BIAFRA : Nigeria will never allow an Igbo presidency, because of Biafra war experience – Col Emma Nworah Nwobosi

EARN BIG MONEY TODAY $1000

In a matter of weeks, Col Emma Nworah Nwobosi would turn 82. He participated in the January 15, 1966 coup, which was the first of its kind in Nigeria. He led soldiers to fight in different battlefields in defence of the then young republic called Biafra and later became the chief of staff to Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. In this interview with EZIOMUME SOLOMON, Nwobosi, who also holds the prestigious title of Ogene Obosi kingdom in Idemili North local government area of Anambra state, speaks on the coup, the war and the present day Nigeria.

What was the reason behind the 1966 coup?

It happened because, things were going haywire in Nigeria. So, we, the young officers in the army were not happy that things were not going well. The then civilian government in Nigeria led by Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, as Prime Minister, was not in control of the affairs of the country because, he had a bigger boss called Sir Ahmadu Bello, who was at the time, the Premier of Northern Nigeria. About 95% of problems of Nigeria as at that time, did not emanate from the Prime Minister, who was supposed to be in charge of the country but from a regional premier, who had all the powers, and these powers he had were not constitutional; he arrogated them to himself, because, he was the leader of the Northern Peoples Congress, NPC, where Tafawa Balewa belonged. We were the middle cadre in the military then, and we saw the unpleasant way things were going in the country, and we couldn’t stomach them anymore.

Among those of us who were not happy was Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. He got that name Kaduna because, he was born in Kaduna. Nzeogwu took over from a British, who was in charge of the country’s intelligence unit in Lagos, the then capital of Nigeria. Nzeogwu uncovered a number of things that were going wrong in Nigeria; and, as a military man, he had to report to his boss, the Prime Minister. But as I told you earlier, the Prime Minister was not in charge. He was a “Yes Sir” man. Later, Nzeogwu was transferred from Military Intelligence to Kaduna; where he became the Commandant of the Nigerian Military College.

I got to know Nzeogwu during our days at St. John’s College, Kaduna. He was my senior then. I and some other officers, as well as Nzeogwu were having spare times to talk about the unfolding events in Nigeria then. Everybody started getting dissatisfied with the events in Nigeria. That was when we started thinking of changing the government. Some of us in the North were talking about executing the coup; some were discussing about it in Ibadan, some in Lagos and others in Enugu, where we had military outfits in the country then. That was how the thought of the first military coup was conceived.

Some Nigerians tagged it Igbo coup. How true is that?

Different ethnic groups joined in the first military coup. There were Igbo people, there were Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, among others.

How did you find yourself in the battlefield?

I was called upon by our Head of State, Lt. Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, to command an artillery. Though, the most senior officer then that should have done that was Alexander Madueboh. He was my boss at the Nigerian army; but in Biafra, he was assigned to a brigade. So, I was given the mandate to set up artillery, so, I moved to Okigwe, where I assembled old artillery officers and we started training. We were issued combat weapons. We were, however, disappointed not getting the kind of weapon we expected for the war, but Ojukwu encouraged us to move on with what we had. We later moved from Okigwe to Hilltop. There was a secondary school there. Already, Major Tim Onwuatuegwu was situated there with his own men. So, we shared that college premises and dormitory. Later on, I was directed to move my men to Nsukka front, beyond the University campus, in Enugu state. As at then, the war had broken out proper.

Could you recall the deadliest battle you fought?

The deadliest battle I fought was in Obolo-Afo in Enugu state. We lost men and had a lot of casualties. It was in that battle that I sustained a life-threatening injury. I never knew I would survive the wound. Shell bomb struck me, broke my ribs and my spinal cord. When it hit me, I had a blackout. I thought I was gone. Biafra soldiers carried me shoulder high to our Brigade headquarters in Ukehe, Enugu state, and later to Enugu township, where I received emergency treatment in our hospital. My partner, a young soldier, who used to sit around me and run errands for me, was killed by the shell. It was when I became conscious in the hospital that I was told that the shelling that hit me also shattered him.

Beside the young officer killed by the shelling, which other comrades did you lose during the war?

They were so many, but I will mention only one or two. One was Major Tim Onwuatuegwu. By the time Timothy died, the war had ended, and the story was that he was walking to get out of Biafra into Cameroon. So, in Abakaliki, a Nigerian soldier recognised him, and he was arrested, taken to Enugu. They were planning to take him to Lagos before he died. Nobody knew the circumstances that led to his death. He might have been killed by the Nigerian soldiers, he might, as well, have killed himself.

