Biafra biafra : Fifty Years After

Tony Ademiluyi

January 15, which is in about 24 hours’ time, will mark the 50th year anniversary of the Nigerian Civil War which was fought between Nigerian forces and the secessionist Biafran side led by Lt-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The war was a very bloody one as about three million people reportedly lost their lives. The images of starving children which were beamed all over the world left a heart-wrenching image in the mind of Steve Jobs that he vowed never to be a Christian again as he questioned the logic of a good God who allowed his creatures to suffer in the most horrifying manner.

The subject of this war is a very controversial one as it brings back tragic memories and tears from even the stone-hearted. There have been different accounts about the war as a copious number of books have been written on the subject.

The remote cause of the war was the first military coup in the country which occurred on January 15, 1966 spearheaded by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu of the famous Five Majors. The then Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji (Sir) Ahmadu Bello, was murdered in his residence. The likes of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Premier of the Western region, and Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the finance minister, were killed in the most gruesome manner. Some top military officers were also sent to meet their Creator on that fateful day. Brigadier General Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, the Commander of the First Brigade in Kaduna, was killed alongside his pregnant wife; his deputy, Col. Shodeinde, was also murdered. Brigadier General Zakari Maimalari, the most senior northerner in the armed forces, was killed in Lagos. The only Igbo who lost his life was the then Quarter-Master General, Lt-Col Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe, who was dispatched to his ancestors because he refused to hand over the keys of the armoury to the coup plotters.

With the exception of Major Wale Ademoyega, the rest of the coup plotters were of Igbo extraction which made it to be tagged as an Igbo coup. This made anti-Igbo sentiments very high especially in the north as they lost their two major leaders in the persons of Bello and Balewa and many of the top brass of their military officers.

When Major General Thomas Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi came to power, many Nigerians especially the northerners, expected him to decisively punish the coup plotters for their heinous crimes. He didn’t do much and he further provoked Nigerians by making the nation a unitary one. There was the fear of Igbo domination as they commanded high heights in the army.

These fears led to the counter coup on July 29, 1966 when Ironsi and the then military governor of the western region, Lt-Col Francis Adekunle Fajuyi were killed. The coup was said to have been masterminded by the then Captain Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma.

The pogroms in the north began and the then Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu asked all Igbos living in the north to return home and he could no longer guarantee their safety there.

There was the personality and ego clash between Ojukwu and Gowon. The former said that the military hierarchy should be respected as Babafemi Ogundipe was the most senior military officer and as such should have been the Head of State and not Gowon. He therefore wouldn’t recognise him as his boss. Things came to a head and the then Ghanaian military Head of State, General Joseph Ankrah, invited both men to Aburi, Ghana for a peace meeting. In that historic meeting, Ojukwu canvassed that the best form of government for the country was a confederation which Gowon agreed to while there. When they returned to Nigeria, Gowon changed his mind and broke up the four regions into 12 states to weaken the powers of Ojukwu. This didn’t deter the son of Nigeria’s former wealthiest man from declaring a independent state of Biafra which led to the brutal 30-month war.

Ojukwu disappointed many of those who believed in his cause as he left them in the lurch when he and his family went into exile in Cote d’Ivoire leaving the rank and file who viewed him as a liberator to their fate.

The war was prosecuted without a single borrowing due to the sagacity of the then Federal Commissioner of Finance and Vice-Chairman of the Federal Executive Council, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was quoted to have said that ‘starvation is a legitimate weapon of warfare.’ There were blockades which prevented food and essential supplies from entering the war zone.

The war ended with a ‘No victors, no vanquished’ slogan by Gowon but it was all on paper as only 20 pounds was given to each bank account holder irrespective of the amount that they had in the bank.

The tribe lost out in the military and civil service and they only had commerce to take refuge in. There is hardly any government presence in the states as their roads are one of the worst in the country. Their cry of marginalisation is legitimate as they are agitating a better deal from the Nigerian state.

