How Biafra can be Free without War.

In 1999, the flame of fire for Biafra restoration was
re-started with the formation of Movement for the
Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB) by Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, Uche
Okwukwu, Prince Orjiako and others with the aim
of securing the resurgence of Biafra independence
and sovereignty. Since then, the flame had spread
into a wild and unstoppable fire, thanks to the

efforts of thousands of Biafrans with unquenchable
appetite for freedom and justice. The setting up of
Radio Biafra London (RBL) in 2009 – the brain
child of Sam Ume (Tagbo Umeasiegbu) and actively
supported by Nnamdi Kanu, Dr. Chukwuma Egemba,
Nwada Amarachi Okpara, Uche Mefor and Kingsley
Kanu added more fuel to the burning wild fire,
making it unquenchable and unstoppable. Today,
the forces of freedom and justice, which Biafra
represents, have set it on collision course with the
government of Nigeria, which sees the resurgence
of Biafra as a threat to its national unity and
territorial integrity. In fact, Nigerian government
sees Biafra more threatening than Boko Haram that
had physically taken over sizeable chunk of its
territory and killed hundreds of security operatives
and innocent civilians, hence the efforts of
successive governments to out-do each other in
repressing and suppressing Biafra restoration
efforts.
Unfortunately, the more highhanded and aggressive
they become in trying to diminish the fighting
spirit of Biafran activists, the more determined
and aggressive we become in fighting to bitter end
for our survival, freedom and justice. The recent
and ongoing tsunami of protests around the world
against the arrest, continued detention and
mocked trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the Director of RBL;
imprisonments, extra judicial killings and police
brutality against Biafra activists are testament to
the fact that the match for Biafra restoration is
unstoppable until victory is achieved. It is very
unfortunate, criminally indicting and unacceptable
that many innocent people had been killed
needlessly by Nigerian security operatives and
often buried in mass graves. These callous and
cowardly actions had not diminished and cannot
diminish the quest of Biafrans from freedom.
However, a tactical and strategic retreat is
necessary and should be encouraged now. It is not a
surrender or sign of weakness. Even in battles,
generals make tactical and strategic retreat and
withdrawal in order to re-strategise and regroup for
further attack. It is clear that Biafraland has been
fully militarised with more mechanised formations
being deplored in different parts of our land,
especially in Aba and its environs. Former Boko
Haram prisoners and terrorist had been let loose,
armed and fully incorporated into the army and
police and sent to Biafra territories with clear
instruction to shoot at site Biafran activists and
protesters, no matter how peaceful they may
appear. Besides, we have chief murderous ‘security’
officers at federal and state levels, who had openly
declared their hatred for Biafra and the Biafran
cause. Therefore, it will be unwise to give these
blood thirsty murderers further excuses to murder
more of our young and innocent people. Tactical
retreat is not surrender.
Again, I have argued and will continue to argue that
armed struggle had run out of fashion and no long
constitutes first options in self-determination in
the 21st century. I have dedicated a considerable
part of my adult life for the struggle to restore
Biafra. During this time, I have never advocated for
the use of violence as the first or preferred option.
I make no apology for this stand and will hold it
strongly until I am proved wrong. All evidence from
all sources within all areas of Biafra points to the
fact that they want the restoration of Biafra, but
do not want violence and war as means of restoring
their freedom and sovereignty. It will not be wise
to work against the wish of the people.
It is on this premise that I am openly and
unequivocally calling for the suspension of all
street protests and any gathering that can be
construed as such. My most worry and concern is
that the protests are organised and led remotely –
with the organisers – not only invincible, but also
not taking responsibility for their action. This is
wrong and must not be encouraged or supported.
Obviously, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu
Buhari, and the state governors in the states where
Biafrans are killed will be held responsible for their
murderous actions because they gave the orders
and are the Chief Security Officers in their
respective jurisdictions (at national and state
levels). In the same manner, any person or persons,
who overtly and covertly instigate innocent people
to be murdered are equally culpable. Obviously,
those concerned in misguiding innocent people and
indirectly encouraging their murder know
themselves and I know them.
I have purposely chosen not to name names here
for obvious reasons, it is not out of fear of
intimidation or death. Some of those involved
know me too well, know how to get to me and
where I live, so fear is out of it. They also know
that I have contacted them personally and directly
on this matter. Let me make it clearer, instigation
of murder is a criminal offence.
Inasmuch as I want Biafra, prepared to commit my
last breath to make the restoration of our freedom
and sovereignty a reality, I do not hate Nigeria and
do not wish Nigeria dead. At the end of the day,
whatever that will remain of Nigeria after Biafra
will be our closest neighbour, our biggest political
and economic partner. Czech and Slovakia co-exist
after the demise of Czechoslovakia; South Sudan
did not wish Sudan dead during the pursuit of
their independence; East Timor did not seek to
destroy Indonesia, neither did war break out in the
former Soviet Union that metamorphosed into 15
independent and sovereign states.
