For August 7, 2009

Fellow Biafrans:

Many persons living in Biafra / Nigeria today have no experience of when things worked right in this now cursed place called Nigeria. Some were too young; so any faint memories thereof have been wiped out. If you were under 5 to 10 years of age in Nigeria in 1966, you belong in the above categories. That means that people born in Nigeria after 1956, definitely after 1960, just have no clue of a functional Biafra / Nigeria. Effectively then, people now 50 years of age or younger have no idea of what we are talking about when we talk about things working in Biafra / Nigeria. UN World population data show that almost half of the population of Biafra / Nigeria is less than 15 years of age, with only 3% over 65 years of age; therefore, a projection of 9 out of every 10 persons being under 50 years of age is not unreasonable. Now, you can understand how and why the prime of the population has no point of reference at all and nothing to compare with—there is just no institutional memory of when things worked right in Biafra / Nigeria. The other or older ten percent are trying to find ways to survive, and are not interested in imparting objective history to the younger generations. Those who do are, for the most part, passing down history re-written and re-worked to serve personal and or parochial interests.

The same demographic profile holds true for Biafrans proper. Only less than 10% of Biafrans, by this estimate, know when things worked well in this region. It is perhaps this same small fraction of Biafrans who know that during the three years of Biafra, we managed to keep the newly formed country working well, in spite of a brutal genocidal war by Nigeria; in spite of a withering blockade by Nigeria and its friends.

It would seem that our task to inform the people that we know when and how things worked well in this region, is therefore a tall order, considering that 9 out of 10 of them have no notion of when or what we are talking about in this regard. How do we convince those 50 years of age and younger—those already becoming grandparents by now (clearly 90% of the population), that Biafra worked well before, and Biafra will most certainly work well now and in the future? How do we paint the picture of a briefly well-functioning Nigeria during the time Biafrans were in charge of running our own affairs in the then Eastern Nigeria, and during the (same) time when Biafrans, based on sheer merit and expertise, provided social, governmental and infrastructural services for Nigeria? How do we paint a picture to appeal to someone who has no basis of comparison, to whom, thereby, such a picture is reduced to mere abstract painting? This is the challenge we face.

Yes, Biafra worked in those days, and she worked quite well, thank you. We had internal / civil security (even as the war raged all around us). We ran our own Postal System and the Telephone / Telegraph system. We ran our Educational System. We managed our Financial Systems. We maintained our roads, our waterways (clean, potable water supply included) and our railways. We maintained our Airways: in fact, the major Biafran Airport at Uli became the marvel of the entire world because of how fast and efficiently we handled the operations—in "forced darkness," no less; and Uli, Biafra, was to be recognized as the busiest airport in Africa at the time. Our Educational system and our Civil Service system were exemplary; as was our Health Care System—until it was overwhelmed as a result of the genocidal blockade against us by Nigeria and its friends. We produced and processed our own Fuel, meeting both war and civilian demands.

When we were "Eastern [Region] Nigeria," Biafra excelled in every aspect of human endeavor. In Science, Math, Engineering and Education; in Language and Literature. In Trade. In Service. In Management. In Productivity. So good, that the British, even though they loathed us for our independence and proven self-confidence where other Nigerians were merely subservient and sycophantic to them, placed Biafrans, strictly on grounds of merit, in every post where consistency, dependability, reliability, intelligence, knowledgeability and or initiative were a requisite, in Federal Nigeria. We were so good that other Nigerians became jealous and envious of our abilities and accomplishments, and soon, slipped into resentment, directing sheer hatred and hostility against us. Nevertheless, with the Regions then functioning autonomously, our "can-do" nature was less of a threat; only at the "Federal level," whose functionality we were sustaining with our energy and services, was intolerance and rejection against us fully and nakedly exhibited.

So, believe us when we relate to you that, forced together as one-Nigeria, nothing works. Of course, that nothing works in Nigeria you already know. We are merely telling you why it is that nothing works in Nigeria. But, we are also telling you that, separate and independent, we truly shine, as Biafra. (The other Regions, too, work, separate, as regional autonomy has shown in the past in Nigeria). Therefore, waste not your time thinking that, wishing it, preaching it or praying that one-Nigeria will ever work: it can’t and it won’t. Rather, embrace the proven fact that separate and independent, we will finally be able to thrive and fulfill our God-given potential, in a safe and secure democratic nation of Biafra.

No more Nigeria; no more one-Nigeria: it-just-does-not-work. Biafra it is, for us.

Our insistent demand is that Nigeria release our brave Biafran persons remaining in Nigeria’s Gulags forthwith. No sane person in the entire world would blame them for rejecting one-Nigeria. Nigeria: release them now!

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

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

__________________________________________________________________