July 30 2005

This is the News Analysis segment of the Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcasts

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This is to inform all, that Biafrans WILL NOT participate in the planned Census in Nigeria, not this year, not any other year either. The basis of the census exercise is dishonest, as admitted to publicly even by its leaders and organizers; the conduct of the census will be fraudulent, and the results will be rigged. Every aspect of the census has been planned to cheat the Igbo and other Biafrans.

By refusing to participate in the census exercise, we Biafrans declare that we will never again be part of the broad daylight armed robbery which Nigeria has been committing against Igbo and other Biafrans. We declare our intent to refuse to be used again by Nigeria and her instruments and agencies to legitimize policies and acts precisely calculated to hurt the Igbo and other Biafrans, by Nigeria.

Finally, being Biafrans, we will never allow ourselves to be counted as Nigerians.

In the light of these considerations, we ask the people of the nation of Biafra, to AVOID being counted, by any and all means, should Nigeria actually carry out the census.

Let us focus on the Census issue this week. We have to say up front that it would not only be stupid and foolish for Igbo and other Biafrans to participate in the planned Nigeria census; it will in fact be masochism. One dictionary defines the word, masochism, thus:

“Enjoyment of pain; the tendency to invite and enjoy misery of any kind, especially in order to be pitied by others or perhaps admired for forbearance...”

The planned Nigeria Census is designed to cause the Igbo and other Biafrans a lot of pain for a long time to come. No one stands to lose the most from this type of census exercise than the Igbo and other Biafrans, and we shall explain why later. Now that we can at least see the pain coming our way, are we going to “enjoy” it, or invite the attendant misery hoping that we might be pitied by Nigeria or maybe admired for absorbing every hurt and insult and denigration deliberately hurled at us by Nigeria? In the past, yes; but today and for the future, the answer is, No! Enough is enough! And, that—this answer to the question, in the negative—is also for the record.

Here are some of the reasons why it would be folly and masochistic for the Igbo and other Biafrans to participate in the Nigeria census exercise:

Experience shows that you cannot trust Nigeria with anything that has to do with numbers and counting. The first major census conducted in Nigeria was around the time of transition from colonial rule. The results of that census were brazenly altered, deliberately rigged to favor the North, by the British themselves. Harold Smith, a British colonial officer in Nigeria then, tells the story so convincingly, with supporting facts, in his published writings. Ever since then, every other census result has been tampered with before publication, and always in favor of the North, by the government in power conducting such counts, which thus far also favors the North. And, worst of all, the peoples living in Nigeria could do nothing about it: they still can’t. Another “numbers-counting” game for Nigeria is elections. You need not be reminded of the embarrassment and travesty and tragedy of election-rigging in Nigeria, which has now been perfected to be carried out with brazenness. Nor should you forget what Buhari said recently—he should know—about the effects of that 2003 election-rigging by the incumbent administration in Nigeria. Buhari stated that no other Region was more adversely affected, nor suffered more, than the Southeast and the South-south. It was in fact deliberately designed that way by the Nigerian government under the direct knowledge and supervision of Obasanjo. As with rigged elections, so with rigged census: the Igbo and other Biafrans—the nation of Biafra—are the intended, deliberate and incidental victims. We should not make that mistake any more.

2) The census is based on satisfying “political expediency,” not honest, useful factual count.

The Nigerian officials in charge of the census have already stated in public and in the local newsmedia that the goal and conduct of the census is NOT to have factual counts of peoples, but to produce what is “politically expedient…” Take away the fancy coating of the expression, and all it means is that true and accurate count-figures are worthless, useless and unimportant; the Nigerian government will only adopt and publish whatever numbers that meet the criterion of being acceptable to the “political principalities” of Nigeria. This, of course, is carrying on an old tradition, as noted earlier. You know who controls the politics of Nigeria—“the political principalities.” It is not the Igbo and or other Biafrans. The shame of it all is that Nigeria has the audacity to state this policy in public, yet, demand that peoples participate fully in this functionally futile and “expedient” exercise.

