Igbos on Twitter are Sharing the Lasting Legacies of the Biafran War

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as Biafran War, began in the year 1967 and ended in the year 1970. It’s been fifty years since the war ended, and the war is still not discussed or taught in schools as a part of Nigeria’s history. Those who learn about the war are those who were either directly affected, or have family members that were directly affected by it.

Many young Nigerians today who grew up in the West or whose families were not directly affected by the war know next to nothing about it. However, a couple of people who experienced the war either directly or through their parents eyes are sharing their stories on Twitter.

A lot are from interactions are from a tweet many have seen as distasteful.

Biafra was a WAR. A bloody WAR. Not an INVASION. There were unprintable killings, looting, stealing and ills on both sides. So many many books by the primary players document this. Stop talking about Biafra only from the victim perspective as though it was an invasion!!!

Many people, from all tribes, saw his tweet as distasteful and asked him not to speak on the matter if he didn’t understand what really happened, and the Igbos who had stories decided to use that as an opportunity to educate anyone who might have similar opinions.

Here’s what they had to say about the Biafran war:

Ayo, EASTERN NIGERIA WAS INVADED, 3 MILLION CIVILIANS MURDERED, FOOD AND HEALTH SUPPLIES BLOCKED FROM REACHING CIVILIANS, STARVATION AND HUNGER. THAT WASN'T A WAR, THAT WAS A GENOCIDE! A GENOCIDE!!!!

Biafra was a WAR. A bloody WAR. Not an INVASION. There were unprintable killings, looting, stealing and ills on both sides. So many many books by the primary players document this. Stop talking about Biafra only from the victim perspective as though it was an invasion!!!

My dad was recruited as a child soldier,he lost his onlybroda wen the naija army attacked,I encouraged him to talk about da conflict as a way to help him heal,alot of our past leaders who had a hand in that conflict,avoid the topic bcos they committed war crime's and they know it

It was a genocide. In war, we don't target unarmed civilians, women, and children. In war, we don't bomb places of worship, schools, and hospitals. Go read about what Murtala said at the end of the war. Or Adekunle's speech during the conflict.

I wasn't there during the war, but those who were alive then have told stories of events, none of the Westerners running their mouths here had any experience, neither do they know of any after effect of the damage that was done or is being done till today,

they all sing "move on" but till today the war is yet to be over, those who occupy the corridors of power and security have always used their offices to fight the Igbos till this day, they complain and groan when they even buy their properties and build houses today.

When they returned to Lagos in the middle of the war; from Asaba, my grandparents returned to their own pad. Neighbors told on them. They hid my grandpa, my grandma spoke Hausa, Cried and said said he was in his villiage. Or they'd have all died. But here you are, chatting shit.

Before Restructure, Beyond Biafra By SKC Ogbonnia

The Igbo must recognize the crying need to persevere and rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses can even survive before the promised land.

In the piece, Coronavirus: The Nigerian Dream Cure, I wrote that the COVID-19, which “compelled people to stay within their nations and localities, illuminates the genius of the ageless adage: charity begins at home.” The lessons from the virus also strike a chord with the famous quotation: the “fierce urgency of now”, where Martin Luther King demanded action in the face of a looming catastrophe.
 
Nowhere are these maxims more expedient than Igboland. Despite the dearth of development in Eastern Nigeria, which has continued to pose existential threats, the Eastern leaders have made no serious attempt to harness current resources for the greater good. Instead, the Igbo politics has been overly consumed with mundane excuses, heightened with utopian ideas that focus solely on the future, most of which are envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiments of the gullible masses, forgetting that the people must first survive before they can prevail. 
 
An alarming reminder is the deplorable state of healthcare delivery in Igboland. For instance, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no hospital with a laboratory capable of testing for such deadly disease in the entire Eastern Nigeria. The plague also exposed the fact that the East, more than any other region, would have been in grave danger, if the COVI9-19 national lock-down had prolonged.
 
The common excuse for the lack of development in Igboland in the recent times is the structure of the country. Interestingly, the loudest echo chambers for the current campaign from the East are some of the very politicians who held sway during the 16-year rule under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) but did practically nothing about restructuring. I mean, the very same cabal who are still clad in the same corrupt toga used in colluding with contractors to loot development facilities in the region, especially during the economic boom under Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, “an Igbo adopted son.” 

