This is the News Analysis segment of the Voice of Biafra International Broadcasts. 

for July 27, 2002  

You have heard the news; now, the analysis…

We start this week with an appraisal of the State of Affairs in Nigeria as seen or stated by Nigerian Politicians. 

The chief politician is, of course, General Obasanjo who has now admitted that his so-called Anti Corruption Program has failed—woefully, we might add. This, of course, is not news. What is really pathetic is that the General fails to comprehend and to articulate 3 things: 

1)     There is no hope that corruption can ever be abated in Nigeria —if anything, it gets worse every day

2)     Those that are benefiting from the corruption are, and have become, more powerful than even the might and instrument of the Federal Government of Nigeria itself; therefore, they, the corrupt ones, can never be dislodged; they have now become untouchable.

3)     The average person living in Nigeria can now either continue on the inexorable path of certain crushing poverty, or can join the powerful ones, the exploiters and untouchables. 

What is even more pathetic is that General Obasanjo was offered help by the International community, including the UN, who not only had located the different places where the money was hidden, but also were willing and ready to aid in recovering money looted by corrupt Nigerian officials. General Obasanjo and his administration refused to accept the help and refused to pursue the recovery of over $200B of money belonging to the peoples of Nigeria . This refusal to act is partially explained by the fact that the votes that put him in power were paid for by this corrupt money from corrupt elements. Dirty fingers, dirty hands all around...! 

Pity! Imagine 120 Million people existing in a structure steeped with corruption in a society whose very fabrics are woven out of threads of corruption! Welcome to Nigeria ! 

Senator Kofoworola Bucnor-Akerele, a deputy governor has ideas about this: 
“… apart from the political illiteracy which prevails, corruption and graft has become ingrained that many in the executive and legislative arms of government have a hopelessly poor knowledge and understanding of what their constitutional responsibilities are, or what level of civilized conduct is required of them in a democratic setting." 

Can you see how hopeless the situation is now? Can you look ahead and see a decade or even millennium when this will change for the peoples living in Nigeria ? I doubt it. But, if you take Nigeria out of the picture, you will see light at the end of this tunnel. The structure is rotten; we shall change our lot only by abandoning the moribund structure. 

Moving on, Bucnor-Akerele takes us to another issue when she says that 
“…the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government does not deserve a second term…the overheating of the political atmosphere today is a direct consequence of the refusal of powerful interests to acknowledge that there are fundamental defects in our federation which demand to be addressed at the appropriate forum of the national conference." 
 

It is reassuring in some sense to hear the articulation of some understanding of what the basic problem with Nigeria is. The structure is the main problem. Without one Nigeria , there will be no PDP to ruin our lives and torment us. But, we also detect an unwillingness to fully state the problem or advance a clear solution.  A “National Conference”—as suggested by the lady—configured in the rigging-tradition of Nigerian politics reminiscent of PDP stewardship, is not the solution but can only muddy the picture and produce bloody, murky results. On the other hand, a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) can, and shall provide the complete solution. SNC presumes independence and sovereignty of the Nations that reside in Nigeria ; the conference brings them together in peace, respect and equity, to work out inter-national relationships among one another. SNC rejects and does away with the current structure of Nigeria that is responsible for so much anguish. We must be clear on this—on what SNC stands for. 

Meanwhile, Second Republic Senator, David Dafinone, agrees 
“…that the existing political structures in
Nigeria would lead to chaos.” 

Correction, ex-Senator: it has already led there; there is already chaos. It is likely that you have lived in it for so long causing you to adjust so much that you can’t see or feel the chaos any more.  

The Ex-Senator feels 
“…that if the ruling PDP believes that the existing structures would lead
Nigeria to the promised land of freedom, then it is making a great mistake…” 

You tell them, Brother! While at it, tell General Obasanjo, too. And, ACF—Arewa Consultative Forum. The structure is the problem!  

In case you think he does not know what he is talking about, hear him out:  
"…as far as I do know, the events that are now occurring, if not immediately contained, will lead us to something we cannot sustain…if the events occurring in Plateau, Abia, Imo and Lagos states are not checked, they would lead to a situation which cannot be contained…” 

We have news for you, Sir: the situation in entire Nigeria is really out of control! 

And now, we let Senator Dafinonewho apparently is known as an ardent believer in this—take us to the next issue: Resource control, where he emphasized that 
"...fair sharing will be the only thing to keep
Nigeria together. There is no other way." 

Great, Ex-Senator, and we agree with you on that, but whose fair-sharing formula are we talking about—General Obasanjo’s or the Northern Nigerians? General Obasanjo’s formula is to take it all and control it in the name of the Federal Government, with next to nothing—mere pittance—returned to the very regions in whose territory the main resource, Oil, is drilled. There, in the Federal porous coffers, he and his friends can squander the money by corrupt practices; and by making poor decisions and choices with what is left. The Northern formula is to pretend to keep Nigeria one at all costs only so as to continue the enslavement of the Oil producing Eastern Region, physically pipe the Oil to Northern Nigeria, keep the revenues, and develop their Northern Nation and culture and region, all at the expense of one Nigeria, and to the detriment and humiliation of the peoples in South, but especially, Eastern region. The only fair sharing formula will emerge from the Sovereign National Conference.

No, no, no, Ex-Senator; you are now confused by your stressing that 
“…to promote a sustainable economic growth for the benefit of generations unborn, Nigeria must be united in culture, religion and economic spheres...” 

