What a real Biafran movement would look like
Mar 14, 2017 20:56:51 GMT
Honorebu and Short_Biscuit like this
Post by omohayek on Mar 14, 2017 20:56:51 GMT
As I've said on here in the past, most of the pro-Biafra agitators are nothing more than empty-headed dreamers, lacking any concrete plans to offer on how to build a nation that would be better than the Nigeria they plan to break away from. All the noise-making of MASSOB, IPOB, Radio Biafra and the rest amounts to is "Once we get Biafra life will magically get better!"
However, the worst thing of all about the Biafran separatists isn't just their lack of any real ideas about how to build a better nation, but also their lack of realistic ideas as to how to go about the separation process itself. They seem to think all they have to do is march enough in their own south-eastern states, and protest enough outside various Nigerian embassies abroad, and suddenly the Nigerian presidency and the NASS will be magically convinced to give them the independence they want on a platter. Needless to say, this is nothing more than a pipe dream: why would any Nigerian government give a damn about a few economic refugees in faraway countries, or even about masses of domestic Igbo protesters who are quickly and harshly suppressed by their own Igbo governors?
IPOB and company need a realistic strategy if they have any hope of succeeding, and this is where Churchill Nwankwo's latest column comes in. For the first time, we are seeing an Igbo public figure laying out a step-by-step plan for the actualization of Biafra - even if he prefers to put his words in Charles Soludo's mouth, rather than standing behind them himself. Following is an excerpt:
As much as pro-Biafran agitators like to tell themselves that "Afonjas" are the ones holding them back in the forced union called Nigeria, the truth is that I want their efforts to succeed, and I am sure that many other Yoruba people desire the same thing (very likely a majority, in fact, if only so the two peoples can peacefully go their separate ways). From the very birth of "Nigeria" as a unified entity, this artificial nation has existed primarily to subsidize a feudal, impoverished and educationally backward northern region at the expense of the southern part of the country, and as much as the Biafran separatists like to think they will do best from a breakup by feeding off Niger-Delta oil, more sensible people realize that oil is more of an impediment than an aid to real economic development: the real secrets to economic development are human capital and private initiative, the very qualities the British held against the Yorubas from the first moment Frederick Lugard arrived in Lagos.
The truth is that the rest of Nigeria is holding us back in the southwest, and a Biafran breakaway would also provide us the perfect opportunity to make our escape from this failed contraption of a country. It is therefore in our interest to help guide the Biafran agitators towards more realistic schemes for achieving what they claim* to want - and that means graduating from empty protests that just serve up young Igbos as target practice for northern soldiers, to creating a political movement whose interests governors, representatives and senators from the southeast will vigorously champion in Abuja. That not a single active Igbo politician speaks in favor of IPOB/MASSOB says everything about how far their efforts have still to go.
*Whether they truly want it is another question ...
However, the worst thing of all about the Biafran separatists isn't just their lack of any real ideas about how to build a better nation, but also their lack of realistic ideas as to how to go about the separation process itself. They seem to think all they have to do is march enough in their own south-eastern states, and protest enough outside various Nigerian embassies abroad, and suddenly the Nigerian presidency and the NASS will be magically convinced to give them the independence they want on a platter. Needless to say, this is nothing more than a pipe dream: why would any Nigerian government give a damn about a few economic refugees in faraway countries, or even about masses of domestic Igbo protesters who are quickly and harshly suppressed by their own Igbo governors?
IPOB and company need a realistic strategy if they have any hope of succeeding, and this is where Churchill Nwankwo's latest column comes in. For the first time, we are seeing an Igbo public figure laying out a step-by-step plan for the actualization of Biafra - even if he prefers to put his words in Charles Soludo's mouth, rather than standing behind them himself. Following is an excerpt:
I had earlier stated in a press conference that the continued detention of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu is unacceptable and an abuse of Mr. Kanu’s right to legitimate agitation. Beyond street protests, this agitation can only be actualized by transforming it into a political force. IPOB, MOSSOB and the rest should all remember that it is not by staring hard that one sees the road. Even Hitler converted a de facto discussion group to an actual political party.
As I step up my involvement in putting pressure for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the questions of holistic political strategy are always on my mind. Where are we going as a people and how are we going to get there? We should be smart enough to call into question the strategies so far adopted towards the actualization of sovereignty. Let us all remember that when a tortoise argues and stretches himself, his shell breaks. We should stop breaking our backs on protests alone. We need to change gear.
We should stop encouraging our children to keep dying without a coordinated political game plan that will aim for political power in the southeast. I want to save the life of my Igbo brothers from the murderous-crude Nigerian security operatives. I am thus challenging the pro-Biafran movement to ask their followers to look at political power through the ballot box. The time to change the tame strategy is now.
I challenge the pro-Biafran intellectuals to throw their heart and energy into the ring as a true test of our grassroots support. We should rally round a good candidate for the Anambra State governorship in 2017. I urge every Anambra citizen and all the different pro-Biafran groups to use the enormous goodwill, to mobilize the voting public for such candidate.
Obviously, it will be difficult to register a political party with Biafran identity. But there are dozens of registered political parties out there that we can use as a platform to actualize “sovereignty” without bloodshed. Winning the Anambra Government House will be a starting tsunami of a non-violent alternative to the actualization of semi-sovereign State of Biafra. After winning Anambra, we will, together, transform the economy of the state before marching to capture the rest of the Southeastern State in subsequent elections.
As I step up my involvement in putting pressure for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the questions of holistic political strategy are always on my mind. Where are we going as a people and how are we going to get there? We should be smart enough to call into question the strategies so far adopted towards the actualization of sovereignty. Let us all remember that when a tortoise argues and stretches himself, his shell breaks. We should stop breaking our backs on protests alone. We need to change gear.
We should stop encouraging our children to keep dying without a coordinated political game plan that will aim for political power in the southeast. I want to save the life of my Igbo brothers from the murderous-crude Nigerian security operatives. I am thus challenging the pro-Biafran movement to ask their followers to look at political power through the ballot box. The time to change the tame strategy is now.
I challenge the pro-Biafran intellectuals to throw their heart and energy into the ring as a true test of our grassroots support. We should rally round a good candidate for the Anambra State governorship in 2017. I urge every Anambra citizen and all the different pro-Biafran groups to use the enormous goodwill, to mobilize the voting public for such candidate.
Obviously, it will be difficult to register a political party with Biafran identity. But there are dozens of registered political parties out there that we can use as a platform to actualize “sovereignty” without bloodshed. Winning the Anambra Government House will be a starting tsunami of a non-violent alternative to the actualization of semi-sovereign State of Biafra. After winning Anambra, we will, together, transform the economy of the state before marching to capture the rest of the Southeastern State in subsequent elections.
The truth is that the rest of Nigeria is holding us back in the southwest, and a Biafran breakaway would also provide us the perfect opportunity to make our escape from this failed contraption of a country. It is therefore in our interest to help guide the Biafran agitators towards more realistic schemes for achieving what they claim* to want - and that means graduating from empty protests that just serve up young Igbos as target practice for northern soldiers, to creating a political movement whose interests governors, representatives and senators from the southeast will vigorously champion in Abuja. That not a single active Igbo politician speaks in favor of IPOB/MASSOB says everything about how far their efforts have still to go.
*Whether they truly want it is another question ...