Noise for Biafra- A strategic or sentimental agitation

By Vera Nneoma Osuji . . .

I was compelled to write this article from the standpoint of a young professional Igbo lady and my filial disposition towards “THE GREAT IGBO TRIBE” and in the midst of the undercurrents troubling the Unity of our county Nigeria.

Spanning a period of over two decades, I have spent a good portion of my childhood and adolescence in the Eastern part of Nigeria, and have lived in the West afterwards and have on many occasions interacted with Nigerians from the length and breadth of the nation without for once harbouring any sense of opposition. Hence, naturally, my position on the emerging agitation for the creation of a State of Biafra is one that would hopefully bring peace or a lasting solution to the current sense of non-inclusion or marginalization being suffered by the Igbo race.

For starters, the agitation for the Republic of Biafra dates back to 1967 which culminated in the first civil war ever witnessed in Nigeria. Known factors that led to the war or reasons why the Igbo lost the war are not the focus of my article. However, the need to strongly evaluate the causes of this civil war and its slow but gradual rebirth today makes for an intelligent yet strategic assessment especially for the Igbos.

That being said, I dare say that violent protests, agitations for war, and other emotionally charged statements should not be considered as ways of resolving conflict, without first engaging in dialogue at different levels. When I heard the news about the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu for illegally operating Radio Biafra, as a typical Igbo person I got upset but I paused and asked myself the following questions:

1. Is behoves a responsible government to defend the sovereignty of the country? – YES it is

2. What about when utterances are of treasonable nature and are fueling ethnic bickering and hatred? Same answer – YES. I recall one of his videos on YouTube (except he was impersonated) classified Blacks as Satan because Satan is a Black man and Blacks should be dealt treacherously by the Whites, among others. I will advise anyone reading this article to goggle and listen to a minimum of 3 of his broadcasts to enable you take an unbiased position.

3. Article 1 & 2 of the United Nations Charter provides for self determination “all people have the right to self determination and by virtue determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”. Therefore any group of persons can determine their political status but when your campaign becomes defamatory, the law provides for caution.

4. What steps did the Eastern leaders take to engage the government in a dialogue AT THE POINT of his arrest to ensure this did not degenerate to the point it presently has?

Please, I want to use this medium to appeal to the Igbos that violence is not the best approach to resolving a conflict. My father fought in the war. I read the book “There was a country” written by Chinua Achebe and ‘Half of a yellow sun” by Chimamanda Adichie and envisioned the horrors and aftermath of provoking a WAR through their harrowing experiences. Trust me; we do not need a war or bloodshed at this point in our country. Rather, our youths should be more strategic, dynamic and adept on this subject. No man wins a war based on sentiments. The quest for a new nation follows a well thought out and marshaled Roadmap. Things like running a new financial and currency system for Biafra, sustaining an anticipated population migration as our brethren that runs into the millions return home, becoming the priorities, infrastructures, feeding and housing cannot be left out. If these and other important elements are not considered, the same tragedy would occur where Biafra lost an estimated 2 million lives comprising mostly of women and children and those that survived were left hungry, desolate and desperate – all as a result of poor planning and preparation.

An important question I would like to ask (and would appreciate a sincere response amongst ourselves) is “Can we Igbos truly lead ourselves?” Asides Azikiwe, Sam Mbakwe and Chirs Ngige, please point out a leader of Igbo extraction that has selflessly led, resisting undue cabal for the sole interest of our people? For example, I grew up knowing my kindred as “Amato”, then one day some individuals woke up and in the name of autonomous community, changed the name to “Agbaharizu”. Is that the purpose of creating autonomous communities? That is simply changing of ancient landmark! Imbedded in that move were the selfish interests for chieftaincy titles, etc. These kinds of stories are peculiar across Igbo land, where pecuniary interests or selfish ambitions override the social good of the people.

After I read “There was a country”, I paused and asked myself, “why should I fight against a country I so much do not believe in and come back and contest for presidency in the same country”? The only salient reason that came to mind was AMBITION.
If there are no vested interests in the ongoing violence amongst our political leaders, I implore our recent governors to engage the Federal Government on the release of Nnamdi Kanu and adopt a dialogue approach with him.

