{mosgoogle}The chasm between Ndi Igbo at home and in Diaspora concerning the Biafran project has always been the former being indifferent and the latter almost fanatical. It is reasonable to infer that the Biafran project is dead with Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala’s Gallup/NOI Poll which was conducted in February, 2007, that claimed that 75% of Nigerians are in support of a one Nigeria . I heard it from the horses’ mouth on AM Express of the Nigeria Television Authority on Friday, 11^th May 2007 when she was being interviewed by the presenters.

Now I know this is an inflammatory subject to discuss but we have to talk about it. This is in no way an attempt to abuse the sensibilities of ardent supporters of Biafra . In my previous article on Biafra on this forum titled, “THE SUN DIES IN BIAFRA” I received huge response from mostly angry Igbo people in Diaspora who felt that I was being bias or even paranoid on the issue. I only felt the Biafran issue is worth talking about and that is why I am trying to make my point. Now that Okonjo Iweala’s poll has triggered the issue of one Nigeria I feel it is time again to talk about the Biafran project.

Perhaps THE SUN DIES IN BIAFRA was bluntly written. After going through that article again I saw why many people of the Igbo origin were obscene by it. It was because it has no political motive or any other agenda that I decided to express the truth bluntly. And the truth is that Biafra is no longer an issue to lose sleep over. The problem with Nigeria right now is a leadership problem and that is what most people are bothered about.

Ndi Igbo has always accused the Nigerian state of marginalization. The truth is that all Nigerians are marginalized no matter which part of the country one comes from. This marginalization gimmick which the Igbo ruling class have efficiently sold to their middle class is the cause for the recent agitations and support for Biafra . But then the Igbo ruling class do not want a Biafra but a chance to head the country which they haven’t done since Aguiyi Ironsi was assassinated in 1966. These cliques of middle class mostly based overseas have in a way lost touch with the reality that is Nigeria . And the reality that is Nigeria is that the Nigerian people are not angry with each other but with the government. The Nigerian government is a prototype of Ndi Igbo, which is an organization of Igbos representing their own personal interests instead of the interest of the common Igbo people.

Okonjo Iweala’s Gallup/NOI Poll have made it clear that what the people of Nigeria are interested in right now are infrastructures. The survey shows that Nigerians want Electricity, Water, Road system, Agriculture, Education, Healthcare, tackling corruption and violence. Most Nigerians are not interested in the breakaway of certain part. It is clear that the problem here is crass leadership failure.

Talking of marginalization, it would be unfair to claim that the Igbo people are more marginalized than other people. The people of Niger Delta are marginalized, yes, and it is unarguably glaring. If you tell me the ruling class has marginalized the rest of us who are poor I will agree completely with you. When it comes to the massacres of Christians and non-indigenes in Moslem dominated Northern Nigeria , I would confidently tell you that to the typical illiterate Hausa hoodlums who perpetrate such mayhems, anyone that is not Hausa is an infidel. I have witnessed people from Edo, Delta, Benue, Kaduna, Borno, Adamawa, Nassarawa, Niger state, Yoruba people etc being killed in such mayhems. I have lived in Kano for about ten years and have been caught in such mayhems several times. I was in Bauchi during the Danish cartoon issue and I saw Christians from all over the country being massacred. When there were reprisals in the East after such mayhems Christians from Nassarawa, Kaduna , Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Benue and Niger State fall victims. But the Igbo people are usually more heard than others because they are one of Nigeria ’s largest tribe.

{mosgoogle}It is clear that the Nigerian government has not done much to protect Nigerians in some states, especially Moslem dominated states of Northern Nigeria where Moslem youths hide under the auspices of Islam and Islamic institutions, coupled with the state governments, to kill innocent law abiding Nigerian citizens just because they know that they would go scot-free.

Every Nigerian living home, abroad and overseas have a right to be angry with what is happening in the country. No one is happy with events as they unfold on the political theatre. No one is happy with the Nigerian government. No one is happy with the state of corruption in the nation and much more. That is why we need to spend our energy on the leadership of this nation. We need to expose their evil to the world. We must stand and challenge them. This is democracy.

Bury Biafra in the grave of your heart dude. It is not worth the trouble. Nigeria is worth fighting for, and we need to do it together. We need to fight this criminal elite Mafioso who have hijacked Nigeria and made it their personal company; checkout the case of Govenor Ngige and Uba the Godfather, who wanted the governor to share the state allocation equally with him. Do you believe it would be different in Biafra with this story coming out of the heart of Igbo land?

