God has Decreed Biafra

By BONIFACE OKORO, Afaraukwu, Umuahia

Getting to see the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB,
on Wednesday, 28 June 2017, was herculean. The road to his father’s Afaraukwu palace in Umuahia where he puts up was taken over by IPOB security operatives who cordoned off the area as early as 7am.

The security personnel formed two lines along the roads leading to the palace and nobody was allowed to walk in the middle of the road or breakthrough the cordon.
Drumming and dancing by several youths drawn from different zones yielded an environment of cultural carnival of international standard, garnished with the yellow, black, green T-shirts spotted by the IPOBians and the ubiquitous Biafran flag at every turn. Many climbed on treetops, waving their Biafran flags.

Nnamdi Kanu (Ohamadike)

At the palace gate, security men cast hard gazes that warn you to keep off if you are a foreign element but they melt into ice the moment you tell them your are Ohamadike’s (Kanu’s title) guest.
By 10.23am, the whole place quaked with a thunderous ovation as Kanu emerged at the balcony of his storey building to greet his people.

That done, the interview got underway a little afterwards and the whole environment was kept alive by the sounds of drums, trumpets, whistles and beagles.Kanu revealed that he and other members of IPOB prayed for 16 years before launching the struggle for Biafra. He was emphatic that the agitation for Biafra was a divine project because God directed him to embark on the struggle, adding that no man can stop the restoration of Biafra.

He maintained his stand that unless a day for referendum on Biafra, no elections would take place in the South East, including the Anambra State governorship election slated for November 18, among other issues.
Excerpts:

What motivated you to embark on the restoration of Biafra Republic?
It is because of the suffering Ndigbo were being subjected to in Nigeria, the maltreatment and marginalisation of the Igbo people.

It is very painful that since the end of the war, Ndigbo as a nation was destabilised and the people subjected to extreme hardship; lamentations and mourning became the order of the day; there is acute infrastructural deficit – roads were left to decay, hospitals were allowed to rot away and no one talked about schools.
Everything was turned upside down in Igbo land. People have to leave the South East in search of greener pastures and no one remained behind to look after the homeland.

We now said time has come for us to organise ourselves, rise and act as one united force and to call a spade a spade; reject and resist the marginalisation we have been subjected to, that time has come for us to free ourselves from Nigeria because we could no longer bear the insults that have become our lot in Nigeria.

How did you manage to achieve the great followership you have recorded through IPOB?

Our cause is rooted in truth and justice. I am fighting a just cause and I am working with the grace of Almighty God. At the appointed time, God sent me to begin the liberation struggle and we resolved that the time is now.

We embarked on prayers for 16 years, praying for deliverance of the people of Biafra.
And God said to me, the time has come and my people are ready for the journey to freedom and they will follow and support you in the struggle. That is what we are doing today. This agitation is divine.

Some freedom fighters start this journey and fizzle out in no time but you are still waxing stronger, with many opponents now identifying with you. What is the secret?

It is the grace of God. This is the time God had destined the struggle to come through. This is the time God has decreed that Biafra will be restored. There is nothing any human being can do to truncate it.
Once God decrees, it must come to pass. Our Father in heaven (ChukwuOkikeAbiama) has decreed that Biafra will be restored. Now is the time for our freedom.

Many are worried that you are not carrying the elders along in this agitation. Do you listen to and take advice from them at all?

Yes, I listen to people. If you ask those who know me very well, they will tell you that I am a good listener. If the elders advice me, I will take their wise counsel if it is acceptable to the IPOB family because I am not working alone. If you ask people of my community, my parents, they will tell you that

I cannot hurt a fly. I am not given to quick temperament; neither do I talk too much. My father cannot rebuke me and I will respond, I have never been disrespectful to my mum, no. But the way Ndigbo is treated in Nigeria is heart rending. That is the kernel of the matter and nothing else.

There are many pro-Biafra groups, how do you intend to come together and work as a united family?
We are working together. We have good rapport. Very soon, leaders of other pro-Biafra groups will be here today for a meeting today.

