Those fanning embers of Biafra live in mansions, kids abroad

Those fanning embers of Biafra live in mansions, kids abroad

Monday, November 9, 2015 1:57 am


By Philip Obin
A cross section of people protesting the arrest of Radio Biafra’s director, Nnamdi Kanu, in Onitsha

A cross section of people protesting the arrest of Radio Biafra’s director, Nnamdi Kanu, in Onitsha

The agitation for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra has taken a new dimension since the new leader of the struggle, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu declared readiness to fight all the way. Kanu subsequently launched a radio station, Radio Biafra where he served as the Managing-Editor till he was reportedly arrested by Nigeria secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS).
While I recognize the constitutional rights of any Nigerian or group of Nigerians to freedom of expression, association or agitation for their rights, I am also aware of the fact that most of the Biafran sympathizers are merely ignorant of the true motives of those behind the renewed agitation for the state of Biafra.
Those who send our young ones to the streets in the name of Biafra are mostly corrupt and criminally minded elites chilling in their air-conditioned mansions and riding in super cars, with their children and family members studying or living abroad, and yet, they take advantage of our sad economic situation and poverty of which their greed and corrupt practices contributed immensely to, to send our young ones into the streets to cause troubles and disrupt economic activities. The poor young Nigerians who are mostly jobless or traders struggling to feed twice a day are the ones who get killed by stray bullets when they clash with security forces or in other situations whenever their protests go violent. Their sponsors and leaders who mostly support them secretly go about their businesses freely and still guarded by ‘Nigerian’ security operatives. If peradventure anything goes wrong and their agitation turns to any form of war, their sponsors all have int’l passports with multiple visa, plus adequate bank account balances enough to fly them out Nigeria with their families, leaving same innocent young Nigerians to suffer it alone in the long run. Again, I call on every young Nigerian who didn’t witness the civil war to kindly find time to sit their parents down and ask them what their experiences were during the war or Google out ‘effect of the Nigerian civil war’ to learn more about the cost of choosing war over dialogue.
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu: leader of new Biafra struggle

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu: leader of new Biafra struggle

So wise up fellow young Nigerians, as our complicated challenges are not about dividing the country and actualizing Biafra. Let’s remember what we went through during the last civil war. Let’s remember we lost over a million brothers and sisters. Among those who died were great young men and women – pilots, engineers, teachers, politicians, economists, religious and traditional leaders, who could have taken us further than where we are today, as a country!

Ask yourself: How have we loved and managed ourselves and resources in the states we want to separate out of Nigeria into Biafra? What have we done or achieved with all our internal resources, human and material, and allocations received from the federal government over the decades?
Nigeria isn’t bigger than America or China. All we need to do is look inward, take time to understand our diversity, how to take advantage of it and live peacefully as one nation. There’s also urgent need to review our leadership, as a people, our institutions and participate actively in our governments, as youth, rather than calling for separation.
There’s also this obviously exciting need to simply key into the new government of President Buhari and VP Osinbajo, to support and encourage them on their various promising programmes, which are mostly targeted at making life better for the common Nigerian. For once, Nigeria has produced a president and vice president who are both not multi millionaires and billions with Godfathers dictating for them. For the first time, we have a government that’s truly the desire of majority of Nigerians, and all we now need to do is support same people we found worthy and voted in, and patiently wait to see if they deliver or not. But as a person, I am strongly convinced that Nigeria is moving to greater heights soonest, irrespective of the temporary challenges facing us.
Let’s not also fall for a few greedy politicians and businessmen who are only after what they will gain. Most of those behind the call for Biafra are greedy politicians, businessmen and supporters of corruption who can no longer survive adequately in today’s Nigeria, especially as our institutions are being strengthened to become serious and transparent. Let’s not also give people the chance of thinking that those calling for division of Nigeria are same aggrieved people from a certain part of the country who didn’t vote for the new government and went further to criticize the President for allegedly sidelining them by his appointments which they termed as ‘lopsided’ and lacking federal character
Admittedly, things aren’t going well with Nigeria and Nigerians today, but it’s a phase and trying time we’ll overcome soonest, especially as President Buhari inaugurates his ministers this Wednesday, to enable them commence work officially immediately. Let’s not practice the story of the tortoise… hurrying to get out of the toilet pit after staying for 6 days and due to be released and crown a king on the 7th day. Imagine how hard things have been even without war! Imagine how harder it will be when we start a war again and no longer moving freely to work and fend for our loved ones.
Beyond its result-yielding fight against corruption and impunity, making urgent and sustainable plans to commence the payment of N5,000 monthly stipends to 25 million vulnerable Nigerians, the Buhari administration is poised to lift millions of Nigerians out of extreme poverty by providing social protection and safety worth 2.5 trillion Naira from the Special Intervention Fund.
While I will continue to stand against the call for Biafran state and encourage our youth not to be used by certain selfish individuals and rather embrace dialogue, I urge the federal and state governments, especially the states where the agitations are emanating from, to dialogue with the leaders of the Biafran agitators with a few to finding a lasting solution before things get out of hand, as this was how the Boko Haram group started. They weren’t taking seriously and today, even with international help, we’ve not been able to defeat them easily.
I also challenge our respected religious and traditional leaders, especially those in the affected states, to use their influence and call their young ones to order, as part of their obligation to the nation.
Most urgently, President Muhammadu Buhari, as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria must rise up to the occasion, call on the governors of affected state, mandate them to work and comply with relevant federal authorities in their respective states, to restore peace and order, so Nigerians in those states can freely go about their normal lives.
At a time when there are violent conflicts and global economic challenges across the war, Nigeria cannot afford a fresh civil war. We must collectively do everything to remain as one strong nation, fight our common and biggest enemy – the Boko Haram insurgents and support the new and promising government to lead us to the promised land.
*Philip Obin, Business consultant and new media strategist writes from Abuja. You can reach him via[email protected] or on Twitter @PhilipObin

