“We Failed Biafra”: Austrian NATO Advocate Demands EU Recognition Of Biafra To “Atone For 1967 Shame

“We Failed Biafra”: Austrian NATO Advocate Demands EU Recognition Of Biafra To “Atone For 1967 Shame   Vienna, Austria – November 3, 2025 ...

“We Failed Biafra”: Austrian NATO Advocate Demands EU Recognition Of Biafra To “Atone For 1967 Shame

 

Vienna, Austria – November 3, 2025 – In a pointed social media appeal that has ignited fresh debate over African self-determination, Austrian political advocate Gunther Fehlinger-Jahn called on the European Union to formally recognize an independent Biafra Republic, framing it as atonement for the West's historical inaction during the 1967-1970 Nigerian Civil War. The post, directed at EU foreign policy figures and U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives against a backdrop of escalating agitation in southeastern Nigeria, where the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement continues to decry what it calls a "failed state" plagued by ethnic violence and resource exploitation.

Fehlinger-Jahn, Chairman of the Austrian Committee for NATO enthusiast with over 92,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter), posted the message early Monday morning, tagging EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and POTUS directly. 

“I call the EU to recognize the Biafra Republic emerging out of failed #ExNigeria @kajakallas and remind the Free World that we failed Biafra in 1967 to 1970 during their liberation war to our eternal shame We must make up for our failure and endorse Biafra Republic now @POTUS” he wrote. The post, which quotes a statement from the IPOB's Directorate of State (DOS) highlighting alleged Nigerian government complicity in jihadist violence against Biafran Christians, had garnered more than 4,000 views within hours.

Fehlinger-Jahn's intervention taps into a long-simmering grievance rooted in the Biafran War, a brutal conflict that claimed up to three million lives, mostly from starvation and combat, as Nigeria's federal forces blockaded the Republic of Biafra. Led by Biafran military officer Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the Biafra state encompassing Nigeria's oil-rich southeast declared independence in 1967 amid ethnic pogroms against Igbos in the north. 

Despite international sympathy and covert aid from figures like French President Charles de Gaulle, the West largely stood by, with the U.S. under President Richard Nixon offering only humanitarian gestures. Fehlinger-Jahn's post explicitly invokes this "eternal shame," echoing criticisms from historians who argue Western powers prioritized Cold War realpolitik and oil interests over humanitarian intervention.

The Austrian international political advocate, who serves as chairman of the Austrian Committee for NATO Enlargement – a group advocating for alliance expansion to include Ukraine, Kosovo, Bosnia, and even neutral Austria has built a reputation for diplomacy. 

This is not Fehlinger-Jahn's first stand on Biafran advocacy. Over the past 48 hours, he has flooded X with endorsements, including a viral image post apologizing for Nixon's "failure" and querying how many states should emerge from a fragmented "ExNigeria." In one, he urged the U.S. to "liberate" Biafra. Another criticized U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken for overlooking anti-Christian pogroms in Nigeria, imploring President Donald Trump   referenced in a quoted thread by American Enterprise Institute scholar Michael Rubin – to champion Biafran independence by 2026. Rubin's writings, which Fehlinger-Jahn amplifies, detail Nigeria's religious fault lines, accusing the Biden administration of "blinkered" policies that exacerbate Christian persecution

Biafran agitation, led by the incarcerated IPOB founder Nnamdi Kanu, have long framed their struggle as one against marginalization in Africa's most populous nation. The southeast, predominantly Igbo and Christian, produces much of Nigeria's oil yet receives scant federal investment, fueling accusations of economic sabotage. Recent escalations include D.O.S claims of Nigerian forces deploying ex-Boko Haram militants against Biafran civilians. 

As of Monday afternoon, neither Kallas's office nor the White House had responded to Fehlinger-Jahn's tags. EU diplomats, navigating post-election uncertainties in the U.S. and ongoing African Union commitments to Nigeria's territorial integrity, are unlikely to act swiftly. Yet the post underscores a persistent tension: In an era of Ukraine's NATO aspirations and Kosovo's precedents, can historical neglect like Biafra sovereignty reshape Western policy toward Africa's fractures? For Fehlinger-Jahn, the answer is a resounding – if tweet-length – yes. The call for Biafra sovereignty is gaining global attention and Biafran people are not backing down in their request for separate state from Nigeria.

Family Writers Press International.