Another prominent soldier was Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu. Nzeogwu was with me at Nsukka front. Those days, he did a lot of successful exploits. He would go into Nsukka with a number of soldiers, armed with guns and hand grenades. There was a popular hotel where Nigerian soldiers and their women enjoyed themselves in the night hours. Nzeogwu and his soldiers would sneak into that vicinity at night, and would attack the soldiers using hand grenade and guns, and majority of them would be killed. They were doing this successfully over and over; but it happened that during one of such expeditions, Nzeogwu took with him one Thomas Digger (who was Ojukwu’s half brother) and a number of other soldiers. When they finished their regular attack, and were going back to their base, some Nigerian soldiers laid ambush and shot them. It was when they checked on the soldiers they shot that they discovered that Nzeogwu was among. They mourned him, took his body to Kaduna, where they gave him state burial because, he was not only a prominent person in the Nigerian army, he was also a very likeable soldier. The heroic burial they gave him might be a propaganda because, when we were busy denying that Nzeogwu was not killed, they were busy giving him hero’s burial in the middle of the war; maybe, to let the world know about his demise.

What were some of the major challenges Biafran soldiers encountered fighting the war?

Two major challenges were lack of weapons and lack of food. Biafra soldiers were very dedicated towards defending the young republic, and our propaganda worked very well for us, but then, we had the disadvantage of not having sophisticated weapons. We had no mortars, we had no anti-tank weapons. The Nigerian soldiers had all these. Whenever they started raining their weapons, we were nowhere to reply them. The Nigerian army was using AK47, but Biafran soldiers were using close combat. If you had AK47, you could fire an enemy a far distance from you as long as you can see him, and the velocity of the gun will hit and kill the enemy but you use close combat for an enemy at a very close range. If you shoot an enemy a far distance away, by the time it hit the enemy, it would only scratch his body. We had the disadvantage of fighting an enemy who had armoured vehicles.

So, along the line, we started using our own initiative to get weapons. For instance, whenever we knew that an armoured vehicle of the Nigerian army was to pass through a particular road, we would set a trap on the road by digging a very big hole, and set an ambush with soldiers. So, as soon as an armoured vehicle passed through the road, it would sink. The armoured vehicle would not be able to turn the torrents. We would shoot the enemy and give them a close battle. Then, we would pool the vehicle out, our engineers would fix it for our own use. That was how we got a number of armoured vehicles we used in Biafra.

During the war, some humanitarian organisations such as Red Cross, Caritas International, the Presbyterians, among others, flew relief materials into Biafra, and they were mainly for Kwashiorkor children. Ojukwu set up what we called Biafra Land Army, and the aim was to help boost agricultural production, but due to the war going on everywhere, attention was not given to farming. The relief materials helped us, but did not go a long way. So, hunger also disturbed soldiers who fought the war.

How did the Nigerian government treat people like you, who fought on the side of Biafra during the war?

Immediately after the war, I proceeded on a 14-year self-imposed exile. But my colleagues, who took part in executing the coup and fighting the war, were put into detention. My friend in the army, Col Achuzie, was not part of the coup but he fought the war with us on the side of Biafra. Achuzie and one Major Shedrack, who was in the military police then, were put in detention for seven years over what the then military government of Gowon called “Sadistic behavior”. However, there were few Igbo or rather, southerners who were later re-absorbed into the Nigerian army.

Did the Nigerian government pay some of you who fought on the Biafran side, your entitlements?

We received our entitlements. Even when we were in detention after executing the coup, we were pleasantly surprised that our salaries were still running. We were able to receive our salaries while in detention. I remember while we were moved from Kirikiri Prison to Enugu Prison, and later to Owerri Prison; we found out that our salaries were running, and with the help of Prison Superintendents, your account could be transferred anywhere. So that once in a while, one would write a cheque of items he needed and they would be supplied to him. Even in Owerri Prison, I once wrote a cheque through my account, and a football was bought for me, so that we were able to play football while in detention.

Fifty years after the civil war, do you think that Nigerians have been able to address the problem that led to the war?

I would have loved that you rephrased that question to read: After 50 years, how much backwards has Nigeria moved? This is because, we cannot talk about Nigeria moving forward. The country never moved forward since then. In fact, if the country had stood still – marking time, it would have been better for it than the condition we find ourselves as Nigerians. We have gone terribly backwards after the war. Our status as a country is nothing to write home about. Things have so degenerated that sometimes, one would feel ashamed saying that he is a Nigerian. Look at current appointments in Nigeria, from the beginning to the end, they are all northern Muslims. I was laughing when I heard our people saying and believing that in 2023 an Igbo man will be made president. When a president in power does not allow you to hold the post of a messenger, then, you believe that in 2023, he will make you president. Sometimes, I do not like discussing the affairs of this country, because, they make me feel sick in the stomach.