This census is designed deliberately like one is counting heads of cattle. Even such a cattle-head count records the identity-factors such as ownership and ranch. The planned Nigeria census of 2005 will “count your head,” but by deliberate policy, it will not record your ethnicity and will not record your religion. So, at the end of the day, you will not know how many Igbo and how many other Biafrans there really are. The report would simply list how many “heads” were counted in the various towns / states. This means that the Igbo and other Biafrans whose distinguishing characteristic is that they leave their own homeland in droves to do business and dwell in other parts of Nigeria, will only be swelling the census figures of all those other areas, while at the same time, taking away from their numbers in their own homeland. How convenient—or, shall we say, “politically expedient”?—for Nigeria! Since religion is actively cited and used daily as a basis for all decisions and efforts made by the peoples residing in Nigeria and by all tiers of government in Nigeria, hence, as a criterion for demographic, economic and socio-political contention, plain commonsense dictates that religion data be included in the census. But, not in Nigeria. Especially when Nigeria thinks that this could benefit the Igbo and other Biafrans, directly or indirectly; or that the factual record would force her, Nigeria, to alter her mean treatment and cheating of the Igbo and other Biafrans for the better.

Whatever census figures are published by Nigeria at the end of the exercise, will be adopted as official, no matter how flawed, “how expedient,” or how brazenly the results are altered. In spite of any challenges and protests (if any would occur at all), the fictitious figures published by the government will stand and become official and legal. We saw this with the rigged 2003 election. Keep in mind that the European Union who are funding and co-sponsoring this census project sent their representative to Abuja regarding the dropping of ethnicity and religion data from the census, and the universal, unanimous opposition of the peoples to this omission. At the end of his meeting with Obasanjo and the Census council, the EU representative came out and publicly played down the effects of leaving out ethnicity and religion data from the census, going as far as rationalizing such “expedient” act of omission with inane excuses. Translation: the EU will support the Nigerian government and its plans and conduct of the census and by extension, the results, no matter what. So, the EU is already telegraphing its intent to accept and support any results published by the Nigerian government from the census, regardless of circumstances. That means, whatever results announced by the fraudsters in Abuja will be accepted and adopted, and there is nothing you can do about it, even though you will most certainly be cheated by the census by design by Obasanjo and Nigeria. But, consider this: if, however, you don’t even participate in the count, then, no one can claim validity of the census, and any published figures will always call to the fore the fact that it was an incomplete exercise, because the Igbo and other Biafrans did not participate.

Let Nigeria count Nigerians. We are Biafrans, not Nigerians. We must take a stand of principle. The only thing we want with Nigeria is to sit down and work out areas of mutual concern at the negotiating table—Biafra and Nigeria, one nation negotiating with another.

We have stated our case using facts, indisputable experience and history, and with clarity. We expect you to review these facts and be honest with yourself about these things. We do not ask you to not be afraid, but we do ask you to at least be strong and take a stand based on these facts, in spite of your fear. We expect your compliance with NOT continuing to place us, Igbo and other Biafrans, in the path of injury and pain by Nigeria. We therefore expect your compliance with refusing to be counted.

And, no!: no count at all is better than a flawed and incomplete count whose results will still be manipulated to favor those in power and to victimize the Igbo and other Biafrans. This is a preemptive response to those masochists—those who love to invite and enjoy misery—who may be advancing this excuse. In any case, supposing you submit yourself to be counted, by this lame reasoning and the result does not indicate that you are Igbo or other Biafran, just how does that benefit you or the Igbo or Biafran? We are reminded that the same type of rationalization was used by such people in the case of the now “concluded” inconclusive, disastrous and failed Obasanjo’s conference when we recommended that our people not attend it. Some efulefu argued that it was better to participate in any talk at all, no matter how flawed, than not participate in a predictably unsound conference. So, off they went to Obasanjo’s conference, to talk or listen to nonsense, listen to ignorance, garner and absorb insults, and succumb to threats, and in the end, the Igbo and other Biafrans were totally humiliated, having nothing to show for it, while further insulting their own intelligence by themselves by claiming that the conference was successful. We are not about to let that happen again with respect to the planned Nigeria census. The planned exercise is deliberately flawed: we shall never participate in it.

Fellow Biafrans, we—you and I and all Igbo and all other Biafrans—shall not participate in the planned Nigeria census. You—we—will find the ways and means to carry out this avoidance of the Nigeria census. God created Biafra and created us Biafrans: our moral obligation is to defend and protect Biafra and to defend and protect our lives and identity as Biafrans, now and henceforth. No Nigeria census for us! Biafra, only Biafra, for us!

God bless and keep Biafra, and you, until our next broadcast. Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcast continues (http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm), now with the summary of the News Analysis in Igbo language.

