IPOB PRESS RELEASE
24/08/2024
The attention of the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by the great and resolute leader, Mazi Nnamdi Okwu Kanu warns Biafran youths to shun the deceptive move by the British Government to recruit them among the Commonwealth citizens to join their Army to fight their future wars. IPOB is calling on Biafran youths to avoid being used as sacrificial lambs by the British government, which has no respect for you or your lives.
The British government has commenced the recruitment of Africans to fight their wars as they did decades ago. During WW1, the British and the European countries used Africans to fight their wars. By November 1918, the ‘British Army’ in East Africa was mainly composed of African soldiers. One of the units was the West African Frontier Force, consisting of soldiers drawn from Nigeria, especially Igbos and South Easterns, others from the Southern Nigeria, the Gold Coast (Ghana), and Sierra Leone. Another unit was called the King’s African Rifles, recruited from Kenya, Uganda, and Nyasaland (Malawi). Over 180,000 Africans served in the British Carrier Corps. Thousands of these African soldiers who died in defense of Britain were never recognized. At the same time, those of them who survived the war were sent back to Africa without compensation, whereas their British and other counterparts were adequately compensated and recognized after the war.
Similarly, during the 1939 - 1945 WWII, thousands of Africans were recruited and sacrificed for Britain to become a superpower. The ongoing plan to recruit Africans again, especially Biafrans, to be sacrificed for the colonial imperialist will not work.
The people of Biafran will never be sacrificed for those who don't recognise us as human beings. We can confidently understand that our fathers told us that they fought to save the United Kingdom during the second world war but were abandoned by the British Government. Instead of compensating our fathers that fought for them, Britain supported the Nigerian government to commit the unprecedented genocide against Biafrans during the 1967 -1970 war. Biafrans should not allow themselves to be recruited to fight for a selfish and treacherous imperialist country who showed us that they hate us.
Therefore, any African who falls for this string gift to join the British Army should remember that they will meet the fate that our fathers met when they fought for Britain. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it and become the victims of history.
IPOB is warning Biafrans to shun the ongoing British military recruitment. They don't mind that they said its commonwealth countries. They are targeting the Biafrans, and we must be very careful. If Britain can have a very strict visa policy for African immigrants, why then do they have a very relaxed and easy application to join the British Army? If Africans do not find it easy to migrate to Britain with a work visa, there are no bases to give Africans a flexible visa to join the British Army. Biafrans should not allow themselves to be slaughtered for a nation that doesn't care about their freedom or existence. The British Government contributed and spearheaded the Biafran genocide and the continuous subjugation of Biafrans in Nigeria. Also, the rate of unemployment in Nigeria, which Britain is anchoring to recruit their sacrificial lambs, is largely contributed by the exploitative foreign policies of Britain in Nigeria. Africans, particularly Biafrans, should not volunteer to go and die for the subjugator and colonizer, but if you fail to adhere to IPOB's advice, you will regret it.
IPOB will not allow Biafrans to be used again by Britain through the commonwealth channels to recruit soldiers to war against Russia or any other country. Biafrans can not be sacrificed for Britain to be a superpower anymore. African countries must understand that the British government is preparing to war with Russia and should recruit and deploy their citizens to defend their own country. IPOB will not take it kindly with anyone or group promoting for Biafrans to join the British ongoing military recruitment, whether online or off.
We, therefore, call on the Biafran parents to advise their children against joining the British military recruitment. Also, the Biafran youths should be wise not to join your oppressor's Army for citizenship or monetary rewards. Do not be a sacrificial lamb for your oppressors. Instead, join hands with IPOB to restore the Biafra we can all be proud of. If the United Kingdom is serious for Biafrans to join them, they must realise that Biafra needs to exit Nigeria peacefully, democratically become free, and obtain the release of Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu Kanu, who is currently languishinging in the DSS solitary confinement in Abuja, Nigeria.
COMRADE EMMA POWERFUL, MEDIA, AND PUBLICITY SECRETARY FOR IPOB