Ironically, some of such looted projects, for example, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, 2nd River Niger Bridge, Zik Mausoleum, and the major Eastern highways and seaports are currently undergoing real work under President Muhammadu Buhari, the perceived grinch. The malfeasance under the PDP becomes more manifest when considered that the East is witnessing measurable infrastructural development under the current regime, despite meagre resources—and, of course, amid Buhari’s misguided vendetta against the region for not voting him.  
 
Highlighting these missed opportunities must not be misconstrued as an opposition to restructuring. Far from that! Nigeria, as currently structured, is a time-bomb. True federalism has the potential to reposition the country and unleash her abundant resources to greatness, but the process to the change must not hinder progress. It is also true that the ageless marginalization of the Igbo by federal authorities combined to stifle development opportunities in the East. But any innocent analysis equally begs the questions:
 
To what extent can we blame others for the lack of unity of purpose in Igboland? To what extent can we blame others for the failure to articulate game-changing policies to confront the tap root of the problem, by provoking the Igbo people to invest in their native land that is not even up to 30% developed?  Worse still, who (or what structure) is to blame for running aground strategic ventures once jointly owned by the Igbo states, for example, the Presidential Hotel Enugu, Nigercem, Golden Guinea Brewery, Premier Brewery, Cooperative Bank, African Continental Bank, Orient Bank, Progressive Bank, and the Daily Star, to name just a few?
 
The simple answer is that mere change is not a sole panacea to progress. After all, it was not long ago that different groups within Nigeria, including those in Igbo land, were in wild jubilation for being granted their own states or local government areas. Despite the fact that all federal statutory allocations and constituency projects due to the states and local governments, as well as their internally generated revenues, have been under the control of the native politicians themselves, there are no tangible projects to show for the trillions.
 
Leadership is action, not excuses. The Igbo politicians should, therefore, not wait till after the restructure of Nigeria before embarking on an economic a dry-run in the remote semblance of the preferred structure—at least to stem the existential threat of mass unemployment and the consequential rising tide of crimes in the region. Governors Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo and Sam Onunaka Mbakwe did not hide behind quotidian excuses of the current structure before performing wonders within just 4 years in the Second Republic. Moreover, the Nnewi model has since rubbished the common excuse that the Igbo must have a functional seaport before it can thrive. This goes without saying that many thriving Igbo destinations, for example, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano do not have seaports.
 
The apparent leadership problem within Igboland is neither lack of people with original visions nor hard work. In fact, there is an abundance of private sector-driven templates, featuring endearing ideas, the latest being the South East Regional Economic Development Company (SEREDEC), led by Barth Nnaji; and the South East Stabilization Fund, championed by the Ohaneze Ndigbo. Sadly, such visions are always derailed by an insecure Igbo political cabal.  
 
That is where and why the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) made the title of this thesis. For sure, the IPOB deserves profound praise for finally recognizing that the real enemies are within. But the group should equally recognize that the real battle belongs at the polling booths. Therefore, instead of banal threats of election boycotts, which only serve to disfranchise the ordinary people, the IPOB should key into a growing democratic revolution to uproot the status quo across Nigeria—to ensure, at base, that good people are elected to positions of power. These political positions, of course, include the 2023 presidency which, by equitable consensus, is the turn of the South-East zone. 
 
Further, development has never been the sole province of elected officials. Thus, instead of fraternizing with the fanatical property acquisitions outside the Biafra land by the Igbo, paraded under the façade of quasi-republican capitalism, the IPOB might as well capitalize on its overflowing influence to mitigate the suffering of its masses, by leading an investment revolution at home—and NOW.  
 
The gist is woven in an Igbo adage which holds that a child who would grow to greatness typically shows some sense of acumen at an early stage. Therefore, before restructure, and beyond Biafra; even as it is vitally important to admit that the Nigerian leadership crisis is not devoid of ethnic schisms, where each group and generation potently share blame, a paradigm shift in perception and approach has become very imperative. The Igbo must recognize the crying need to persevere and rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses can even survive before the promised land.
 
SKC Ogbonnia, A Former Presidential Aspirant, writes from Ugbo, Enugu State, BIAFRA 

BIAFRA Ndigbo: Before Restructuring, Beyond Biafra, By SKC Ogbonnia

 

BIAFRA  before restructuring, and beyond Biafra; even as it is vitally important to admit that the Nigerian leadership crisis is not devoid of ethnic schisms, where each group and generation potently share blame, a paradigm shift in perception and approach has become very imperative.

