REBUILDING  IGBO  SOCIETY: CALLING  IGBO  NATIONALISTS. 

BY

Education & Political Action Committees
EKWE NCHE ORGANIZATION 
P.O.Box  408250
Chicago, IL 60640
email: ekwenche@hotmail.com

In the past several months, we have written to you about so many 
issues. We note with pleasure that Ndiigbo have been seriously discussing
           all the things   we wrote to you about. We are particularly delighted that 
now Ndiigbo have taken very seriously the vexing problem of Leadership in 
Igbo Society, which we presented to you more than one year ago. You are 
discussing it very seriously at all levels of Igbo society and in our towns 
and villages. You are asking the right questions: Who are our community 
leaders? Who are our political leaders? What qualities do we want in our 
leaders? Do the people who claim to be our community and political leaders 
have these qualities? Let's remind ourselves of a few important points 
about leadership: 
1. Ndiigbo have leaders (Ndi Ndu), never rulers (Ndi Ochichi). 
2. Ndiigbo always elect their leaders. They reject self‑appointed or 
imposed "rulers". 
3. In Igbo society, a leader is a man or woman elected by a group to 
act and speak on their behalf. 
4. The leader derives his authority and power from the people he is 
leading or representing and exercises such power and authority for the 
benefit of the people and not himself or herself. 
5. The leader's words and actions must at all times reflect the fully 
discussed and agreed views, opinions, needs, aspirations, fears and 
interests of the people he/she speaks for. 
6. The leader protects and defends the interests of the people at all 
times and is prepared to lay down his life in their defense should the need 
arise. 		

7. The leader demonstrates his commitment to the group's welfare by 
providing forums for COLLECTIVE articulation of the group's VISION that 
will ultimately ensure the survival, security and prosperity of the members 
of the group. Leadership therefore is held responsible to the people. Every 
work, every act and every policy must conform to the people's interests, 
and if mistakes occur, they must be corrected immediately. 
8. If leadership ceases to represent, protect the interests of the 
group, if he uses his power and authority to enrich himself or pursues a 
personal agenda; if he becomes dictatorial by not consulting the group and 
having thorough and exhaustive discussions; if he demonstrates incompetence 
or foolishness by consistently pursuing policies that expose the group to 
shame, ridicule, social, economic and political harm; if he shows lack of 
vision by leading the group into a wilderness of thought and action; the 
people immediately remove such a leader and replace him with a more 
competent person. 
9. If the group does not remove such a leader very quickly, the group 
could suffer severe ridicule, shame, social, economic, political harm and 
even disintegration. 
10. In Igbo society this group could be a family, Umunna, Village, Ama, 
Age grade, Ogbe, Obodo, Town, Autonomous Community or Igbo Nation. 
It is a fundamental principle of survival among all social 
organisms that if their leader fails or ceases to protect the interest of 
the group or works against the interest of the group, that leader is 
immediately challenged, demoted, chased out of the group and may even be 
killed. This principle is very strictly applied from chimpanzee and monkeys 
to bees and ants. It is a practice that guarantees the survival, prosperity 
and regeneration of the species. The same principle applies in human beings 
from Nations, (Israel, U.S.A., Japan) to clubs (Rotary, United Way). 
One question that has vexed us so much is whether Ndiigbo as a 
Nation have been using the principle to ensure their survival as a group. 
Is Igbo Nation marching on the path of self‑preservation or hurtling down 
the path of self‑destruction? A quick review of our behavior and the 
behavior of our "leaders" in the past several years will provide the answer 
to that question. 
From the 1940's to the early 1960's Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe was 
unquestionably the most powerful and articulate political philosopher on 
the African political stage. He was really a Pan‑Africanist who contributed 
more than anyone else towards the emancipation of Black Africa from 
European colonialism. He was also a Nigerian Nationalist who did most to 
free Nigeria from British colonialism and honestly believed in "One 
Nigeria". He preached "One Nigeria" to Ndiigbo, the people of Eastern 
Nigeria and Nigerians in general. Ndiigbo and other people in Eastern 
Nigeria accepted his philosophy of "One Nigeria" and practiced it, others 
rejected it. His contemporaries, Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello preached 
Yoruba Nationalism and Advancement and Hausa/Fulani Nationalism and Domination respectively. They devoted all their energies to improving the lives of Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani people respectively. Ndiigbo bought Zik's "One Nigeria" 
political philosophy. Ndiigbo set about developing Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Minna, 
Yola, Ibadan, Benin, Maiduguri, and Jos. What did Ndiigbo get from this "One 
Nigeria"? For embracing this doctrine of "One Nigeria", you [Ndiigbo] got nothing but the slaughter of your wives and children and looting of your property. Even on a personal level, Zik himself was not spared. Awolowo and Western Nigeria politicians dealt him a deadly political blow during the 1951 Western Regional elections when his own "party loyalists" turned coat and joined the Action Group, a Yoruba Party during the infamous carpet crossing on the floor of the Western House  of Assembly. Zik scampered back to the East. You would expect him to have reevaluated his position and adopted a more pragmatic theory. After 
spearheading the fight against British colonialists in Africa and winning 
independence for Nigeria, Zik was rewarded with a useless, empty post of 
Governor‑General and later ceremonial President. These were vacuous posts 
that carried neither power nor authority. In the meantime Abubakar Tafawa 
Balewa, hand picked by Ahmadu Bello, was handed the post of Prime Minister, with power and authority to run a country whose independence they and other 
Hausa/Fulani feudalists vehemently opposed. Yet Zik continued to preach "One 
Nigeria" to Ndiigbo and you continued to follow. In 1969, as the 
Biafra‑Nigeria war was raging, thousands of Igbo children, women and old 
men were being starved to death daily by the Nazi‑like policies of Yakubu 
Gowon, Obafemi Awolowo and Anthony Enahoro. Zik left his brothers and 
sisters who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nigerian vandals and 
defected to Nigeria. He was still in pursuit of his philosophy of "One 
Nigeria". After the war, Ndiigbo did not demand an explanation from Zik. 
