October 7 2006

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

For October 7^th, 2006

You have heard the news; now, the analysis…

Fellow Biafrans:

We were just recently reminded of this statement:

“The Federation of Nigeria is today as corrupt, as unprogressive and as oppressive and irreformable …

“Yet we are being forced to sacrifice our very existence as a people to the integrity of that ramshackle creation [Nigeria] that has no justification either in history or in the freely expressed wishes of the people...”

and we ask you: does this ring true today?

1. Is Nigeria corrupt? You would agree that that is a silly question, right? Of course, Nigeria is corrupt. Nigeria is worse than Corrupt—so corrupt that “Nigeria” is the other name for “Corrupt”; Nigeria is the definition of the word, “Corruption.” Take a look for yourself. Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria, is setting the corrupt example for the rest of Nigeria. He usurps power through rigged elections wherein opponents are also “settled” to yield (or face death by other means). Obasanjo (mis)uses this power of State to control everyone and every other institution in Nigeria: the Presidency, the Judiciary, the Legislative, the Military, the Police, other State so-called Security outfits, and special feared committees such as the EFCC, as well as the evil party, PDP. Obasanjo controls Nigeria’s constitution. He even controls how many inches of federal roads are constructed anywhere in Nigeria. He controls the peoples, and makes them gnash their teeth. On top of all this, Obasanjo goes on the pulpit—and yes, literally, Church pulpits, on Sundays—from where he acts like he is a holy and upright man, dishing out warnings and exhortations to the poor, hapless peoples.

We wanted to start with the foregoing, lest we forget that corruption is not just about illegally obtained money, the grabbing of it for selfish use, and the spending of it without authority and on personal selfish things, which Obasanjo has excelled in. Obasanjo came into the presidency of Nigeria from bankruptcy (his Ota Farm was in ruins); now, he is a billionaire, with assets the size of the entire continent of Africa; and his Ota Farm? It is now the pre-eminent farm in Nigeria, if not the entire sub-Saharan Africa. Obasanjo’s corruption does not stop there. Nor does it stop with him. The State governors in Nigeria, and the so-called Local Government Administrations (LGA’s); the legislators, the cabinet, and the entire political class in Nigeria are all ensnared in it. And those before them. Nigeria is a “culture” enmeshed in, and fabricated from, Corruption.

2. Is Nigeria unprogressive? ‘Sorry, this is another joke of a question. There is in fact no single progress which has been made in Nigeria since 1965 in any significant area of human endeavor or in any sector of society. All there is now is decay of un-maintained infrastructure, complete lack of infrastructure, or borrowed “White-elephant”-infrastructure which siphons off funds and is soon abandoned. Education has gone to the dogs. Health Care is anemic, where alive at all. Transportation is a “no-go” area. There is no reliable Power generation, supply or distribution, and no reliable potable Water systems. The job market is a closed shed with few items of trade. Nigeria’s idea of Social and Cultural development is the formation of money-sucking NGO’s. Security of property, person, and citizenry is a deadly joke. Just how unprogressive can a so-called country be?

3. Is Nigeria oppressive? Yeah? Right! Ask the Igbo. Ask other Biafrans. Ask the Niger Delta. Ask the Bakassi. Ask about the Nigerian officials going around Igbo-Biafraland extorting money gratuitously from our people—our people refuse or resist at the risk of being shot to death by the armed extortionists. Ask Igbo and other Biafrans residing or traveling elsewhere in Nigeria—about their life and their security.

4. Is Nigeria irreformable? The colonial masters for sure admitted as much on their formulation of Nigeria, and even before they left Nigeria. Independence from Britain failed to reform Nigeria. So did the military: it failed to reform Nigeria. As did the Biafra-Nigeria War. So also the return of civilian governments; as too, so-called, so-maligned misnomer (for Nigeria), “Democracy.” They all failed to reform Nigeria. The result? Election rigging. Census rigging. Ghana-must-go bags to bribe the legislators and judiciary in broad daylight. Nepotism / ethnicism. Racism. Anti-Igbo, anti-Biafran policies. Ongoing genocide against the Igbo. You name it: it has not been eliminated from Nigeria: if anything, it has changed, but only for the worse.

“…Yet we are being forced to sacrifice our very existence as a people to the integrity of that ramshackle creation [Nigeria] that has no justification either in history or in the freely expressed wishes of the people…” So continues the statement. And, so true, too.

5. Do you know when these statements excerpted here were made? Don’t be surprised: it was in 1969—almost forty years ago. Yes: 37 years ago. If you were born that year in Nigeria, you are past midlife by now; and yet, nothing will have changed for you for the better with respect to Nigeria. Since there must be upwards of tens of millions of people in that category, that’s how much those particular individuals have sacrificed because of Nigeria:—everything. And, as the last quoted statement reminds us, there is no justification for that: the people never asked for that.

