April 18 2008

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

For April 18, 2008

You have heard the news; now, the analysis…

Fellow Biafrans:

Last week, the Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) held a convention. It is reported that in his speech at the occasion, the “president-general” of IYM, one Eliot Uko, “…said that the convention was partly organised to determine if the Igbos [sic] were being marginalised or not…” It is this type of idiocy and this level of shocking stupidity expressed by Eliot Uko that we have always prayed that the Lord spare our people from descending to. We see that as far as Eliot Uko is concerned, this prayer has yet to be answered. So, before we go any further, we will say another prayer:

Oh Lord, protect our Youth from deceivers, protect them from wolves in sheeps’ clothing. Protect them from those who see evil, know that it is evil, and are visited with same evil, yet want to “determine” if same evil has indeed been visited on them. Above all, Lord, give our Youth discernment that they may see how they have been robbed of the humanity, dignity and opportunities You freely gave them; and assure them of the courage which You have already given them to use in recovering from the thieves any and all gifts from You which hithertofore had been snatched from them. Dear Lord, help our Youth discern bad leadership and help them get themselves rid of such unscrupulous leadership. Amen!

From the lore of our people comes the teaching point and story often told children and youth by their parents. As you will see, this is an appropriate time for its re-tell. It goes like this:

At the “first cock’s crow” one early morning, a father gathered his sons for counsel. He posed the hypothetical question to the group for individual response: “How many times will an adversary strike you before you strike back? “Five times,” said one son; “after that, I will strike back.” “I’d say, 2 times—on the third blow, I will retaliate,” responded another. Another’s response was: “Well, I don’t know if I will ever strike back; I don’t want to upset my adversary and risk more blows.” Yet another: “I will try very hard to weather the blows first, waiting to see if my adversary is actually serious; then I will try to convince him to dialogue with me about the matter.” The old man sighed a deep sigh. One more response came: “Strike me once, and I will stagger and fell you with my quick and deadly counter-strike.” The remaining son spoke up: “If I think that an adversary intends to hit me, I will strike him first; if I am wrong, I will apologize and make reparations if demanded.” With that, the old man nodded, smiled, and cleared his throat…

Recall that Obasanjo and Nigeria made sure that Education for our Youth is impossible—no infrastructure, no trained or paid teachers, no supplies, no money to get into private and outside schools. Beating all odds, some of our Youth still managed to get academic degrees—not just one degree, but two and three per person in some instances. Yet at the end of that, with one or multiple degrees, no jobs for the Youth-graduates, so they become Okadas, riding danger itself on two wheels, as it were, where no motorable roads exist. The few Youth who, again, beat all odds and manage to get jobs in Nigeria are placed under illiterate Northerners and Yoruba, there to serve at the pleasure and mercy of these uncouth Nigerians, who collect any credits from Igbo Youth’s work, their meagerly paying jobs. Okay, many of our Youth, denied educational and job opportunities, are compelled to embrace trading and commerce; some by choice, of course. But, what did Obasanjo and Nigeria do about this? Did not Obasanjo personally ban and criminalize commerce in Nigeria where the Igbo are heavily involved? Eliot Uko: just what does “marginalization” mean to you?

How is it that our Youth do not understand the blows Nigeria has been pounding them with? We are a gifted, hardworking people with a work-ethic and achievement-ethic—and natural resources to match—a combination which no group in the world, not even Americans, or the Jews, can match. Yet, our Youth languish and pine today, unable to fulfill any part of their potential, left only with desperation and deprivation, in abject poverty, forcing severely depressed ones to strike out outside the region, as such, exposing themselves to unimaginable danger, often with lethal consequences? How many times will your adversary strike you before you strike back? Eliot Uko is telling our Youth to first pretend that no one is hitting them; then, debate about whether they are being hit at all. In a subsequent pronouncement, Uko tells our Youth to remain “neutral.” Imagine that!

A little over a year ago, Eliot Uko led the January 2007 IYM convention where he was more concerned about the feud between Obasanjo and Atiku—at a time when Obasanjo and Atiku and their Nigeria were busy, as usual, hurting and killing and raining insults on our people, and busy destroying any opportunities for our Youth. Eliot Uko and his fellow “leaders” of IYM clearly endorsed Nigeria, ready to participate in Nigeria’s elections even though they knew that it would be rigged, and in such a way to hurt the Igbo, especially Igbo Youth, maximally. Yes, even though we called for a total boycott of that election. The hypocrisy of it all was confirmed by a statement taken from the communiqué signed by Uko issued at the end of that convention:

"…We have noted the deliberate attempt to deny Ndigbo their birth right by the powers that be and we assure them that they cannot destroy the Igbo spirit nor enslave Ndigbo any more. We have resolved to take our destiny in our hands. God helping us," it declared. -- Leadership is action, not a position…” (January 2007 IYM convention Communique)

So, we ask: what has happened since January 2007 that now makes Eliot Uko wonder whether Igbo are marginalized in Nigeria? Worse still, Eliot Uko has now declared IYM “neutral” with respect to MASSOB leading our people “to take our own destiny in our hands.” What happened to the January 2007 IYM resolve as above? Or, has Eliot Uko conveniently forgotten that our collective destiny is still in the hands of Nigeria (which obviously he seems to favor), and needs yet be wrested, from Nigeria, by us?

