Angry reactions trail killing of IPOB members in Enugu

August 24, 2020 | The Biafra Times

Angry reactions have started trailing the reported killing of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in Enugu. All the respondents, who spoke to Vanguard in Owerri, were unanimous in their belief that the dead were first Ndigbo before being members of IPOB. They also described the incident as “senseless and condemnable, especially as IPOB members are usually unarmed”.

 Reacting, an Owerri based legal practitioner, Mr Aloy Ejimakor, said the wrong branding of the dead was deceptive and a diversionary tactic to simply write off the dead as IPOB members, instead of Ndigbo. His words: “Forget IPOB. They are Ndigbo. It is completely deceptive and a diversionary tactic to simply write off the dead as IPOB members, instead of Ndigbo. Whoever takes the life of an IPOB member is taking the life of an Igbo and therefore will ultimately account to Ndigbo.”

According to the lawyer, “when I read about the senseless killing of unarmed innocents, who gathered in Enugu on August 23, 2020, in peaceable exercise of their constitutional rights, I quickly began to search the news to learn more and I learnt plenty, including particularly, the somewhat dismissive refrain that those killed are just IPOB members.”

 While arguing that they might be IPOB members, Ejimakor, however, said: “Everybody in the former Eastern Nigeria, who disagrees with what has become Nigeria, is an IPOB member, overtly or covertly”. “They don’t have to carry a registration card for you to be certain that they are IPOB members. All you need to do is to talk with them to convince yourself that they are IPOB members. “An IPOB member is simply any Eastern Nigerian, especially the Igbo, who will rather have Biafra than a Nigeria that eats her children, especially her Igbo children. And they are in the millions. “They are legion. Some are above ground. Some are in sleeper cells and they are not miscreants. They are the Igbo gentry, the elites, the masses, warts and all.

“The Igbo remains an Igbo for now and forever, alive or dead. Nobody can change that. No subliminal narrative of just IPOB can change that.” Another IPOB loyalist, who simply identified himself as Chikerem, urged the security agencies to “stop branding people IPOB when they know that the killing and maiming unarmed Ndigbo”. Chikerem also reasoned that those killed were Ndigbo before becoming IPOB members, adding that “it beats my imagination why the Nigerian government has disdain for Ndigbo, but relentlessly want to keep us in Nigeria”. Answering a question, Chikerem said that there was no way anybody can detach IPOB members from Ndigbo, who are not terrorists but are treated and branded as such.

 For Nkemdiri Osukaku, “Igbo life is precious, inalienable and the blood of an IPOB member is not less precious than that of any other Igbo man or woman”. He appealed to the security agencies to face the dreaded Boko Haram, ISWAP and other deadly insurgents that are terrorizing the citizenry, instead of running after unarmed agitators of a free Biafra.

The Biafra Times

Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah

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#BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Those Who Fell By The Bullets Of The Nigeria Security Joint Forces At National High School, Aba; The Darkest Of All Days In Enyimba City

By Chijindu Benjamin Ukah | For Biafra Writers

May 28, 2020

It was the darkest day in Enyimba city of Aba, Abia state on Monday February 9, 2015, when the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, gathered at National High School in Portharcourt road, Aba, singing, dancing, praying and crying to the Most High God for the release of the illegally detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu and for His intervention in the restoration of Biafra.

In the heat of the praise, worship and prayer, came the men of the Nigeria Police Force on several Hilux vans and cars, invading the school compound. Not too long after their arrival, men of the Nigerian army also arrived in their numbers, marching in a single file and surrounded Biafrans as they continued praying and singing. The Nigerian soldiers mounted surveillance and positioned in readiness to maim and shoot innocent, defenseless people as though they were in war front.

All of a sudden, they began shooting at the peaceful but disquieted crowd of unarmed people. First, they fired teargas canisters, followed by rains of bullets. What was their crime? They were with only their Bibles and musical instruments, praying for salvation from the artificial and inorganic contraption (Nigeria), and seeking for the restoration of their original identity, culture and dignity (Biafra).

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: Reminiscing The Great Moments Of A Great Icon, Selfless Leader And Pioneer Biafra Head Of State, Gen. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

We shall not forget! As a result of your death, your children were made fatherless, motherless; your wives were made widows and your husbands, widower. Your parents were rendered childless and your children orphans. They could not even allow us to recover your remains to give you a befitting burial; they took your corpse away. Some of you were buried in secret mass graves against our culture, some were burnt in the bush while others were dumped and left to decay in burrow pits after they poured acid on them.


We shall not forget that you laid down your life for Biafra to be restored. We shall not forget that you died that we may live. We shall continue to fight until that which you died for is achieved. We remember you in our heart of hearts.

We invoke the natural weapons of the most high; the dust of the earth, wind, water, moon and sun to rise and fight your killers until there is no last man standing.  Brave heroes and heroines of the great Biafra; rest on.

The Biafra Times
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]

#BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Those Butchered On 2nd Dec. 2015 By Combined Team Of The Nigeria Security Forces

By Chukwuemeka C, |The Biafra Times

May 28, 2020

MISS Anthonia Nkeiruka Ikeanyionwu, aged 20, was among the fallen heroines who met their untimely death during the picketing at Ojukwu gateway, Onitsha Head bridge on Wednesday, December 2, 2015, by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB).

Tragedy struck when few weeks to the end of the year, bullets from the guns of some trigger-happy Nigerian soldiers, in league with other joint sister agencies who were deployed to quell the protest by the IPOB, suddenly flew in from God-knows-where and struck dead Miss Anthonia Nkeiruka Ikeanyionwu, a 200-level student of Educational Management and Policy, Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra State, leaving her in a pool of blood.

The picketing at the Head bridge by IPOB, was to drive home their demand for the unconditional release of the then illegally detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu who was languishing at Kuje prisons without any form of trial. Biafrans were simply picketing under moral and ideological precepts against the continued detention and incarceration of Mr Kanu.

The Biafra protesters had converged from various states in Biafra land and beyond to ask for his release only to be attacked at odd hours by the combined team of the Nigerian army, police, civil defence, navy and what have you.

Apart from Miss Ikeanyionwu, the incident led to the death of other innocent hawkers, a 'suya' merchant and passersby who got struck by the stray bullets while some surviving victims sustained varying degrees of injuries as a result of the violent, uncultured and unprofessional engagement of the security operatives.

Furthermore, evidences abound of unarmed and defenseless pro-Biafra protesters being gunned down in cold blood by Nigerian security agents during demonstrations.

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: Reminiscing The Great Moments Of A Great Icon, Selfless Leader And Pioneer Biafra Head Of State, Gen. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

It could be recalled that in respect to the cold murder of Miss Ikeanyionwu and others, a human rights group, The Kingdom Human Rights International, on behalf of IPOB and families of the deceased victims, filed a lawsuit before a Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding an aggregate sum of N8.5 billion in damages against the federal government over the killing and maiming of pro-Biafra protesters on October 20 and December 2, 2015 in parts of South East and South South geopolitical zones.

The suit, which was filed by counsels in the firm, Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, Paul Nwoko, and Richard Udozo, also joined the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Attorney General of the Federation, the National Assembly of Nigeria, and the Chief of Army Staff as respondents.

Others also joined in the suit were: the former Inspector General of Police, the Commissioners of Police in Imo, Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States commands, the Commandant General of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Director General of the Department of State Services.

