A TALE OF THEIR BIAFRA AND OUR NIGERIA: THE REFLECTIONS OF A BIAFRAN-NIGERIAN

If they give us BIAFRA tomorrow morning, what are we going to do with it? That was the thought that filled my head as I watched able-bodied young men and women of Igbo descent chanting war songs and causing carnage through the streets of Onitsha, Owerri, Aba, Port-Harcourt, Abakaliki and Enugu in their agitation for ‎the freedom of BIAFRA. It was immediately clear that majority if not all of them actually don’t know what they are asking for. Trust me, they are blinded by ignorance and if they die because of their misguided hotheadedness, their deaths would be in vain.

The sequence of events that sparked the secession of Odumegwu Ojukwu led BIAFRA from Nigeria in May 1967 was quite different. It started with the massacre of Igbos in Northern Nigeria as a result of the unfortunate events of the January 1966 coup led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu which led to major casualties including the Sarduana of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello; the prime minister of Nigeria, Tafawa Balewa. It was largely believed to be an Igbo coup that was targeted against the ruling northern elite.

That was how the problem started for the Igbos in the Nigerian equation. And since then, we haven’t fully recovered from the series of persecution that followed. The persecution was heralded by the brutal assassination of Aguiyi Ironsi, the second and last Igbo descent to ever rule Nigeria; civilian or military. Ever since, no Igbo man has occupied the apex office of Nigeria.

Fast forward to 2015; an Hausa man emerges as President of Nigeria and is alleged to be substantially alienating the Igbos from the polity. Whether he is doing this because he did not get their support during the election or he is been perceived wrongfully, is a story for another day. But one thing is certain in my opinion; the major problem of the Igbos is not from the north, the west or the south but from the east.

Yes! We are our own biggest challenge. And until we tell ourselves the truth, we will never make much progress. Every ethnic group in Nigeria feels marginalized in one way or the other but the Igbos are the most disunited in their fight for national relevance. The Igbos don’t have one voice; even amongst brothers, kindreds, villages and towns. We forget that in all our selfishness and greed, the Igbo nation suffers great consequences.

When Ojukwu led the movement for Biafra, it was obvious that he was trying to protect his people. For Ojukwu like Moses 'Let my ‎people go' was a genuine cry. The Igbos were one indivisible entity with one voice. That was why it was difficult for the Federal Military Government to break down BIAFRA despite our marginal global support and economic suppression. The average Igbo man was ready to die for BIAFRA because they had a leader and saw a collective destiny.

That was 48 years ago. Today, the Igbos have no recognized leader since the death of Ojukwu ‎in 2011; suffice to say we don't have or speak with one voice. Even in the so-called agitation for BIAFRA, we are divided. The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) are fighting from one end and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) are fighting from the other end. And if the state of Biafra is eventually declared tomorrow, these two and other fringe organization like the Biafra Zionist Movement (BZM) would have to fight for the lion share of the new state. ‎So the fighting will continue for as long as we are able to sort ourselves out.

My fellow Igbo youths, the only fight left for us right now is the battle to assert our relevance in the Nigerian equation. The Hausas or the Yorubas won't take our quest to occupy Aso Rock seriously, until they see the strength in our unity. We can get it right in Nigeria.

Like our forefathers will say “A tuoro omara, o mara, a tuoro ofeke, o fenye ishi n'ohia” (If you tell a wise one, he understands; tell a fool, he runs into the bush); so my brethren, receive common sense and may it be well with the Igbo nation.