No, they just went on as if nothing happened. We are not in any way 
indicting this great son of Africa and Igboland. We are not at all 
suggesting that the great Zik was a bad man. No. Not at all. But we are 
worried that Ndiigbo never critically examined the consequences of his 
political calculations for the, welfare, survival and advancement of 
Ndiigbo in Nigeria. As a consequence many other Igbo leaders have followed 
his "One Nigeria" mantra. The result has been a colossal disaster for the 
welfare, advancement and survival of the Igbo Nation in Nigeria. Ndiigbo 
who fought fiercest to free Nigeria from the colonial stranglehold of the 
British, worked hardest to develop Nigerian towns and cities, labored most 
to make her social services work, have been the most maligned, persecuted, 
abused, degraded, insulted, assaulted, disenfranchised, discriminated 
against people in the geographical area called Nigeria. 
It is widely acknowledged among Nigerian, Commonwealth and United 
Nations Army Officers in the 1960's that General Ironsi was a very 
brilliant army officer who during the crisis in the Congo in 1960, 
demonstrated outstanding leadership, negotiating ability, as well as 
persuasive skill. It is on record that his ingenuity saved the lives of 
thousands of Congolese people and scores of United Nations troops. As Head 
of State of Nigeria in 1966, he was briefed about the plots to attack and 
murder Ndiigbo in towns and cities all over Northern Nigeria. He was told 
that the plotters planned to kill him too. He was given the names of the 
people who were at the meeting as well as the venues of some of the 
meetings. After the first wave of massacre in May 1966 during which 
thousands of Ndiigbo and other Easterners were butchered in cold blood in 
Northern Nigeria, Ironsi went on a conciliatory "meet the Emirs" tour of 
Northern Nigeria. He was on his second leg of that tour in Western Nigeria 
when he was abducted and murdered together with his host Col.Adekunle 
Fajuyi, by T.Y.Danjuma, now Obasanjo's minister of defense and his fellow 
murderers. Many more thousands of Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ogoja and Ijaw people 
of Eastern Nigeria were also slaughtered like cattle in Northern and 
Western Nigeria. By early October 1966, about 50,000 Easterners, men, 
women, children including unborn fetuses, which were torn out of the wombs 
of their mothers, had been slaughtered in Western and Northern Nigeria. 

           Zik and Ironsi genuinely believed in One Nigeria and were willing 
to make any sacrifices to preserve it. They were genuine Nigerian 
Nationalists, who believed in One Nigeria. Since their time there has 
emerged a new breed of Nigerian Nationalists in Igboland. These people do 
not believe in One Nigeria for one moment. However, they will shout "One 
Nigeria" to get contracts, bribes and appointments to political posts. They 
are opportunists who stand for nothing and believe in nothing. They are 
very dangerous because they will sell the entire forty million Igbo people 
for a bag of money, lucrative contract or political appointment. They are 
penny a dozen in Igbo Land today. 
           Ukpabi Asika was the Administrator of East Central State from 
1967‑1975. As the war progressed, he became fully aware that thousands of 
his brothers and sisters (Ndiigbo) who were non‑combatants were being 
murdered daily through targeted bombing of markets, schools, churches, 
refugee camps, feeding centers and hospitals. He knew that tens of 
thousands of his own people were being murdered like this by Egyptian 
pilots hired by the Nigerian Government of which he was part. What did 
Ukpabi Asika say to Yakubu Gowon? 
At the end of the war, Ukpabi Asika was a friend of Yakubu Gowon 
and Awolowo. When Obafemi Awolowo and Yakubu Gowon decided that every Igbo family gets no more than twenty pounds irrespective of how much money they had in the bank before or after the war what did he do? Did he protest this robbery and overnight impoverishment of his brothers and sisters, his fellow Igbo, by the Gowon/Awolowo government or was he toasting Gowon and Awolowo and drinking with them? Even more important, what did Ndiigbo do about it? They congratulated Ukpabi Asika for supervising the holocaust and liquidation of his own people. Traditional rulers in Onitsha conferred on him the traditional title of "Ajie". 