The Igbo presidency is the current hot potato which is dominating the discourse as the nation marches towards the 2023 elections. There is an unwritten rule of power rotation between the North and the South. The South-West and South-South have produced presidents and so in the interest of justice and fair play, the South-East should be supported to have a son or daughter of theirs to sit in Aso Rock. They have never produced a civilian president and so it is high time they were backed by the other zones to power.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, a proud son of theirs, was a key proponent for a United Nigeria. He ensured that the secession clause wasn’t inserted in the 1960 Independence Constitution and gave up his ambition to be the nation’s first Prime Minister for peace to reign. Also during the civil war, he later defected to the Nigerian side where he still preached his never changing gospel of a One Nigeria.

It is high time the Igbo were compensated for Azikiwe’s selflessness just like the Yoruba were compensated for Abiola’s political loss when democracy returned to the country in 1999.

Anything short of this will see their agitations spiral out of control which will be highly detrimental to national interest.

BIAFRA: 50 YEARS AFTER BLESS LAND

January 15 will mark the 50th year anniversary of the Nigerian civil war which was fought between the federal government and the secessionist Biafran side led by Lt-Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu. The war was a very bloody one as about one million people lost their lives. The images of starving children which was beamed all over the world left a heart-wrenching image in the mind of Steve Jobs that he vowed never to be a Christian again as he questioned the logic of a good God who allowed his creatures to suffer in the most horrifying manner.

The remote cause of the war was the first military coup in the country which occurred on January 15, 1966 spearheaded by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu of the famous five majors. The then Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was murdered in cold blood in his residence. The likes of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the then Prime Minister, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, the Premier of the Western region, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the finance minister were killed in the most gruesome manner.

Some top military officers were also killed on that fateful day. Brigadier-General Samuel Adesujo Ademulegun, the Commander of the first Brigade in Kaduna was killed alongside his pregnant wife, his deputy Colonel Shodeinde was also murdered. Brigadier-General Zakari Maimalari, the most senior northerner in the armed forces was killed in Lagos. The only Igbo military officer who lost his life was the then Quarter-Master General, Lt-Col Arthur Chinyelu Unegbe because he refused to hand over the keys of the armoury to the coup plotters.

With the exception of Major Wale Ademoyega, the rest of the coup plotters were Igbos which made it to be tagged an Igbo coup. This made anti-Igbo sentiments very high especially in the north.

When Major-General Thomas Johnson Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi came to power, many Nigerians especially the northerners expected him to decisively punish the coup plotters for their heinous crimes. He didn’t do

much and he further provoked Nigerians by making the nation a unitary state. There was the fear of Igbo domination. These fears led to the counter-coup on July 29, 1966 when Ironsi and the then military governor of the western region, Lt-Col Francis Adekunle Fajuyi were killed.

The pogroms in the north began and the then Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, Lt-Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu asked all Igbos living in the north to return home as he could not guarantee their safety there.

There was the personality and ego clash between Ojukwu and Gowon. The former said that the military hierarchy should be respected as Babafemi Ogundipe was the most senior military officer and as such should have been the Head of State and not Gowon. He therefore wouldn’t recognize him as his boss. Things came to a head and the then Ghanaian Military Head of State, General Joseph Ankrah invited both men to Aburi, Ghana for a peace meeting.

In that historic meeting, Ojukwu canvassed that the best form of government for the country was a Confederation which Gowon agreed to while there. When they returned home, Gowon changed his mind and broke up the four regions into 12 states to weaken the powers of Ojukwu. Ojukwu declared a Sovereign state of Biafra which led to the brutal 30 months war.

Ojukwu disappointed many of those who believed in his cause as he left them in the lurch when he and his family ran into exile in Cote d’Ivoire leaving the rank and file who viewed him as a demi-god to their fate.

The war was prosecuted without a single borrowing due to the sagacity of the then Federal Commissioner and Vice-Chairman of the Federal Executive Council, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He was quoted to have said that ‘starvation is a legitimate weapon of warfare.’ There were blockades which prevented food and essential supplies from entering the east.

The war ended with a ‘No victors, no vanquished’ slogan by Gowon but it was all on paper as only 20 pounds was given to them irrespective of the amount that they had in the bank.