Among other reliefs, the suit was seeking a declaration of the court as crime against humanity, unlawful, cruel, brutal, and wicked the killing of “unarmed, non-violent and peaceful protesters who are exercising their right to peaceful assembly, freedom of association and right to self-determination as guaranteed by sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution and Articles I, IV XIX of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, by the combined team of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies.”

Though peacefully buried and laid to rest on December 8, 2015, Miss Anthonia Ikeanyionwu will always remain in our minds as part of those who sacrificed their lives for the irrevocable restoration of Biafra and that we shall always remember. She died that we might live to continue in the pursuit to regain our nationhood. And for that single reason, we will forever adore and cherish her even after death.

#BiafraFallenHeroes


THE BIAFRA TIMES 
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
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#BiafraFallenHeroes: Reminiscing The Great Moments Of A Great Icon, Selfless Leader And Pioneer Biafra Head Of State, Gen. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

By Victoria O. C. Agangan || For Biafra Writers

May 28, 2020

The image so often associated with Africa – a child with stick-thin limbs and swollen belly – dates back to the first televised famine, the Biafra war. The man who understood the power of that image was an Oxford-educated Nigerian soldier, Emeka Ojukwu.

Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to use his full name, proclaimed the short-lived Republic of Biafra in 1967. His demeanour of a gentleman-rebel standing up to the Nigerian Goliath appealed to western intellectuals such as Frederick Forsyth and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. A Swedish count built and flew planes for the Biafra country's air force and its struggle for independence inspired the French humanitarian Bernard Kouchner to create Médecins Sans Frontières.

The son of one of Nigeria's most successful transport entrepreneurs, Ojukwu was from the Igbo tribe born on November 4, 1933, in Zungeru, the northern part of Nigeria. He received the best education – King's College, Lagos; Epsom College, Surrey and Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated with honours in modern history in 1955. He refused to go into his father's business and instead spent two years as an unglamorous administrative head officer in the Eastern Nigerian public service.

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: A Living Eulogy To The Bravest Biafra Pilot And Squadron Commander, Artur Alves Pereira

In 1957, Ojukwu joined the Royal West African Frontier Forces as a recruit. He rose rapidly through the ranks, ending his training at Sandhurst at the time of Nigerian independence in 1960. Under British indirect rule, Nigeria had been crudely divided along tribal lines: politics was for the northern Hausa tribe, commercial clout was the preserve of the supposedly industrious Yorubas on the south-western coast and education was for the administratively inclined Igbos in the east of the country.

Unhappy at northern heavy-handedness and discrimination, Igbo officers staged a coup in 1966 and installed Ojukwu as governor of the Eastern Region, which includes the oil-rich Niger Delta. When the counter-coup came six months later, Ojukwu refused to step down.

As the Eastern governor, Ojukwu sought peacefully to resolve matters. He tried to maintain military hierarchy by insisting that Brigadier Ogundipe took the mantle of leadership instead of a junior officer, Col. Gowon but Ogundipe was convinced in London to step into the Nigerian High Commission.

On 29th September, a fatal pogrom with beastly brutality was carried out mostly against the Igbos and other ethnic groups in the Eastern region by the northern elements. Maimed, bruised Biafrans returned en masse, yet Gen. Ojukwu never abated his quest for peace having previously made futile attempts for a badly damaged unity that has become irreparable. He proceeded to Aburi, Ghana on 4th January, 1967 for a peace conference with Gowon, Gen Joseph Ankarah was the host. There, Ojukwu succeeded in getting Gowon to sign a peace treaty called "Aburi Accord."

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Abie Nathan, Whose Magnanimous Efforts Was Unequaled During The Nigeria-Biafra War

Upon return, Gowon reneged on the agreement reached at Aburi. He split the Eastern region into three states. He was solely responsible for the war. Gen. Ojukwu from Nnewi, Anambra state, left with no other option, declared the defunct nation of the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967 with the mandate of the Eastern Nigeria Consultative Assembly. Three days later, Gowon declared war and besieged Biafra. The diplomatic war in the present day Nigeria is a replica of what Biafra has continously faced in the past.

Under pressure from Igbos in the military, he declared independence for the 29,000 square-mile region of Biafra on 30 May, 1967. A flag was designed, featuring a rising sun. A currency(in pounds and shillings) was issued and the beginnings of a welfare state were put in place. Ojukwu personally chose a movement from Jean Sibelius's Finlandia as the tune to the national anthem, in reference to the Nordic country's resistance to foreign domination.

But the region's oil wealth made Biafran independence intolerable to Nigeria and the international community and as a result, in July 6, 1967, then Nigerian Military Government headed by Col. Yakubu Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra. He besieged an already wounded people. He came with international support from thirthy countries, and for thirty months Biafra under the leadership of Gen. Ojukwu persevered against all odds.

A futile and avoidable two-and-a-half-year war cost millions of innocent Biafran lives as Nigeria created famine conditions and enlisted British and Soviet support against a ragtag army equipped with home-made military hardware.

The scar of that war is ever green in our minds — It was characterized by genocide of sorts and these included wanton killings, molestation and rape, blockage of food and aids, over three million Biafrans, men, women and children died. Many got displaced till date in foreign lands.

Read Also:  #BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Those Butchered On 2nd Dec. 2015 By Combined Team Of The Nigeria Security Forces

By 1969, Biafra was on its knees and Ojukwu fled into exile in Ivory Coast, handing over the baton of leadership to his second-in-command, Maj. Gen. Philip Effiong from Itshekiri, present day Akwa-Ibom state. President Felix of Ivory Coast had recognized Biafra and offered asylum to him. Twelve years later he was granted a pardon and returned to Nigeria where he formed the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and ran for president in 2003 and 2007. In 2008, he received his military pension from the Nigerian government but complained complained that it ranked him as a lieutenant-colonel rather than as a general, his rank in the Biafran army.

Vonnegut described Ojukwu as Biafra's George Washington. He wrote: "When we met General Ojukwu, his soldiers were going into battle with 35 rounds of rifle ammunition. There was no more where that came from. For weeks before that, they had been living on one cup of garri a day. The recipe for garri is this: Add water to pulverized cassava root. Now the soldiers didn't even have gari anymore. General Ojukwu described a typical Nigerian attack for us: 'They pound a position with artillery for 24 hours, then they send forward one armoured car. If anybody shoots at it, it retreats, and another 24 hours of bombardment begins. When the infantry moves forward, they drive a screen of refugees before them. If we go forward, we die. If we go backward, we die. So we go forward'".

The American writer was among a dozen intellectuals invited by Ojukwu to witness the Biafran war in a bid to influence western public opinion and secure airlifts of food. Another was Forsyth whose biography of him, Emeka, was published in 1982.

In Nigeria, Ojukwu's legacy is largely viewed as positive for having stood up for his ethnic group, having proved incorruptible and having essentially personified the country's view of itself as constantly riven along ethnic lines. After his death in November 26, 2011 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital – where he had been admitted following a stroke in December 2010 – President Goodluck Jonathan paid him a glowing tribute: "Ojukwu's immense love of his people, justice, equity and fairness forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war."

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader, today, represents the adage: "He who runs, lives to fight another day." Presently, the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari and his Army Chief, Tukur Yusuf Buratai have killed, maimed, incarcerated, kidnapped and illegaly imprisoned and denied release even against court orders. In all these we must not relent. Our hitherto inner conscious mind have been awakened by Nnamdi Kanu. We must not relent but fight on until Biafra is restored.

We must not forget nor relent!
Adieu Gen. Ojukwu!
Long live Biafra!