Oh, sweet, empty, obscene nonsense and words! Nigeria “united in culture”—like Sharia culture and the infidels’ culture? And, “united in religion”? As in Muslim religion and the Christian religion?  Or do you mean Nigeria , as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference? Gowon got it right—the only thing he got right in his entire life—when he said: 
“the basis for [Nigerian] unity is not there…” 

So, let’s get serious, Senator: you cannot unite sand, air, oil and water. You cannot even pretend—not any longer! 

On his part, Maitama Sule stated that 
"…in all the departments of evil which the military advances as alibi for coups, experience has now come to show that the military, while in power, have come to excel by leaps and bounds, in the commission of these evils…The truth has now come to be accepted that military government is about the greatest tragedy ever to befall Nigeria.”  

We agree. But the real greatest tragedy that has befallen Nigeria is the structure of Nigeria that foists on the peoples the kind of civilian governments that Nigeria has known, for indeed, their evil far exceeds those of the military. It is true.

We will conclude with this irresistible one. There is one Ike Nwachukwu  who says he is running for Presidency of Nigeria but does not want to be seen as an Igbo candidate. He complained bitterly that General Obasanjo, his incumbent opponent,  is currently practicing what can only amount to nepotism, favoritism and tribalism, practices unbecoming of an elected official, least of all, the President of Nigeria. He accuses Obasanjo of moving a power plant from Igboland to the General’s own village in Otta, to a region that already has many power plants—compare this to ZERO power plants in the whole of the East-Biafraland. The point is: how far can General Obasanjo go in his use of political power for his own personal and selfish ends, and to the detriment of Igbo-Biafran people? Obvious question for this General, but let’s look at the other retired General.

Retired General Ike Nwachukwu believes that he can do better as a President because he, if elected, is going to be a President of Nigeria, and not an Igbo President, implying that he would not do what Obasanjo is doing, which is to openly and preferentially improve the standing of the Yorubas with respect to posts, appointments, opportunities and infrastructure, in Nigeria. Nor would he rule like the Northern Generals who made sure that the wealth of the South-east and South-south  was transferred wholesale to the North, and the rest pocketed by them. These are Generals who made sure they looked after Northern interests exclusively, going as far as registering Nigeria as a member of the Organization of Islamic Conference. While this was going on for 35 years, the East / Biafra lay waste and wasted, rotting in its own sweat under the oppressive, suppressive and malicious heavy hand of these Northern leaders and their peoples, with its resources milked and physically removed and handed to the North and West, and it’s infrastructure left to decay, its people impoverished, humiliated, condemned to servitude and groveling, and as such, driven to despondency. General Nwachukwu is so proud to be identified as a Nigerian; but he does not want to be seen for what he truly is—an Igbo-Biafran, a tiny fly relegated to oblivion in the grand ballroom of a sumptuous banquet where the Northerners and Westerners dine and decide who lives and who dies in Nigeria, and who gets what share of what loot. If elected to the Presidency, General Nwachukwu would place Nigeria above anything else, including the resuscitation of a maligned nation—his own people, Igbo-Biafrans, a need crying to be met... 

Which really goes to prove the point that fools are born everyday in the person of the likes of Ike Nwachukwu, who in their self-professed wisdom and experience fail to understand what the game really is all about, how deadly the game is, what their part is and what the rules of engagement and rules of play are! Run, then, Mr. Nwachukwu; you are most certainly going to get what you deserve, what you pretend not to see.

But wait! Perhaps, we were wrong: Nigerian General Nwachukwu may not be a fool afterwards. Why? Well, he saw Igbos and Biafrans being massacred in the North in 1966 and 1967, and he never did anything to defend them. Then, he, an Igbo, joined the Nigerian Army fighting against the Biafrans during the war. Now, we learn that he was in Asaba participating in the massacre of Igbo-Biafran civilians at the time. This man with a middle name of Omar participated willingly in the killing of Igbo / Biafrans during the war, and in committing war crimes against the Igbo-Biafrans. No wonder he was well rewarded by Nigeria with a General’s rank, and with all the posts after the war, which he lists in his resume, the ex-this and ex-that. But, a traitor is even a bigger fool. A saboteur is a worse fool. He who turns his sword against an oppressed people who are fighting in self-defense is a sick fool. But, when the oppressed people happen to be his own people, and he joins the ranks of the oppressors and willingly kills his own people, then there is no hope and no salvation for him. He never even showed remorse; but now, he wants to be President of Nigeria, and he is asking for the support of the Igbo-Biafrans. He is an irredeemable fool indeed.

Today, we have taken you on a path of analysis that more and more reveals that the problem of Nigeria is finally being articulated by some politicians, though their solutions are partial and timid, and in some instances, totally impracticably ignorant. We state again: the problem with and of Nigeria is the structure of Nigeria . The solution of the problem is complete abandonment of the hopeless, failing and injurious structure, in favor of Sovereign Independent Nations which shall determine how they relate to one another.

Biafra actualization is the correct step in this direction. We shall accomplish Biafra actualization in peace, because we are with God on this and all things.

We've seen the problem, we know the solution, we are working on it, and it shall succeed!

Biafra lives! 

That’s our news analysis for the week. Thank you

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May God bless and keep Biafra , and you, until our next broadcast. Voice of Biafra International Broadcast continues. (http://www.biafraland.com; follow Voice of Biafra link)