IPOB : Nigeria should learn from Biafra, Ohanaeze, Afenifere warn

Chieftains of pan-Igbo organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and its Yoruba counterpart, Afenifere, have cautioned Nigerians to learn from Biafra to avoid a repeat of the horrifying episode in the nation’s political history.
They condemned the killings, saying these have left many displaced, malnourished and degraded.
The umbrella socio-cultural organisations noted that similar situations are factors that led to the 30-month Civil War.
They spoke at the presentation of a book: Shadows of Biafra, by Uchenna Nwankwo, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on Victoria Island in Lagos.
Civil war hero and grand patron of Lagos Ohanaeze, Chief Guy Ikokwu, who represented the president general of the organisation, Chief Nnia Nwodo Jnr., noted that living participants of the Civil War from major and minority ethnic nationalities not only regretted their roles of “brigandage and folly”, but “now want a better Nigeria with equity and justice for all”.
He said: “Biafra was a lesson to Nigeria and the Black race. There were a lot of human errors which could have been avoided by Nigerians and Biafrans. Some of the participants and actors are dead.
“And in the last few years, militia Fulani herdsmen with AK-47 guns, some of whom are foreigners, roam agricultural settlements with reckless abandon, killing recklessly thousands every year and claiming land ownership in the Middle Belt and southern states of Nigeria.”
Afenifere chieftain, Chief Supo Shonibare, who called for true federalism that allows for collective leadership, said: “Uchenna Nwankwo is a timely material that forces us to revisit the lessons of Biafra.”
A 1992 presidential aspirant on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Uma Eleazu, who represented Falae, the chairman of the event, said: “We need to sit together to talk about and face our mistake.”
Other dignitaries at the event were former military governor of old Imo State and Lagos States as well as a chieftain of the defunct National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (retired), Senator Ebenezer Ikeyinwa, Niger Delta activist Fred Agbeyegbe, His Royal Majesty Uche Dimgba Ezeudo, former Head of Service (HOS) of Lagos State, Chief Abeke Taire and legal practitioner, Tochukwu Ezukanma.
Ikokwu condemned the mayhem by Boko Haram and militia herdsmen.
The Ohanaeze chief urged the government to take proactive measures to end the menace.
He cited the upgrade and modernisation of the livestock industry to the modern ranch similar to the livestock equivalents overseas as the solution to a better rewarding beef, dairy, hides and skin industry.
The Igbo leader noted that this would enrich the nation’s economy through job creation and taxation.