When we did the coup in 1966, they were saying it was Igbo coup, when they saw Yoruba Major, Hausa and others who participated. When we executed the coup, I had a Lieutenant officer from Urobo, who was part of it. Nigerians wouldn’t accept or tell anybody what caused the coup and the civil war; they would only say it’s an Igbo coup.

Considering unfolding events in Nigeria, and having witnessed the war, would you still subscribe to the clamour by IPOB and MASSOB for the South East to break away from Nigeria?

Of course, I do. From the way people of the south east are being treated in the present day Nigeria, it becomes evident that we are rejected, and, as Igbo adage would say, a rejected man does not reject himself. We cannot reject ourselves. We should rather work hard to achieve our own independence. I did the coup, I fought the war; I also want to see Biafra realised. This agitation led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a step in the right direction. He needs to be supported. I just wish our people would be focussed enough to speak with one voice; not this person saying this today; and tomorrow, another person will start saying a different thing.

What is your view on the influx of herdsmen and Almajiri into the Southern Nigeria?

Whoever sees what is happening and says he is seeking an advice just wants to know whatever somebody would say. You’re in your house and, suddenly, a stranger enters and starts behaving strangely and starts killing people. We see pictures and videos of Fulani people coming into Nigeria through a border that is very porous; this is a Nigeria that is supposed to give visa to all those coming into it, as done by other countries; but Nigeria makes its own in such a way that there are people who will come in with visa and there are others, who will just walk in. What type of country is that? My advice is that people of the south east should put their house in order, gird their loins, and should be able to defend themselves.

What is the hope of Nigeria having a president of Igbo extraction in 2023?

As far as I am concerned, and considering how things are moving presently, there is no hope for Nigeria having a president of Igbo extraction in a foreseeable future. Anybody promising president of Igbo extraction in 2023 is making jest of the people of the South East. You must count one before you count two. How could a people, who hate you so passionately today that they find it difficult giving you post of a messenger will come out the next day to give you presidency. How could that happen? My 82-year-old gray hair cannot deceive me. If at my age, I will still discuss or believe that kind of talk, I must be a foolish man. An average Fulani Muslim will only tell you what you will like to hear at any point in time in order to deceive you and hold firm to power; and it is left for people with shallow mentality to believe. I am not being pessimistic; but as far as 2023 is concerned, Igbo presidency is elusive.

How much do you participate in the Nigerian politics?

I have never been enthusiastic about playing politics in Nigeria. I remember when I returned from exile, Ojukwu, had already returned and the Nigerian government promised him heaven and earth, called on me to join him in Enugu. And because I worked well with him during the war, I accepted, but when he told me about going into active politics with him, I refused, because, he knew already I never liked politics. I like to follow politics but I don’t like to play it.

Ojukwu was active in politics. I worked with him as his chief of staff, and as his chief of staff, I would do everything to help him organise his office and his activities, but never for him to expect me to join him in playing politics. So, we had that understanding, because, politics is never in my gene.

BIAFRA : Why we lost Biafra war –Colonel Moughalu (rtd), Anambra monarch

Obinna Odogwu, Awka

EARN $1000 IN YOUR HOME

The traditional ruler of Isuofia community in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Colonel Christopher Muoghalu (rtd) has given an insight into why Nigeria’s problems are still persisting despite all efforts made by the Federal Government.

The monarch, who was deputy defence adviser to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, United States, from 1976 to 1978, experienced the pre- and post-independence Nigeria. 

In this interview with Sunday Sun, he also spoke on other issues of national concern. Excerpts: 

You literally had a taste of pre-independence Nigeria and the country during its formative years and can comfortably compare notes with what we have now. Looking at the country our founding fathers left for the generations that came after them, do you think the country has progressed or retrogressed?

This is a very good question because considering my age and situation; it will seem that I am the bridge between the old and new. I saw pre-independence situation in Nigeria. I participated actively during independence. I was already in the army by that time and I had reached a certain level. You asked about the Nigeria of today and those years. Yes! We have a lot of tall buildings, big cars and all that today; but the question one may also ask is, are we happier today? My resounding answer is no. That is the truth of the matter. This is because I saw it all. I saw pre-independence Nigeria up to 1966 and I also live in the post-independence Nigeria, which is today. You may have skyscrapers everywhere today, but like l asked earlier, are we happier now than then? My answer is no. Nigeria used to be a destination for all people. In those days, you may be Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba. We just used the three to define where someone comes from; not what it is today. Even, in those days, you know Igbo people are good travellers. They went to the North, West; they belong to everywhere. Today, they are accused of being overtly ambitious and whatever. That’s most unfortunate. I am an Igbo man. I know we are not angels as such, but we are not the devil all parts of Nigeria are painting the Igbo today. We are a people that go to a place and make that place our home; develop it and after developing it jealousy comes in. And people think that you are doing this or that. Tell me, you are a young man, you know that there are Hausa people here. They make millions of naira on a daily basis from here. But show me one place that an Hausa man has a building in the East or even a Yoruba man. Do they even hire a house to live in? They won’t do that. All the money they make is transported back to their place and we are the ones feeding them. If you know the number of cows killed in Anambra State everyday you will shudder. And at present, no cow is below N150,000? Bigger cows are sold from N200,000 and above. So, you ask me if we are happier today than then? We are very unhappy today than then because I saw the thing. I saw the two situations.