In the piece, “Coronavirus: The Nigerian Dream Cure”, I wrote that the COVID-19, which “compelled people to stay within their nations and localities, illuminates the genius of the ageless adage: charity begins at home.” The lessons from the virus also strike a chord with the famous quotation: the “fierce urgency of now”, where Martin Luther King demanded action in the face of a looming catastrophe.

Nowhere are these maxims more expedient than Igboland. Despite the dearth of development in Eastern Nigeria, which has continued to pose existential threats, the Eastern leaders have made no serious attempt to harness current resources for the greater good. Instead, Igbo politics has been overly consumed by mundane excuses, heightened with utopian ideas that focus solely on the future, most of which are envisaged to satiate the thirsty sentiments of the gullible masses, forgetting that the people must first survive before they can prevail.

An alarming reminder is the deplorable state of healthcare delivery in Igboland. For instance, before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no hospital with a laboratory capable of testing for such deadly disease in the entire Eastern Nigeria. The plague also exposed the fact that the East, more than any other region, would have been in grave danger, if the COVID-19 national lock-down had been prolonged.

The common excuse for the lack of development in Igboland in recent times is the structure of the country. Interestingly, the loudest echo chambers for the current campaign of the East are some of the very politicians who held sway during the 16-year rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but who did practically nothing about restructuring. I mean, the very same cabal that is still clad in the same corrupt toga used in colluding with contractors to loot development facilities in the region, especially during the economic boom under Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, “an Igbo adopted son.”

Ironically, some of such looted projects, for example, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Port Harcourt International Airport, Second River Niger Bridge, Zik Mausoleum, and the major Eastern highways and seaports, are currently undergoing real work under President Muhammadu Buhari, the perceived grinch. The malfeasance under the PDP becomes more manifest when considered that the East is witnessing measurable infrastructural development under the current regime, despite meagre resources — and, of course, amid Buhari’s misguided vendetta against the region for not voting for him.

BIAFRA Leadership is action, not excuses. The Igbo politicians should, therefore, not wait till after the restructuring of Nigeria before embarking on an economic dry-run in the remote semblance of the preferred structure — at least to stem the existential threat of mass unemployment and the consequential rising tide of crimes in the region.

Highlighting these missed opportunities must not be misconstrued as an opposition to restructuring. Far from that! Nigeria, as currently structured, is a time-bomb. True federalism has the potential to reposition the country and unleash her abundant resources to greatness, but the process to the change must not hinder progress. It is also true that the ageless marginalisation of the Igbo by federal authorities combined to stifle development opportunities in the East. But any innocent analysis equally begs the questions:

To what extent can we blame others for the lack of unity of purpose in Igboland? To what extent can we blame others for the failure to articulate game-changing policies to confront the tap root of the problem, by provoking the Igbo people to invest in their native land that is not even up to 30 per cent developed? Worse still, who (or what structure) is to blame for running aground strategic ventures once jointly owned by the Igbo states, for example, the Presidential Hotel, Enugu; Nigercem; Golden Guinea Brewery; Premier Brewery; Cooperative Bank; African Continental Bank; Orient Bank; Progressive Bank; and the Daily Star, to name just a few?

The simple answer is that mere change is not a sole panacea for progress. After all, it was not long ago that different groups within Nigeria, including those in Igboland, were in wild jubilation for being granted their own states or local government areas. Despite the fact that all federal statutory allocations and constituency projects due to the states and local governments, as well as their internally generated revenues, have been under the control of the native politicians themselves, there are no tangible projects to show for the trillions.

Leadership is action, not excuses. The Igbo politicians should, therefore, not wait till after the restructuring of Nigeria before embarking on an economic dry-run in the remote semblance of the preferred structure — at least to stem the existential threat of mass unemployment and the consequential rising tide of crimes in the region. Governors Jim Ifeanyichukwu Nwobodo and Sam Onunaka Mbakwe did not hide behind quotidian excuses of the current structure before performing wonders within just four years in the Second Republic. Moreover, the Nnewi model has since rubbished the common excuse that the Igbo must have a functional seaport before it can thrive. This goes without saying that many thriving Igbo destinations, for example, Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano do not have seaports.

BIAFRA The Igbo must recognise the crying need to persevere and rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses can even survive before the promised land.