They were honoring him for giving twenty pounds to each family in Onitsha and 
for supervising the destruction and looting of Onitsha town including the 
world‑famous Onitsha Market. 

           After the massacre of 50,000 Igbo and other Easterners in Northern 
and Western Nigeria, the Nigerian Government under Yakubu Gowon embarked on the elimination of more than one million Igbo children, women and old men through starvation. As this was going on, one Ikoku was travelling the length and breath of the former Soviet Union arranging Soviet support for Nigeria and speaking to large audiences. He told them that there was no genocide against the Igbo and that nobody was killing Ndiigbo in Nigeria. 
Records of his speeches are available. At the end of the war, he came back 
to Igbo land and was moving as freely as air. He even held very important 
government appointments. He was often called "Igbo Leader". 
An Igbo Permanent Secretary in Lagos in 1967 was said to be the 
most strident in prevailing on Yakubu Gowon to renege on the Aburi Accord 
reached in Ghana by the delegation of Yakubu Gowon and that of all the 
State Governments in Eastern, Western, Northern and Mid‑Western Nigeria. If the 
Aburi Accord had been implemented, there would never have been a 
Biafra‑Nigeria war. More than three million Ndiigbo would not have been 
killed and starved to death. Igbo property worth several billions of 
dollars would not have been looted and burned by Nigerian vandals. By this 
singular despicable act, this Igbo man contributed in a very large measure 
to starting the war that took the lives of more than three million Igbo 
men, women and children and set the stage for the economic, social, 
technological retardation of Ndiigbo for at least the next fifty years. For 
betraying his brothers and sisters, he has been amply rewarded by the 
Federal Government with plum appointments. For betraying his own blood, his own brothers and sisters, the Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba coalition has showered 
him with political appointments, chairmanships and directorships. He has 
been in every government since 1967. Today he is an Igbo Leader. He even 
contested the presidential election on the platform of the PDP and asked 
Ndiigbo to support his candidacy. Many of you did. He would have done 
better if he could resurrect three million Ndiigbo whose deaths he helped 
orchestrate. He continues to swim in and drink from the fountain of the 
blood of more than three million Ndiigbo, his brothers and sisters, whose 
deaths his despicable treachery generated. 
But why did Ndiigbo stop demanding accountability from their 
leaders? Why don't you ask your so‑called leaders to account for their 
actions especially those actions that put the survival, welfare and 
progress of Ndiigbo as a group, in serious jeopardy? Why? Why? That is not 
the Igbo way. Ndiigbo have always held their leaders accountable for their 
actions. Ndiigbo rewarded their leaders for purposeful and effective 
leadership and punished them for treachery and bad leadership according to 
the traditions in different parts of Igbo land. 

If the Jews today find out that a Jewish Army Officer colluded 
with the German Army of Hitler and participated in the killing of millions 
of Jews during the Jewish Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi, what do you 
think the Jews will do? They will skin that Jewish Officer alive or make 
his life a living hell. They will hound him from here to the end of the 
earth until he is no more. 
Yet, Igbo Army Officers joined the Hausa‑Fulani/Yoruba Alliance in 
shooting defenseless men, women, children in Asaba, Onitsha, Azumini, Ikot 
Ekpene etc. They supervised and participated in the rape and torture of 
Igbo women (their sisters and mothers) by Nigerian vandals. They supervised 
the burning and looting of Igbo houses, businesses and property. Ndiigbo 
have never asked them why they did it. They have never been asked to 
account for the abomination (alu) which they perpetrated on their mothers, 
fathers, brothers and sisters. Do not even think of asking them to 
apologize or even be punished for their abomination and treachery. No! 
Rather Ndiigbo quickly made them their Governors, conferred high 
chieftaincy titles on them, elected them Senators and Representatives and 
made them Chairmen of Everything. They became Igbo Leaders. Ndiigbo, can't you hear the anguish, agony, wailing of the spirits of Igbo children burned alive, 
pregnant women disemboweled, infants slaughtered like chicken, young men and 
women who sacrificed their lives and died horrible deaths at the war fronts, 
mothers and fathers shot in cold blood, buried alive and 
starved to death. Can't you hear them begging for justice? They are tossing 
and tumbling in their graves. They are asking why you have let their 
supreme sacrifices come to naught. Ndiigbo, you looked at a mountain of 
abomination (alu) and swept it under the carpet. You just went on as if 
nothing ever happened. These people are now part of the core of what is 
called "Igbo Leadership". And yet we wonder why there is serious leadership 
problem in Igbo society today. We wonder why there is so much chaos in our 
communities. We wonder why our children commit all kinds of abominations 
and seem to lack any conscience. We wonder why the Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba 
alliance has a vice like grip on the throat of Ndiigbo. 
Igbo businessmen were very active during the Biafra‑Nigeria war. 