From the picture you painted, it’s obvious things are very bad now compared to the past…?

(Cuts in) It is much worse.

Why is it so? Where did we get it wrong?

The truth of the matter is that, in my opinion, if you don’t put a square peg in a square hole it won’t work. At independence, the colonial masters did what they did and produced the first Prime Minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. But to tell you something, Balewa was not the leader of NPC. You know, for somebody to come and take up that position in government, it is the person that is leading that NPC. Ahmadu Bello was at the head of the NPC. So, he took Nigeria as his garden and told one of his lieutenants, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, to go and ‘mind those people. I know where the real thing is’, which is their place in the North. So, Abubakar was a very nice man; gentle. But in governance, nice and gentility are not the most required attributes to move a people forward. A lot of things didn’t go as they should. Those who fought for independence were shoved aside and those who didn’t know anything about governance were put in the forefront. And that thing has continued until today. That is what is happening. We don’t have a square peg in a square hole.

Are you saying our colonial masters laid a bad foundation for this country; that they are responsible for the myriads of leadership problems we have today?

Yes! They are the cause of our problem. The colonial masters took the North as their darling; they didn’t argue; they didn’t bother them; they didn’t squeeze them to get independence. Awolowo and Zik that struggled for these things were shoved aside. That is the thing because if you fight for something, you will value it more and handle it better. Anything you get on a platter of gold is usually not very much valued by the person because he doesn’t know what it takes to get there. That’s what happened. The British did Nigeria in.

You fought in the Nigeria/Biafra war. What was the experience for you during that bloody battle that lasted for about three years?

I fought in the Nigeria/Biafra war. I was there at the Defence School. I was already in the army. I joined the army in 1955 and went to Zaria for initial military training; concluded the continuation training at 1 Battalion in Kaduna which is now 1 Division. During the war, I can tell you that the British, the French and the Russians, among others, joined Nigeria to undo the East. Despite that, those forces that fought against us realized that they met some determined people in the battlefield. Biafrans were not defeated in the battlefield as such. Hunger defeated Biafra, which was sponsored by Britain, among others. Well, your generation didn’t see the war. I don’t know whether you are familiar with any history book about the war. Biafra gave their best in that war. And had Nigeria emulated what white people do during battles, Nigeria would have been a different place today in terms of development and progress. During the Second World War that started in 1939 and ended in 1945, at the end of the war, both Russia and the West led by America were all rushing to be the one to enter Germany first. Do you know what they tried to do? Not to subdue Germany because Germany had been bombed to standstill. They were looking for their scientists. The ones America got they took them back to their country and you can see where it had led them. The ones that Russia got they took them back and gave them all the privileges to make them comfortable. But at the end of the Nigeria/Biafra war, without anything, without any external support, Biafra gave their bests through ingenuity and inventiveness. You may have heard of what they called Ogbunigwe. Let’s not dwell on this so much because it’s like crying over spilled milk. Nigeria didn’t want to develop that is why they didn’t hold on to Biafran scientists to help them motivate the military today. Today, everything we use in the army is still being imported. We started with countries like India, Malaysia, Pakistan, among others. All those countries are nuclear powers today. Nigeria can’t even generate its own electricity despite its wealth.

What, in your view, should the young people today learn from the Nigeria/Biafra war experience? Even though they didn’t witness it, many of them might have heard stories or read texts about it. How do you expect them to move forward to make Igbo land better?

What I expect them to do is not to sound the gong of war again. This is because if a war is fought on anybody’s territory, it does so much. Even if you win, you have lost because in war all manner of things happen. If you knew how the East was before the war, you will be surprised. These are very industrious people, very determined people. I don’t know whether those attributes are still there. Well, they are still there; perhaps, latent. But they are still there all the same. So, what I am saying is that young people should embrace education, information, motivation, among other attributes that can make a people move forward. If Biafra is the best solution to our problem now, this is because, if you want Biafra to be viable, it has to encompass a number of territories that started initially as Biafra. Like the whole of Cross River State, the whole of Rivers State and others, but today, even those that are Igbo agreed for their names to be changed because they felt that Biafra had been beaten and, therefore, there is no need associating with a loser. But that was a myopic way of looking at the whole thing. The downfall of a man is not the loss of his life. I don’t know whether it was Awolowo or some other eminent persons that said that there is nothing wrong with falling, but there is everything wrong in falling and remaining prostrate; that is, remaining on the ground after falling. When you fall, you should get up again and move on.