The apparent leadership problem within Igboland is neither lack of people with original visions nor hard work. In fact, there is an abundance of private sector-driven templates, featuring endearing ideas, the latest being the South East Regional Economic Development Company (SEREDEC), led by Barth Nnaji; and the South East Stabilisation Fund, championed by the Ohaneze Ndigbo. Sadly, such visions are always derailed by an insecure Igbo political cabal.

That is where and why the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) made the title of this thesis. For sure, the IPOB deserves profound praise for finally recognising that the real enemies are within. But the group should equally recognise that the real battle belongs at the polling booths. Therefore, instead of the banal threats of election boycotts, which only serve to disfranchise the ordinary people, the IPOB should key into a growing democratic revolution to uproot the status quo across Nigeria — to ensure, at base, that good people are elected to positions of power. These political positions, of course, include the 2023 presidency which, by equitable consensus, is the turn of the South-East zone.

Further, development has never been the sole province of elected officials. Thus, instead of fraternising with the fanatical property acquisitions outside Biafra land by the Igbo, paraded under the façade of quasi-republican capitalism, the IPOB might as well capitalise on its overflowing influence to mitigate the suffering of its masses, by leading an investment revolution at home — and NOW.

The gist is woven in an Igbo adage which holds that a child who would grow to greatness typically shows some sense of acumen at an early stage. Therefore, before restructuring, and beyond Biafra; even as it is vitally important to admit that the Nigerian leadership crisis is not devoid of ethnic schisms, where each group and generation potently share blame, a paradigm shift in perception and approach has become very imperative. The Igbo must recognise the crying need to persevere and rekindle the competitive spirit, ingenuity, and the mental fortitude needed to unleash immediate investment at home, so that the Igbo masses can even survive before the promised land.

I’ll make Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB abandon struggle in 6 months – Olusegun Bamgbose

Olusegun Bamgbose, Esq., National Coordinator Concerned Advocates for Good Governance, CAGG, says he could end the agitation for the sovereign state of Biafra if given the mandate.

Bamgbose noted that the agitation, dated back to 1967 during the Biafran war is still very much alive and shaking the foundation of the country.

According to the lawyer, the struggle, which is now being spearheaded by Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is legitimate being that the group is crying out over marginalisation.

He noted that the agitation is a product of injustice, illegality, insecurity, bad governance, repression and dictatorship, adding that it is not out of place if these anomalies are prevalent in a society.

Speaking with DAILY POST on Tuesday, the legal practitioner noted that in 2015, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari agitated for a change, adding that they felt that the government of Goodluck Jonathan was not good enough and protested and the ‘change’ came.

“Buhari won the election. Mandela agitated for the independence of South Africa, he got it. Recently, Buhari’s kinsmen agitated based on the insecurity confronting them in Daura,” Bamgbose noted.

“In essence, agitation is legitimate when there is a good cause. As a citizen of Nigeria, I have always said that I was born a Nigerian and I will be proud to die as a Nigerian.

“The truth remains that the Igbos are not getting the best from Nigeria, and it’s legitimate for them to agitate for better treatment, however, secession should be out of it.

“We must not allow our diversities, difficulties and differences destabilize our unity. Our unity should be sacred and sacrosanct.

“The Igbos should not be treated as second class citizens of Nigeria. The civil war should be a bygone issue for now. It’s obvious that where there is repression, there will be a revolt, however, revolt should not lead to secession.

“I sincerely believe that what Kanu wants for the Igbos should be better live, not secession. Igbos are not bent on secession but equality and equity in the scheme of things.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. As President, I believe, agitation for Biafra can end in six months.

“The Federal Government should do more to make life better. I detest tribalism because it’s my belief that I never made a choice of where to come from.

“My creator would have created me a Northerner, Igbo, Ijaw man or any other tribe. I’ll always support the Igbos for better participation in the scheme of things, but on one Nigeria I stand.

“I will never support any form of secession, even Oduduwa Republic. Let’s remain one indivisible country.”

BIAFRA : Nigerian-Born Princeton Professor Kicks As 'Looted Biafra Artefacts' Sold $238,000 At Paris Auction

The auction house said that the collector acquired them from an African dealer in 1968 or 1969, either in Cameroon or Paris, before they were later acquired by another private collector, who was the seller on Monday.