THE BIAFRA TIMES
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]

30th May: Why We Must Sit at Home

May 28, 2020

By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie | Biafra Writers

The first man my father trained in school, Francis Agboeze, died in the war.  Francis, classmate to Joe Nwodo, fought under the command of General Joe Achuzie. Till date, the younger brother, Remigius Agboeze, still shed tears at the mention or thought of Francis.

My mother told of how Uncle Francis would visit them in their refugee camp with food and other relief items. Sometimes he would visit alone, and at other times with a detachment of soldiers; never sitting down, his brave eyes darting here and there like viper’s. It was Francis who first showed her what a grenade looks like. She wouldn’t fail to mention how elegant and heroic Francis looked in his full Biafra military regalia.

And then, Francis stopped visiting. “In his place, the news of his death arrived,” mom would say in a melancholic voice, tears coursing down her cheeks to drench her blouse. Her gaze now distant, and a heavy sigh escaping her lips, mother would drift into a tale of woes – a tale of what Britain, working through Nigerian arch genocidal soldiers, did to Biafrans.

There was terrible hunger and starvation in the land. Markets, refugee camps, and even hospitals were air-raided by Egyptian, British and Soviet machinery pilots. Farms were destroyed to forestall attempts on food production. Even relief materials were intercepted and destroyed.

Mom would tell how she and other women would prepare dishes and sneak into fields to supply Biafran soldiers. When there is no food, they would roast corns, crack kernels and take them with water to the fighting soldiers. She recounted the urgency with which the soldiers accepted the items and the pleased look in their eyes as they ate. “They fought on empty stomach,” mother would intone.

“They were outnumbered,” dad would add. But for the locally made armaments which came later, they fought practically with bare hands. They would lay in wait for the enemy, and when the opportunity presents itself, sneak in on them, overpower and take their weapons. “That’s how Biafran soldiers acquired their fighting arms until Biafran scientists began local arms productions,” Dad narrated.

Yes, Ojukwu lumped together his father’s wealth into arms purchase, but the world powers, fearing Biafra would emerge a Japan of Africa, conspired together and refused us arms deal while supplying the Nigerian side. And there was Ukpabi Asika factor too. Asika and his likes that were entrusted with the fund to pursue arms deal thought a luxurious life abroad more valuable than the war and the dying Biafrans, and so they pocketed the money and left to enjoy themselves in some foreign countries.  This is similar to our politicians and Ohaneze Ndigbo taking money from Nigerian government and looking the other way as Fulani herdsmen rape and kill us today.

Armless, outnumbered and blockaded they fought for three years, rebuffing the genocidal army and preserving Biafra from annihilation. Many of them died in the battlefield; many were terribly injured, resulting in amputation, loss of sight, and many other terrible deformations.

The finest of brains were there among the dead. Think of Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo – the best thing that ever happened to African poetry. Think of Dr. Imegwu, Joe Uchendu, Amamchukwu Okeke, Nathaniel Okpala, and many others.

How about the one million children that were starved to death? What offence did they commit? Scientists were among them; medical doctors were there too, and so were legal luminaries, Economists, Agriculturists, pilots, journalists, writers, Engineers, educationists, miners, filmmakers, footballers, musicians, choristers, bankers, and industrialists like Innoson who could produce cars and jets. They were all starved to death for no offense of their own. Think of where they would have been today in the society; think of the contributions they would have made to the societal growth. Think of people like Philip Emeagwali, Bath Nnadji, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealaa, Kanu Nwankwo, Genevive Nnaji, Phyno Fyno, P’Square and all the names that propel the economy, stir technological advancement or entertain you. If they were starved to death or crushed by sheer brutal force of genocide, would we have had the advantage of benefiting from them? If you value the aforementioned folks and their contributions to the society, wouldn’t you grieve at their demise? 

We want to grieve the untimely and forceful demise of their kind during the thirty-month genocidal onslaught visited upon our people from 1967-1970. We want to tell them that we value their sacrifices and miss what they would have contributed to our growth as a people. We want to recognize and honour them.

I started this article with the story about my uncle, Francis Agboeze. I didn’t know him but from the stories told about him, my parents’ account and loving memories of him, I came to value and miss him. I miss a man I never met. This is because he was of value to the society while he walked the earth. He died defending his fatherland.

There are many Francis amongst us … just ask around and you will hear of them. They all died defending our parents. If they didn’t stand against the aggressors, would your parents have lived to give birth to you? Denying ourselves social, economic, academic and religious activities for a day as in honour of their sacrifices is not too much of us. Remember, the world over, people celebrate and honour their dead.

Again I demand you ask around. Ask your parents, and if your parents are no more, ask your uncles and aunties. There was a Francis Agboeze in your family; there was a Francis Agboeze in your neighbourhood. There is no family or neighbourhood that did not lose a soul in the war. Will sacrificing a day in their honour keep you from prospering? I don’t think so. Keep a date with them on May 30.

May God bless, nurture and sustain you all as you sit back home in honour of our dead.


THE BIAFRA TIMES
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Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah

Poetry: Goodnight Mama Biafra

By Victoria Agangan. O | Biafra Writers
October 26, 2019

Even though you are gone, in our hearts, you remain a queen mother worthy of emulation.

Though you are gone, you came, you saw and you conquered, by giving us a worthy and outstanding leader and by standing by him until your last breath.

You displayed trustworthiness, oh!
Mama Biafra.

I remember your tactical responses to questions about him, during his illegal incarceration.
You encouraged Biafrans, by participating in protests.
What a wonderful mother!

I read that you died of shock, due to the gruesome murder of twenty-eight Biafrans in your compound and presence.

The unworthy Nigerian army had danced the python dance and slaughtered them in cold blood.

Your exit is worrisome and painful.
It is saddening and woeful.
We are in deep sorrow, though we also rejoice in the knowledge that you were there for Biafra, during your last days.

This race will definitely continue and will inevitably be won for your sake and for the sake of everyone else who has ever paid the ultimate price for this divine struggle.

Let the sun lighten the path you travel in, let the moon draw silver lines on your routes.

Sleep on beautiful mother.

Your laurels will be kept forever with Biafra.

Goodnight, Mama Biafra!

The Biafra Times

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Edited By Ezeuchu Kutanya

Publisher: Charles Opanwa

Biafra Heroes Day: I must remember my uncle on 30th May

May 23, 2019

Dave O. Umahi | For Biafra Writers

My uncle, Sunday Onwuka, was a promising young man of seventeen when the war broke out. The genocidal Nigerian army murdered him in cold blood. He was such a loving personality the survivors of the war passed his story down to my generation. Listening to the stories told about him I have always broken down in tears.

My tears are prompted not just by the sad loss, but also by the realization that many other promising young men went the same way. These are people that would have bridged the gap between us and the older generation, thereby occasioning a smooth transfer of knowledge and wisdom. But the devilish Nigeria state would not allow that.

Sunday was said to be so lively in discussions; so urbane, full of wisdom and witty enough to have excelled in today's comedy industry. He was said to be so athletically built and sparkling in appearance that he was easily noticed wherever he entered.

Sunday’s fate came one cursed evening in 1969. The war was nearing its end but the vandals (Nigerian genocidal army) was still loitering about, seeking young girls to defile. The few youths that were still alive had gathered together to take in fresh air and relieve selves of the agony of the war with some folklore. The murderous Nigerian soldiers arrived, and offended that such an urbane young adult was still around, they seized Sunday, tied his hands behind him and carried him off. That spelt the end of Sunday; his corpse was not even found.