Let me tell you that it is very important for everyone to air his or her views. We believe in democracy and it is vital to listen to all shades of opinion, whether such views are good or bad. If we accept your views, we work with it, if not, we say, brother, this is they way we are thinking this should be done.

Some people are calling for restructuring, believing that Ndigbo would be better off in Nigeria than breaking away, do you buy this idea?
No, what I want is Biafra. We should be an independent country and revert to our ways of life before the amalgamation of Nigeria.

The land of Biafra had a defined territory and culture before the coming of the Europeans who amalgamated us and decreed that we should now be called Nigeria and we accepted a name that has no meaning. If I ask you to explain the meaning of Nigeria, will you? You cannot because it is meaningless. While should I abandon my original name and identity? What we are saying is that the foundation of Nigeria is faulty, so it cannot be a united country again.

Several atrocities have been committed against Ndigbo in Nigeria, our people have been massacred and we are still being annihilated, an agenda being executed currently by the Fulani herdsmen and people are saying Nigeria should unite and continue to live together. What manner of togetherness are we preaching?

They have severally demonstrated their hatred for Ndigbo. We can no longer sit by and watch them continue to maltreat us, we cannot resign ourselves to such fate, not minding that Ndigbo are scattered all over Nigeria and doing well in their respective fields of endeavour.

We must be alive first before we think about other things. That is why Ndigbo should return to Biafra and build it up into a model nation better than most foreign countries so that we will win back our respect. That is what we want, not each time we venture into other parts of Nigeria, we will be hunted down and killed and even when we complain, no one cares. No one addresses our concerns. These are the things we can no longer condone.

What we want is Biafra to enable us rebuild our nation in such a manner that after school, there will be employment, children will receive quality education; not a place where you will have to worry about getting good healthcare services or where the next meal will come from. In Nigeria, people are dying of hypertension and heart attack daily.

Are you telling me that if we drop our agitation and accept restructuring those roads would be built, will our children be given quality education and healthcare services? No.
I am extremely bitter with the maltreatment of Ndigbo that is why it looks as if I am zealous.

Why are Ndigbo the target of attacks and killings in Nigeria?

It is because they hate us. Our experience is akin to that of the
Jews. This is how many nations hated the Jews and they were being massacred in many parts of the world.
In our time, we declared that we would no longer tolerate the massacre of the Igbo across Nigeria, it is better that we are being mowed down because we are fighting for our freedom, instead of waking up everyday to the sad news that an Igbo man has been killed for doing nothing.

You are aware that an Igbo man who was preaching in the North had his head cut off by the Hausa; it was not the first or the second of such bizarre incident. What other horrible experience should we be subjected to before we should rise to fight for our freedom? It is better we die fighting for our freedom than for me to remain in my house and a fellow man would barge into my abode and cut off my head. We will resist this type of dehumanisation.

We shall not continue to be the sacrificial lambs. We are on the journey to our freedom. There is nothing any human being can do to stop it. It has been decreed by heaven that we must be free and that freedom we must get in Biafra.

Many are opposed to Biafra because of their investments outside Igbo land. Recently, Arewa youths threatened to seize properties belonging to Ndigbo after issuing them with quit notice. Have you considered these things?
This type of fate befell Indians resident in Uganda in the past.

Ugandans asked the Indians to leave their country and they left, leaving their investments behind. But today, where is Uganda? Wealth does not matter; life is very precious because if our people take their investments home, as a blessed race, they will do exceedingly better and what they left in other lands will pale into insignificance.

You should also be aware that whatever you leave in another country is not lost. It will be better for you that the Government of Biafra fights for and recovers your property and investments in foreign lands than for you to embark on such venture as an individual.

This is what we suffered before. For whatever reason our people have failed to understand why late (Chief Obafemi) Awolowo gave Ndigbo only £20 after the war, that is their headache. How many times will you be victimised before you become wise? Only once! We are behaving as if we are no longer Ndigbo, as people bereft of wisdom.