It is open secret that there are Igbo merchants who supplied some of the 
arms, ammunition, bombs that were used to bomb, strafe, kill and main 
millions of Ndiigbo, their brothers and sisters. Ndiigbo know these 
businessmen. Has anyone asked them why they participated in the abomination of 
helping to kill millions of their brothers, sisters, mothers and 
fathers? No. Rather, we quickly rewarded them with high‑sounding 
chieftaincy titles, plum political appointments, Chairmanship of banks and 
boards of corporations. We elected them Governors, Senators and 
Representatives. We never asked any questions and never demanded any 
explanations. Today they are our "Igbo Leaders". They are our "Traditional 
Rulers". They are Ministers, Ambassadors, Special Assistants etc. If they 
do not want the post, they send their sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, and 
cousins for appointment as Ministers and Special Assistants representing 
the interest of Ndiigbo. They are honored and revered everywhere and at 
every turn. Yes, they are your "Igbo Leaders". Are you still wondering why 
we have leadership problem in Igbo Society today? 
In 1983, Buhari/Idiagbon overthrew the Shagari/Ekwueme government. 
They put Shagari in comfortable house arrest and dumped Ekwueme in Kirikiri 
prison. In 1999, our brother once again put his destiny and to a large 
extent that of Ndiigbo in the hands of the same Hausa/Fulani oligarchy that 
had treated him like shit. In Jos they dipped his hand and head and by 
extension that of Ndiigbo in a cauldron of boiling oil once again. What did 
he tell us after this disastrous debacle? Simple, "It is the will of God". 
We hear rumors that he is being lured once again by the Hausa/Fulani 
oligarchy to replace Obasanjo and become the puppet while the Oligarchs 
hold and pull the strings. Will he fall for this trick again? You bet he 
will and many Ndiigbo will be gloating and following him to God knows 
where. Igbo is the largest ethnic group in Nigeria. Ndiigbo, what is wrong 
with putting your house in order so you will negotiate from a position of 
strength with other Ethnic Groups? Why must Igbo Opportunists always crawl 
to the North or West like hungry lizards to cavort before Ciroma, Shagari, 
Dikko, Umar, Babangida, Adesanya etc? Why must you be an errand boy for 
Obasanjo? Why? What happened to the dignity and pride of the Igbo man? 
At the PDP presidential nomination convention in Jos in 1999, a 
full‑fledged son of Igbo land decided that the best way for him to address 
the huge Nigerian audience gathered there was to speak in Hausa language. 
Yoruba, Tiv, Fulani, Hausa, Igbo, Efik, Anang and other ethnic 
representatives and contestants there addressed the audience in English. 
Even Hausa/Fulani representatives there addressed the audience in English. 
How low can an Igbo man stoop? How much worse can an Igbo man hate himself? 
Is there a level of stupidity that is ever unacceptable to Ndiigbo? Or have 
Ndiigbo simply decided that it is alright for anyone to simply kick dried 
feces into their mouth. Of course today he is still our "Igbo Leader". 
Well, what else is new? After all notorious armed robbers are now 
"Traditional Rulers", "Chiefs" in Igbo land and people go to their houses 
to eat and drink during ofala festivals. 
A promising Igbo Naval Officer went out on a limb to protest the 
annulment of June 12 election and the denial of the mandate to Chief Abiola 
by Babangida and his Northern Feudal Barons. This Officer was quickly 
relieved of his command by General Abacha and retired. Nobody even from the S‑W said a word. Earlier, another promising Igbo Naval Officer was 
ignominiously dismissed out of office by Babangida for having the balls to 
demand that he be given his rightful position in government hierarchy. What 
did Ndiigbo say or do? Nothing. Yet when Abiola's presumed electoral 
victory was annulled by Babangida, June 12 became the pet project of Igbo 
Human Rights activists in the CLO and other Organizations. They were all 
over the world organizing demonstrations, making speeches and threatening 
hail and brimstones. Yet only recently, Odi was obliterated and our 
relatives and in‑laws there were massacred. Umuechem had earlier been razed 
and destroyed and our brothers and sisters massacred. Jesse was roasted. 
Many towns and villages in Eastern Nigeria have been scorched and 
obliterated by the Nigerian army of occupation. Half a dozen members of 
MASSOB, a non‑violent, civil rights movement seeking freedom, liberty, 
justice and self‑determination, have been murdered by Obasanjo's goon 
squad. Hundreds of them have been thrown in prison. What did the Igbo Human 
Rights Activists do or say? Nothing! Are you surprised? 
