May I contribute this short piece to the persistent rumble
of Biafra in our body polity.
In as much as secession seems a rather frightening prospect,
it will still be totally erroneous to condemn the MASSOB activists fighting for
the actualisation and resurrection of Biafra as a bunch of trouble makers.
Their cause is symptomatic of the malaise inherent in the Nigerian state. That
the cause of Biafra can be resurrected thirty-eight years after the end of the
civil war is a conclusive proof that the Nigerian state has failed. That the
same of people who paid greatly for their temerity to attempt secession can
still harbour such thoughts thirty-eight years after shows the degree of our
success with reconciliation, reconciliation and rehabilitation. Despite Gowon’s
bold attempt to bury the star of Biafra, it is unfortunate to realise, four
decades later, that the fundamental issues leading to the war are still present
in our body polity.
While the vocal MASSOB activists are making waves in the
East, we should not forget the fighters of the Niger Delta who equally have a
grouse with the Nigerian state. They are also fighting for decades of neglect,
underdevelopment, repression, marginalisation and environmental deprivation of
their region. Their cause has been very militant, arguably infiltrated by
hoodlums, nevertheless still focussed on the political and economic advancement
of their region and if possible, separation from the Nigerian state. Their case
is not helped by the injustice embodied in the state/judicial murder of Ken
Saro-Wiwa. The Niger Delta still remains an environmental disaster.
Down Southwest, the average Yoruba man, given the chance
will also desire an Ododuwa republic. While their approach may be more subtle
and intellectual, the discontent is not lost. That the North appointed Olusegun
Obasanjo as President cannot atone for the brazen robbery and humiliation of a
son of the soil who won an election and was subsequently beaten or poisoned to
death (only God knows!). Those who were then “in power” did not hide their
disdain for the wishes and choice of the masses. Whatever could threaten the
power base of those born to rule had to be crushed with unimaginable intensity.
There is general discontent in the land and the pertinent question
is who really wants Nigeria? I do not want to appear tribalistic, but it
appears that it is probably the Northerners who desire a Nigerian state, as
presently constituted. This artificial configuration called state has been
nothing but extremely favourable to them. Control of political and now economic
power has brought immense benefits to the feudalistic set up of the Northern
hegemony. They are so egoistic that they declared with aplomb that they are
born to rule. Ruling in this context means suppression and manipulation of the
wishes and aspirations of other groups within the association. Hence a
supposedly federal state is in effect practising strangulating unitary system
of government.
It is a known fact that discontent breeds rebellion and
militancy, the very key ingredients of civil conflagration. Civil war has been
described in broader terms as the a military conflict over control of resources
and political power with access to policy formulation in a disputed territory.
It often arises in opponents of the same culture, society or nationality and
often due to cultural, social, religious, political or economic disputes.
The solution cannot simply be a situation where the
instrument of oppression in the nature of the armed forces is unleashed on the
people. Rather, a genuine attempt to identify root causes and seek lasting
solutions should be found. It is sad to note that the situation leading to the Nigerian civil war still persists. There is still no
faith or trusts in the political arrangement called Nigeria. The over-riding
reason being that the state has been completely monopolised by a retrogressive,
feudal and monopolistic oligarchy in the North, actively supported and
encouraged by corrupt and
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