They are the loudest voice in the cry for secession through the formation of the Movement for the Actualization for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Ralph Uwazurike and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu. The tribe lost out in the military and civil service and they only had commerce to take refuge in. There is hardly any government presence in their area. Their cry is legitimate as they are agitating for a better deal from the government.

Tony Ademiluyi, Lagos

BIAFRA : The long shadow of Biafra lingers over Nigeria

The Biafra War led to the deaths of at least 1-2 million people in just 30 months — many of them children. January 15 marks 50 years since the end of the brutal conflict. The consequences can still be felt today.



Uchenna Chikwendu rarely speaks about the Biafra War. The 67-year-old lives in Enugu, the provincial capital of the state of the same name in eastern Nigeria. She was a teenager during the civil war, which began in July 1967 and ended on January 15, 1970. But there's one thing she can't forget: "We had to trek so much because there were no vehicles then. If you had a car you had to [hide] it otherwise the army would take it from you." Any errands had to be done on foot: "We had to walk through narrow paths in the bush to go to the market. We left at around 3 a.m. so by around 5 a.m. we were in the markets. So we would shop quickly and then come back, hiding, so that they wouldn't see us."

Uchenna Chikwendu rarely speaks about her experiences during the Biafra War

Nigeria, a country made up of more than 250 ethnic groups, became independent of Great Britain in 1960. Even then, it had a population of more than 45 million, predominantly Hausa and Fulani in the north, Yoruba in the west and Igbos in the east. It wasn't long before the groups started to engage in a struggle for power and resources and other disagreements. Two coups took place in 1966: First, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi seized power after Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a Hausa, was killed by mutinous soldiers. Six months later, a counter-coup — often called the "July Rematch" — took place, involving mostly generals from the north. On May 30, 1967, the military governor of Nigeria's eastern region, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Okukwu, declared the region to be independent following violent ethnic riots.

Throughout Africa, the Igbos are known as traders

Nigeria remains a divided state

According to Eghosa Osahgae, a professor of comparative politics at the University of Ibadan, the reasons behind the war — between 500,000 and 3 million people are estimated to have been killed — have not changed to this day.

"People still think that the southeast continues to be to most marginalized, or the most powerless in that sense," Osahgae told DW when speaking about the consequences of Nigeria's internal divisions. In this sense, a clear identity and feeling of belonging can be established along this line. Uchenna Chikwendu, for example, feels no connection with the state of Nigeria. "I don't feel Nigerian at all," she told DW. "I feel happy I'm an Igbo. But as a Nigerian, no. There is no Nigeria, to me. I have nothing to be proud of as a Nigerian."

At the same time, millions of people remain extremely mobile. This is largely due to the need for trade, which the war failed to stop. Many Hausa people live around Ogui Road in Enugu. Their sarki — their king — is Abubakar Yussuf Sambo — whose family arrived in Enugu from Adamawa about a hundred years ago.

"After the war, many people came back quickly from the north, just as the Igbos went back north," he said. Even on a personal level, he never experienced resentment because he was Hausa: "All my life I've been in Enugu state here. This is my community, this is where I grew up, this is where I got my education. I have more of the Igbo community as friends than I know in my state of Adamawa. I feel comfortable here."

The struggle for access to resources

Domestic politics in Nigeria also remain sensitive." Among other things, it was the question of the balance of power which led to the civil war," said Osaghaw. "Right now, this has intensified. The civil war has continued to shape relations within Nigeria."

This is most clear when it comes to certain authority figures being awarded high political positions. Last year, President Muhammadu Buhariwas accused of favoring the north. The major parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) usually make sure to select presidential candidates so that the two options represent both the north and the south — and therefore also Islam and Christianity.

In Nigeria, the question of identity and belonging is still a common one — even when it comes to beer

And yet, some elements of Nigerian society have still been left out. In the former region of Biafra, for example, many have criticized the fact that the country has still never had an Igbo president. Many people here still feel marginalized, giving a boost to independence advocates. Movements such as the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), for example, are able to find supporters more easily — although their agitation for action has waned ever since a court in Abuja declared the IPOB a terrorist movement in September 2017.