On June 1, 1969, the Head of State of Biafra, then a Colonel, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, in the famous, insightful and master-stroke, Ahiara Declaration, delivered the speech of which this statement is part. Almost forty years later, every significant thing said there is still accurate. You can then be sure that Biafra, which is the crux of the Ahiara Declaration, and which Odumegwu Ojukwu is still the champion of, remains true—then as now, and forever. The issues he articulated for us, and the problems mentioned, remain the same and still ring true 40 years later; the solution, Biafra, therefore, remains true also.

In the light of the above, Obasanjo and Nigeria had better admit that jailing Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of MASSOB, Uchenna Madu, the Information Director of MASSOB, and other MASSOB leaders and members for non-violent pro-Biafra activities is an exercise in unnecessary cruelty and hatred, a huge mistake: these our people must be released. Trying to get rid of MASSOB, the current baton-holder in this leg of our struggle for Biafra, by physical liquidation and destruction, will not succeed, any more than it did for Nigeria against Biafra in 1967-1970; except, this time around, in indicting and convicting Obasanjo and Nigeria of crimes against humanity, witnessed and documented by the entire world contemporaneously.

Biafra alive! Because it is God Who makes it so.

That’s the News Analysis for the week. Thank you.

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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.

Ndi Biafra, ekele e o-o! Anyi e kelee unu.

Nkea 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.

Na afo 1969, na onwa June, o nwere Ekwumekwu a kporo “Ahiara Declaration,” nke wu okwu di oke mkpa nke Ochi-agha Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, kwuru na olu radio, e dedaa kwa ya na akwukwo na asusu Bekee. Taa e mee la ogu-afo-na-iri-na-asaa kemgbe Ojukwu kwuru ihe ndea na Ahiara Declaration. Ma, ihe dum o ruturu aka mgbe ahu, ha ka di kwa otu ahu ugbua. Ezi-okwu o kwuru mgbe ahu ka wu kwa ezi-okwu taa.

Ahiara Declaration na e kwu na njo na a ru di ukwuu no na ime Nigeria na oge afo 1969. Taa, anyi a hula na njo na aru Nigeria kariri a kari: ihe ahu Ojukwu kwuru—ihe o ko ro Nigeria na afo 1969—wu kwa otu Nigeria di taa.

Ure Nigeria rere, nke Ahiara Declaration ru tu ru aka na 1969, o wu kwa otu o di taa; ma o nweghi ihe ozo, ure ahu a karia la a karia taa. Maka unu a hula otu Obasanjo na Atiku na ndi na ile ndi ozo nde na e me Politics na ime Nigeria jiri na e ri ego, na e zu ego, na e ke ego na etiti ha onwe ha, ego nke a wughi nke ha.

Ihe ndi ozo Ahiara Declaration na e kwu gbasara oke mkpagbu di na Nigeria—mkpagbu Nigeria na a kpagbu ndi Igbo ndi Biafra na ime Nigeria na oge ahu, oge afo 1969. Mkpagbu ahu (na mmegbu) di cha kwa otu ahu taa. Na oga-niru a dighi na ime Nigeria na oge 1969: taa, o nweghi oga-niru diri Nigeria. O na e kwu kwa na mgbaputa Nigeria e nweghi isi na mgbe ahu; na, mee elu mee ala, Nigeria a naghi a gbanwe a gbanwe na ihe njo ndia na ile: otua ka Nigeria di kwa taa. Otua ka ihe di na oge 1969, a bia zie na e ji ike na e me anyi ka anyi jiri ndu anyi tuo aja i ka no na ime Nigeria i debe Nigeria ka owuru otu? O wu kwa o wu otu nsogbu ahu anyi nwere na ime Nigeria taa?

Ahiara Declaration ziri anyi na ihe mere ka Nigeria wuru njo na nsi nyere ndi Biafra na oge 1969, ka di kwa otu ahu taa, 2006. O na a kuziri anyi na otu Biafra siri wuru osisa anyi nyere Nigeria mgbe ahu, o wu kwa Biafra ga a wu osisa anyi taa. Anyi ga e nwetariri Biafra.

Obasanjo na Nigeria muoru kwa ako, weputa Ralph Uwazurike, onye isi MASSOB, na Uchenna Madu, na ndi ndu ndi ozo na ndi otu MASSOB ndi ozo ha tinyere na mkporo ndi Nigeria. Maka Ahiara Declaration a gwala anyi na o di mkpa ka anyi nweta Biafra: nkea wu ihe MASSOB na a cho kemgbe 1999 rue taa, rue echi.

Biafra, ndu gi! Biafra, ndu gi!! Biafra, ndu gi!!!—na ndu anyi kwa. Maka Chineke nonyere la gi—nonyere kwa ra anyi!

Ndewo unu.

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Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcast continues

Voice of Biafra International (VOBI)
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