDAN have shown in the last couple of years. They greatly rejoice when voting for the referendum that eventually saw them parted from the NORTH in 2011. But the hard truth is that there is now heavy fighting in this new nation with various tribes vying for power and supremacy.
Thousands of lives have been lost since 2011 up till date. What initially started as a cheerful happiness of departing from there formal nation has now become a reason for every day cry and blood bath in the new nation.
Hence, in seeking departure from the nation, we have to sit back and take a honest look at things and such look must be beyond surface. It is only by then we can now see that there are many numbers at the back of 1. It simply means there is huge problem tied with making a new nation especially one that appear in geographical region of Niger Delta and the eastern part of the country with so many divers ethnic groups at war with each other.
I will rather encourage the fight for good governance in the South Ssouth and South East but still in the same country.
Honestly if we have good governance in place no one will agitate for Biafra.
And this therefore should be the best time for the federal government to wade in and seek the best way to address the cause of the agitation and find a solution to tho warring ethnic groups rather than viewing them as another selfish movement aimed at destabilizing and causing chaos for the current administration
[Opinion article by popular commentator Endure]
Omokehinde
August 25, 2016 at 7:13 PM
Brother Endure is an Igbo man whose article is short but powerful, insightful, informative, and brilliant. I did not believe that our Igbo brothers and sisters have been marginalized after the civil war. Why? It impossible for anyone, group, or force to marginalize a progressive, productive, and business oriented tribe like the Niidigbo anywhere in the world. If Chinese, Indian, Thailand markets and businesses cannot stop the Igbos from trading successful in those nation,therefore,there is no force in Nigeria can marginalize the Igbos. The Igbo tribes have dominated Nigerian export businesses and trade for over forty years from Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Edo, Kano, Niger, Kaduna and every region in Nigeria. They sell to all Nigerians not just the Igbos. But there is politician made Biafra if things doesn’t go their way. The fact is that Over 99% of Nigerian people have been marginalized from economy opportunity, jobs, electricity, Healthcare, basic infrastructures, quality education and good governance by vagabonds, looters, criminals, and wicked politicians from every tribe and region of Nigeria through massive looting, embezzlement, mismanagement, misappropriation, money laundering operations, and corruption that have rendered our beloved nation useless, unproductive, underdeveloped, ridicules, and have become shame of the world. This is main reason why we are not respected anywhere in the world. These criminal politicians send their children abroad for quality and competitive education, for good health care, buy businesses all around the globe with our looted money. They will then use their imposed poverty and with little money from billions stole to create Terrior like BH, Niger Delta Avengers, division, agitation, and civil unrest among already battered, shattered, and suffering people. They will do anything to stop the holy voices of knowledgeable people like Rev father Ejike Mbaka for telling our youths the basic truth. There is God ooo. Thank you brother Endure for this powerful piece.
sola olaniyi
August 25, 2016 at 7:13 PM
Nice article @ Endure
huchennar
August 25, 2016 at 9:27 PM
well done for this piece… but we must also know that it seems our president don’t even care whatever happens.. fulani herdsmen killing even in the east and the only thing our PMB could do is to figth NG avengers… This man should better “change” oo.. or Nigeria at stake
sunky
August 26, 2016 at 1:34 AM
ibo are industrious people. Why not come together as one nation under biafra n build the ibo land.let those that have this money work together n dregg d river Niger to the sea. so that ship can dock at seaport in ibo lands along the river. Stop building Abuja, Lagos. Go n build let say onitsha into a world class city. where foreign tourist can flock into as an African Merca or Dubia. luxurious hotels like in las Vegas. forget about this movement. cos we don’t know the current map of biafra. Nigeria cannot contain us Niger deltans. biafra will be too small. so forget our oil.
fifelomo
August 26, 2016 at 7:13 AM
@Endure, nice one.
Metu Nyetu
August 26, 2016 at 4:58 PM
@ENDURE, THIS IS a nice article! But nice doesn’t mean I swallowed every bit of it. It is nice in the sense that you have made objective references. Believe you me when I say I have thought about South Sudan and the possibility of Biafra going down that path, especially as some Niger Delta factions argue about their inclusion in the map. But a greater percentage of Niger Delta people are in support of the cause, for the truth is that they were in the original map of Biafra, and all of us were together prior to that selfish, greedy amalgamation of 1914. A working political formula will ensure that in the event of Biafra actualization, the new(old) nation would not been torn apart.
@OMOKEHINDE, TO SAY the Igbos are not marginalized is simply your refusal to accept the truth. After the civil war, many Igbos returned to the various places in the country where they had been before the war broke out. Unfortunately, their properties had been declared “abandoned” and they could not reclaim them until today. Is that not enough to tell you that something is wrong? If Gowon had really meant his no-victor-no-vanquished statement, shouldn’t the proper thing be that the Igbos would reclaim their properties? How would you feel as an individual to be watching other people using your father’s property without your consent, yet the same people preach to you about their love for you?
THE PLAIN TRUTH IS THAT THE IGBOS HAVE not been fully re-integrated into the Nigerian society. I do not want to mention other points to back up this claim. Personally, I do not so much as care about the so-called marginalization as I care about good governance irrespective of which tribe it’s coming from. The only reason why I support Biafra today is that the entity called Nigeria is simply not working.
Endure
August 27, 2016 at 3:56 AM
I want to thank you all for your comments.
Maryf
August 30, 2016 at 10:26 PM
Nice article but then, all these tribalism and killings will stop if only Nigeria is divided.
Endure
August 31, 2016 at 11:49 AM
@maryf thanks for your comment. But I like to make this point that dividing a nation will not end tribalism and infighting among various ethnic groups in a new nation. We have so many things to learn and explore in this newest nation South Sudan.
The murle and lou nuer tribes in south sudan have traded heavy and increasingly deadly battle among themselves that have seen a large number of deaths recorded in there so called new nation. Despite the heavy presence of UN forces to keep peace among the tribes,fighting is even gaining more strength not just in tribal line but along political divide with each tribe fighting to attain the highest seat in the new nation resulting in untold suffering among the tribal groups.
Let me come back home a bit. Let’s not go too far to the aspect of fulani attack who have there original region situated in the middle belt and in Northern part of the country. But To also show that dividing the nation is not a determine factor for ending tribal fighting and killings. As am typing currently,there is serious tribal fighting going on in Delta state among ISOKO ethnic groups,the EHNWE and IGBIDE. This people are the same ISOKOS but they are engaging in bitter tribal war already when the nation itself have not even divided yet. Then what is the guarantee that there won’t be tribal war fair and killings that will escalate to the eastern part if there is a new nation formed? Especially when we now have several oil companies scattered in the niger delta region with each tribe trying to claim there oil wells. So @maryf am totally convince that division of a nation is not a yardstick for ending tribal war fair and killings. This nation can be great if we have good governance in place which I believe is not far off. Many develop world started this way and today they are very much advance. So let’s be optimistic about what the future hold for us and pray that we live to see a more stable and prosperous nigeria in the nearest future.