Read more: Biafra: Dreaming of a new state

Perception versus reality

But the statistics paint a different picture: In the 2015 national development index for example — the latest available edition — the geopolitical eastern and southern parts of the country are further ahead in terms of education, gender equality and poverty reduction compared to the north. Osaghae says this is often where perception and reality drift apart: "Many people from the southeast do not know the north at all. In their opinion, the north still gets the lion's share of the resources." The main point of contention — as it was before the war — is the oil which comes from the southeast.

The war has only has a limited influence on Nigeria's foreign policy today. Biafra has only been recognized by a handful of countries, including Tanzania, Gabon and Ivory Coast. The Vatican also lent its support. Numerous Christian aid organizations, including Caritas International and the Germany-based Diakonisches Werk, carried out airlifts to deliver supplies to the starving population of Biafra at the height of the conflict.

An aircraft used in the Biafra war is on display in the war museum in Umuahia

"The American government was trying to mediate between Nigeria and the pope at the end of the war in January 1970," Nicholas Omenka, a Catholic priest and history professor at the University of Abia State, told DW. "So, the antagonism lasted just briefly. The Vatican and the Church were the very first people who helped rebuild Nigeria."

New allies

Nevertheless, the Biafra crisis also led to new international alliances. During the Cold War, Great Britain and the Soviet Union jointly supported Nigeria. "The civil war made it possible for Nigeria to look towards Russia and the Eastern Block for arms," says Osaghae. An alliance which has lasted to this day: "When Boko Haram came and it was getting difficult to get arms from the usual allies, a repeat of the civil war was about to happen."

BIAFRA : Timeline Biafra War In Key Dates

It’s 50 years since the Nigerian civil war ended but the scars have endured. Here is a timeline of how the war started and major events since the shots were called off at Dodan Barracks.

 

January 15, 1966: A group of army majors, led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and Emmanuel Ifeajuna, execute Nigeria’s first military coup which ended the First Republic.

Most of the coup plotters were Igbo and a number of those killed – including Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa – were northerners.

The coup plotters attacked three cities – Lagos, Kaduna, and Ibadan – and said their stated objective was to cleanse the country of corruption.

In this file photograph taken on November 1, 1967, Biafran prisoners and civilians wait at the federal camp of Nakurdi, a converted outdoor movie theatre in Enugu, after fighting between Nigerian federal army troops and the Biafran rebels, during the Biafran war. Colin HAYNES / AFP

 

January 16, 1966: Head of the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, is declared Head of State. Although Aguiyi-Ironsi had aided in coup suppression efforts, that he was Igbo stoked northern sentiments that the coup was intended to wipe out the North’s political powers.

January 17, 1966: Aguiyi-Ironsi appoints Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu as Military Governor of the Eastern Region.

In this file photograph taken on August 16, 1967, Colonel Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu, the leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra, stands in front of a Biafra flag as he addresses a press conference in Enugu. AFP

 

July 29, 1966: A few months after the first coup, northern soldiers stage a counter-coup, killing Aguiyi-Ironsi and many other high-ranking Eastern officers. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s death led to the emergence of Yakubu Gowon as Head of State.

September 29, 1966: The northern coup further inflamed anti-Igbo sentiments in the North. From May to September 1966, observers estimated that between 3,000 and 30,000 Igbos were slaughtered and another 150,000 – 300,000 fled to southern and eastern regions.

n this file photograph taken on July 24, 1967, European families wait for their evacuation by boat, in Port Harcourt, during the Biafran war. Colin HAYNES / AFP

 

January 1967: Nigerian military leaders famously meet in Aburi, Ghana, to resolve the complications and disaffections created by the two coups. 

May 27, 1967: Gowon declares the division of Nigeria in 12 states, which includes splitting the Eastern Region into three parts.

May 30, 1967: Ojukwu declared the independence of the Republic of Biafra, after an official vote of secession had taken place in the eastern region.

n this file photograph taken on November 13, 1967, a Nigerian federal army soldier points to a sign in Calabar, the oldest port on the West African coast, after the federal troops took the city from the Biafran rebellion, during the Biafran war. Colin HAYNES / AFP

 

June 1967: After Ojukwu’s declaration, Nigeria’s military government places an embargo on the shipping of goods to and from Biafra, excluding oil tankers. 

