August 15 2008

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

For August 15, 2008

You have heard the news; now, the analysis…

Fellow Biafrans:

We must not allow our people, when it comes to Biafra and Nigeria, to refuse to learn, or to fail to apply the lessons of history, facts, personal and collective experience. Africa, today, is the laughing stock of the world because, as amply demonstrated by the peoples living in the Biafra and Nigeria geospace, we have shown a strong preference for refusing to illustrate that we have learnt anything from the past and present, and even a stronger preference for refusing to do anything positive with what (if) we have learned. In fact, we rather defend historical mistakes, defy incontrovertible facts, and deny palpable experiential consequences. As if that’s not enough, we actually proceed to act like the future will be positively different in the face of our psychological denial mentality. While we wallow in such sickness, the world categorizes us collectively as “NOT SERIOUS,” and perhaps, not even human (even if it does not come out and say so openly). This must change.

Now, we all know that the facts of history as regards Nigeria are that Nigeria was forced together by the British in order to exploit the resources of the South to sustain the North: the records are there for all to see; they are not hidden. We also know that the British did not stop there: they made the North adopt this plan and maintain it. To make sure the parasitic and exploitative program stuck, the British rigged the first elections in Nigeria in favor of the North—in broad daylight. Ever since then, all subsequent elections in Nigeria have been rigged—to favor the North. The British taught the North to rig elections, and this has not stopped even today, as the North will go as far as to import millions of kith and kin from southern Niger Republic to swell their polling power during every Nigeria national election. The British deliberately over-inflated the population of the North during the earlier censuses in Nigeria, in order to make the North appear to be majority in Nigeria. They taught the North to maintain such inflation, resulting in every single census in Nigeria being rigged in favor of the North. Never mind that the two largest ethnic nations in the North—the Hausa and the Fulani—each has such a low population that they have had to merge to form Hausa-Fulani; yet, their sum is nowhere close to the population of the least of the major ethnic nations of the South. Not satisfied, the British went on to impose a political culture in Nigeria which always favors the North with regards to ruling, control and powerful positions, making the North de facto Lord and Ruler in perpetuity over Nigeria. The British taught the North this, and to show how well they learned it, the North began to publicly advertise, with utter arrogance and swagger, their British-assigned status as: “Born to rule Nigeria.” These are all facts—not opinion, not conjecture, not surmise.

Therefore, in any structural configuration where there is “Nigeria”—as in “one-Nigeria,” the North has already been primed to dominate and rule over Nigeria, so that it can continue looting the resources of the South in order to sustain itself. The British have seen to that, and will continue to see to it; and the North, having been taught well, will always enforce that role. Remember how the Aburi agreement (a plan which would have resulted in regional autonomy of the peoples living in Nigeria and resource-ownership and control) was scuttled? Remember who convinced Gowon and his successful cabal of Northern Nigeria military putschists to, rather than secede the North from Nigeria as they had planned when it was clear that “the basis for unity of Nigeria [was] no longer there” (in Gowon’s own words), cement Northern rule and dominion over Nigeria—remember? Well, check your history: it was the British government.

It is in the light of the foregoing that we want to shake and wake up our people to reality, compelled by recent developments in the ongoing slide of Nigeria into its proper fate: disintegration. First, we want to express our strongest support for the Bakassi people for their stance in articulating the only viable alternative for themselves: Independence from both Nigeria and Cameroun. Incidentally, six years ago, we had counseled the same, but some of the Bakassi leaders were in denial, placing their trust in the snake and psychopath called Obasanjo, and handing their fate to the heartless parasite called Nigeria. We now encourage them to follow through, because in a world that cares not, only they can lead the fight for their own survival and their own existence on their own God-given land..

Second, we support the principle of resource ownership and control, and political autonomy suggested by the Niger Delta leaders as the condition for the return of peace and stability in the area. We do not just caution, but we state categorically, that “a return to ‘true federalism’ in Nigeria,” which is their terminology, will not solve any of the current or past problems in the region or in the entire Biafra / Nigeria geospace, for that matter. It is factual to point out to those who prefer to forget, that as a matter of fact, on the balance, “regional autonomy” failed in Nigeria: if it was really succeeding, there would not have been the seminal coup d’état of January 1966, would there? Regional autonomy in Nigeria was sabotaged and doomed by the pre-arranged structure of Nigeria (by the British, imbibed by the North) which was designed specifically to deliver to the North resources from the South so that the North can be sustained by the South—damn the South! This is the point that we have been making throughout this document. Therefore, even assuming that the North and their British friends would allow so-termed “true federalism,” it is still doomed to fail in Nigeria: it hasn’t got a chance. Hence, our support for the principle of resource ownership and control is predicated on the agenda and principle of Self Determination, a process which guarantees that Nigeria, in whatever form, will not be around to extend its leprous fingers into any of the Sovereign and Independent Nations which take advantage of, and pursue the tenets of, Self Determination. We encourage the Niger Delta people to insist on Self Determination, because anything else will fall short, unraveling very quickly, and setting us all back just as quickly; the Niger Delta people should properly educate their leaders as such.

Third, we are encouraged by the full support that Ohaneze has declared for our Niger Delta brothers; after all, there are two core Igbo States included in the Niger Delta, and there are many Igbo people indigenous to other non-Igbo Niger Delta areas. However, we regret that Ohaneze is taking mere baby-steps when what is really required of Ohaneze is a bold stride—not even a leap, just a courageous and firm stride. As noted, “true federalism” will not solve our problems. A “derivation of 50%” immediately awarded to the Niger Delta for the pacification of the Niger Delta as proposed by Ohaneze, is not a serious negotiating stand when, as a matter of fact, 100% of the resources belong to the Niger Delta: it is both timid and insulting, if not weak and stupid, to present such a solution. Only Self Determination can lead to, and ensure that, each ethnic nation keeps 100% of what is on its land, controls and manages such however it sees fit. We really are no longer interested in Ohaneze, or any Igbo organization for that matter, which has not already taken a positive stand on Self Determination for our people, in this day and age. Time for timidity and stupidity, denial and appeasement, is over.