On the recent agitation for war, I want to ask the ring leaders of this movement: do you know what it means to declare a war? Do you think our geographical position puts us in a vantage position? Do we have ports on our shores for food supplies? Do you think that the food blockage on Biafra that brought us to our knees can’t be unitized again as a result of our geographical location? Do you think Port Harcourt, Uyo, Delta, Edo, etc will join in the fight for a Biafra republic? What are the statistics of Igbos that are anti-Biafra republic? To mention, one of Nnamdi Kanu’s broadcast says that Delta MUST be part of Biafra and I sat on my seat speechless asking myself “what happens to their right to self determination?”
Dele Mommodu wrote and I quote “And don’t forget that the Igbo people are naturally brilliant in all spheres of human endeavour. They are endowed with genes that we could liken to those of Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Pythagoras, and Bertrand Russell combined. If the Black man would ever venture into Space exploration, I’m sure of the shock that awaits us; an Igbo would not only land on the moon, he would have a permanent abode there and a shop to sell all common needs to us.

Such is the dynamism of the Igbo geniuses that I often refer to them as the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans of Africa all
rolled into one”.

We refined oil locally and produced our bullets during the war, we produce in Aba and export outside the shores of our country due to the negative perception of ‘made in Nigeria’ products and I dare to say that a huge portion the internally generated revenue of Lagos state come from the industrious Igbos.

My core objective is to encourage us to channel our dogged spirit and ingenuity to achieve international and national economic relevance and advantageous milestones in our regions and not embark on an agenda that will sap our human capital.

Ndigbo, learn to choose and launch your fight decisively and strategically.

Read also: Biafra, what Biafra

What we should be doing is finding a way of coming together to decide how much can every Igbo son and daughter should contribute on a monthly basis to enable us have a port of international standards in our borders? If 1,000,000 Igbo’s contribute for example N1,000 per month, it sums to N1 billion. That, to me, is a worthy cause that will boost our relevance.

People flock to Lagos simply because the environment is enabling and who says the young men and women from the Eastern part of Nigeria cannot take our future in our hands rather than wait for our political personalities who usually leave us short-changed.

I believe setting up a sinking fund of this magnitude should not be in the hands of the government, but will be an infrastructure fund registered as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) independently managed by an appointed adviser, fund manager, and trustee, etc to ensure transparency. As a practicing investment banker with eight (8) years experience, I am willing to volunteer my expertise, experience and commitment towards championing this course. Critical to the success of this kind of initiative is having the right blend of think-thank team comprised of professionals in the caliber of Chukwuma Soludo, Barth Nnaji, Festus Odimegwu, etc . With this I am referring to selfless Igbo men and women that can change the course and destiny of our Igbo race.

We should endeavour not repeat the same mistakes as our fore-fathers because we are more dynamic, exposed, strategic and empowered. It baffles me to know that Aba which has the capacity to be the Dubai of Africa is in such a deplorable state. I must commend the effort of the recent governor (from my readings in the dailies) channeled towards giving Aba a face-lift.

Please Sir, do not lose steam but make a name in the sands of time as the governor that impacted immensely in the economic development of Abia State, such that posterity will sing your song in good light. Our leaders should learn from Fashola and his template in the transformation of Lagos State into a potential financial and trade hub of the African continent.
Let us defend our unity as one country. USA emerged from series of bloody wars and conflict. Today American Indians go about their business in America without any form of victimization.

When I read articles online on the subject, I practically cry at the ethnic abuses I see as comments. Let us go back to “Nigeria Pre civil war”, where you do not have to be an indigene of state to be appointed the Vice-chancellor of the university. Our strength is in our diversity – great people Nigeria. There is global interdependence so I wonder why we can’t survive in our small world appreciating our differences.

As I drop my pen my people, critically evaluate the ministers of the key ministries of the current and immediate past administration, what tribe are they from? Perhaps I should mention a few: Okonji Iweala, Stella, Kachiukwu, Madueke. For me I prefer to be the King maker than to be the King. And I implore the President by reminding him of his words “I am the president for all”. Also bear in mind that the under root causes of this misguided outrage are unemployment, fuel scarcity and the tough economic climate.

Long live Nigeria! Long live Ndigbo!

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