These artworks are stained with the blood of Biafra’s children,” wrote Chika Okeke-Agulu, an art history professor at Princeton, in an impassioned Instagram post three weeks ago calling for a halt to the sale of two wooden statues made by the Igbo people of Nigeria. 

Mr. Okeke-Agulu believes the items were looted in the late 1960s during the country’s brutal civil war. But the auction went ahead on Monday at Christie’s in Paris, New York Times reports.

The life-size male and female figures, described by Christie’s as “among the greatest sculptures of African art,” sold to an online bidder for 212,500 euros with fees, about $238,000. The price was well below the pre-sale estimate of €250,000 to €350,000.

The sculptures originated from southeast Nigeria, a region devastated by one of the late 20th century’s bloodiest civil conflicts. Biafra’s unsuccessful three-year struggle to gain independence, which ended in 1970, claimed the lives of more than a million people, most of whom died of starvation.

Mr. Okeke-Agulu, who grew up in the Biafra war zone, near where the statues were made, said in his Instagram post that Christie’s Igbo figures were among many artefacts stolen by intermediaries at the behest of European and American dealers and collectors, such as the renowned French collector Jacques Kerchache.

Christie’s named Mr. Kerchache, who was instrumental in the foundation of the Quai Branly Museum, which displays artefacts from France’s former colonies, as a former owner of these sculptures. 

The auction house said that the collector acquired them from an African dealer in 1968 or 1969, either in Cameroon or Paris, before they were later acquired by another private collector, who was the seller on Monday.

In a statement before the auction, Christie’s responded to Mr. Okeke-Agulu’s Instagram post, saying the sale of the statues was legitimate and lawful. 

“There is no evidence these statues were removed from their original location by someone who was not local to the area,” the statement said, adding that Mr. Kerchache never went to Nigeria in 1968 or 1969 and Christie's had worked to reassure all enquiries regarding the provenance and legitimacy of the sale.

Mr. Okeke-Agulu’s voice is one of many calling for the repatriation of African artworks in European and American collections that are thought to have been acquired through colonial exploitation or illegal looting.

In November 2018, a report commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron of France recommended that French museums permanently repatriate artworks removed from Africa without consent, if their countries of origin ask for their return. Mr. Macron subsequently announced that 26 pieces looted by French forces would be handed back from the Quai Branly Museum. They remain in France, however, awaiting the construction of a suitable host museum in Benin.

Earlier this month, with the repatriation process at a near standstill, a group of protesters stormed the Quai Branly in an unsuccessful attempt to remove an African funeral pole.

In London, several “Benin Bronzes,” celebrated metal reliefs taken by British soldiers in 1897, remain in the British Museum without any plans for their return.

The circumstances of Christie’s Igbo figures’ removal from Nigeria, however, are more obscure.

Bernard de Grunne, the Brussels-based dealer who sold the sculptures in 2010 to the seller at Christie’s, wrote in an email that, “We cannot connect them with the chaos caused by the Biafran war, as we do not know when precisely they came out of Nigeria. They could have come out anytime between 1968 and 1983.”

“A reverse argument can also be made that these great works of art were saved for the world to admire at that point, instead of being burned and destroyed during the war,” he added.

But Mr. Okeke-Agulu remains convinced that the sculptures were looted in the conflict. “There’s a certain enduring anxiety about anything to do with Biafra because of the unspeakable horror of that war,” Mr. Okeke-Agulu said in an interview before the sale. “With World War II restitution cases, they were artworks taken from Europeans by Europeans. When it comes to Africa, because Africa doesn’t matter, it’s business as usual. That cannot continue to be the case.”

Mr. Okeke-Agulu also cited the work of another scholar, Sidney Littlefield Kasfir. In her 2007 book, Ms. Littlefield Kasfir showed that during the Biafran war, “Substantial looting of shrines by combatants took place and many objects were moved by middlemen across the border into Cameroon, from where they were bought by traders and shipped to Europe as art-market commodities.”

In 1970, a group of traders from Cameroon was stopped by the Nigerian police and a cache of Igbo artefacts seized. Nigeria made the trade in stolen artefacts illegal in 1953 with the passing of its Antiquities Ordinance law.

BIAFRA : Kogi Chief Judge, Ajanah dies at Abuja COVID-19 isolation centre

The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Nasiru Ajanah is dead.