Join The Conversation

3 Comments

  • New Nigerian says:

    God Bless you Philip for this call to sanity…I recommend airing of this opinion in the various news media – radio & tv – per chance it may reach those who need to hear it most…

  • New Nigerian says:

    …we’d believe you once you say what you are saying here as one of the many braving arrests for lawlessness on the streets of Nigeria…you seem to rather belong to either those who are abroad or those cocooned safely in mansions described by the author…

  • TRUTH FACTS says:

    Your statement ‘Those who send our young ones to the streets in the name of Biafra are
    mostly corrupt and criminally minded elites chilling in their
    air-conditioned mansions and riding in super cars, with their children
    and family members studying or living abroad, and yet, they take
    advantage of our sad economic situation and poverty of which their greed
    and corrupt practices contributed immensely to, to send our young ones
    into the streets to cause troubles and disrupt economic activities’, is a blatant lie aimed at gaining cheap popularity but if i may insert, tell your fairy tale opinion to the birds in the air at least they would believe that because humans with their complete sense of judgement would disagree with you but allow you say whatever in a democratic government.
    When Nigerians hear about Biafra, the next thing that comes to their mind after a cold chill run up their spine is WAR! A wrong perception of the intentions of a learned, diversified, economically industrious indigenous people from the old eastern region, The approach in 1960 under military dictatorship is force but would you underestimate the power of a democratic process which is the line these secession activists have researched and towed?
    Will it infuriate you if i counter your opinion that those behind this agitation are no other people but almost every peace loving law abiding citizen from the region saddened by the marginalization of the people for example, admission requirement bench mark is higher in the east than the north. . We are all Nigerians each with one head,and no differentiating feature of special intelligence from another. Despite several approaches to salvage the poor interest in modern education and enlightenment in this area, they still remain adamant and are comfortable to be classified as educationally less privileged. Whose fault is it? Biafra? What makes them less privilged? The nature of their brains? i disagree with that narcotic pill.
    You talked of managing resources in the region, the whole of Nigeria depends on crude oil as its major national income, what have the north and south west contributed in terms of developing its own resources? rather people Que up in local government secretariats to receive salaries/ wages as an earning for sitting down under dogon yaro tree and talking through out the month while their counterparts that have this crude oil as their indigenous resource, toil round the nooks and crannies of the world searching for education, skill and trade opportunities and not benefiting as much as those who have folded their arms and legs in laxity waiting for a lion share of what they don’t, produce for example, the north own over 75% of the oil block, is that not an imbalance?
    Further more after the civil war, the war thorn region has emerged the most educated, most talented, creative and most importantly, in entrepreneurship they have also taken the lead but what has the Federal government done to enhance the production of textiles, automobiles, electronics, house hold wares to mention a few in the south east rather their innovations were rejected by a wave of hand because the brains are not from the northern or south western part of Nigeria hence it is easy to brandish their hand made products which can compete internationally as IGBO MADE, but more inferior goods are imported from China with poorer quality control. is that not enough to rethink about a state hood that lacks coherence and the drive to enable you reach your aimed target of competing with the world powers?
    Your mentioned that the people sending this activists were those that looted the nation sorry brother, shows how a blind man wish to lead other blind men to a brainwash lagoon. Which region have ruled Nigeria most? the former Eastern region? Those that siezed 75% of Nigerians oil block, looted the nations treasury since military regime are walking freely today and feasting on our comfort alone in their various Aso rock mountain top mansions yet they are referred to as elder statesmen. Consider the smokescreen of anti corruption war yet appointments are lopsided in key positions looking like another hijack of our political arena by a region again can tribalism be isolated from corruption?
    A recent research published by Forbes showed that the top richest men from the old Eastern region never made their money from Nigerian crude oil but their counterparts from the North and south west regions made their fortunes from crude oil meaning that our national cake has been monopolized and take a look at their achievement to their various areas of origin, the deplorable situation there shows us were the failed system took its toll with poverty rate being the highest, educational system rotting despite special intervention by the Federal government which is unavailable in the old eastern region still yet the latter region has emerged the most educated presently. let Nigeria appreciate the democratic process these activists have chosen, dialogue with them and if all effort is exhausted in this approach, a further democratic ballot system should be implored and that would be safer, better as it would show how democratically matured we have evolved into.
    Building more jails that would occupy over 7 million agitators is a huge phantom project for the government, finally the use of force may deteriorate the situation from peaceful protest to an avoidable catastrophe that would downgrade our human right status further, destroy all economic plan, hamper progress and create nothing good other than loss of life from both camps to an extent hitherto underestimated.
    Do not brainwash people to believing that agitators are charlatans and those sending them are bigots rather consider the aim of such agitations and look for the salient reasons so that good approach to solving this problems can be used such as develop strategies that can make the south east a technological, industrial, commercial and agricultural hub for the best of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. they have shown signs that if assisted could do more than China and Japan and that would tremendously boost our economy. dredge river Niger up to Lokoja, begin production in Ajaokuta Steel industry and connect railway from this area to the south east to boost the transportation of raw materials. don’t discriminate because that is what has made you and i today as one Nigerian only in a football match.

  • What do you think?

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.