Biafra: Being free from the Federal Republic of Nigeria
NaijaRock
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Posted by Felix Okoli on Monday November 16, 2015 at 17:52:4:
There has been a growing number of Pro-Biafran protests in the South east of Nigeria in several states like Anambra, Rivers and Imo. It was mostly as a result of the arrest of a Pro-Biafran agitator named Nnamdi Kanu by the DSS. After his arrest, groups of people starting making public demonstrations which basically paralyzed business activities and movement in cities they did their demonstrations. They were all clamouring for one thing and that is to be free from the entity called Nigeria.The Pro-Biafrans call Nigeria a zoo because they feel it has enslaved them for man years and that people who live in Nigeria are all enslaved by the system that does not want her people to progress. They feel that Nigeria has for long being run by only a few rich cabals who enslave the rest for their own personal benefits adn so like domesticated animals, Nigerias are even afraid of making public protests to show their disapproval with several policies of the government since the 1960s.The idea of being free from Nigeria is something I think many young Nigerians also share in given the way many of them throng foreign embassies like the US embassies just to leave the country for greener pastures. If all Nigerians were given the opportunity to leave the country and choose another country where they can become citizens, I'm a bit inclined to think that majority of them would want some other country other than Nigeria but that does not include the few rich politicians, government officials and rich investors who are already okay and satisfied with the system. Nigeria's inability to generate over 200,000 Mega Watts of electricity since independence is one the things that has mad many Nigerians dissatisfied with the government but many are also not complaining even though they are not satisfied.On the issue of Biafra, it appears that the opinion of Nigerians are indeed divided as some would accept it while some would not accept it. Many who see the pro-Biafran protesters of today would quickly remember the Biafran/Nigerian war of the 1960s which left many peole dead on both sized but with Biafra, a former breakaway nation, having the most number of casualties with reports saying that they lost over 1 million lives mostly due to hunger thanks to the policies of the the then Nigerian government. Many Nigerians do indeed feel sympathy for the former Biafrans but what amazes many is that despite how much they lost to the civil war, there still have the spirit and despite for a nation of their own, a nation outside Nigeria and different from Nigeria. A nation free from a federal republic that was created by Great Britain in after the joining together of hundreds of different tribes in West Africa without their consent. Pro-Biafrans claim that one of the reasons why Nigeria still fails to succeed was because it was a slave nation and would most likely remain a slave nation to the West since it was not formed by Africans. They claim the name Nigeria is not an African name but rather a slave name taken from the
latin word Niger which refers to black but now considered derogatory.The Biafrans want a nation of their own consisting of the former Eastern region which are made of up states in the South East and South South but a majority of those spearheading it are indigenes of the South East while not every tribe in the South South appears open to accept that idea yet even though they want more autonomy for their oil but Nigeria isn't ready to give that to them yet.
The ruling elite would not want to have a re-occurrence of Biafra or any uprising that may lead to a civil war again given that it would mean bad business from them and so they want a Nigeria that will continue in business even if it marginalized some other people.A majority of Nigerians consist of the poor and they are not happy with the current state of the economy because they make barely enough to meet their needs. If the growing agitation for Biafra through a peaceful means gets more fire, it may cause many other unsatisfied Nigerians to also start clamouring for their freedom from a system that isn't favourable for them. Recently, they was a cry from Yoruba leaders in the South West for the government to do something urgent about the invasion of their farm lands by Fulani herdsmen after the kidnap of a respected leader name Chief Olu Falae. If they had the power or autonomy, they would ban those herdsmen from entering their lands or region in the first place but freedom of movement is provided for by Nigeria's constitution and the Yoruba elders had threatened to secede like Pro-Biafrans if nothing is done to stop the herdsmen.Pro-Biafrans believe the central government in Abuja has marginalized their region for so long with little or no Federal presence in the form of good roads, erosion control, Federal appointments, government investment and so on. They feel that if they get a country of their own just like Ojukwu tried but through a referendum like South Sudan, the government would be closer to their people and would be quick to address their problems. They believe that Nigeria's government has been held for so long by the North and that there really is no reliable rotation of power across geographical regions given that no Igbo man has been president for more than 40 years and that was one of the reasons why Nigeria has kept failing woefully. If they had Biafra, they believe that their chances of their country being led by an Igbo leader would be increased.There has been many groups and people in the past that had tried to be free from the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a result of injustice being meted out to them by the same government such as the Ogoni group(oil wealth and spillage), Niger Delta(oil wealth) people and Yoruba nation(After the death of Abiola) but none seems to have lasted so long as the case of Biafra. If the Igbos were given a referendum to vote for a peaceful exit from Nigeria, the probability is high that many of them would choose Biafra as long as it was just a referendum and no war involved. With the exception of the major spear headers such as IPOB and MASSOB who tend to be more violent, most Igbos would prefer a peaceful exit from Nigeria.Would Biafra rise again? Would the former Eastern region really be able to be free from Nigeria? Well, the main agitators such as IPOB and MASSOB are relying on the support of foreign bodies such as the United Nation and the USA to help them achieve that dream because left to the Nigeria government alone, they are less likely to get it on a platter of gold.