I don’t know if you had personal encounter with the Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, during that war. Did you?

I won’t tell you that I had encounter with Ojukwu during that war. I had personal encounter with him when there was no war. We met on a couple of occasions. That was before the war.

What did he tell you during those periods you met before the war? What were your interactions with him?

Ojukwu was a very highly focused and determined individual. If you remember, he was in Kano during the coup and Ojukwu was a Nigerian to the core. If he had wanted, he could have made those boys to subdue the North, but like earlier generations that fought for Nigeria’s independence, he thought that Nigeria was retrievable. He was a Nigerian to the core, but today what everybody remembers him about is Biafra. Biafra came about as a result of the first law of nature, which is self-preservation. If you knew what happened in Nigeria in the mid-60s, what the Nigeria army did to anybody of Igbo stock, including men, women, soldiers and everything, let me not digress so much. What I want to tell you is that Ojukwu didn’t go for Biafra as first choice. He went for Biafra as a matter of necessity. If he had folded his hands, there wouldn’t have been anybody by now inhabiting Igbo land.

What is your opinion on restructuring and Igbo presidency, which our people are also seeking. Ohanaeze Ndigbo is holding the two with both hands, but appears more interested in restructuring. Would you prefer Igbo presidency, restructuring or both for our people?

Restructuring, whether Igbo have the presidency or not, is a necessity. Unless you restructure, this country is going to the dogs. Restructuring is very important. And then if you restructure, give Igbo man a shot at the presidency and see what will happen. This is because what kept Nigeria going was when Igbo had ascendency in the civil service and other sectors. They did a lot of things for the country. But somehow all manner of things happened. They were ousted and people took up the positions, but they couldn’t perform. So, that is where we are. We need restructuring. We need Igbo presidency. It is not too much. We have never had real presidency since the beginning of this country. And they know that if an Igbo man becomes a president, this country will move forward.

Looking at governance in Anambra State, how would you rate Governor Willie Obiano’s leadership since he came on board?

Governor Willie Obiano, since he took over from former Governor Peter Obi, has  fulfilled his promise at the inception of office where he said that his policy is to innovate, complete and move forward. And he has done just that. There is one thing that stands out for Governor Obiano. It is security. This state used to be a banana state in Nigeria. Our people in those days do their Igba Nkwu (traditional marriage ceremony) in Lagos and other places. But today, you can wake up at 3:00a.m and leave Awka to go to your village. I have done it several times. Previously you can’t do that. So, if there is anything outstanding about Governor Obiano’s governance, it is security. And it is not only security. He has gone forward to do a lot of things in education. And if you remember, recently, four girls from Regina Pacies Secondary School went for a science competition that ended up in the United States of America and they beat other competitors to emerge  first. It is common for us never to applaud our own. But that thing happened here in Nigeria. We only find faults, but it is also good to give kudos where it is right and perfect to do so. Let’s come back home. Recently, I was a participant in the Obizi Water Scheme event. This is something that was off the sink in the 60s. I was there at Obizi. That water has turned up. I came back here at our Afo Uzo Market and I saw the water coming out from there. It is not quite finished, but it has been a big start. A lot of things have happened. That water system is something I rank it alongside security for Willie Obiano. And in road construction, we should not forget that what Anambra used to collect from the federal allocation today is very, very small in comparison with what it used to be. Some states don’t pay salaries. Here, we have never missed salaries and pensions for both civil servants and pensioners. We thank God for that. If there is any specific area you want me to touch on this governance because he has achieved so many. I can’t stay here and name them one by one. But overall, Obiano’s governance has given the people of Anambra State hope. There is no doubt that there is still room for improvement. But he has given us hope that this thing continuing from Ngige to Peter Obi to him will continue to move forward.

By next year, our people will be going to the poll to elect Obiano’s successor. Already, some persons are advocating for zoning while some others are opposed to it saying that they want a competent person who would come from any of the three zones as governor. Where do you stand on this?

I know in politics, anything is possible. At least that’s what politicians think. But, how did we go thus far? How did the incumbent governor emerge? It is by zoning. And so far, it has given us what it takes. Let’s not try to change the goal post in the middle of the game. Zoning has served Anambra State so well in the past. It is something that we have tried and succeeded. Let’s take it on for a change and stick to it. That’s my point there. I am not saying this because it is coming to my zone, Anambra South. But I am just being rational and reflective of the future.

