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

For August 24, 2002 

You have heard the news; now, the analysis… 

CNN reported a Reuters news item from Lagos , Nigeria : “Termites have chewed up much of Nigeria 's voter register…”  The behemoth called Nigeria likes to be thought of as the leader of Africa by her thoroughly corrupt politicians and totally inept leaders and Heads of State. Same have recently been congratulating themselves on "democracy" flourishing in Nigeria .

The one unarguable symbol of democracy, free and fair elections, is like the proverbial unicorn—everybody talks about it, but nobody has ever seen one—in Nigeria . The factual basis of a fair election depends on an accurate record of voter registration and vote count. What the head of the Electoral Commission, who is charged with preparing and conducting a free and fair election in Nigeria now and next year, is telling the whole world is that termites ate the record. Can you believe this, in the year 2002?

What is the guarantee that the rest of the record will not be feasted on by the same termites? Have the termites been rounded up and commanded to regurgitate the records? Have the termites been arrested? Have the termites been eliminated?

Yes, we can believe this because we know Nigeria . Truth is indeed stranger than fiction: this is no fiction—it has to be true because this is Nigeria . We have advised earlier to forget the elections—none will be held. Not as long as the species called "termites" still share this planet with humanity and still find a home in the geographic area known as Nigeria .

This may seem like a small matter, but it has such huge implications. The last shreds of credibility for Nigeria —whatever is left of it—have been chewed up. Nigerian leaders may wave this off, but it has stuck—all over the world. A so-called country whose most significant records can be easily irreplaceably wiped out by termites does not belong in this century.

If you doubt that Nigeria does not belong in this century, consider that in the Northern region of Nigeria, another woman faces death at the hands of Sharia courts, and this death is to be accomplished by STONING. The Shariarists do not see anything dehumanizing about this. They see no cruelty at all. The woman’s offense, according to them, is adultery. But, make no mistakes about it, this judgment by Sharia IS MURDER. This is murder with torture. This is murder being committed by whoever supports and speaks for Sharia system. Even in systems that adhere to “an eye for an eye” there is nothing in this hapless woman’s offense that would warrant such a cruel and terminal punishment. The Shariarists may believe that they are acting on behalf of their God, but they are actually acting out their own cruelty and violence, not the work of God.

We want to state the above clearly, and personalize it first--as it should be and as we have done--before proceeding with the implications for Nigeria . The same Shariarists have expressed an opinion that if the whole of Nigeria is Shariarized, then applying such punishment as above will clean up and moralize Nigeria . The sheer ignorance of human psychology that is evidenced by this type of utterance is amazing. But the audacity exhibited by the Shariarists in wanting and planning to impose these ways on the rest of Nigeria is intolerably maddening at best, but mostly sickening.

While the world is now going to start pleading for the young woman’s life, what has the world done about the plan to Shariarize the rest of Nigeria ? What is the world doing about the fact that in the name of Sharia and its forced propagation, thousands of Christians and others have been killed in the past 3 years in Northern Nigeria, in a well-planned and orchestrated program, aided by the instrument and the institution of State government? Does the world care that the Shariarists are boldly expressing their intent and exercising their murderous plan to run over and run out entire nations living in Nigeria ?

And speaking of Nigeria , what has the so-called government of Nigeria done to protect the citizens from this type of cruelty? What has the government of Nigeria done to protect law-abiding citizens who do not have anything to do with Sharia from the bloody and lethal attacks by Shariarists? We have seen all Northern Nigerian leaders come out in support of Sharia, including the Vice President of Nigeria. Then, we have seen the President of Nigeria, General Obasanjo, first believe that Sharia would fizzle out; then decide that it was not good for Nigeria , then turn around to claim credit and glory for instituting Sharia in the first instance, implying that Sharia is a good thing for Nigeria . We have read the Attorneys General of Nigeria dance from side to side on the issue, neither being consistent nor clear. There is in fact more concern about the image of Nigeria abroad being hurt from the bad publicity caused by the cruelty and inhumanity of Sharia than there is concern about the victims of Sharia, a list that increases by the day.

It is for reasons such as this that a Sovereign National Conference must be convened in Nigeria so that the different nations that reside in Nigeria can formally be recognized as independent sovereign nations, and inter-national relationships negotiated among these sovereign nations. Then, whichever nations want to go Sharia can adopt it for themselves, without the current practice of killing other nationals and forcibly introducing Sharia outside of Sharia nations.

We call on the world now to support the paradigm of Sovereign National Conference for Nigeria . The world cannot truly say that they care for the Safiya’s and Amina’s when the same world looks the other way as Sharia forcibly rolls over entire, unwilling nations living in Nigeria. The world must not act in a hypocritical manner by acquiescing in the face of Sharia’s raw aggression and conquest of non-Muslim nations who happen to have been “mapped” into the same country by old colonial masters. Especially now that there is a solution: a Sovereign National Conference.

In this context, we must mention the evil role played by the British government, which role is continuing. First, it was because of the British government drawing the map of Nigeria to include different nations with completely different languages and cultures and religions that the abomination called Nigeria today, still exists. Not stopping there, and out of spite for nations that resisted colonization and stood up to her, the British government favored the Muslim Nations over the Southern Nations of Nigeria, and anointed the Muslims as rulers of Nigeria over the Southerners. To make sure of this, the British Government invited the Northern leaders to form the first government of Nigeria even before the elections were held. And when the first elections were finally held in Nigeria the British government rigged them in favor of Northern Nigeria . The resultant dysfunction led to the Biafra War of self-defense and secession, during which the British government distinguished herself by mounting a blockade of Biafra on the side of Northern-dominated and Northern-led Nigeria, that resulted in the starvation of over 2 million Biafran children, along with older men and women, between 1967-1970. Today, the British government is still at it, using trickery and treachery to continue to prop up what is really a crumbling structure called Nigeria , much to the detriment of the peoples living in Nigeria . We therefore call on the British government to hands-off Nigeria . We call on them to show contrition for their policies against Biafrans. All the British government has to do is to support a Sovereign National Conference in Nigeria , at this time

Biafra actualization supports a Sovereign National Conference as the most peaceful and least disruptive way of allowing the different nations living in Nigeria to go their own separate ways and develop their individual nations. We call on the peoples and Nations living in Nigeria to take up this call and lead the charge to disengage from this structure called one Nigeria, a structure which is no match for termites, yet, has chewed up the resources and potential of the peoples of Nigeria, robbing them all of a life with dignity, a life with meaning and a life with humanity.

Biafra actualization process continues. Our support for a Sovereign National Conference is unshakable!

Biafra lives! 

That’s the news analysis for the week 

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God bless and keep Biafra and you, until next week. VOBI broadcast continues. (Audio version part of weekly VOBI broadcast posted on Biafraland website, http://www.biafraland.com : follow Voice of Biafra link.)