There has been a growing number of Pro-Biafran protests in the South east of Nigeria in several states like Anambra, Rivers and Imo. It was mostly as a result of the arrest of a Pro-Biafran agitator named Nnamdi Kanu by the DSS. After his arrest, groups of people starting making public demonstrations which basically paralyzed business activities and movement in cities they did their demonstrations. They were all clamouring for one thing and that is to be free from the entity called Nigeria.The Pro-Biafrans call Nigeria a zoo because they feel it has enslaved them for man years and that people who live in Nigeria are all enslaved by the system that does not want her people to progress. They feel that Nigeria has for long being run by only a few rich cabals who enslave the rest for their own personal benefits adn so like domesticated animals, Nigerias are even afraid of making public protests to show their disapproval with several policies of the government since the 1960s.The idea of being free from Nigeria is something I think many young Nigerians also share in given the way many of them throng foreign embassies like the US embassies just to leave the country for greener pastures. If all Nigerians were given the opportunity to leave the country and choose another country where they can become citizens, I'm a bit inclined to think that majority of them would want some other country other than Nigeria but that does not include the few rich politicians, government officials and rich investors who are already okay and satisfied with the system. Nigeria's inability to generate over 200,000 Mega Watts of electricity since independence is one the things that has mad many Nigerians dissatisfied with the government but many are also not complaining even though they are not satisfied.On the issue of Biafra, it appears that the opinion of Nigerians are indeed divided as some would accept it while some would not accept it. Many who see the pro-Biafran protesters of today would quickly remember the Biafran/Nigerian war of the 1960s which left many peole dead on both sized but with Biafra, a former breakaway nation, having the most number of casualties with reports saying that they lost over 1 million lives mostly due to hunger thanks to the policies of the the then Nigerian government. Many Nigerians do indeed feel sympathy for the former Biafrans but what amazes many is that despite how much they lost to the civil war, there still have the spirit and despite for a nation of their own, a nation outside Nigeria and different from Nigeria. A nation free from a federal republic that was created by Great Britain in after the joining together of hundreds of different tribes in West Africa without their consent. Pro-Biafrans claim that one of the reasons why Nigeria still fails to succeed was because it was a slave nation and would most likely remain a slave nation to the West since it was not formed by Africans. They claim the name Nigeria is not an African name but rather a slave name taken from the
latin word Niger which refers to black but now considered derogatory.The Biafrans want a nation of their own consisting of the former Eastern region which are made of up states in the South East and South South but a majority of those spearheading it are indigenes of the South East while not every tribe in the South South appears open to accept that idea yet even though they want more autonomy for their oil but Nigeria isn't ready to give that to them yet.
The ruling elite would not want to have a re-occurrence of Biafra or any uprising that may lead to a civil war again given that it would mean bad business from them and so they want a Nigeria that will continue in business even if it marginalized some other people.A majority of Nigerians consist of the poor and they are not happy with the current state of the economy because they make barely enough to meet their needs. If the growing agitation for Biafra through a peaceful means gets more fire, it may cause many other unsatisfied Nigerians to also start clamouring for their freedom from a system that isn't favourable for them. Recently, they was a cry from Yoruba leaders in the South West for the government to do something urgent about the invasion of their farm lands by Fulani herdsmen after the kidnap of a respected leader name Chief Olu Falae. If they had the power or autonomy, they would ban those herdsmen from entering their lands or region in the first place but freedom of movement is provided for by Nigeria's constitution and the Yoruba elders had threatened to secede like Pro-Biafrans if nothing is done to stop the herdsmen.Pro-Biafrans believe the central government in Abuja has marginalized their region for so long with little or no Federal presence in the form of good roads, erosion control, Federal appointments, government investment and so on. They feel that if they get a country of their own just like Ojukwu tried but through a referendum like South Sudan, the government would be closer to their people and would be quick to address their problems. They believe that Nigeria's government has been held for so long by the North and that there really is no reliable rotation of power across geographical regions given that no Igbo man has been president for more than 40 years and that was one of the reasons why Nigeria has kept failing woefully. If they had Biafra, they believe that their chances of their country being led by an Igbo leader would be increased.There has been many groups and people in the past that had tried to be free from the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a result of injustice being meted out to them by the same government such as the Ogoni group(oil wealth and spillage), Niger Delta(oil wealth) people and Yoruba nation(After the death of Abiola) but none seems to have lasted so long as the case of Biafra. If the Igbos were given a referendum to vote for a peaceful exit from Nigeria, the probability is high that many of them would choose Biafra as long as it was just a referendum and no war involved. With the exception of the major spear headers such as IPOB and MASSOB who tend to be more violent, most Igbos would prefer a peaceful exit from Nigeria.Would Biafra rise again? Would the former Eastern region really be able to be free from Nigeria? Well, the main agitators such as IPOB and MASSOB are relying on the support of foreign bodies such as the United Nation and the USA to help them achieve that dream because left to the Nigeria government alone, they are less likely to get it on a platter of gold.