DAILY POST gathered that Ajanah died at the age of 64 in Abuja in the early hours of Sunday after battling with a brief illness.

His death is coming barely one week after the state lost the President of the Customary Court of Appeal in the state, Justice Ibrahim Shaibu Atadoga, after a brief illness.

The Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, confirmed the death of the chief judge in a statement he signed on Sunday.

The statement reads “The Kogi State Government wishes to announce the demise of Hon. Justice Nasir Ajana. Until his death, Nasir Ajana was the Chief Judge of Kogi State.

“The passing of the legal luminary is a massive blow to the Government and people of Kogi State for his brilliant justice administration throughout his career as a Judge and his tenure as the Chief Judge of Kogi State.

“He will be sorely missed for his tenacity of purpose and outstanding commitment to the sanctity of the temple of justice. He was a colossus in the noble profession of law.

“The State Government will work with the family of the late Chief Justice to give him a befitting burial. His shoes will be impossible to fill. May God forgive all his shortcomings and grant him eternal life.”

Late Justice Ajanah was born in Okene Local Government Council to the family of MJ Fari Ajanah. Ajanah received early education at the Native Authority (Central) Primary School, Okene between 1962 and 1968. In 1969, he enrolled in Federal Government College, Keffi and graduated in 1973. In 1974, Ajanah enrolled in the same college for a Higher School Certificate (HSC) finishing in 1975.

Ajana earned LLB from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He attended Nigerian Law School and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Ajana legal career started at the Kwara State Ministry of Justice where he served as State Counsel (1982-1984).

In 1984, he established his own private firm, Nasiru Ajanah & Co in Okene until 1989 when he was appointed a Judge of Kwara State High Court. He was transferred to Kogi State after its creation in 1991. Prior to his appointment as Chief Judge of Kogi State, Ajanah had served in different capacities.

Ajanah was Chairman, Election petition tribunal in Adamawa State for the 1998 general elections; Member, Governing board of Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies between (1999-2006); Chairman, Panel on Muritala Mohammed International Airport Fire Incidence (2000); Chairman, Election petition Tribunal in Akwa – Ibom State (2007) and Chairman; Election Tribunal Petition (2) in Rivers State (2008).

Meanwhile, former Kogi State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Idris has described the death of Kogi state Chief Judge, Late Justice Nasir Ajanah, as a great loss to the state.

Alhaji Ibrahim Idris in a statement he personally signed and issued noted that his death came at a time when the state needed his professional and fatherly roles.

Ibrahim Idris recalled his working relationship with the former Chief Judge, saying “he was an unbiased and unblemished public officer while in service.”

Alhaji Ibrahim sympathised with the state government at this trying period, especially not too long that they lost the President of the customary court of Appeal, Late Justice Shaibu Atadoga.

He urged the family to take solace that the late Chief Judge lived a life of exemplary and discipline traits, praying for the repose of his soul.

Nnamdi Kanu, Asari Dokubo, Uwazuruike told to abandon struggle

The Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, has warned Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB; Chief Ralph Uwazuruike of the Biafra Independence Movement, BIM; and a former Niger Delta militant leader, Asari Dokubo, to back off the Biafra struggle if they have lost focus.

The group was reacting to religious squabbles going on among the secessionist leaders.

Uwazuruike and Dokubo had recently lambasted Nnamdi Kanu for insisting that some sorts of religion would be prohibited in the yet-to-be actualized nation.

However, the BNYL’s Director of Operations, Biafra Broadcasting Service, BBS, Ebuta Takon Akor, in a statement to DAILY POST on Sunday, disclosed his group position on the issues that have generated much controversies in the media.

The BNYL dismissed claims that Biafra will be built on religion, saying the State of Biafra is dominated by Christians and traditional believers and no one can change it.

The group hinted that the BNYL will not tolerate whoever is presenting his religious ideology in the struggle, adding that both Jewish and Christians have one Biblical belief apart from the way of worship and both would not conflict in a Biafran state.

“Jews and Christians are directly connected and their way of worship won’t be conflicting with the constitution of Biafra.

“We know that Biafra is dominated by Christians, which automatically makes it a Christian State and we understand that thousands of Biafrans are Judaist and many into traditional belief system.

“Any religion that promotes jihad and shedding of blood will not be tolerated by the majority Christian Biafra.

“The secessionist leaders must sheathe their sword or back off from the struggle if they have nothing to offer.”