Yet, some people say we shouldn’t remember Sunday and the millions like him come 30th May. Are they in their right senses?  Biafrans have chosen May 30 of every year to mourn and honour the victims of the war. We have chosen to sit back at home, denying ourselves of every social and economic activity in remembrance of every Biafran soul lost in that genocidal war visited upon us. We do so not by compulsion but by freewill, so the Nigerian police and army threating to stop us need urgent psychiatric attention. Sincerely.

#30thMayBiafraHeroesRemembranceDay

THE BIAFRA TIMES

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Edited By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie

Publisher: Charles Opanwa

#BiafraFallenHeroes: A Eulogy In Honour And Remembrance Of Count Carl Gustaf

The Biafra Times | May 22, 2019

By Comr. Chukwu Ogbu | For Biafra Writers

Your Eminence, lovers of freedom, members of Count Carl Gustaf Von Rosen's family and my fellow Biafra citizen.

Today I pen down in tears this Eulogy in remembrance of Count Carl Gustaf Von, a Biafran pilot who hails from Sweden for his indulgence, and magnificent valor during the height of the pogrom from Nigeria and Britain against Biafrans.

Indeed, duty, decency, reliability, honour, dignity, respect: these and more are all the attributes that Count Carl Gustaf Von not only held in high esteem but practised everyday during his time on this earth. He was a serious and disciplined man who stood firm to challenge the atrocities been inflicted on Biafrans and the continuous harassment of the relief flights by the Nigerian Air Force, he hatched a plan in collaboration with the French secret service and dealt a serious blow on Nigerian army killing her soldiers and destroyed their warplanes.

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: Reminiscing The Great Moments Of A Great Icon, Selfless Leader And Pioneer Biafra Head Of State, Gen. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

Carl a man that hate injustice, subjugation and slavery. Oh yes,  Carl defiled a standing order from British/Nigeria against sending relief materials to Biafrans. A man that flew a DC-7 plane from São Tomé to Uli at only a little above sea level in August 1968 just to ensure he sent relief food items and materials to war-ravaged and starved Biafrans. What a lettered humanitarian!
Biafra can still feel the impacts of this great man in their lives today even as they aspire to be a free nation.

All over the world, Carl was a symbol of selfless humanity. All over Biafra, Carl is a standard-bearer for the rights of the truly downtrodden citizens.

Carl has gone home now, guided by his faith and by the light of Biafrans he has fought in defence of their rights. At last, he is with them once more, leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good that he did, the dream of Biafra nation he kept alive, and a single, enduring image of a freedom fighter.

It is a great privilege to write this eulogy to express the sadness that Biafrans shares for his loss. Carl, thank you for everything you have done for us, posterity will never forget you. God bless you and rest in peace always.

We shall always remember your great sacrifices to our nationhood.
Adieu, Carl!

THE BIAFRA TIMES
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]

#BiafraFallenHeroes: Reminiscing The Great Moments Of A Great Icon, Selfless Leader And Pioneer Biafra Head Of State, Gen. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu

By Victoria O. C. Agangan || For Biafra Writers

May 22, 2019

The image so often associated with Africa – a child with stick-thin limbs and swollen belly – dates back to the first televised famine, the Biafra war. The man who understood the power of that image was an Oxford-educated Nigerian soldier, Emeka Ojukwu.

Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, to use his full name, proclaimed the short-lived Republic of Biafra in 1967. His demeanour of a gentleman-rebel standing up to the Nigerian Goliath appealed to western intellectuals such as Frederick Forsyth and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. A Swedish count built and flew planes for the Biafra country's air force and its struggle for independence inspired the French humanitarian Bernard Kouchner to create Médecins Sans Frontières.

The son of one of Nigeria's most successful transport entrepreneurs, Ojukwu was from the Igbo tribe born on November 4, 1933, in Zungeru, the northern part of Nigeria. He received the best education – King's College, Lagos; Epsom College, Surrey and Lincoln College, Oxford, where he graduated with honours in modern history in 1955. He refused to go into his father's business and instead spent two years as an unglamorous administrative head officer in the Eastern Nigerian public service.

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: A Living Eulogy To The Bravest Biafra Pilot And Squadron Commander, Artur Alves Pereira

In 1957, Ojukwu joined the Royal West African Frontier Forces as a recruit. He rose rapidly through the ranks, ending his training at Sandhurst at the time of Nigerian independence in 1960. Under British indirect rule, Nigeria had been crudely divided along tribal lines: politics was for the northern Hausa tribe, commercial clout was the preserve of the supposedly industrious Yorubas on the south-western coast and education was for the administratively inclined Igbos in the east of the country.

Unhappy at northern heavy-handedness and discrimination, Igbo officers staged a coup in 1966 and installed Ojukwu as governor of the Eastern Region, which includes the oil-rich Niger Delta. When the counter-coup came six months later, Ojukwu refused to step down.

As the Eastern governor, Ojukwu sought peacefully to resolve matters. He tried to maintain military hierarchy by insisting that Brigadier Ogundipe took the mantle of leadership instead of a junior officer, Col. Gowon but Ogundipe was convinced in London to step into the Nigerian High Commission.

On 29th September, a fatal pogrom with beastly brutality was carried out mostly against the Igbos and other ethnic groups in the Eastern region by the northern elements. Maimed, bruised Biafrans returned en masse, yet Gen. Ojukwu never abated his quest for peace having previously made futile attempts for a badly damaged unity that has become irreparable. He proceeded to Aburi, Ghana on 4th January, 1967 for a peace conference with Gowon, Gen Joseph Ankarah was the host. There, Ojukwu succeeded in getting Gowon to sign a peace treaty called "Aburi Accord."

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Abie Nathan, Whose Magnanimous Efforts Was Unequaled During The Nigeria-Biafra War

Upon return, Gowon reneged on the agreement reached at Aburi. He split the Eastern region into three states. He was solely responsible for the war. Gen. Ojukwu from Nnewi, Anambra state, left with no other option, declared the defunct nation of the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967 with the mandate of the Eastern Nigeria Consultative Assembly. Three days later, Gowon declared war and besieged Biafra. The diplomatic war in the present day Nigeria is a replica of what Biafra has continously faced in the past.

Under pressure from Igbos in the military, he declared independence for the 29,000 square-mile region of Biafra on 30 May, 1967. A flag was designed, featuring a rising sun. A currency(in pounds and shillings) was issued and the beginnings of a welfare state were put in place. Ojukwu personally chose a movement from Jean Sibelius's Finlandia as the tune to the national anthem, in reference to the Nordic country's resistance to foreign domination.

But the region's oil wealth made Biafran independence intolerable to Nigeria and the international community and as a result, in July 6, 1967, then Nigerian Military Government headed by Col. Yakubu Gowon declared war and attacked Biafra. He besieged an already wounded people. He came with international support from thirthy countries, and for thirty months Biafra under the leadership of Gen. Ojukwu persevered against all odds.

A futile and avoidable two-and-a-half-year war cost millions of innocent Biafran lives as Nigeria created famine conditions and enlisted British and Soviet support against a ragtag army equipped with home-made military hardware.

The scar of that war is ever green in our minds — It was characterized by genocide of sorts and these included wanton killings, molestation and rape, blockage of food and aids, over three million Biafrans, men, women and children died. Many got displaced till date in foreign lands.