Your Highness, some of your colleagues who have spoken to me kicked against zoning. Not too long ago, traditional rulers from Anambra North Senatorial Zone, after their meeting, declared that they don’t support zoning. In view of the position of your colleagues, it is like you’re standing alone.

(Laughs) Let’s put it this way, a leader does not follow the crowd. Forget people who are manipulated here and there. And watch out what is going to happen about that Anambra North pronouncement. Anambra North benefited from zoning and they are insisting that zoning will continue. This one that happened, I know where it happened. It takes us all to make a world. You will always have some people; I won’t say my colleagues don’t know what they are doing or saying. They know. But if I get them rightly, when we stayed together at a seminar of all traditional rulers in Anambra State, we agreed on this zoning. I know that some of my friends and people that I relate with very well from other zones, because this particular arrangement doesn’t favour them now, some of them are kicking. But it is simply natural. People want where it will benefit them. Zoning has come to stay in Anambra State to give amity, progressiveness and honour to governance. There are other people who are eminently qualified from other zones who would want to be this thing. But it happened like that at the beginning, but it was watered down until it hit Willie Obiano. We voted for him. That’s what zoning is all about.

BIAFRA : ‘To hell’ with Nnamdi Kanu’s Biafra – Ralph Uwazuruike

Chief Ralph Uwazuruike of the Biafra Independence Movement, BIM, has said that Biafra should not be realized if it would be a place where elder statesmen and religious leaders would be insulted and dehumanised.

He lambasted the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, for using the London-based Radio Biafra to haul insults and abuses on Igbo leaders and elders.

Uwazurike said this in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Social Media Matters, Comrade Emma N. Nnadi, and made available to reporters on Sunday.

He said Kanu, who he trained as one of his directors in the struggle, was now using the Radio Biafra to insult and blackmail “our elder statesmen like Chief Pete Edochie, Nnia Nwodo, Church and Muslim leaders in the country.”

Uwazuruike apologized to all the people that have been insulted by Nnamdi Kanu and the IPOB and blackmailed by Radio Biafra or any other Biafra news channels anywhere in the world.

He stated that in the new world order, the right of individuals to freedom of worship is allowed, stressing that “as Biafrans, we are not religious bigots.

“If the new Biafra will be a country where the freedom of religious worship will not be guaranteed, to hell with it.

“If the new Biafra as a country will not be better than Nigeria, to hell with it.

“If the new Biafra will be a nation where someone like Chief Pete Edochie, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Chief Nnia Nwodo, Alhaji Asari Dokubo (Elabo Edi Abali) and every other elders of the church in the land will be insulted and abused with all cheerful boldness, to hell with it” .

“Ndigbo should forgive the uncouth and irresponsible character” of Nnamdi Kanu.

BIAFRA : P-square’s Peter, wife, daughter test positive for COVID-19

EARN MONEY ONLINE HERE $1000 IN A DAY SIGN UP NOW IS FREE SITE 

 Popular Nigerian music star, Peter Okoye, has disclosed that his family tested positive for COVID-19.

Okoye, who was a member of the defunct Psquare disclosed that he, his wife; Lola and daughter, Aliona tested positive for COVID-19.

He made the disclosure on his Twitter page while advising Nigerians that the virus was real.

The singer, however, disclosed that they have all tested negative, following proper treatment.

Okoye said his family and two domestic staff were infected for three weeks.

He urged Nigerians to adhere to the guideline issued by the government to curb the spread of the virus.

He said:” I had COVID-19 for about three weeks and it happened to me. I was sick and I tested positive.

” It’s been hell for this family in this house. Not just me. Even two of my domestic staff.

“After a week, my daughter caught the virus as well. It was sad that when she caught it, the doctor insisted that she had to be self-isolated in her own room but my wife did something very courageous. She said no.

“Five or six days later, my daughter was pronounced negative. When she was pronounced negative, we knew it wasn’t going to end there. The next day, Lola became positive. It has been hell but we had a bad experience.

” I just want to tell everybody that this COVID19 is real. Don’t take it for granted.

” I am happy to announce that my wife, myself, our daughter and two of our domestic staff, all of us are now negative.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s COVID-19 toll stands at 23,298 cases.

This followed the confirmation of 684 new cases as of Friday night by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC.

53 YEARS AFTER BIAFRA WAR

May 30th, 1967 as a response to the pogrom being carried out against Igbo people in northern Nigeria and Gowon’s refusal to abide by the Aburi accord, Lt col Emeka Ojukwu declared the republic of Biafra. Yakubu Gowon fired the first shot and Nigeria was aflame.

Some 53 years later, the spectre of that war is still hovering around, rebuffing all entreaties for pacification. I still see the relics of the ruins of that war. The vestigial remains of the embankment of my grandfather’s old house that caved in to the serial strafing of the federal troops still speaks and stands beside our country home at Nawfia to this day. Its silent eloquence as loud as ever!

