Do you know that about 10 years ago, people laughed at those advocating for the restoration of Biafra?
After the war, Nigeria mounted a great campaign against the name Biafra. A name that once came with pride and hope for a brighter future got attacked with ridicule and marginalisation. You can be arrested for mentioning the name Biafra. No media mentions Biafra. Many became ashamed of carrying the name. It became so worse that even the name Igbo got the same negativity. There was a massive dissatisfaction among the Igbo people living on the outskirts of Igbo land with the name Igbo, to the extent they started denying their Igbo identity. Some started changing their names. Some started changing their name to all English names to evade intimidation. Some Igbo communities in the present Delta state asked their people to stop naming their children core Igbo names. This was sponsored by the Nigerian government. Some will go all-time low to pick up Hausa names. This is the only way they can get Agricultural loans and clear their goods without hindrances from Northern-dominated Nigeria customs. It was so funny that even Onitsha people started claiming to have come from Bini. The once revered Igbo tribe known across the globe suffered an attack that Igbo people became ashamed of being called Igbo.
I remember getting some side negative talks against me from some people that knew me previously. This was because of the cause I chose. I was ridiculed by them for writing about Biafra. For them, Biafra is dead. But today, I am surprised by the way they view me today. They were simply blind to the future. It seems like the stone which the builders rejected has somehow become the cornerstone. IPOB has been able to resurrect the pride associated with Biafra. Men and women have put themselves, their lives and their jobs on the line for this Biafra. Even with the threat of death and imprisonment, young men and women have defiled all these threats to preach about the restoration of Biafra. Some are in prison already, while many more paid with their blood, kîlled by Nigeria Government for protesting peacefully about Biafra. When all these will be over, many that denied their Igbo identity will fight whoever says they are not Igbo.
Biafra is here to stay and it will be restored. There are already massive anti-Nigeria and British sentiments in Igbo land. The British government has tried to arrest the situation by getting political, traditional and religious leaders to themselves, but IPOB holds the people at the grassroots and many millions of Igbo, Ijaw, Efik and Urohbo people are already possessed with the sacred spirit of Biafra. Today, we listen to no one except Mazi Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB.
Certainly, Nigeria can't stop Biafra with the killing and arbitrary arrest of Biafrans. It is a fundamental right for a people to seek freedom. Self Determination is an inalienable right of people. And it is recognised by the United Nations. This is why Tony Blair and Global Terrorism Index can never succeed in forcing the international community to declare indigenous people a terrorist group.
Wear your Biafra identity with pride. It is who you are. Nigeria is a British construct that must go with colonialism.
Elochukwu Nicholas Ohagi, Philosopher, Teacher And Activist, 2023.