Read Also: #BiafraFallenHeroes: We Remember Those Butchered On 2nd Dec. 2015 By Combined Team Of The Nigeria Security Forces

By 1969, Biafra was on its knees and Ojukwu fled into exile in Ivory Coast, handing over the baton of leadership to his second-in-command, Maj. Gen. Philip Effiong from Itshekiri, present day Akwa-Ibom state. President Felix of Ivory Coast had recognized Biafra and offered asylum to him. Twelve years later he was granted a pardon and returned to Nigeria where he formed the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA and ran for president in 2003 and 2007. In 2008, he received his military pension from the Nigerian government but complained complained that it ranked him as a lieutenant-colonel rather than as a general, his rank in the Biafran army.

Vonnegut described Ojukwu as Biafra's George Washington. He wrote: "When we met General Ojukwu, his soldiers were going into battle with 35 rounds of rifle ammunition. There was no more where that came from. For weeks before that, they had been living on one cup of garri a day. The recipe for garri is this: Add water to pulverized cassava root. Now the soldiers didn't even have gari anymore. General Ojukwu described a typical Nigerian attack for us: 'They pound a position with artillery for 24 hours, then they send forward one armoured car. If anybody shoots at it, it retreats, and another 24 hours of bombardment begins. When the infantry moves forward, they drive a screen of refugees before them. If we go forward, we die. If we go backward, we die. So we go forward'".

The American writer was among a dozen intellectuals invited by Ojukwu to witness the Biafran war in a bid to influence western public opinion and secure airlifts of food. Another was Forsyth whose biography of him, Emeka, was published in 1982.

In Nigeria, Ojukwu's legacy is largely viewed as positive for having stood up for his ethnic group, having proved incorruptible and having essentially personified the country's view of itself as constantly riven along ethnic lines. After his death in November 26, 2011 at the Royal Berkshire Hospital – where he had been admitted following a stroke in December 2010 – President Goodluck Jonathan paid him a glowing tribute: "Ojukwu's immense love of his people, justice, equity and fairness forced him into the leading role he played in the Nigerian civil war."

Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the IPOB leader, today, represents the adage: "He who runs, lives to fight another day." Presently, the Nigerian government under President Muhammadu Buhari and his Army Chief, Tukur Yusuf Buratai have killed, maimed, incarcerated, kidnapped and illegaly imprisoned and denied release even against court orders. In all these we must not relent. Our hitherto inner conscious mind have been awakened by Nnamdi Kanu. We must not relent but fight on until Biafra is restored.

We must not forget nor relent!
Adieu Gen. Ojukwu!
Long live Biafra!

THE BIAFRA TIMES
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]

30th May: Why We Must Sit at Home

May 13, 2019

By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie | Biafra Writers

The first man my father trained in school, Francis Agboeze, died in the war.  Francis, classmate to Joe Nwodo, fought under the command of General Joe Achuzie. Till date, the younger brother, Remigius Agboeze, still shed tears at the mention or thought of Francis.

My mother told of how Uncle Francis would visit them in their refugee camp with food and other relief items. Sometimes he would visit alone, and at other times with a detachment of soldiers; never sitting down, his brave eyes darting here and there like viper’s. It was Francis who first showed her what a grenade looks like. She wouldn’t fail to mention how elegant and heroic Francis looked in his full Biafra military regalia.

And then, Francis stopped visiting. “In his place, the news of his death arrived,” mom would say in a melancholic voice, tears coursing down her cheeks to drench her blouse. Her gaze now distant, and a heavy sigh escaping her lips, mother would drift into a tale of woes – a tale of what Britain, working through Nigerian arch genocidal soldiers, did to Biafrans.

There was terrible hunger and starvation in the land. Markets, refugee camps, and even hospitals were air-raided by Egyptian, British and Soviet machinery pilots. Farms were destroyed to forestall attempts on food production. Even relief materials were intercepted and destroyed.

READ ALSO: Biafra Heroes Day: Multiple Reasons to Sit at Home

Mom would tell how she and other women would prepare dishes and sneak into fields to supply Biafran soldiers. When there is no food, they would roast corns, crack kernels and take them with water to the fighting soldiers. She recounted the urgency with which the soldiers accepted the items and the pleased look in their eyes as they ate. “They fought on empty stomach,” mother would intone.

“They were outnumbered,” dad would add. But for the locally made armaments which came later, they fought practically with bare hands. They would lay in wait for the enemy, and when the opportunity presents itself, sneak in on them, overpower and take their weapons. “That’s how Biafran soldiers acquired their fighting arms until Biafran scientists began local arms productions,” Dad narrated.

Yes, Ojukwu lumped together his father’s wealth into arms purchase, but the world powers, fearing Biafra would emerge a Japan of Africa, conspired together and refused us arms deal while supplying the Nigerian side. And there was Ukpabi Asika factor too. Asika and his likes that were entrusted with the fund to pursue arms deal thought a luxurious life abroad more valuable than the war and the dying Biafrans, and so they pocketed the money and left to enjoy themselves in some foreign countries.  This is similar to our politicians and Ohaneze Ndigbo taking money from Nigerian government and looking the other way as Fulani herdsmen rape and kill us today. 

READ ALSO: Biafra: No Amount of Sabotage Can Stop 30th of May Sit-at-home

Armless, outnumbered and blockaded they fought for three years, rebuffing the genocidal army and preserving Biafra from annihilation. Many of them died in the battlefield; many were terribly injured, resulting in amputation, loss of sight, and many other terrible deformations.

The finest of brains were there among the dead. Think of Christopher Ifekandu Okigbo – the best thing that ever happened to African poetry. Think of Dr. Imegwu, Joe Uchendu, Amamchukwu Okeke, Nathaniel Okpala, and many others.

How about the one million children that were starved to death? What offence did they commit? Scientists were among them; medical doctors were there too, and so were legal luminaries, Economists, Agriculturists, pilots, journalists, writers, Engineers, educationists, miners, filmmakers, footballers, musicians, choristers, bankers, and industrialists like Innoson who could produce cars and jets. They were all starved to death for no offense of their own. Think of where they would have been today in the society; think of the contributions they would have made to the societal growth. Think of people like Philip Emeagwali, Bath Nnadji, Ngozi Okonjo-Iwealaa, Kanu Nwankwo, Genevive Nnaji, Phyno Fyno, P’Square and all the names that propel the economy, stir technological advancement or entertain you. If they were starved to death or crushed by sheer brutal force of genocide, would we have had the advantage of benefiting from them? If you value the aforementioned folks and their contributions to the society, wouldn’t you grieve at their demise?   

We want to grieve the untimely and forceful demise of their kind during the thirty-month genocidal onslaught visited upon our people from 1967-1970. We want to tell them that we value their sacrifices and miss what they would have contributed to our growth as a people. We want to recognize and honour them.

READ ALSO: Biafra Heroes Day: Ohanaeze and the hood


I started this article with the story about my uncle, Francis Agboeze. I didn’t know him but from the stories told about him, my parents’ account and loving memories of him, I came to value and miss him. I miss a man I never met. This is because he was of value to the society while he walked the earth. He died defending his fatherland.

There are many Francis amongst us … just ask around and you will hear of them. They all died defending our parents. If they didn’t stand against the aggressors, would your parents have lived to give birth to you? Denying ourselves social, economic, academic and religious activities for a day as in honour of their sacrifices is not too much of us. Remember, the world over, people celebrate and honour their dead.

Again I demand you ask around. Ask your parents, and if your parents are no more, ask your uncles and aunties. There was a Francis Agboeze in your family; there was a Francis Agboeze in your neighbourhood. There is no family or neighbourhood that did not lose a soul in the war. Will sacrificing a day in their honour keep you from prospering? I don’t think so. Keep a date with them on May 30.