My father did not tell me much about the war. He is not to blame. He was a boy of about 12 years when the war broke out. But whether you were told or not, the war itself marked two major epochs in the annals of our history. One always heard before and after the war denoting two distinct eras.

People still bore bodily scars of that war. Each time I travelled from Enugu to Onitsha some years back, I saw war vets litter the landscape of Oji town. Each of them bearing the scar of loss of one limb or the other.

Though in one burst of energy, the Igbos made quick recovery but that recovery is not whole yet. Many families are still on their ways up.

They are still climbing the rungs of the economic ladder, pausing at every point to ponder the reversals they suffered during the war which may have resulted in their present economic and social woes.

But we are not writing to curry sympathy with the hollow world but to celebrate the great sacrifices made by about two to three million Biafran lives. Their monumental sacrifices like that of Martin Luther King Jnr, Malcolm X, Steve Biko, George Floyd and other martyrs speak volumes. The voices of their blood continue to cry out to God from the ground.

IPOB : Biafra Sets the Alarm Clock at Midnight, Time to Wake Up

Over the years, high profiled politicians, academics and human rights groups have been talking about the armed attacks with its devastating effects on the economy in the Igbo-dominated South-Eastern States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nigeria gained its independence in October 1960. Since then it has strongly witnessed the sharp division of Nigeria into three regions – North, West and East – and this factor has further exacerbated the well-developed economic, political, and social differences among ethnic groups. The Igbo-dominated Eastern States have been struggling for peace and freedom necessary for development since the Civil War ended in 1970. 

That was fought between the Government of Nigeria and the State of Biafra from July 1967 to January 1970. The Igbo leadership could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated Federal Government. The Eastern River States are devastated, millions of the population deeply impoverished while resources remained untapped.

In this interview, for instance, Professor Nathaniel Aniekwu, Secretary at the Alaigho Development Foundation [ADF] in Nigeria, vehemently argues that 50 years after the civil war, the growing threats and frequent attacks by northern ethnic groups and the deepening pitfalls in the federal governance system have negatively affected the development of the Biafra. The Alaigho Development Foundation is a registered NGO with the key aims of addressing development issues in Igboland, and further fight for justice, civil rights and good governance in Nigeria.

How would you argue that 50years after the Civil War [1967 to 1970], growing threats and frequent attacks by ethnic groups have affected the development, particularly in the Eastern States of Nigeria?

It is not rocket science that capital [money] is a coward and therefore does not go where there is insecurity. The Biafra/Nigeria Civil war never really ended. What happened 50 years ago was a transition of the war from open shooting battles to economic strangulation war which has translated into asymmetric herdsmen/terrorist-based war. 

The initial morphed face of the war started in 1970, and was aimed at strangulating the region through infrastructural/economic deprivation. The federal government policy of offering 20 pounds in return for any amount of wealth deposits an Igbo person had in the bank, especially in the face of the 3Rs [Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction] program of reestablishing the region was not accidental. This was quickly followed by the Nigeria Enterprises Promotion Decree of 1972, which had as one of its main objectives to promote Nigerian indigenous enterprises with a view to increasing indigenous equity participation in the national economy. We were supposed to acquire this equity with the balance of the 20 pounds after feeding.

The current phase of the war is the herdsmen/terrorist-based war, which is aimed at destroying our agricultural base and make us completely dependent and then overrun and take over our ancestral lands. These are all orchestrated by the same people who could not wipe us out on the battle fields. The world community continuously watches the large-scale atrocities committed in the country. 

As long as these wars are going on, Nigeria cannot know peace and therefore no real progress. The Eastern region is totally out of the equation from the evidences of our realities. Any progress in the Eastern region must be home grown and organic. This is the real essence of the ADF’s “Aku ruo’ulo” program. Only the desperate and degenerate Chinese will have the temerity to want to invest in Nigeria, but with conditions that makes it better for you to live without their investments.

How would you assess the overall economic development of the Biafra States?

The Biafra States are faring very well given the numerous and insurmountable challenges thrown at them. We have almost no federal presence in the region, no infrastructure, receive the least budget allocations and have the least representation in all the arms of the federal government. This is what has accounted for this current phase of the war. Ndigbo have indomitable spirits and cannot be rendered null and void economically, as long as they are alive.

The Government is, therefore, on their Plan C, which is physical annihilation and possessing their homelands. All economic indices show that in spite of the war against them, marginalization and exclusion from participation in the governance of Nigeria, the Biafra States continue to be very competitive and are very far from being worse off among the Nigerian States.

Do you think it could have been different if the Southeast or the River States were not under the administration of the Federal Government of Nigeria?