World Igbo Congress convention, was held in Chicago in 1999. At 
that convention Ekwe Nche Organization put in time and effort to make the 
convention Igbocentric. Ekwe Nche draped the walls of the convention hall 
with giant pictures of the starving and dying children of Biafra, the 
carnage caused by the bombing of civilian targets by the Nigerian Army as 
well as pictures of Igbo Civilization dating thousands of years. Two large 
size sculptures of Ikenga, Igbo symbol of achievement, were also 
prominently displayed in the conference hall. Many of the delegates who 
came to the conference took time to look at the heart‑rending pictures and 
most men and women wept openly. Ekwe Nche's goal was to remind Ndiigbo who they are and what has been their history in Nigeria. Most of the "Igbo 
Leaders" who were visiting from Nigeria did not even care to look at the 
photographs, talk less show any emotion. One such prominent son of Igbo 
land who came to the conference from Nigeria told the assembled delegates 
that he was sent by Olusegun Obasanjo. He went on to chide Ndiigbo who had 
gathered for the convention about the rumor he and Obasanjo heard that 
there might be talk of Biafra at that meeting. He warned the delegates 
never to talk about Biafra because Obasanjo will be upset. That Obasanjo 
could sit somewhere in Abuja and send his Igbo stooges to tell Ndiigbo not 
to talk about the most important and painful part of their history is not 
only an outrage, but also an insult of inestimable proportion. The shock 
however was that after being chided like primary school children, these 
delegates, most of who are men and women of distinction in their 
professions, clapped and cheered like high school cheer leaders. Then they 
spent the rest of the convention time denying that they ever planned to 
talk about Biafra. That was the double tragedy. Well, the contracts 
continue to flow and the political appointments (rewards) for "savaging 
Igbo agenda" continue unabated. This Obasanjo stooge was later appointed 
Ambassador and is now in New York. 
Try to imagine any human being on the face of this earth telling 
delegates to a Jewish Convention not to talk about the Jewish Holocaust. 
Just try to imagine it. That person will be awfully lucky if he escaped 
being lynched on the spot by irate Jews. If he survives, Jewish 
Organizations and Interests will pursue him until he drops off the face of 
the earth. 

About a year ago we urged all our elected officials to join the 
call for a [Sovereign] National Conference. We emphasized that it will be 
in the best interest of Ndiigbo to pursue such a conference because it will 
provide one of the best opportunities for Ndiigbo to achieve 
self‑determination. Chuba in his characteristic style called it the talk of 
idle minds. In our published open letter, we warned Igbo elected officials 
not to be deceived by the fleeting political positions which their 
Hausa/Fulani friends have temporarily ceded to them. We reminded them that 
the same Hausa/Fulani friends will ignominiously kick them out any time 
they feel like doing so notwithstanding whatever song they may be singing. 
Yes, not quite one year after we said that, they threw the butt of the 
senate president in the gutter, his song notwithstanding. 
By the middle of September 2000, the call for the funeral and 
burial ceremony of all Igbo infants, children, women and men savagely 
slaughtered by Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba murderers during the pogrom of 1966, and the millions of old men, women and children starved to death by the Nazi‑style government of Yakubu Gowon, reached fever pitch. Thirty‑four years after the pogrom and thirty years after the end of the Biafra‑Nigeria 
war, Nigerian perpetrators of the Igbo Holocaust have continued to refuse 
to acknowledge the criminal and abominable acts they perpetrated against 
people they wanted to force back into a national union with them. The Igbo 
have also carried on as if the lives of more than three million Igbo people 
were not worth anything. Finally as if awakened from deep slumber, they 
decided that it was time to bury and mourn their dead. It is important to 
remind us that there is practically no Igbo family alive today that did not 
suffer the loss of a loved one during that war. Most countries of the World 
set aside a special day for the remembrance of their loved ones. In the 
United States of America this day is called Memorial Day and is a public 
holiday. Interestingly in the year 2000, it fell on May 29, the same day 
the Hausa/Fulani started their slaughter of Ndiigbo in all parts of 
Northern Nigeria. Igbo leaders had originally set May 29 as the date for 
this important ceremony. No sooner had people started getting ready for the 
program than "Igbo Leaders" announced a postponement of the event because 
President Obasanjo, one of the chief architects of the starvation, death 
and destruction of Igbo lives and property had objected to the ceremony. 
Igbo "Leaders"acquiesced and shifted the date to September 29, 2000. On 
September 29, 2000, to the shock and consternation of Ndiigbo and their 
numerous admirers, almost all Igbo elected officials boycotted the 
ceremony. Only a handful of the so‑called Igbo leaders bothered to attend 
the ceremony. The governor of one of the Igbo States was even quoted as 
saying that he was afraid of President Obasanjo. Afraid of Obasanjo? 
Ndiigbo, goat has eaten the palm frond you are carrying on your head. The 
mentality displayed here is nothing short of that of a HOUSE SLAVE. The 
stupidity and idiocy of these elected officials and so‑called Igbo Leaders 
cries to heaven for vengeance. In traditional Igbo Society, these men would 
be arraigned in the Village Square for the public to throw ashes at them. 
Ndiigbo, these are the caliber of men who have been your leaders. 