May God bless, nurture and sustain you all as you sit back home in honour of our dead.

THE BIAFRA TIMES

Contact us: [email protected]

Twitter:  @BiafraWriters

Publisher: Charles Opanwa

Biafra Heroes Day: Multiple Reasons to Sit at Home

Dave Umahi | Biafra Writers

May 12, 2019

From the first day Britain executed its coup against the indigenous nationalities living in the contraption they called Nigeria in 1914, Biafrans have been clear targets for mass murder. The reasons were obvious; the Biafrans were republican in nature, as well as democratic. They abhor dictatorship and feudalism, and therefore would not accept what Northern Nigeria would bring to the table.

Even though the British leaders at the time called what they did amalgamation, they knew very well that it was their first step in handing over the reins of leadership to the Fulani oligarchy, its house-slaves. Britain wanted a group of anarchists they would supply the jackboot with which to hold down the Biafrans and help them (the British) to prosecute their plan of long time looting of Biafran resources. The Fulani was tailor-made for the job.

They (the Fulani) are not indigenous to the land like the Biafrans and the other nationalists. They are feudalistic, expansionistic, mean, cunning and petty. To crown it all, they have no value for human life.  These qualities they judiciously employed against the Hausas and other indigenous peoples of the North when they (Fulani) took their lands by force of arms and sheer cunningness.

The Fulani were, and still are the only group of people that will kill off an entire town or village, chase the remnants away, and then take their lands. It happened in the past and even now it is happening under this malodorous regime of Jubril Aminu of Sudan, who they have brought in to impersonate late President Muhammadu Buhari – just to stay in power and continue with their evil mission of subduing all the indigenous peoples in the contraption called the zoo.

The republican and democratic in nature of Biafrans made them a stench to the British rulers and their Fulani house-slaves since the amalgamation. The Biafrans were therefore marked for complete extermination. This was why the first murder of Biafrans in Kafanchan in 1017, during the railway construction there was not investigated. Nobody was arrested and nobody was tried or jailed. The perpetrators had done a good job, the authorities must have thought.

There were several others before the big one – the anti-Igbo pogrom of 1966 meted against the Igbo and other non-Igbo speaking Biafrans of old Eastern Nigeria living in the northern hemisphere. It started in May 1966 and reached its peak after 29 September, 1966. Nothing less than 70,000 people were massacred by Northerners under the guidance of Fulani oligarchy.

The enormity of casualties and the failed peace talk at Aburi led to the declaration of Biafra as a sovereign state, the Biafrans realizing that they were no longer safe in the contraption. Rather than deal with the issue humanly, the British incited the Fulani oligarchy all the more, leading to more atrocities and mass murders under the guise of bringing the Biafrans back into Nigeria.

Such other atrocities included the Asaba massacre of early October 1967. About a thousand civilians were rounded up and executed by northern army officers. The Asaba massacre clearly showed the intent of the perpetrators. They were set to kill-off every Biafran above the age of six, so that the social, cultural, and political configuration of the people would be completely changed without much opposition.

Well, Biafran heroes stood firm and fought gallantly, rebuffing the Islamic aggression. This is part of the reason why Biafrans will be staying back home on May 30. It is so scheduled to remember and honour the gallant men and women who stood strong and died that we may live. Biafrans will be remembering also the children who were starved to death because Nigerian government, through the help of Britain, blockaded Biafra.

The leadership of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has upped the reasons why Biafrans must sit at home on May 30 to honour their dead. It said: “This year’s remembrance and sit-at-home order will be special because it will present a unique moment of shared pains and misery for all the families that lost their loved ones to war, hunger, starvation, disease, terrorism and state sponsored killings going on now in Nigeria.

“We remember the heroic few that stood up against tyranny especially those that sacrificed their lives to defend the defenseless and those that lost their lives because there was no one to defend them.”

It asked the Middle-belt people and Yoruba brethren to join in making it historic; to honour the memory of all that died unjustly in Nigeria. IPOB added: “We are calling on all the people of Southern Kaduna, Middle Belt … especially Benue, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kogi, and all those affected by herdsmen terrorism in Ondo, Osun and other states in Yoruba land to join the great family of IPOB in observing a day of solemn prayer and sit-at-home to remember those who lost their lives unlawfully at the hands of Fulani terrorist herdsmen and security agencies even during the recently concluded fraudulent 2019 general elections.”
There are several other atrocities done to the Biafran people by the Zoo called Nigeria which time and space will not permit us to state here. But the fact is that there are multiple reasons why Biafrans must remember their dead on May 30th this year. To remember them is a task that must be done.


The Biafra Times
Edited by Nelson Ofokar Yagazie
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: biafrawriters.org

Biafra: No Amount of Sabotage Can Stop 30th of May Sit-at-home

IPOB PRESS RELEASE 

10/05/2019  | The Biafra Times 

It is very astonishing and disappointing that at this critical point in the liberation of our people from the British bondage called Nigeria that some unscrupulous and shameless scavengers have volunteered themselves and their useless groups as willing tools of the enemy in their foolish attempt to subvert the will of Biafran people regarding the May 30 sit-at-home order by IPOB High Command.

These Abuja-sponsored shameless scavengers driven by envy, jealousy and crass egocentric interests to the point of coming openly and publicly to disregard all efforts and sufferings of our fathers and class of Biafra soldiers who sacrificed their lives between 1967 and 1970, are hereby warned to put their usual treachery in check because they will have themselves to blame at the appointed time when the anger of the people against them can no longer be controlled.

We are putting these saboteurs and enemies of Biafra on notice that no amount of Abuja sponsored propaganda or evil campaign against our movement and the annual sit-at-home order will make an iota of difference because Biafrans know they are all natural betrayers.

For the information of those seeking to attract the attention of their Abuja paymasters, let it be known that IPOB does not respond to Fulani slaves in our midst, hopeless attention seeking individuals or mushroom groups seeking relevance through newspaper advertorials. We respond to their masters in Abuja and Fulani caliphate. IPOB has never and will never join issues with individuals or people that merely mouth freedom for Biafra but deep down are servants of the caliphate seeking to attach themselves to IPOB agitation in the hope of raising their profile with Aso Rock.

It is unfortunate that this same collection of meaningless Igbo groups like the proscribed Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ala-Igbo Development Foundation (ADF) and South East Governors Forum would prefer to be always serving their Fulani masters than to be in good relationship with their own people. For the information of these Abuja slaves, 30th of May is not an Igbo affair, it is a Biafra wide commemoration of our heroes and that includes Philip Effiong the last Biafran Head of State who is not an Igbo man.

These compromised and useless Igbo groups should come to terms with the fact that IPOB is the people and the people are IPOB. No amount of patronising press statements or attention-seeking headlines in the newspapers will stop a total lockdown on May 30th.

These traitors should hide their pride and appreciate what the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its Supreme Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, have done for Igbo people in particular and Biafrans in general as regards organizing and establishing an annual event like this to honour and remember our past heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price for this generation to be alive today.

IPOB family and its leadership worldwide have courageously set aside 30th of May every year as a peaceful and special day for Biafrans both home and abroad to reflect on the massacre, diseases, hunger and starvation that Nigerian government and her allies inflicted on our fathers, mothers, sisters and children since 1966 till date.

