Calls for the rebirth of the defunct Republic of Biafra have been
increasingly heard on the streets of Nigeria in recent times. Following the reunification of Nigeria and
Biafra in 1970, the world looked forward to a new Nigeria without the ethnic-tinged
political injustices that had alienated one of the most important ethnicities
in Nigeria – the Igbos and their near-kins – to the point of seeking a country
of their own by force in 1967.
But soon enough, it became clear that, rather
than do the sensible thing, some successive Nigerian regimes have used unitary
tactics to further alienate the Biafrans that inhabit Nigeria’s oil belt. While
some previous regimes had made-pretend that this was not the case, the current
regime that came to power some four years ago has made no secret of its disdain
for the former Biafrans.