They are men who will cower and tuck their tails between their legs like 
frightened dogs, when Obasanjo tells them that Ndiigbo should be happy with 
the way Nigeria is treating them as third class citizens. They are men who 
will deny their sons and daughters in MASSOB and ask Obasanjo to send his 
Gestapo security outfit after them. They are men who after their Igbo 
brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, were murdered in Kaduna, went on 
tour of the North to beg the Emirs of the North to forgive their Igbo 
brothers and sisters who were butchered and roasted alive by Hausa/Fulani 
tugs. They are leaders who were jostling for position to be the most 
visible in organizing welcome parties for Chief Anthony Enahoro, the man 
who organized the starvation to death of about two million Igbo babies, 
children, women and old men. How many of them ever asked Enahoro if he ever 
regretted or felt sorry for starving millions of their Igbo brothers and 
sisters to death? They are the leaders who are so afraid of losing their 
friendship with Obasanjo that they hid in the darkest corners of their 
houses when Ndiigbo were honoring the memories of Igbo brothers, sisters, 
fathers and mothers slaughtered by Nigerians from 1966 ‑ 1970, for fear 
that Obasanjo will be offended. They are leaders who will crawl to Kano, 
Kaduna, Sokoto and Abuja to beg Hausa/Fulani Emirs and Alhaji's to appoint 
them governors, senators, representatives, assemblymen, ministers, 
directors, advisers etc. They are leaders who will not lift a finger to 
defend and protect Ndiigbo for fear of losing their contract jobs in Abuja. 
They are leaders who will not confront Obasanjo or whoever is in Abuja and 
tell them to their faces that the killing of Ndiigbo, looting of their 
property, maltreatment, humiliation, and dehumanization has got to stop 
NOW. They are leaders who will not tell Obasanjo and the Federal 
Government, that refusal to build and repair federal roads, provide good 
port facilities in Onitsha, Oguta, Onne, Port Harcourt; improve telephone 
services and build at least one International Airport in Igboland, are 
outrages that will no longer be tolerated by Ndiigbo. They are leaders who 
will not tell Obasanjo and his federal government that the bulk of the oil 
drilled in Nigeria is on land that belongs to Ndiigbo and demand the right 
of Ndiigbo to control the resources in their territory. They are leaders 
who do not care that our Igbo brothers and sisters in Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa 
Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Benue, Kogi, are truly part and parcel of 
Igbo‑bu‑Igbo, and need to be strongly woven into the fabric of Federated 
Igbo Union. They are leaders who do not care to work for strong cooperative 
and collaborative relationship with our neighbors in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, 
Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo, Benue and Kogi. No, they won't do these 
things. These Igbo Leaders live in their mansions in Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna 
and visit Igboland for a few weeks every year when they come to tell you 
who to vote for at the next election. Compare them with Igbo Leaders like 
Dr. M.I.Okpara, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Maazi Mbonu Ojike, Dennis Osadebay, Alvan 
           Ikoku, Dr. Kalu Ezera, Dr. Okechukwu Ikejiani, Mazi Zachious Obi. These Igbo 
Leaders recognized the needs and sufferings of Ndiigbo and went right on to do 
something about them. To ensure self‑ sufficiency of food for then Eastern 
Nigeria, they built farm settlements, oil palm estates, rubber 
estates, cattle ranches etc. They established an industrial base for the 
industrial take off of Eastern Nigeria. You can proudly recall Trans Amadi 
Industrial Layout, Emene Industrial Layout as well as industries in 
Calabar, Umuahia, Aba, Owerri Asaba, etc. Between 1960‑66 food was so 
plentiful that Eastern Nigeria government was begging people to eat chicken 
and eggs. Politically, Michael Okpara was the epitome of bravery. When 
S.L.Akintola forbade him to enter Ibadan to campaign for the Action Group, 
he told Akintola that he was not only going to go to Ibadan to campaign but 
that he would pay him a courtesy call in his Governor's mansion in Ibadan. 
When Akintola learned that Okpara was on his way to his Governor's Lodge, 
he ran away from his house. M.I.Okpara and Akanu Ibiam were like wishbone 
           in the throats of Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa. They rejected fake Northern                Nigeria Census Figures, and challenged the North's rigged election results. In                     1964, they fought to reinstate revenue allocation on the principle of derivation and             lost because they were opposed by the Governments of Western and Mid‑Western              Nigeria, which colluded with the Federal and Northern Nigerian Governments to                defeat the proposal. Dr. Okpara and Dr. Akanu Ibiam had VISION of where they                wanted to take Eastern  Nigeria and Ndiigbo. They did not cavort for contracts                   from Balewa or anybody for that matter. They devoted their lives to serving                         Ndiigbo and  they had magnificent results. Wherever Ndiigbo lived in Nigeria,                   they  were proud  to be Igbo. They also made Nigeria a proud country. 
Dr. M. I. Okpara, Dr. Akanu Ibiam and other Igbo Nationalists were 
proud Igbo nationalists. They believed in the power and ability of Ndiigbo 
and other people of Eastern Nigeria. They were not Nigerian Nationalists 
running to Lagos every time and mouthing the empty slogan of "One Nigeria". 