In this file photograph taken on October 28, 1967, Nigerian federal army soldiers survey a police checkpoint on the west bank of the Niger River at Asaba, from where they launched an amphibian offensive on Biafra, during the Biafran war. Colin HAYNES / AFP

 

July 6, 1967: Five weeks after Ojukwu declared the Republic of Biafra as an independent state, the Nigerian-Biafra war begins.

The initial attack by the Nigerians included two advancing columns, one of which captured the Biafran town of Nsukka on July 14 and the other which took the Biafran town of Garkem on July 12. However, the Biafran retaliation was strong and moved rapidly across the Niger River, through Benin City, and to the town of Ore, 130 miles east of the Nigerian capital of Lagos. where they were eventually stopped on August 21.

In this file photograph taken on August 31, 1968, a pair of child soldiers of the Biafran army, Moise, 14 (L) and Ferdinand, 16 (R) speak in Umuahia as the Nigerian federal troops continue their advance during the Biafran war. Francois Mazure / AFP

 

January 1968: After nearly six months of war, the Nigerian military had surrounded Biafra and cut off the majority of their supply lines, but the Biafrans continued to resist surrender and kept on fighting.

January 29, 1968: Biafra introduces its first Biafran currency.

In this file photograph taken on March 31, 1968, The Onitsha bridge, one of the most important communication pathways of West Africa, is destroyed by the Biafran Forces, on the Niger River at Onitsha in south-eastern Nigeria. Colin HAYNES / AFP

 

March 27, 1968: First airlift into the city of Port Harcourt, organised by Father Anthony Byrne, who also managed the Catholic relief operations in Biafra.

June 26, 1968: The government of the Republic of Biafra releases a “Charge to Humanity” statement outlining the deteriorating situation in Biafra and calling for foreign support.

In this file photograph taken on August 17, 1967, young militia women of the civil defence parade during military training in Enugu, capital of the new Republic of Biafra, during the Biafran war. AFP

 

July 12, 1968: Biafran children appear on the cover of Life Magazine with headline “Starving Children of Biafra War”

May 1969: Biafrans commence land offensive reinforced by foreign mercenary pilots, attacking military airfields in Enugu, Port Harcourt, Ughelli, and Benin City.

June 5, 1969: A Red Cross plane is downed while delivering relief supplies to Biafra. As a result, the Red Cross ceases air deliveries of aid.

June 30, 1969: Nigeria bans International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aid to Biafra; the American Jewish Emergency Effort for Biafran Relief has raised a total of $185,000.

In this file photograph taken on August 28, 1968, civilians flee Aba to go to Umuahia, the new capital of the Re

public of Biafra, as the Nigerian federal troops advance toward the city during the Biafran war. Francois  / AFP

 

January 7, 1970: Nigerian forces launch its offensive “Operation Tail-Wind,” which successfully conquers Owerri and Uli within 5 days.

January 15, 1970: Official surrender papers signed by Biafran General Philip Effiong, deputy to Ojukwu who had fled to the Ivory Coast a few days earlier.

July 1985: National War Museum is established in Umuahia, Nigeria.

In this file photograph taken on May 26, 2017, shows the NSS BONNY on display at the War Museum in Umuahia, in south-eastern Nigeria. STEFAN HEUNIS / AFP

 

1999: Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) is founded by Indian-trained lawyer, Ralph Uwazuruike.

In this file photograph taken on May 28, 2017, supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) march through the Osusu district in Aba. STEFAN HEUNIS / AFP

 

September 2006: Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun is published.

November 26, 2011: Ojukwu dies in the United Kingdom after a brief illness,

In this file photograph taken on March 2, 2012, a soldier salutes after arranging the boots and cap on the casket of Nigeria’s secessionist leader Odumegwu Ojukwu during his funeral at his native Nnewi country home in Anambra State eastern Nigeria. Pius Utomi EKPEI / AFP

 

2012: The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is founded by Nnamdi Kanu. The group’s stated aim is to restore an independent state of Biafra through a referendum.