Oh, by the way, did black South Africans drive the
white minority into the Atlantic after apartheid?
Why then should any sane person or group wish
Nigeria dead in order to restore Biafra? It does not
make sense, both in time and space. Where then is
the mantra of the Biafran people: ‘Live and let live’
that had sustained us for thousands of year? If we
want to live in freedom, we must not only allow
others to live, but live in peace with them. Is that
not common sense? The processes, procedures,
terms and conditions of self-determination of
indigenous people do not and cannot include the
annihilation of another people or nation. You do
not have to preach hatred to prove your point and
support for Biafra!
Consequently, the question of Biafra is not about
war, it is not about destroying other states/
nations, it is not about hating other peoples,
neither is it about threat and counter threat. It is
all about careful and coordinated efforts; it is about
synthesising individual, group, media campaigns
into a structured and systematic action plan with
tightened loose ends; it is about carefully
cultivating and courting friends inside and outside,
in low and high places; it is about strategically and
tactically using your limited resources to maximum
benefit of the struggle; it is about laying a solid
grassroots economic base within the confinement
of space and scope available to us; it is about
building a solid political base and alliances within
the confinement of current political realities; it is
about changing and reshuffling plans and strategies
to suit local, national and international conditions
and realities and above all, it is about creating
operational base. Without these, in any order, we
will be punching and blowing hot air, wasting time
and resources and alienating our support base. This
is what we have done for more than 15 years and
it is not sustainable going forward.
War or violent path to Biafra restoration is and
cannot be a viable first option for several reasons:
· Local: There are no favourable local operational
base for such action. We don’t have full and
exclusive control of any territory from where a
meaningful and successful operation could be
launched. Our local population had suffered and still
suffering from imposed socio-economic hardship,
which will make such operation very unpopular and
will add to their hardship. Violence will be hard and
difficult to sell to our local support base.
• National: Nigerian government is still in full
control of our territory. They have made no secret
of their intentions to crush and frustrate any
Biafran-led uprising, hence our land had been fully
militarised and effectively under siege. It is also
using series of overt and covert policies to
strangulate the people – thus making any violent
undertaking dangerous and unattractive.
·International: The international community will
not welcome or support any additional violent
uprising from any part of the world now. There are
more than enough to contend with at the moment:
Western engineered crisis in Iraq, Afghanistan,
Syria and Libya, resulting in the rise and spread of
Islamic terrorism and unprecedented refugee and
migrant crisis in Europe and internally displaced
persons elsewhere; problem associated with
Russian territorial ambitions in the former in
Ukraine and other former Soviet republics; internal
aid and support organisations are overwhelmed and
stretched due to some of the above crisis and to a
lesser extent, the elections and inevitable change
of administration in the US. Therefore, additional
violent uprising will receive little or no support. In
fact, the international community is not prepared
for another conflict situation.
These and other unfavourable conditions, including
the intentional and near total media boycott of our
struggle makes any form of violent approach as first
option inappropriate and unnecessary at the
present moment. However, I have not, will not and
will never advocate for total negation of violence in
our or any other self-determination struggle as a
last option, when all other options have failed,
seen to have failed, as a self-defence mechanism
and seen to have been forced on us.
We are in the business of creating and building a
nation state, a future sovereign member of the
international political system, not an umbrella
organisation or a town union, neither are we in a
popularity or personality contest. There is too
much dust in the air now. It must settle and clear
for us to make sense of the realities of our
situation right now.
Things cannot be the same going forward. Whatever
happens, Biafra is supreme! Interacting with our
sympathisers, activists and supporters at base, one
thing is frequent, reoccurring and constant: War is
not and cannot be first option/choice in our
restoration efforts; we, the Biafran people alone,
will determine the direction, success and failure of
our struggle. The successes and difficulties we had
experienced thus far are not commensurate to our
efforts. We could have achieved more successes
with less difficulty if some of the challenges
outlined above were addressed or factored into our
actions. Combination of individuals placing
themselves far and above Biafra (selfishness and
egoism), group mentality, hero worshiping, internal
division, absence of central institution and lack of
coordination of activities resulted in wasting years
of efforts and valuable resources. These must
change for us to make progress.
Nevertheless and regardless, the success or failure
of whatever option, tactics and strategy we adopt
will largely depend on us – the Biafran people, the
activists, supporters and our leadership. Buhari and
his government’s highhandedness, oppression and repression will not and can never stop Biafra restoration efforts. They can only delay and prolong it, but in the end, our structured plans and coordinated action will overcome them and guarantee victory for a free and sovereign Biafra state.