They knew that you had to be Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw,Ogoja, Anang before 
you became a Nigerian. There were other people from Eastern Nigeria who 
were Nigerian Nationalists and believed that you became a Nigerian before 
you became Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, Ijaw, Ogoja, Anang. They sold Eastern 
Nigeria to the war coalition of Hausa/Fulani feudal Emirs and Yoruba 
monarchies. Most of them are still around and continue to play this game 
with your lives. They will sell the people of Eastern Nigeria to Obasanjo 
or to a Northern Emir or politician for a few million naira. During the 
crisis of 1966‑67 and the Biafra‑Nigerian War, they even told you that the 
war was not about Oil Revenue from Eastern Nigeria. They told you that the 
war was just "To Keep Nigeria One". You believed them. Today see what you got 
out of One Nigeria: rape of your mothers, wives and sisters, killing of 
your fathers and brothers, looting of your property, destruction of your 
farmland and streams, scorching fires, confiscation of your land, military 
occupation of your towns and villages, brutalization of your people, 
military destruction of whole towns and villages. 
Today you still have so‑called leaders in your communities, towns 
and villages preaching "One Nigeria", "Nigerian Unity" to you. They are 
your Governors, Senators, Representatives, Assemblymen. They are Ministers, 
Special Advisers, Directors. They are Politicians, Contractors, 
Businessmen, Intellectuals. They held big political offices before, are 
holding political offices now or they are planning to run for political 
office in 2003 and beyond. They have huge property or investment in Lagos, 
Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Ibadan, Jos, Maiduguri. They are constantly holding 
political and business meetings with their friends and associates from 
Sokoto, Kano, Yola, Ilorin, Lagos, Kaduna. They have been in politics, 
government or government‑related business for many years. They will tell 
you that if you struggle for self‑determination and separate yourself from 
Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba stranglehold you will die. They will tell you that God 
put Nigeria together. They will tell you that if Nigeria breaks up and you 
become a Nation of 10, 20, 30 or 40 million people, you will perish, you 
will be landlocked, the world will come to an end. But they will not tell 
you that many of the rich countries of Europe and Asia have populations of 
10 million or less [Belgium (10m), Denmark (5m), Norway (4m), Sweden (9m), 
Switzerland (7m), Hong Kong (6m), Singapore (4m).] They will tell you that there 
is so much to gain from remaining in "One Nigeria". But they will not tell you 
that the only things your have gained from One Nigeria are 
enslavement, dehumanization, loss of freedom, loss of liberty, loss of your 
land, unemployment, hunger, poverty, destruction, injustice, insecurity of 
life and property as well as death. They will tell you that things will 
improve tomorrow. But they will not tell you why things have gone from bad 
to worst in the past 35 years. For the Ethnic Groups in Eastern Nigeria, 
they will even tell you that the Igbo are the cause of your problems. But 
they will not explain to you how come somebody else confiscated your land 
and the mineral in it, devastated numerous communities in Ogoni, wiped out 
several Ijaw communities. They will not explain to you how come someone 
else militarily sacked Odi, destroyed your farmlands, rivers and streams, 
put a permanent army of occupation in your communities to terrorize 
children, men, as well as rape girls and women. They will not explain to 
you how come thousands of people in your communities have been burned alive by these pipeline fires and nobody cares to do anything about the danger 
the pipelines pose to your people. They will tell you that prosperity is 
around the corner and will soon reach you. But they will not tell you why 
you have been getting poorer every year and who has been stealing the $70 
million earned everyday from petroleum in your land. They will tell you 
many more cock and bull stories. They will even try to bribe you with 
little money. They will never reveal to you that the only reason they have 
been lying to you about the beauty of One Nigeria is to enable them 
accumulate more money for themselves. 

But this time it is up to you to say, "enough is enough". Ndiigbo, 
nobody is holding you down but yourselves. The same thing applies to the 
Ibibio, Efik, Anang, Ogoja, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ishan. Individually and 
collectively you can stop your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who 
have sold you into permanent slavery to the Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba Coalition. 
Ndiigbo if you believe that things have been better for Ndiigbo since you 
followed the proponents of One Nigeria [Nigerian Nationalists e.g. Ukpabi 
Asika], than in the days when you followed Igbo Nationalists e.g. Dr. 
M.I.Okpara, then do not listen to us. If you believe that your lives and 
those of your children are better now, your pride as an Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, 
Anang, Ijaw, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ishan, are better now, then stop 
reading this piece. If you believe that your future and that of your 
children are brighter now than when you were led by Igbo, Ibibio, Efik, 
Anang, Ijaw, Ogoja, Itsekiri, Urhobo, and Ishan Nationalists, stop reading 
this message. But if you believe as we honestly do, that the proponents of 
"One Nigeria" [Nigerian Nationalists], are leading you to the bottom of 
hell, then we trust you to summon enough courage to stop these people from 
leading you to total destruction. If you believe as we honestly do that all 
these people who are preaching ONE NIGERIA to you are leading you and your 
children to a state of perpetual slavery then listen to us and resolve 
today that it is time to stop them. Ask all these former and present 
Ministers, Senators, Representatives, Special Advisers, Governors, 
Directors of this and that etc to mention specifically what they did for 
Ndiigbo. For example, many of the Ministers of Aviation since Nigerian 
independence have been Ndiigbo. Yet Igbo land from Agbor, Igbo‑Akiri,
           Kwale to Arochukwu and Nsukka to Opobo is the only area in Nigeria 
           that does not  have one International Airport. Why? Because they don't care.
