Biafra: A Home Truth

By Chuks Akamadu

THE current pro-Biafra wind blowing across the length and breadth of south- eastern Nigeria and some contiguous parts of the south-south geo-political zone reminds me of the timely warning of the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido. Not too long ago, the banker- turned traditional ruler was reported to have cautioned the nation on the grave danger in failing to pay proper attention to the worries of Ndigbo, noting that this generation of Igbo youths would likely dare the Nigerian state in an unimaginable manner since they neither suffer from a hang-over of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war – having not witnessed it, nor do they harbor any memories of that darkest page of Nigeria’s story book.

I would like to add that the present crop of Igbo youths grew up with a be- ware-of-the-enemy-within mindset, a siege mentality and a vanquished orientation, all of which combine to leave them in highly inflammable state. To make matters worse, the environment where they were nurtured was (and still is) rich in lack, rich in deprivation and rich in hostility. It is little wonder, therefore, that they willingly received the strange dogmatic exhortations of an Nnamdi Kanu and his Radio Biafra as food (holy sacrament, if you like) to their drained souls.

Elsewhere, I had argued that who I see on the streets clutching Biafra flag are not Biafran patriots – and they are not Biafra enthusiasts either; they are frustrated youths who are at war with a system that appears irrevocably committed to shrinking their individual prospects of survival and forecloses their chances to prosper.
Fortunately for them, the Radio Biafra hate ministrations capture, in significant ways, both their corporate imagination and existential realities whilst Nnamdi Kanu’s present duel with the law has offered them a window for self-expression.

So, when an ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo calls the Biafra agitators ‘miscreants,’ I laugh at his glaring ignorance and poor understanding of the issues at hand, just as I have understandable compassion for Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.) who has also dismissed the brewing conflagration with a wave of hand. I said ‘under- standable’ because both share the luxury of having conquered Biafra in 1970 and can afford to make light of the plight of Ndigbo – especially from a psychological standpoint. If both leaders had, for instance, visited Aba recently and seen the deplorable living conditions of Ndigbo who reside there, they would have appreciated the social, sociological, economic and psychological dimensions of the cur- rent pro-Biafra (mis)adventure. 

Aba reminds me of old Maroko in Lagos; so I do not understand how any man with a good head on the shoulder should expect the average Aba resident to reason like a stable-minded, well-adjusted and spiritually rational homo sapien. Nothing really can be more wishful, bearing in mind that the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) youths are barely educated and captives of starvation, with little or no hope of running into a miracle any time soon.

But come to think of it, have we ever paused for a moment to ask ourselves what could be the motivating factor(s) that would make a teenager or a young man in his 20s trek from Awka to Onitsha just to join a ‘Give Us Biafra’ procession? It can only be a function of extreme discontent with a probable thirst for vengeance. We also should not forget that given their station in life, these youths are incapable of differentiating between a federal government responsibility and statutory obligations of state governments.

That is why they put every conceivable blame on federal government, including those for the failings of South-East governors (past and present) who have, in mindless violation of the very spirit of brotherhood, knowingly undermined every effort of theirs directed at self-actualization.

From what I know, the late Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odi- umegwu-Ojukwu who for all practi- cal purposes embodies, even in death, the Biafra struggle, ironically, had his casket wrapped in Green-and-White- and-Green flag before his remains were committed to mother earth. It, therefore, follows that he could not possibly have handed a Biafra Actualization manual to anybody (Messrs Nnamdi Kanu and Ralph Uwazuruike inclusive) before his transition.

This, of course, explains in part why the present agitation could actually be described as a wrong-headed ‘advocacy’. The last time I checked, nobody has done a SWOT analysis of the Biafra so envisaged, no feasibility study and the agitators might actually not have had a mental photo of what Biafra (as a sovereign state) would look like economically, politically or socially. When they chant ‘All we are saying…give us Biafra’, in their mind’s eye, what they see only is a geographical Biafra of uncertainties, but with a belief that the emotional component of their agitation would not only translate their newfoundland into a nation boasting of territorial integrity, but also abundance of flowing milk and honey.

I have gone to this length to high- light factors that have worked independently to predispose IPOB to their current struggle. But much as I (a very proud Igboman no doubt) do not subscribe to the modus operandi of the present agitation, much as I do not even share in the philosophy (if any) behind it and much as I cannot bear the hate content of Radio Biafra, I make bold to wholeheartedly identify with the discontent of Ndigbo with the project called ‘Nigeria’ although I grant that the Igbo leadership and elite cannot be exculpated. Theirs (IPOB) might not have been the right or best approach, but truth be told, there certainly is a sense in Ndigbo demanding, within the ambit of the law, greater accommodation in the Great Nigeria House.

Federal government should not prevaricate over this issue before it gets out of hand. The authorities should quickly enter into a mutually rewarding dialogue with the agitators, and maybe this is the time for the Nigerian union to come to terms with the imperatives of a Marshall Plan for the South-East. It really is long overdue!
*Akamadu is a lawyer and public relations consultant