By Chukwuemeka Chimerue | Biafra Writers
August 9, 2017
Ever since the boycott of gubernatorial elections in Anambra was announced by the IPOB leadership, many critics, pundits and the opponents have been propagating various conjectures and false assumptions just to suit their personal narratives on the reason why elections should hold in the State.
Some have directly or indirectly accused the IPOB leadership of fanning the embers of war and violence, alleging that they planned stopping or attacking anyone who dares to come out to exercise his right to vote. These and many more countless of other falsehood and negative imaginations have been trailing the call for the election boycott.
But sincerely speaking, I find it rather disappointing to read some things from people who ought to know better. I mean, since when did IPOB and its members become wild villains? Has IPOB members, for once, ever physically attacked anybody whatsoever? Have they rather not been the victims in every circumstance and every opportunity— in the hands of the government, police, army, civil defence, haters, politicians, other regional groups that lack focus, and of course, the almighty media especially social media and the Internet warriors! A simple rhetoric would have been if IPOB even send out any of its members to enforce the recent "Sit-at-home". Of course not, but yet, the success spoke loudly to the establishment.
Who even set the rule of conduct in this contraption called Nigeria, which Aisha Buhari and other like minds qualified as a 'zoo' of lions, hyenas, jackals and lesser animals. It's high time we quit vilifying struggling people and consequently ourselves just to seem politically correct, but to be careful not to assume more than we necessarily are in our choices of thoughts and words at times like now.
However, to keep the record straight, IPOB never threatened to stop anybody from going to vote or exercise his franchise, they only meant to mobilize the people through persuasion not to go out to vote on that day, meaning that they won't stop anybody that feels like voting on that day.
As a citizen, you have every right to decide whether to vote or not to vote. What IPOB means by "No referendum, no election", is simply a civil disobedience which they equally have the right and it is to register their disapproval of the current system and if they succeed with their plans, it will put pressure on the government to consider the option granting them their request for referendum because there will be constitutional crisis if a required number of voters did not turn out to vote.
In essence, IPOB is rather disenchanted with the whole Nigeria political system where the masses are being treated as if they have no representatives, no quality leadership, the system has been flawed with all forms of irregularities that there's no hope of redemption. And so came the call for a referendum instead, to determine the desires and fate of the people in whether they want to continue being part of the country or if they desire an outright breakout.
Hence, the fact that IPOB's position on voting during elections negates the positions or views of other groups or individuals, doesn't make their approach a jungle style, especially with their very unfair tagging of IPOB as a violent group, let alone comparing them with other rather aggressive groups in the country. It benumbs the senses, especially when it is coming from someone with historical awareness.
I usually wonder why they are persistently painting the worst scenarios for the Biafran struggle? Why does the word "violence", constantly resonate in their speeches? How often has IPOB used violence in its mantra? None! Except on the fringes of their imagination, attempting to infuse a non-existent phenomenon in the Biafran struggle to freedom from the grip of the Fulanis that hijacked the remnant of British colonial expertise in this part of Africa.
These thoughts of violence are entirely a figment of their imagination and I'll hence cease to further discuss it as it holds no place in the minds of serious agitators seeking exit from this mismatched misadventure we have no business associating with in the first place, if not for the evil wiles of demonic British wickedness on humanity across the world.
Those propagating IPOB as miscreants and/or violent group, fail to realize that many reads them and some can actually smell the coffee better than them. We can all easily decipher when you draw the wrong line in allegory, making yourself a presumptuous arbiter.
If anything, you may choose to compare IPOB to ANC of South Africa, yet ANC was a far more violent guerrilla group, whose activities against a "sovereign state" of South Africa were never brought to serious question by the international community contrary to what some haters and critics may have variously posited against IPOB. Yet ANC was and has remained a significant force in South Africa's political history. And as I wrote before, it would be prudent to be careful what we opine at times like now. We shouldn't be captives of our own identities, living in prisons of our own creation.
Agitations are like projects. It is expected that lessons learnt should be part of the process of developing strategies and IPOB quite understood that there is need for risk assessment, so that agitators would not be putting the people at risk. Hence, the reason why they are focusing on the game. You have to be consistent for people to take you seriously. You can't be saying you want to opt out of the union and then turn around to participate in the politics of the union; any day you do that, your struggle will be over because the powers that be will do everything to frustrate you. We only have to be more serious, tactical and punctilious in our approach. Therefore, if we want to fight for a change lets do it vigorously or else we just keep on keeping on with the present reality.
Nigeria is such a peculiar country that doesn't respond to a weak approach, as a matter of fact, you can't beg devil or romance him to leave you, a bit of madness like Nnamdi Kanu's approach is required to compel the change of status quo in Nigeria and that is already yielding result.
Some may choose to advise IPOB to tow the line of some other countries of the world which gained independence through involving in their host country's elections and politics. But that is not completely true, given that Nigeria have not developed to the standard of those countries they rightly mentioned. Nigeria as a peculiar country, less developed than those countries, requires a creative approach and that is what I think IPOB is applying.