Nke a wu akuko nke anyi na a kpo News Analysis si na Voice of Biafra International Radio, di na Washington DC, na ala America, na a bia ra unu na abali a.

Ozi anyi na e wetara unu taa wu na ndi Biafra a gaghi e so ndi Nigeria me ihe onu-ogugu-isi nke a na a kpo Census na asusu Bekee, nke ha na a kwado i me na afo ya. Unu e kweghi kwa la ka ha guo unu onu, guinye unu na ndi Nigeria, maka anyi wu ndi Biafra; anyi a wughi ndi Nigeria.

Maka anyi a marala a mara na ndi Nigeria ga e ji aghugho ha, gbanwee ihe o wula a gutara na ogugu-onu ya, were zie otua tuo asi maka onu-ogugu a; nke ha ga e ji e megbu ndi Igbo na ndi Biafra ndi ozo, otu Nigeria si na e megbu anyi na oge na ile.

Nde Biafra: onye e kweghi kwa la ka ndi Nigeria guo ya onu, guinye ya na Census a (o wuru ma census ahu e nwee isi).

O nweghi ihe ozo anyi ga e kwu taa karia kwa ihe gbasara ozi nke a nke gbasara ihe anyi ga e me maka onu-ogugu-Census Nigeria. Anyi na a gwa onye o wula ka ha e soghi kwa la ndi Nigeria na onu-ogugu ya.

Ihe owula gbasara onu-ogugu na obodo Nigeria, a gu cha kwa ya, Nigeria na ndi na a chi ya—ndi “nwe Nigeria”—a tufuo ihe agu tara na onu, ga zie dee, na tinye, ihe ozo na akwukwo, bia zie na a gwa anyi ihe soro ha, nke wu ihe ndi Awusa choro. Anyi ma na o nweghi ihe Nigeria na ndi Awusa choro nke a wughi ihe ga e megbu ndi Igbo, ihe ga e gbu ndi Igbo nde Biafra.

Otu Nigeria jiri mee ya, a gaghi e tinye ihe gbasara ebe ndi mmadu si (Ethnicity), ma o wu ihe gbasara uka ha na e kpe. I wetuo kwa nu ihe abuo ya, odi zi ka o wu nnama ka a na a gu onu. Kedu kwa nu otu anyi ga e si a mara mmadu ole wu ndi Igbo ndi Biafra o wuru ma Census a gutaghi ya, otu Nigeria jiri choo ya? O wu kwa nu ka e megbuo ndi Igbo ndi Biafra ka Nigeria ji a cho i me onu-ogugu ya otu ahu.

Ndi govumenti na a ru oru Census ya e kwu e la e kwuo na Newspaper na ihe di Nigeria mkpa a wughi ezi okwu maka ihe a ga a gu ta na onu-ogugu a. So-o-so ihe di Nigeria mkpa wu ihe ga a masi ndi Awusa na ndi ozo ndi “nwe” Nigeria; a suo ria ya, ya a wuru na a ga a guta ihe ozo na ezi-okwu, ma ha wu Nigeria ga a si na o wu ihe ozo ka a gutara, i ji mee ka obi di ndi Awusa na ndi “nwe” Nigeria mma. Anyi ma nu ndi “nwe” Nigeria a ma: o wughi ndi Igbo ma o wu ndi Biafra. O wu kwa ndi ahu ndi si na ha “nwe” Nigeria wu ndi na a kugbu na na e megbu ndi Igbo na ndi Biafra oge dum.

Nke ka si ike na nke kasi mkpa wu na anyi wu ndi Biafra. Kedu kwa nu ihe anyi na e me o wuru na a na a gu nye anyi onu na Nigeria? Mba-oo! Kedu kwa nu ihe anyi wu Biafra na Nigeria nwekoro?

Maka ihe ndi a dum, anyi si ndi Igbo ndi Biafra me e ihe na ile e kwesiri i me ka o nweghi la onye ga a gu ha onu na Census ndi Nigeria yiri na afo ya ma owu na afo owula. Chineke kere Biafra, kee kwa anyi ndi Biafra. Anyi a wughi nde Nigeria; na otu aka ahu kwa, anyi e kweghi na Nigeria. O wu so-o-so Biafra ga a gu anyi onu, guo anyi ndi Biafra.

Biafra, ndu gi! Biafra, ndu gi!! Biafra, ndu gi!!!—na ndu anyi kwa. Ma ka Chineke nonyere la gi!

Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcast continues
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