Otherwise, how could you explain that somebody woke up one day, killed you and dispossessed you of your belongings and after a while, you returned to the same place. It is worrisome.

Many are saying that you want to become President of Biafra and that is why you are championing this cause.
People don’t understand me when they say I am stubborn. I am only fired by the injustices Ndigbo were being subjected to in Nigeria.

I would have preferred to stay abroad and visit home when I choose and enjoy myself; may be buy a little quantity of rice and share among aged women. But I don’t want to live such life. Whatever my two kids will need to live a comfortable life, that is what I want for all children in Igbo land, not just my children alone.

My concern is how our people could come together and rebuild Biafra and make it the pride and envy of all nations globally and we stop going to develop other places. We can only achieve this in Biafra and nowhere else.

If we return to Biafra, I will not be the President; that is not what
God has directed me to do. His assignment for me is to actualise
Biafra. Once that is done, my assignment would have been completed and I will withdraw from the scene. And that is what I am doing.

How would you stop Anambra governorship poll in November?
What we are saying is that we are not going to participate in elections until a day is set aside for referendum for us to decide if we should continue being in Nigeria or settle for Biafra. Without a plebiscite, there will no more elections in Biafraland.

During the time for Anambra election, they will see no one. They may have to go and import people from Abuja. Time has come for us to demonstrate unity of purpose and people should forget their personal interests and ego and think about the good of others. If I had wanted wealth, money or position, I would have got them long time ago. These are promises that have been made to me if only I will drop my agitation for Biafra. But that is not what I want.

During the secession that resulted in the civil war, many of our neighbours were involved. But now, they appear not to be interested. Are you now fighting for the liberation of Ndigbo alone?
We are fighting for the liberation of all, not just Ndigbo. In a short while, you will see people who will come here. People from Rivers, Cross River and AkwaIbom are here.

I have been to see Izon (Ijaw) people in Igweocha and we had frank discussions. They discovered that brotherly relationship is far better than that of friends. That is what I explained to them and they understood it very well.
We are working with everybody. It is left for them to agree to work with us or not, but it is our duty to spread the gospel to them.

Is the non-performance of the governors responsible for the seeming non-cooperation between you and incumbent and former governors from the South East?
When late Sam Mbakwe was the Governor of the then old Imo State, seaports in Igweocha (Port Harcourt), train services were functional.

Do those things still exist now? These are the foundations of commerce and economy, human relations. They are no longer there. When Mbakwe was there, Aba Glass Factory, Ceramics Industry, Umuahia, Golden Guinea Breweries, Ulonna Farm Settlement, Ezinachi Clay Factory, Aba Shoe Factory and Standard Shoe Factory, Owerri, were all functional. We also had ANAMCO, Nigersteel and Nigercem, Nkalagu. But where are they today, they have all closed down.

They were not closed by the governors but the oppressive policies of the federal government, those who have sworn that no good thing shall come to Igbo land.

There is no company, which employs up to 100 persons now. There is no power supply now but there was energy. How can industries function when there is no power supply? These are the things that we lack. It is only when we return to Biafra that we will be free from all these things and live like human beings.
You should ask yourself why the seaports around Port Harcourt and Calabar are not working.

It would have been preferable for us to import our goods through these seaports to cut cost. But from Lagos, you see Customs everywhere and by the time you settle them till you reach your destination, you spend a fortune. Are there Customs check points in the North? These are the things that worry us. And we said no, enough of this marginalisation and we have to fight it and that is what we are doing.

Your message to Ndigbo

We should be industrious wherever we find ourselves. We should not fear anybody, except God. We worship God only, not any human being. We should pray ceaselessly, asking God to deliver Ndigbo, just the way He delivered His people, the Israelites.

Post Script: The Oracle Today’s special thanks go to Mazi Mike Onovo, presenter of Ugwumba, an Igbo television programme, for his contributions to the interview.