As far as I know, boycotting elections in Nigeria, beginning with that of Anambra state, remains part of civil disobedience and it is a sure way of telling the Nigerian authorities and the entire International community that you have no confidence in the Nigerian project, thus maintaining your stance of wanting independence from the Nigerian state.
We are not unaware that Nigeria as a country synonymous with breaking the law will do anything, we are cognizant of the fact that they may choose to put whoever they want in any political position in Nigeria whether you vote for the candidate or not, but let it be overtly established that you did not vote. There are international observers who are aware that you are not part of what's going down! There are still the international media whose watchword is integrity, and are much interested in this election and Nigeria cannot bribe not to report their objective analysis of the election.
People who may not realize the importance of freedom and the sacrifice IPOB is committing every blessed day on its quest for freedom are the ones that finds it difficult to align themselves with the routes to total emancipation for the benefit of all. They are only focusing on what they think they stand to lose in Nigeria without realizing what they stand to gain in one cohesive, vibrant and productive nation of Biafra. Needless to ask, do they even know the price of freedom? Can anyone place a cost on it?
They should better realize that things mustn't go the way they envisioned and encapsulated them in their vision. Arguing or fighting what is clear to even the dumb degrades the very essence of your efforts.
At this point, under the present dispositions, IPOB seems to be the wiser maiden of liberation struggle across the world going by recent global commentaries. And one would be forced to ask if they are living in a different world. Even a Yoruba group, YOLICOM, has keyed into the train, yet other groups and individuals which prides itself as a congregation and convergence of intellectuals is playing "Russian Roulette" with the future that is clearly as bleak as night and day! There shouldn't be any competition, contention or antagonism, let's allow the superior strategy to prevail. There's absolutely no gain paying attention to some people whose hallmark is only to cast aspersions on other people's struggles and endeavours, yet they can't muster the courage to do something meaningful only to keep hallucinating for a change to occur by happenstance.
We cannot continue to close our eyes to the calling made of God to be a Biafran. We cannot shy or run away from the fact that the spirit of Biafra dwells and runs in us. The spirit of dexterity, honesty, liberation, innovation, creativity, generosity, peace, togetherness, community - interpersonal growth and industrialism. That is the spirit of Biafra. Biafra is a done deal and there is no amount of media attack on IPOB or its leader from those self-appointed sheriffs of the Nigerian government will reverse it.
But for the records to be told in truth and fairness, the Biafran man feeds well and doesn't seek crumbs that falls from the master's table. Biafrans are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, special people made in the glory of God filled with Grace to make wealth. Biafrans seek for a place where the Sun Rises. They comprehend that the Biafran nation is a Startup - Nation and wants to dwell comfortably in an enabling environment to compete as a citizen of a first world country. And that place is in the center of The Sun.
They have come to realize that the seat of Nigeria's presidency has eluded them for fear that they might loosen the hands of power brokers and positively re-engineer the affairs of the country. So we have come to know that it's useless to ask for Presidency.
An average Biafran man does not want to belong to a restructured Nigeria because he knows it's fruitless and a deadly joke that would never come to reality because we have the so-called powerful entities who would rather die than to have a regionally restructured Nigeria, of which they just demonstrated in the Senate recently.
A Biafran man is constructive and prosperity conscious, and he believes that the current Nigeria is dragging them backward. The Biafran people know that the Biafran nation is a start-up - nation that can compete with the most advanced and developed countries of the world, so they believe that been in their separate own country is their only ticket for liberation — to be able to rapidly mold and build themselves into the world's power house, filled with beautiful cities, skyscrapers and amongst world technology leaders and innovators.
There is no middle ground for this call. I believe that if referendum as demanded by IPOB is not quickly conducted; hell will come to earth, starting from our communities to those who could have said or done something better but choose not to because of their personal benefits. A revolution is fast brewing. The seeds of this revolution have been distilled at the gates of National Distillery. It will spark from the four corners of Nigeria by which end, Nigeria will tear apart into different regions, and/or disintegrate or dismember into distinct nations.
In this struggle for freedom, pragmatism is required and that is what I think IPOB is doing now and soon those who have sold our rights and freedom and still living comfortably in the business will meet their waterloo with the IPOB challenge. You can tell a foolish man whose house is on fire to chase the rats running out, but not a people who are saying "enough is enough" to the armed mindless clowns who are holding their future and fortunes down. Time is already telling!
Biafra Times
Publisher: Charles Opanwa
Contact us: [email protected]
Biafra Times
Publisher: Charles Opanwa
Contact us: [email protected]
It is glaring that Our nation is dislocated and atrophied by serial mismanagement occasioned by successive leadership that wants us to believe that a united Nigeria offers us a better deal than a Nigeria balkanized into splinter states. In as much as this standpoint is noble, one begins to wonder why the same unity beggers do not grasp or pretend not to grasp the need to also install in the country's political firmament the mechanism or the structures upon which the architectural super structure germane to realization of their imagined United Nigeria. This points to the feeling most of us hold, to the effect that our woes and our hues and our cries are to the advantage of this pack of unity beggers and they would do anything possible to maintain the statusqo so that their grip on our patrimony shall continue years on end.
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