September 2017: A federal court in Abuja declares IPOB activities as ‘Acts of Terrorism’ just a week after the federal government declared the group as a militant terrorist organisation.

BIAFRA : Wike speaks for Nigerian soldiers

Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has called for the institution of a reward system to encourage soldiers to put in their best for Nigeria.

He made the call during an inter-denominational Church Service marking the 2020 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church, Rumuepirikom on Sunday.

The Governor, who urged members of the armed forces to be professional, praised them for the roles they have played in preserving the unity of the country.

“But for them, kidnappers, cultists, insurgents and armed robbers would have taken over the country.

“I urge members of the Armed Forces to choose the right path in the interest of the country,’’ NAN quoted him as saying.

In a sermon, Venerable Samuel Chimele, called on soldiers to be professional in the discharge of their duties to the nation.

“As we remember our fallen heroes, be professional. There are temptations to the military to be unprofessional, but strive to be professional,’’ he said.

He said that soldiers who engage in unprofessional acts will go unrecognised in the long run, even when they enjoy earthly promotion.

Chimele also warned soldiers against misuse of power against national interest, in the sermon with the theme, “Faithfulness in Service: The Hallmark of a True Soldier’’.

BIAFRA : ACF to Igbo: Pick Biafra or 2023 Presidency

Chief Nnia Nwodo, President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo   Nigeria’s Igbo ethnic group in the five states constituting the South East zone, has been asked to make a choice between having Biafra Republic or Nigerian presidency in 2023.

In a trending commentary, Anthony Sani, secretary-general of the influential Northern Nigeria Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) asked the Igbo to make the choice, saying the rest of Nigerians would be too scared to entrust the Igbo with the presidency in 2023 if “they are seen to also be agitating for secession from the federation”

Sani was reacting to a debate stirred by an interview granted by Malam Isa Funtua, a member of the Buhari inner circle to Arise TV. Funtua advised the Igbo to stop politics of exclusion and reach out to other ethnic blocs.

“If the Igbo want to be President, then they must belong. If you don’t belong, then you can’t be the President,” Funtua said.

Weighing in on the controversy, Sani described the Igbo as suffering from “superiority and inferiority complexes” simultaneously, accusing them of playing both victim and also having a sense of entitlement.

Read Sani’s intervention:

“When I read a letter by one Frederick Nwabufo on page 18 of The Nation newspaper under the caption “Isa Funtua, Igbo and 2023 presidency” in which the author berated Isa Funtua of being an arrogant man who suffers from a sense of entitlement, I wonder the wisdom,” Sani said.

“As far as I am concerned, it is Igbo who is obsessed with a sense of entitlement by their insistence that it is their turn to produce the president in a country which boasts of over 250 ethnic nationalities. Igbos suffer from both superiority and inferiority complexes.

“At one point, they tout their superiority by claiming to be over and above any other nationality in Nigeria because they are better at the use of their superior commercial acumen for trade.

“At another, they play the victim by crying of marginalization the most. Power in a multi-party democracy is never secured through threats and intimidation, nor is it obtained by jeremiads out of pity.

“This is because democracy is a contest of ideas and reason and is never a bullfight.

“Igbos cannot agitate for separation and hanker for president by still expecting the country would not be scared of voting them for the presidency.

“Igbos may wish to recall that Senator McCain lost the elections because he had [Mrs Palin] who was governor of the state of Alaska. This was also because her husband was accused of attending a meeting of separatists who wish the state of Alaska to leave [the] USA and join Russia.

“I do not see how somebody from Scotland, Catalan, Quebec, Aceh or Xinjiang could dream of being voted president of their countries. Reason: Such a person would most likely play Gorbachev.

“So when Isa Funtua says Igbo should belong, he meant “belong to where the majority [is]”. That is to say, Igbo must develop their winning game plan by reaching out to build bridges and break barriers.

“The North does not comprise the caliphate alone but is very diverse. In fact, the caliphate today is not ruled by the ruling party.”