War Without End, Friendly Neighbors Or Peaceful And Equal Co-Existence

War Without End, Friendly Neighbors Or Peaceful And Equal Co-Existence As the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),...

War Without End, Friendly Neighbors Or Peaceful And Equal Co-Existence

As the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, resumes at the federal high court, Abuja, it is pertinent to note the nullity of efforts by the government. This is because careful considerations of Nigerian government’s actions, dating back to the genesis of the friction with Biafrans, have not been aimed at pacification, reconciliation or any sensitive consideration of the Biafran people's needs and yearnings!

As a reminder, Biafrans who asked for killings to stop in 1967 were levied with more massacres to the tune of thousands. Again, Biafrans trooped home to Biafra to escape the onslaught but were killed in millions by Nigeria and her allies and forced to assimilate into Nigeria, and were promise reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation, none of which ever came to reality. 

Fifty-five(55)years after the United Kingdom’s sponsored war of attrition, Biafra is still a hot topic in Nigeria. Agitations are prevalent in the former Biafra republic, and increasingly so, day by day. Confrontation is becoming inevitable once more and is only a miracle away. Are these not indicators of failure of the Nigerian idea?

Reliance on oppression and military action to quell Biafran agitation should no longer be on the table.  It is a nonstarter and the United Kingdom should hands off Nigeria!

Like an adage says, "when you think you know this, do you know the other"? Fifty-five(55) years of insanity should mean that the time is ripe for referendum. How long can force of arms hold a rend jeans? The oppression of easterners led to the declaration of Biafra, just as oppression after the war led to the formation of MASSOB; oppression and killing of MASSOB members led to the formation of IPOB, just as the oppression and killing of IPOB members led to near destabilization of Nigeria and her economy.

A smart government will rethink her strategy, reconsider her approach and deviate from their unpopular and unworkable path. But the problem is that this government is nothing near smart. Even though it knows what it is doing, at the behest of United Kingdom, it is awkwardly executing it to the chagrin of, I think, even the benefactor – United Kingdom!

Written by Emma Iwu

Edited by Chibueze Daniel

Family Writers Press International