30th May: Why Biafran Politicians Should Think Restoration Of Biafra Not Restructuring Of Nigeria

| Thursday, May 25, 2017 | 10:35 AM CET

30th May: Why Biafran Politicians Should Think Restoration Of Biafra Not Restructuring Of Nigeria 

Biafrans protest in Vatican

30th May: Why Biafran Politicians Should Think Restoration Of Biafra And Not Restructuring Of Nigeria 

When one refuses to reason, one becomes a slave without knowing it and when the slave begins to fight those bold enough to confront his taskmasters, he will stay long in slavery and sure die as a slave, leaving behind enslaved generations. 

But when one knows he is a slave and fights for freedom, even if it is not achieved in his time, he will leave a generation of freedom fighters that would ensure that freedom is achieved.

Since the forceful amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates to form a single entity called Nigeria, especially after the independence of the amalgamated Nigeria  (Niger area), the old Eastern people who identify themselves as Biafrans, have been slaves in their own motherland. 

The truth is that if you are taken as a slave in what you call your father's house, the treatment you receive will awaken your consciousness to reason it out. And when you reason it out, you take a step of asking questions to ascertain your origin, to know whether you were adopted or not. 

The kind of treatments meted against Biafrans made Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in 1967, to convene a meeting with the question of "who are we?"

This question was answered by a Biafran from Izon (Ijaw) and everyone learnt that people from Old Eastern part of Nigeria are Biafrans and on the 30th of May, 1967 Ojukwu declared Biafra a Republic. 

Before the declaration of Biafra, there were pogroms after pogroms which led to the deaths of many Biafrans. At that time, as far as you're from the East, you're "Yamiri" and deserved to be killed. 

Nnamdi Azikiwe was simply a ceremonial president as the Sarduanas of the North controlled the government because, in the interest of peace, he(Zik) wore the garment of a weakling.

The Regional Government of that time did not stop the mistreatment of Easterners (Biafrans), neither did it dwindle the high level of hatred for Igbos that flowed in the blood of Hausa-Fulani rather it heightened the rate at which Biafrans were slaughtered in cold-blood. 

Treaty after treaty, accord after accord were followed by massive massacre of the Easterners without any Northerner arrested.

In his ability to reason, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu understood that the Easterners were taken as slaves that could be butchered at any time without repercussions, then he headed the way of a courageous wise man - he opted out of the forced union. 

That move of Ojukwu to free his people has become an ideology today, although he did not completely achieve his aim, he laid foundation for his children to achieve it. Here are Biafrans today honouring him and other fallen heroes even as they venture to accomplish his dream of freedom as he often repeated that when given options he wouldn't choose to be a slave. 

But many Old Eastern politicians are still hiding in their shells. Some have seen that they are slaves in the Nigerian state and will be better off being on their own but they are still portraying cowardice, confiding only in themselves without making their stand public for fear of EFCC and DSS. But I think that when one is not able to make his opinion or stand known for fear of the government's abuse of his right to free speech, then that person should better consider belonging to another country where his rights will not be abused.

Another set of Eastern politicians are the ones blind to the fact that they are slaves in Nigeria. The crumbs that fall off their masters' table blind their eyes and superglue their mouth from seeing and speaking out for their people. Instead they take the place of an accomplice in the continued massacre of their own people. They join hands with Hausa-Fulani to fight those fighting for their collective freedom. 

What a disappointment! The military shoot and kill those that voted them in, they will not condemn it, let alone fetch out the perpetrators and punish them, rather they will be quick to call their people names. Wickedness at its peak! 

In a fight between their people and Hausa-Fulani, they will quickly apologise to Hausa-Fulani even though their people are killed by Hausa-Fulani. What a shame! 

And some of them are asking, "how are Easterners slave?" Let me cite an example that clearly shows Easterners as slaves.

Hausa-Fulani herdsmen are killing Biafrans and other Nigerians but the government has not lifted a finger to arrest, punish or stop them. They go with AK47 with which they kill unarmed innocent civilians yet they have not been charged with "illegal possessions of firearms" nor have they been prosecuted for unlawful use of firearms to end citizens lives, assuming the firearms are possesed legally. 

They sometimes announce their attacks yet governors and the military will do nothing to stop them instead state governors would even beg them and compensate them for killing their citizens.

Last week, Biafran Women peacefully holding conference were molested and arrested by the Nigerian military. The military haunts for unarmed peaceful Biafrans but ignores fully armed herdsmen. 

The questions you should ask yourself are these: why do the herdsmen slaughter citizens and go unpunished? Why has government not ordered that herdsmen should be disarmed? If Igbos were the herdsmen killing Hausa-Fulani, will they go unpunished? Would they not have been quelled?  And why does the government target and order the massacre of Biafrans but leaving herdsmen unpunished? Simply because the herdsmen are the sons of the master, Hausa-Fulani, hence should be protected, while Biafrans are the slaves serving the master and therefore, can be killed with impunity at any unlawful excuse.

This is so because when the son of a house commits a crime, his father protects him, but even when the slave of the house does everything well, he receives castigation from his master.

Therefore, this May 30th Biafra's Heroes Remembrance Day should be a day politicians from Biafran territories should retrospectively reconsider their position in Nigeria and decide whether the position of a slave of the house is what Easterners have occupied. 

First, they should honour Biafra's Fallen Heroes who fought against their systematic extermination, by sitting at home on that 30th of May and making all Easterners do same by declaring public holiday on that day in honour of Biafra fallen heroes. 

As they sit at home on that day, they should regurgitate all the ills and maltreatments meted against Easterners. And they should think of the solution to the servitude.

Thinking about the solution, tortoise asked its kid, "how many times will something happen to you and you become wise?" Its kid answered, "once".

Therefore, let the politicians not venture into thinking about restructuring of Nigerian rather they should think of the Restoration of Biafra because Hausa-Fulani will still kill and maim Biafrans in a restructured Nigeria but shall not muster such temerity in a restored Biafra because no matter where he lives under the roof of his master, a slave remains a slave but for him to be free he needs to live on his own.

Therefore, think Restoration of Biafra and not Restructuring of Nigeria. 

By Ogu Edozie Williams

Edited by Mazi Collins

Published by IPOB writers

Twitter - @ipob_writers