The shameless Igbo political slaves and jobbers chose rather to identify with the oppressors by attempting to compromise this memorable annual day of Biafra history. We wonder why Ala-Igbo Development Foundation (ADF) and Ohaneze Ndigbo would engage in such self-demeaning act, openly identifying with the agenda of the caliphate which is to diminish the historical significance of May 30th.

It is on record that Ohaneze Ndigbo, Ala-Igbo Development Foundation (ADF) and other Igbo social cultural organizations normally have their Igbo Day jamboree every 29th September of each year and not on 30th of May as being mischievously touted by some elements within Ala-Igbo Development Foundation. It is the height of stupidity, ignorance and mischief making to seek to shift Igbo Day to 30th of May when Biafra encompasses other non-Igbo nationalities.

Biafra remembrance day celebration and commemoration of Biafran heroes and heroines who sacrificed their youthful lives in defense of their fatherland must hold regardless of who is against it.

Comrade Emma Powerful, Media and Publicity Secretary for IPOB

The Real Reasons Behind Igbo Leaders’ Antipathy to Sit-at-home Order

By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie | Biafra Writers

May 10, 2019

The Nsukka born movie star, barrister Kenneth Okonkwo, popularly known as Andy Okeke, is a well-known actor. We all remember when he joined politics and wanted to run for the governorship seat of Enugwu state. He took on IPOB and its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, launching tirades here and there, and even referring to mother Biafra as dead. Barrister Okonkwo did not stop there, he tried to exonerate Fulani herdsmen from the incessant killings going on in lower Benue and many other parts of Biafra land, arguing that the real culprits came from Libya – a similar line spun by late President Muhammadu Buhari.

It will be interesting to note that prior to his political aspiration, barrister Kenneth Okonkwo never uttered any word against Biafra nor did he offer any defense on behalf of the murderous Fulani herders. It thus becomes obvious that his reason for discrediting Biafra, disparaging IPOB and defending the blood-sucking demons in the guise of herders is simply to endear himself to the caliphate so that he could be crowned the next governor of Enugwu state.

Our dear barrister was late however. Governor Ugwuanyi has sealed the deal earlier when he brought the Sultan of Sokoto to Nsukka, shutting down the entire city in the Jihadist’s honour. It did not matter to the governor that it was the Sultan’s foot soldiers that mascaraed over two hundred and fifty villagers at Nimbo, plunging the entire Nsukka land into agony and panic. His political interest weighs more than the people’s feelings, and so he had brought the Islamic irredentist to the sorrowful land of Nsukka to consolidate his political grip, adding insult to the injury by forcing all activities to a stop in honour of the visiting Islamist.

Read Also: Antagonizing Sit-at-home Order, an Indication Igbo Leaders are Under Hausa/Fulani Control

Recall that after the Nimbo mayhem, the governor had appeared, shed crocodile tears, declared two days fasting and prayers, and then jetted off to Abuja to laugh and drink tea with the president. Even as the chief security officer of the state, he couldn’t do more than declare fasting and prayers. Yes he couldn’t lift a finger because he truly has no power of his own; his allegiance being to the caliphate, and his actions teleguided. It was inconceivable to touch the herders. His best bet was what he did – fly to Abuja to crawl on the floor, reminding the caliphate his allegiance is still with them.

When Orji Uzor Kalu was caught in EFFC net, he offered to help stall the agitation for Biafra in exchange for being let off the hook. A deal was struck and straight away he went to Kuje Prison to persuade the Supreme Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra to drop the agitation. He met a brick wall, and as pressure piled on him, he began to express his dislike to the Biafra idea, telling the press that Igbos prefer presidency to Biafra. It did not matter to him that Biafra is not Igbo affair, and that while Igbo is Biafra, Biafra is not exclusively Igbo.

We all remember how, after the military invasion of Nnamdi Kanu’s house, Orji Uzor Kalu came out in a TV program to claim that he has an intelligent report that Nnamdi Kanu has escaped to London using Malaysian route. At the said time, Kanu was incommunicado as a result of injuries sustained during the invasion and the world was beginning to ask question. Orji Uzor Kanu never condemned the killing of armless Biafra protesters nor the invasion of Nnamdi Kanu’s house, but was quick to run to the press to lie about Kanu’s whereabouts.

Read Also: IPOB cautions Nwodo, Umahi Over Effort to Undermine Sit-at-home Order

Now, having pleased the caliphate enough to ward off the EFCC, Orji Kalu decided to push his luck further by running for the senate. The political geometry was a simple one: promise the caliphate he will employ his power and influence as a senator to antagonize IPOB. His earlier antipathy against Biafra now speaking for him, the caliphate closed the deal and a senatorial ticket was given. The cyberspace is awash with pictorial evidences of Orji Uzor Kalu visiting the caliphate for political clearance.

In 2017 Anambara state election, the former aviation minister, Osita Chidoka, desired the seat of Anambara state governor. Understanding that the political coordinates of the East are designed in the North, Chidoka journeyed to the northern hemisphere to pledge allegiance. Conditions were given and upon return, Chidoka, who was earlier perceived as pro Biafra, lost his fiber and capitulated.

Governor Willie Obiano came to power under APGA – a supposedly Igbo party. But realizing he could, through the Hausa/Fulani controlled Judiciary, be ejected any time just as Ngige was, Obiano ran to North to pledge allegiance to the caliphate. Coming from an Igbo party, he needed to do more than a mere pledge to be taken serious. And so, he gave the murderous Nigerian military and police a free hand to kill as many IPOB members as they would please. This did not only ensure a full term spell, it as well opened the door for further negotiations. He returned to the North, and his antecedent now speaking in his favour, a deal was sealed for a second term. Upon return to office, he offered land to Myetti Allah and directed his government, through the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, to rally against IPOB’s call for sit-at-home in honour of Fallen Biafran heroes.

Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state, against the people’s yearning, refused to ban the murderous Fulani herdsmen operation in the state, but was quick to pronounce IPOB proscribed. Tutored by the man who handed power over to him, Martin Elechi, Umahi has continually done the caliphate’s bidding to stay in office. He was reported to have promised the caliphate that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will never bring the message of Biafra restoration to his state, and attempted to enforce that with military and police cordons. Well, Kanu broke the military barriers and moved into Ebonyi.

Read Also: Opposing Sit-at-home Order, a Confirmation of the Insincerity of Igbo Leaders

While we will not waste time on Rochas Okorocha who, findings indicate, was actually fathered by an Hausa man, it will be interesting to look at his son in-law, Uche Nwoso, who he unsuccessfully tried to enthrone. As the crisis between Rochas and the national chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshomole, deepened, and Uche was forced to seek ticket in another party, the odds against him becoming clearer, Uche wrote a letter of allegiance to the caliphate. In the leaked letter, the intending governor promised the caliphate to, among other things, end the agitation for Biafra.

The scenarios presented above offer great insight to the real reason behind the opposition to IPOB’s sit-at-home call. Contrary to the economic plight and constitutional rights those antagonizing the 30th May sit-at-home call try to wave at our face, the real reason behind their disruptive engagements is their allegiance to the caliphate. The Nigerian political landscape is drawn by the caliphate, and so Igbo political players would do anything to curry political favour from them.

The renewed agitation for Biafra spearheaded by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a serious threat to the caliphate. A well-heeded sit-at-home call as has been recorded in recent years demonstrates oneness, and oneness is on its own a big threat to the occupational forces. The caliphate doesn’t want it, and so they threaten Igbo political office holders and aspirants with ejection if they don’t stop the program. The non-thinking slavish Igbo politicians then find pretexts to thwart the scheme. But will the interest of a few self-seeking political players override the collective will of the people? 30th May will tell.