Eliot Uko clearly represents one of the Igbo “elite” and so-called “Igbo leaders” whom Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of MASSOB, on the same occasion, has categorized as “cowards”—accurately, correctly, too. Chekwas Okorie of APGA, by his own statement on that same occasion, in trying to keep the Igbo forced into one-Nigeria, with the reason of the illusion that (in his own hallucinatory words), “…"With only 30% of peace, the Igbos will control Nigeria."…” is another such coward. Not only are they cowards, they do not want anyone else to challenge their adversary, for fear that the adversary, in this case, Nigeria, will hit them more. They would rather keep taking the blows; they would rather try to weather unending beatings from an implacable, insatiable sadistic adversary—indefinitely! Tufiakwa!

Igbo-Biafra Youth: we recommend that you sack Eliot Uko and his fellow cowards—if they do not resign on their own—and replace them with leaders who, along with you, desire and work for Self Determination for Biafra, where at last, opportunities will be restored to you. Igbo-Biafra Youth: join MASSOB. Support MASSOB. “Neutrality” in this matter is a lie—you only lie to your own self when you are being tormented by Nigeria and you claim that you are neutral, especially when you are already chained to one-Nigeria by dishonest cowards called “leaders.”

With yet another Nigeria’s court postponement, fellow-Biafrans and MASSOB members such as Uchenna Madu, other MASSOB officials, and other MASSOB rank-and-file (yes, even Igbo-Biafra Youth), remain in Nigeria’s jails without trial and without bail. Uwazurike, the Leader of MASSOB himself’s jail / bail status remains unclear. Their unconditional release from Nigeria’s jails is what we demand, and what we will achieve.

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, e kele e o-o! Anyi e kele e unu.

Nkea wu akuko nke anyi na a kpo “News Analysis,” si na Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) Radio, di na Washington DC, na ala America, na a bia ra unu na abali a.

Onye na a kpo onwe ya “onye isi” ndi Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Eliot Uko, e mee la aru. O si na ndi IYM kporo nzuko ka ha lee ba anya na ihe ahu mara ma a na e megbu ndi Igbo e megbu na ime Nigeria. Tufiakwa! Nwokem ahu, Eliot Uko, kwu kwara na ndi IYM, na o nweghi ndi ha kwadoro, mgbe Uwazurike, onye isi MASSOB, kwuchara ihe gbasara Biafra i nwere onwe ya, na nzuko ahu.

Nkea na e me ka anyi cheta uka na ilulu ndi anyi na a tu…

“Otu nwoke kpokotara umu ya, na a ju ha si: “Ugboro ole ka onye iro ga a ku gi ihe tutu gi a kugwara?” “Ugboro abuo.” “Ugboro ato.” “M’gaghi a kugwara, o maa kugbue mu.” “Ya ku wa mu, mu a cho wa kwa nu otu mu na ya ga a kwuso odu i chebara ihea e chiche.” Otua ka ha sa ra nna ha. Ma otu na ime ha a saa si na “mgbe onye ku ru mu otu, otu mgbe ahu ka mu ga e ji a ku gbu onye ahu.” Nke ozo e kwuo okwu si na “Onye ahu chee di e chee i ku mu ihe, mu a kuola ya a kuo tutu o ga e bu uzo kuo mu.”

Nkea a wuru uka wuru ilulu; anyi e were na a ju Eliot Uko: ugboro ole ka Nigeria ga a kugbu anyi tutu anyi e megwara—tutu anyi e si Nigeria puta?”

Ihe ahu Ralph Uwazurike, onye isi MASSOB, koro ndi oke “amam-akwukwo” ndi Igbo (“Elite”), na ha wu “ndi obi-lu-lu-lu” na ihe gbasara Igbo-Biafra i nwere onwe ya—ihe ahu o koro ha wu ha. Ndi di ka Eliot Uko, ma Chekwas Okorie kwa, onye no na nro nwatakiri ka na e kwu ka “ndi Igbo noro na ime Nigeria, ka ha nwee ike i chi Nigeria.” O kwesighi ka ndi di otua na e du ndi Igbo, ma o wu duo ndi Biafra.

Ndi Youth Igbo-Biafra: o nweghi nu onye ga a gwa unu a gwa ihe ojoo Nigeria mere unu, njo Nigeria ka na e me unu ugbua. Anyi na a dhu unu ndumodhu ka unu chupu Eliot Uko na ndi otu ya, ka ha e dughi kwa la unu na IYM ozo, ka ha a wughikwala ndi isi unu ozo. Anyi na a dhu unu ka unu kwado MASSOB, kwado kwa “Self Determination Biafra” (Biafra i nwe onye ya, chiwa kwa onwe ya); otua, ka unu nweta uru akara-aka oma Chineke jiri aka Ya nye unu, nke Nigeria ka mebisiri. Ekpere anyi wu: ka Chineke nye unu ako, meghie anya unu, ka ndi efulefu e dufughi kwa la unu uzo ozo, ka Onyinye oma Chineke nyere unu, ka o baara unu uru nke ukwuu.

Umunne anyi umu Biafra ndi MASSOB ka no na mkporo Nigeria, nde di ka Uchenna Madu na ndi ndu MASSOB ndi ozo, na umu otu MASSOB ndi ozo—ndi umu Youth Igbo na Biafra kwa—ma Uwazurike, onye isi MASSOB. A ga a hapuriri ha aka, si na mkporo Nigeria weputa ha.

Biafra: biri kwa!

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)
A SHORTWAVE Radio Broadcast Service
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