Saved your energy for what you can do and leave what you cannot do. We are stuck together like Siamese twin in the destiny that is Nigeria .

Robot  Villager

# 1 var sbtitle6379=encodeURIComponent(THE OKONJO ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 15.05.2007 09:11

I Love Nigeria  Villager

# 2 Biafra is DEAD, BURIED and NO MORE! http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/article-comments/4868-biafra-dead-buried-no-more.html What Do Ndiigbo Want? From Biafra To MASSOB www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/paul-adujie/what-do-ndiigbo-want-from-biafra-to-m-2.html . 2007 Presidential Elections In Nigeria And Ndigbo’s Genuine Aspirations www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/board/archive/index.php/t-1488.html Posted by I Love Nigeria| 15.05.2007 10:01

pukpabi  Villager

# 3 My friend, If Biafra is dead, why are you paranoid about it? I do not know where you come from, but I suspect you are not Igbo. Biafra is a struggle against injustice. You love Nigeria the way it is. I do not. Every sensible Igbo knows Nigeria does not like us. The evidence abound. Biafra will be; when, I do not know. Nigeria will make Biafra happen. Mark my words. By the way; with recent events in Nigeria, you still hold on to the hope that your Nigeria will get to your eldorado? Paschal Ukpabi, J.D. Michigan, USA Posted by pukpabi| 15.05.2007 14:00

Auspicious  Villager

# 4 Active political agitation for the emergence of ethnic nations within the Nigerian geographic entity may be dead, just as the active persecution or outright elimination of certain peoples within who opted for a new and seperate identity appear to be "dead" as well. But it will be foolhardy of anyone to resign himself to some underserved comfort because he believes Nigeria is rock-solid in unity. The person should be told to wake up and smell the Onions! The truth here is, the kind of things that foisters disunity and rebellion against the status-quo are still alive everywhere; from the the terrible injustice of electoral malfeasance which deprives the peoples of their chosen good representation that they deserve, to the disappointments and failure of leadership that the people face daily amidst so much potential - not to talk of the refusal of the powers-that-be to allow people sit and lay-out the basis of our co-existence. Regional agitation for a seperate identity can never be said to be dead as long as injustice is alive in the land. Let us just say, these sectional agitations are in a period of 'Hybernation' and, can come alive whenever the conditions that favor their thriving becomes condusive enough. It will appear that those conditions are getting more and more condusive for the hybernation to end - remember 2007 elections being worse than 2003 and 1999 etc. The death or life (or hybernation!) of sectional agitations in Nigeria is only dependent on how much injustice or embarrassment the leaders continue to mette on her many peoples of various ethnic nationalities in the years to come. If the powers-that-be in Nigeria got their acts right and allowed the people to debate their basis of co-existence, if they allow justice to reign etc, regional agitations may die. But if not, we are all fooling ourselves about our unity or death of ethnic agitations. Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 15.05.2007 15:11

ula-lisa  Villager

# 5 Active political agitation for the emergence of ethnic nations within Nigeria may be dead just as the active persecution or outright elimination of the certain peoples who opted for a new identity appear to be "dead" as well. But it will be foolhardy of anyone to resign himself to some underserved comfort because he believes Nigeria is rock-solid in unity. The person should be told to wake up and smell the Onions! The truth here is, the kind of things that foisters disunity and rebellion against the status-quo are still alive everywhere; from the the terrible injustice of electoral malfeasance that deprives the peoples of the good representation they deserve, to the disappointments of failure that the people face daily amidst so much potential - not to talk of the refusal of the powers-that-be to allow a sitting to lay-out the basis of our co-existence. Regional agitation for a seperate identity can never be said to be dead as long as injustice is alive in the land. Let us just say, these sectional agitations are in a period of 'Hybernation' and can come alive whenever the conditions that favor their thriving becomes condusive enough. It will appear that those conditions are getting more and more condusive - remember 2007 elections being worse than 2003 and 1999 etc. The death or life (or hybernation for that matter!) of sectional agitations in Nigeria is not dependent on what any author or commentator says on NVS or any other forum. It is only dependent on how much injustice or embarrassment Nigeria continues to mette on her many peoples of various ethnic nationalities in the years to come. If Nigeria got her acts right and allows the people to debate their basis of co-existence, if Nigeria allows justice to reign etc, regional agitations may die but if not, we are all fooling ourselves. In the above, who is refered to as the 'Nigeria'? Posted by ula-lisa| 15.05.2007 15:16

