Biafra Agitation and Mischaracterisation of Ndigbo

Nnia Nwodo

The current mischaracterisation of the Igbo ahead of next elections must be cleared. Law Mefor writes

i was on the Arise TV where he also reiterated that it was the turn of Ndigbo. The elder statesman, however, warned against the Biafra agitation and polemics of a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, which he said was not helping the Igbo course.

“I want to say that our compatriots from the South East should wake up and realise that Nnamdi Kanu will not be the type of people, who will take the presidency to the South East.” He reasoned that Ndigbo must appeal to, not insult their sensibilities, to have their trust.

While Pa Yakasai and several others have been quite mature and responsible in putting their concerns across, there are many, who are so illogical and insensitive in aggressively pushing the narrative that Ndigbo cannot be asking for the presidency and Biafra at the same time. Some even equate Igbo presidency to breakup of Nigeria. This is as untrue as it is blackmailing.

It is a gross misrepresentation of the thinking of Ndigbo. While Nnamdi Kanu and his disciples might be more vociferous in marketing their belief, they do not represent the true stand of the greater number of Ndigbo and Igbo intelligentsia, which is captured in the “Awka Declaration” in May 2018.

That summit was attended by both the ordinary men and the cream of Igbo leadership, including the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo; Deputy President of the senate and highest Igbo political office holder at the time, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

There were governors of South East states, including the host Governor, Chief Wille Obiano; Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu who chaired the event; Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezife; Chief Guy Ikokwu, former Ohanaeze Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, representatives of the National Assembly like Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Victor Umeh and Sam Daddy Anyanwu, among others.

Also there were speakers of South East State Assemblies and wife of the late Biafran warlord, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, and of course, former Central Bank Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who read out the Igbo position.
Presenting a 10-point demand of Ndigbo, Soludo explained that the positions presented for adoption by the 100-man committee were distilled from accumulated years of work on the subject by successive regimes of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, submissions of the Igbo Leaders of Thought for the 2014 National Conference, 1994 constitutional conference and 2005 and 2014 national conferences.

It is heartwarming that the quest for a Nigerian President of Igbo and South East extraction is gaining traction across regional, ethnic, religious and political divides. The show of good faith by prominent politicians, elder statesmen, and ordinary Nigerians alike, rekindles the hope that a greater and more equitable Nigeria is feasible in our lifetime.

In January this year, elder statesman and political veteran, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said: “Nigeria had three major blocks. Two of these three, namely, the North and the West have had the opportunity of producing the President. Therefore, the Igbo have a good argument because out of the three siblings, two have already succeeded at producing the President, but the Igbo have not.

“I for one – I am in support of it. I did it before in the era of NPN (National Party of Nigeria), when we had the arrangement that the next president after late President Shehu Shagari would come from the East. We would have settled this problem long ago if not for the military intervention.”

Only last Tuesday, August 4, 2020, Yakasai was on the Arise TV where he also reiterated that it was the turn of Ndigbo. The elder