The Biafra Times
Publisher: Chijindu Benjamin Ukah
Contact us: [email protected]
Twitter:  @BiafraWriters

Awara Junior: Gasline Zone again visits bereaved family, shocks Okohia community

•‘Definitely, Biafra must come and I know my people’ll revenge’ – Awara Junior at the point of death
•‘We’ve come to fulfill the promise we made to the family’ – Zonal coordinator

By Eluwa Chidiebere Chinazu | For Biafra Writers

December 5, 2018

IMO – It was a warmth surprise for indigenes of Okohia community in Imo state on December 2, 2018 as family members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Gasline zone, a well-known resilient zone in Aba, Abia State, paid homage to the family of their deceased member, Ifeanyi Azubuike, popularly known as Awara Junior, who lost his life in the hands of the murderous Nigerian military during the Biafra Heroes’ Day commemoration on May 30, 2016, at Nkpor, Anambra State.

The visitation took place in their hometown of Okohia Autonomous Community in Onuimo Local Government Area of the state. It was a heartrending and harrowing moment for IPOB members and other visitors who watched as endless flow of tears rolled down the cheeks of the mother of Awara Junior, Mrs. Ann Azubuike.

Ifeanyi Azubuike was sent to his early grave by the trigger-happy and blood-sucking Nigerian military for merely exercising his right to self-determination. He was never found with any form of destructive arm, his only crime being his open support and unflinching love for his fatherland, Biafra.

Two days before IPOB members took off to Nkpor where he was killed he said, “Count me out of that country whose citizens fear truth. A life without freedom is a life devoid of meaning.’’ As the supreme leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, would rightly say, Biafra will not come by deceits and hallucinations, but by standing on truth always, regardless of the consequences. Ifeanyi remained truthful and dedicated to the struggle till death.

READ ALSO: The Death of Journalism in Nigeria

The IPOB family in Gasline zone, Aba, donated foodstuffs and other gifts to the bereaved mother while consoling her for the irreparable loss. The presence of IPOB family members enlivened Mrs. Azubuike who later expressed immeasurable gratitude to the visiting party. A mournful procession to the graveside followed. There, mother earth again received bitter tears from IPOB family members.
                             
Mr. Ugochukwu Asochukwu Bonaventure, Coordinator of Gasline Zone, in a brief interview with Biafra Writers’ correspondent, assured that the IPOB family will always be there for Ifeanyi’s mother whenever she is in need.

According to the coordinator, ‘‘Today the family of IPOB has come to let Mama (Mrs. Ann Azubuike) know that we will never leave her and the family behind. We will not abandon you people. It is a promise we made and we will never go back on our words. Though your son, our son, Ifeanyi, is no more here on earth, IPOB has come to let you know that there are still many Ifeanyis who have you in mind. IPOB’s motto is: O Nuru Ube Nwanne Agbala Oso.’’

Also in her reaction, a visibly pained Mrs. Azubike mumbled, “please remember the only son I have left, and please, I beg you all not to abandon my dead body whenever you hear that I am dead.”

Indeed, an apple does not fall far from its tree. Ugochukwu Asochukwu Bonaventure has had his own share of terror having spent five months in DSS dungeon alongside Biafra land Coordinator, Ikechukwu Ugwuoha, for exercising their right to self-determination.

The conduct of IPOB worldwide under the leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, have shown that Biafra, when restored, will be a beacon of hope to the black man world over. Thanks to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu for training millions of Biafrans who are ready to stand their grounds for what they believe in. To the Dracula and draconian Nigerian government, they are just chasing shadow. IPOB can never be defeated. The only message for Nigeria is let them prepare for the worst that, for the reign of an evil entity like her is as ephemeral as the grass.

Edited By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie

THE BIAFRA TIMES

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Biafra: IPOB Declares September 14, a Day of General Strike, Mourning and Resistance across all Parts of Biafraland

By Nwamgba Amah | Biafra Writers

August 29, 2018

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have declared Friday, September 14, 2018, a day of general strike, mourning and resistance across all parts of Biafraland covering South-East, South-South geo-political zones and other areas where Biafrans resides to mourn those killed in the struggle for the restoration of Biafra Independence since 2015.

In a statement by Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary made available to The Biafra Times, he said that "it would be a protest to register their anger regarding men and women killed at Afaraukwu in Umuahia during Operation Python Dance II on September 14, last year, as well as those killed in Ngwa, Aba, Igweocha (Portharcourt) and buried in unmarked mass graves as a result of the military invasion of Biafraland by the Nigerian Army".

 He stated that the inhabitants of the two geopolitical zones and other conscientious Biafrans living in other parts of the country and the world over were required to stay indoors on that day and away from work or other daily business activities throughout the day.

The message read in parts "that all businesses, offices, markets, schools and road transportation will be shut down for 24 hours from midnight of the 13th of September".

According to Emma Powerful, IPOB further gave reasons for the exercise: “As a result of ongoing campaign of ethnic and religious persecution, genocide and humiliation of the people of Biafra in general and Igbo people in particular by this Buhari regime, culminating in the abominable incarceration of innocent mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers in Owerri prisons, we the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) do hereby declare 14 September 2018 a day of general strike, mourning and resistance across Biafraland.”

“Inhabitants of South East/South South and all conscientious Biafrans living in other parts of Nigeria and the world are required to stay indoors away from work or daily business activities throughout the day of the 14th of September 2018 to register our anger and protest regarding the men and women killed at Afaraukwu in Umuahia during

Operation Python Dance II on September 14 last year, those killed in Ngwa, Aba, Igweocha (Port Harcourt) and buried in unmarked mass graves as a result of unprovoked military invasion of Biafraland by the Nigerian Army.

“We shall also remember all those killed in the struggle for the restoration of Biafra independence since August 2015 when the army shot dead Mr Okafor in Onitsha on a peaceful march from Nkpor to Onitsha main town. Their sacrifice will neither be forgotten nor will it be in vain, because come what may, this generation of IPOB must and will restore Biafra.”

The statement continued: “The sacrilegious and disgraceful humiliation of Igbo women, some of them great grand-mothers, ranks as one of the most abominable act of desecration ever visited upon the land of Biafra in recorded history. It will mark the defining event that completed the shame and humiliation of the Igbo race.”

“The cowardice and impotency of Igbo socio-political and cultural leadership in the face of such humiliation by a single Fulani police officer in Owerri is confirmation, if one is needed, that South East and South South regions are conquered territories and vassal colonies of the Sokoto caliphate.

“Nationwide general strike observed as a sit-at-home across Biafraland on the 14th of September 2018, is the only way we Biafrans can honour our fallen brethren and legitimately remind our northern oppressors and their collaborators in our midst that enough is enough!

“We do not want another Operation Python Dance or another mass murder of Biafra agitators and humiliation of our mothers in our land. Biafraland we state categorically must emerge a free nation under God, whether our enemies like it or not.

“What happened at Afaraukwu; the desecration of house of a traditional ruler, the slaughter of innocent men and women: the wholesale massacre along the Ngwa segment of Enugu-Igweocha (Port Harcourt) Expressway, countless number of mass graves across Biafraland, is repulsive, inhumane, barbaric and worthy of total condemnation by all right-thinking people. We wait the day United Nations and other world bodies will give the issue of Biafra the same level of prominence it is giving Rohingya”.

PUBLISHED BY THE BIAFRA TIMES

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