Auspicious  Villager

# 6 Hi, Mr. Ula-Lisa! Last edited by Auspicious : Today at 03:25 PM. Reason: "Nigeria" replaced with right choice of words Please note my earlier comments have been ammended to exclude your terms of reference. Otherwise, Nigeria is Nigeria where the name Nigeria comes up in my comments. Auspicious. Posted by Auspicious| 15.05.2007 15:27

Johntina  Villager

# 7 The greatest problem of Black people is lack of respect for one another. It is lack of respect for one another that makes non-Igbos or non-easterners so obsesses about whether or not Biafra is dead. If only those of us leaving in the white world could learn to respect other people's feelings and sentiments like our host communities do to us! I believe that civilised other Nigerians ought to be cautious about discussing Biafra issue considering the fact that it is a very sensitive issue to a significant part of the country. I do not know where the author is from but for a Yoruba or Hausa or Tiv or any non-easterner to moan (or even comment here as he likes) about whether or not Biafra would rise again is disrespectful. I doubt if any non-eastern Nigerian crying about Biafra could judge his/her mind free of hatred for Igbos… My message to the writer is to wake up to major issues like the current political crisis in Nigeria and stop moaning about Biafra especially if he has nothing new to say. Posted by Johntina| 16.05.2007 07:12

Amy  Villager

# 8 =Johntina;176189>The greatest problem of Black people is lack of respect for one another. It is lack of respect for one another that makes non-Igbos or non-easterners so obsesses about whether or not Biafra is dead. If only those of us leaving in the white world could learn to respect other people's feelings and sentiments like our host communities do to us! I believe that civilised other Nigerians ought to be cautious about discussing Biafra issue considering the fact that it is a very sensitive issue to a significant part of the country. I do not know where the author is from but for a Yoruba or Hausa or Tiv or any non-easterner to moan (or even comment here as he likes) about whether or not Biafra would rise again is disrespectful. I doubt if any non-eastern Nigerian crying about Biafra could judge his/her mind free of hatred for Igbos… My message to the writer is to wake up to major issues like the current political crisis in Nigeria and stop moaning about Biafra especially if he has nothing new to say. God bless you for that, bros mi... may you live to see your children's children o'jare! This author will not let us rest 4 hia with his biafra obsession o... E ji kwanum ogu o! I can't for the life of me figure out why this individual is perpetually drinking panadol for a headache that is squarely that of Ndigbo and none other! The unbroken inflammatory titles of this author’s Biafra bashing diatribes make everything else he has to say suspect, if not outrightly unworthy to be listened to, in my humble opinion. You do not trample all over other people’s sensibilities to make whatever points you think you have. Please… make we hear word for hia joo! Okonjo poll... Biafra fallacy...:neutral: :razz:... next topic, por favor! I don taya 4 dis author!!! Later o! Posted by Amy| 16.05.2007 08:41

akuluouno  Villager

# 9 Hon Villagers, I have pondered over S Johson's comments on nationalism which my friends are already aware of and found some other selfish manifestations of this concept. In the case of Nigeria, I believe that there is still some confusion between classical nationalism and petronationalism (crudeoil patriotism) which some of us preach here unconsciously. For instance, Religious and ethnic nationalism are already well known to us. That is why if some students roast their female teacher to death or impale a convicted male prisoner, with his head carried all over town as price, this type of nationalism makes it difficult for their adherents to see any sense of injustice in such acts. The adherents are so patriotic that their level of education and exposure and even standing in society does not heal their vision 2010 in such matters. This type of patriotism is on show in Darfur where even female Arab Sudanese gather to clap and sing praises to their menfolk while they commit savage sexual abuse (rape) on their female compatriots with a darker skin pigmentation. In Nigeria, this type of patriotism is not unfamiliar. Its was most recently visited on women in Ogoni and Odi by our soldiers. It is such periphery, partial and a la carte patriotisms and national feelings in Nigeria that created Biafran nationalism and no polls by NOI or Gallop can wipe such sentiments. Believe you me. Let us stop confusing love for Niger Delta petrodollars and crudeoil revenue from love for the country and people of Nigeria.:mad: :mad: Closely watch our leaders of thought (thoughtless leaders) when they dramatise calls for patriotism and nationalism. Remove the agbada of propaganda from the call, you will see an underwear glittering in crudeoil revenue and petrodollars from gas. :biggrin: It looks magical, cant you see. :D :D Posted by akuluouno| 16.05.2007 09:34