Self Determination is our ticket. It is certainly our best and perhaps only agenda to free ourselves from a structure which has us deliberately enslaved forever, by the North, and for the North. Self Determination for us leads to Biafra. That’s what we want. That’s what our peoples want. This will solve the Niger Delta problem. This will solve the Bakassi problem. It will solve the problem that is Nigeria. We insist on Self Determination: we all should; you all should.

We conclude by insisting on our demand that Nigeria release Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of MASSOB, and these other MASSOB members from unconscionable bail conditions and or from Nigeria’s jails: Samuel Onwuka, Jude Onuasoanya, Sunday Mmadubuike, Chima Okafor, Richard Oko, Isaac Obi, Sunday Agudike, Uchenna Onuegbe, Anayo Nwali, Chukwudi Dennis, Arinze Obodozie, Oko Uru, Emeka Ugwu, and Uchenna Madu, MASSOB’s Information Director. We work until their full release.

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 (http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm) now continues in Igbo, one of the Biafran languages.

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 (VOBI) Radio, di na Washington DC, na ala America, na a bia ra unu na abali a.

O di ka ndi ala anyi a naghi a muta ako. O wu kwa nu ihe na e me ka ndi uwa na a chi anyi o chi: ha a hula otu ihe ojoo ga na e me anyi oge dum, ma o nweghi la ihe ziri e zi anyi mere gbasara ya.

Onye owula a mara la na naani otu ihe ka ndi British jiri kee Nigeria: ka e were ihe di na ala ndi South—ndi bi na Ndida, nke wu anyi) were mezie ndi Ugwu, ndi North. Maka nkea, ndi British e mee aghugho na uruh na njo na aru na ihe ndiozo e kwesighi i me, ka ha hu na ndi North—ndi Awusa-Fulani—chi ri Nigeria, gbaa ndi South ohu, rigbue anyi, megbue any, ka ndi North si e me taa.

Onye mara nkea a gaghi e kwe ka Obodo ya noro na ime Nigeria. Ako-na-uche na ogugu-isi a gaghi e kwe onye ahu ka o kweta i no na ihe owula Nigeria di na ime ya. Nke mere anyi ji a kwado ndi Bakassi, umunne anyi, ndi Biafra ibe anyi, ka ha jiri kwuo na ha na a pu a pu site Nigeria na site kwa na Cameroun kpam-kpam, ga kwuru onwe ha.. Anyi na kwa a kwado ndi Niger Delta otu ha na e kwu na ha choro i chi onwe ha, nwere kwa ihe no na ala ha, ihe dika Mmanu. Anyi si kwa na o di mma ka ndi Ohaneze ji a kwado ndi Niger Delta; ma o dighi ihe ozo, ya a wuru na a gunyere State abuo ndi Igbo na Niger Delta; ndi Igbo wu nwala ndi State ozo na Niger Delta buru oke ibu.

Ma na ihe anyi na a gwa ma Ohaneze ma ndi Niger Delta ma ndi Biafra, ma Nigeria na ile, wu na, otu owula e siri mee ya, e mechaa ya, o wuru na Nigeria ka nodi kwa ndu, anyi a hu onwe anyi na ime ya wu Nigeria, na o nweghi ihe oma merela anyi; o nweghi ebe anyi jerutara. Ma, naani ihe ga a gwo ihe na a ria ma anyi—ma o wu Niger Delta ma o wu Bakassi ma o wu ndi Igbo—ma Nigeria, ogwu ahu wu anyi i ga nodiri onwe anyi, na a chi onwe anyi, anyi kwuru ka Republic of Biafra, na o nweghi otu anyi jiri noro na okpuru Nigeria. Sooso nkea—Obodo Biafra, Obodo nke anyi—wu osisa juru afo, osisa ziri e zi, na nkwushi aru na njo na mmegbu na uruh na ogbugbu Nigeria na e gbu anyi.

Otu e si a ga njem ya—nweta Biafra—wu anyi i ji uzo “Self Determination” mee ya. Nkea mere anyi ji a kpoku unu dum, ma ndi Igbo ma ndi Nigeria Delta na ndi Bakassi na ndi Biafra ndi ozo, ka anyi na ile were otu olu na otu obi na a cho Self Determination, nke ga e duga anyi Obodo anyi Biafra. Ka anyi muta kwanu ako, zi kwa na anyi a mutala ako ahu—ka anyi si na Nigeria puta chaa, ka o nweghi kwala nde na a gbaa anyi ohu ozo. Self determination ga e nye anyi ihe wu ihe nke anyi, na o nweghi onye ga e nwe ike i nara anyi ihe anyi ozo. Self determination, umunne anyi, Self Determination!

O nweghi mgbe anyi ga e chefu umunne anyi ndia wu: Samuel Onwuka, Jude Onuasoanya, Sunday Mmadubuike, Chima Okafor, Richard Oko, Isaac Obi, Sunday Agudike, Uchenna Onuegbe, Anayo Nwali, Chukwudi Dennis, Arinze Obodozie, Oko Uru, Emeka Ugwu, na Uchenna Madu, otu na ndi ndu MASSOB. Wuru-wuru Nigeria na bail Ralph Uwazurike ka di kwa nge ahu. Nigeria ga a kpoputa ha dum na mkporo Nigeria, hapu ha aka.

Biafra: biri kwa! ka Chineke siri kee gi.

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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