I don’t think so, I know it. If they will let us be, even with all the deprivations and infrastructural neglect in place, Ndigbo will grow very quickly to become the go-to place for business. Our detractors know this much and that is what bothers them the most.

What are the economic potentials, especially for foreign investment?

The prognosis is very poor. Nobody goes for a swim in the desert. Only desperate investors still consider Nigeria as an investment destination for the earlier mentioned reasons. Although Nigeria is very richly endowed with natural and human resources, but it has quickly lost all its shining advantages. Moreover, whatever remains had been made in the past, has been squandered, especially as they seek to exclude Biafras from participation in political governance. They failed to deploy the appropriate resources, especially manpower, the broad-minded people who can guide and manage the development of the country, simply because most of them come from the Biafra States. 

Under the current circumstances, how can the government make it easier to attract foreign investment to the region?

The bus has already left the station. The trust has been breached and the center cannot no longer hold. As a Christian, I believe that nothing is impossible with God. But we are not God. We have squandered a lot of goodwill, which all developmental programs required.

Frankly speaking, only a dedicated team of experts can possibly do a lot, if all the impediments on our paths are removed, the trust deficit reversed, religion seizes to be so dominant in our decision making process, the herdsmen/terrorists are reigned in, ethnicity seizes to be a criteria for appointments and recognitions.

Furthermore, if the ethnic nationalities will come together and decide on the form and degree of association they will have in a restructured Nigeria, and the level of authority that should reside at the center: if we shall confess and repent from our sins and seek forgiveness, then perhaps, we stand a chance of reversing the damage.

There are still a lot of challenges in achieving all that you have said above, but do you see any possibilities for national integration and a new leadership paradigm?

National integration is a very clear possibility, especially for The Biafra States. In fact, it is our only hope. Remember that Nigeria is made of many unwilling nations fused into the entity called Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN). These nations have their inalienable right of association and with whomsoever they chose. These nations must choose their paths of integration.

For Ndigbo, not only that internal cohesion is imperative but also integrating in a union of the agreed is paramount. Leadership is very critical in attaining these objectives and this is where the paradigm shift is called for. Leadership must be looked from the point of view of the governed, at the micro-level of the society. A leadership that is organic and evolves from the people. Not a leadership foisted on the people by a band of degenerates. 

Leadership paradigm shift is needed to look at the Igbo man as he is, what his essence is and then, try and appeal to that essence. Being republican in his core essence means that you cannot lead him the same way you lead the Yorubas nor Hausas. A leadership that achieves this will have a followership similar to what we had with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe in the first republic or the followership General Odumegwu Ojukwu had during the war.

Note that the followership was so strong that during the war. Professor M. A. C. Odu and Ishiozo Mbu Amohuru went into the Nigerian territory, hijacked an aircraft and flew it down to Biafra. Such were the level of risks and sacrifices they could make. Please note carefully that when the same General Ojukwu joined the NPN upon his return from exile, Ndigbo unfollowed him, because he no longer represented their aspirations. That is the Igbo man. Seen from this perspective, the Igbo man is very easy to lead as long as you the leader is ready to be transparent and represent their aspirations.          

Does that mean there are weaknesses in the Federal System of Governance?

I am usually very wary of stereotyping. By my professional training, I seek for solutions where there are problems. I do not believe in looking for problems to fit into pre-existing solutions. I don’t really care too much what you call the system that works: federal system, unitary system, monarchical system, et cetera.

I don’t know if there is anything wrong with the federal system, but problems can arise as a result of application of systems that are not suitable to the Nigerian environment. Obviously, the federal system of government is not working in Nigerian given the unique nature of the Nigerian political space. We must therefore return to the solution domain, seek long-term solutions that are organic [homegrown] and suitable to our environment.

What do you have to say about the next elections of the State Governors and the President?

I believe the forthcoming elections will be business as usual. There is nothing in the horizon that makes me think it will be different. The problems with election is part of the structuring problems bedeviling Nigeria, and unless Nigeria restructures, nothing will change. However, we are waiting when Nigeria will hit “Ground Zero”, then restructuring will become inevitable.

Kester Kenn Klomegah

 is an independent researcher and writer on African affairs in the EurAsian region and former Soviet republics. He wrote previously for African Press Agency, African Executive and Inter Press Service. Earlier, he had worked for The Moscow Times, a reputable English newspaper. Klomegah taught part-time at the Moscow Institute of Modern Journalism. He studied international journalism and mass communication, and later spent a year at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He co-authored a book “AIDS/HIV and Men: Taking Risk or Taking Responsibility” published by the London-based Panos Institute. In 2004 and again in 2009, he won the Golden Word Prize for a series of analytical articles on Russia's economic cooperation with African countries.