           They just steal enough money for themselves and their families and ignore the                    agenda of Ndiigbo. In fact some of them openly fight against any such project.
           The same problem applies to Ministers of Transport, Education, Health etc. It 
is time to sweep these parasites who do nothing but serve the interest of 
Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba oligarchy. We trust you to turn the leadership of Igbo 
Nation to Igbo Nationalists, who will relentlessly pursue an Igbo agenda 
and not a Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba agenda. We trust you to turn the leadership 
of Igbo society to Igbo Nationalists who will not be bought with contracts 
and fat bribes. We trust you to elect Igbo Nationalists who will not be 
afraid to confront Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba colonialists and exploiters and tell 
them eyeball to eyeball that Ndiigbo will henceforth take their destiny in 
their hands. We trust you to elect Igbo Nationalists who will insist on 
respect for the Igbo man, protect the pride and dignity of the Igbo Nation 
and will not take nonsense from anybody. We trust you to elect Igbo 
Nationalists who will be willing to make personal sacrifices for the 
welfare and defense of Ndiigbo at all times in all places, even at the risk 
of their own lives and safety. We trust you to elect Igbo Nationalists who 
will consult with Ndiigbo to find out what they want rather than crawl like 
beggars to Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba oligarchs to beg for crumbs. We make the 
same suggestion to the other ethnic groups mentioned earlier. There are too 
many fake Nigerian Nationalists in the Igbo Nation today. You see them 
everywhere everyday. They crawl on their bellies like obedient, begging 
dogs. They are always flying to Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Minna, Lagos, Ibadan, 
Maiduguri to seek the approval and support of one Alhaji, Emir or Oba. They 
visit Igboland when they are in trouble or when they want your votes. They 
have no shame. You can hear them jubilating and telling their friends, " 
Alhaji Aminu, Ciroma,Abubakar,Shehu have kindly agreed that I should 
contest for president, senate, representative, governor" Since when did 
Ndiigbo become slaves of the North or West? When they plan meetings to 
discuss important Igbo Agenda, they schedule such meetings in Lagos, Abuja, 
or Kaduna. Whatever happened to Owerri, Umuahia, Enugu, Aba, Awka? Few hours 	after the meeting, they jump into cars and airplanes and head to 
Abuja, Sokoto, Kaduna and Ibadan to relay in great detail to Obasanjo, 
Abubakar, Shehu, everything that was discussed at the Igbo Meeting. You 
know such men and women in your villages, towns, cities, market 
organizations, women organizations, students' unions, among intellectuals, 
professionals, journalists, youth organizations and clubs. Identify them 
now and kick them out of leadership roles which they now occupy. Henceforth 
avoid them like leprosy. You also know men and women in your communities who are strong Igbo Nationalists. They have the interest and welfare of 
their community and Ndiigbo at heart. You never find them running to the 
North or West begging for contract. They are proud Igbo men and women. You will not find such people throwing tons of money around. You will not find  them 
making noise like empty barrels. You will not find them engaging in 
vainglorious show of wealth or brandishing all kinds of foolish titles. 

These are the people Ndiigbo elect as their leaders. Draft them and make 
them your leaders at all levels of governance. Ndiigbo, this is very 
important. Igbo Nation is about ready to take off. You do not want to be 
stuck with foolish, self‑absorbed so‑called leaders when the house falls in 
Nigeria. You need young, dedicated, fearless, intelligent, visionary, 
committed "Leaders". Push the One Nigeria, fly by night, corrupt, 
contractor, "leaders" of the recent past to the background. Make them sit 
down and watch Nationalist Igbo Leaders take charge of Igbo Agenda as 
Ndiigbo prepare to take off in this new millennium. Your ancestors, youth 
and children demand this action NOW. 
It is not our intention to suggest any names to you. But just as 
an example, compare the work of MASSOB LEADERSHIP and that of some other 
so‑called Igbo leaders. MASSOB LEADERSHIP is touring villages, towns, and cities educating people on the plight of Ndiigbo. They are mobilizing people to think of how they can save themselves from the crushing jaws of Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba conspiracy to destroy Ndiigbo. They are working with the youths to resuscitate and strengthen their Igbo Identity. They are working with them to develop a vision of the future. They are working with our immediate neighbors to rebuild the long‑established brotherly relationship that was poisoned and ultimately destroyed by the Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba coalition. They are working tirelessly often at great risk to their personal safety and that of their lieutenants. Like Igbo Leaders of repute, they rejected bribes of millions of dollars to betray 
their brothers and sisters. They have been castigated, maligned and haunted 
daily by the Government of Olusegun Obasanjo. They do not go around in 
expensive airplanes or limousines. They do not make noise. They go about 
this business with honor, dignity and decorum just like Martin Luther King 
Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. 
The other so‑called Igbo "leaders" virtually live in Abuja, Lagos 
and Ibadan. Some are kept in expensive hotels and Federal Government 
guesthouses in Abuja and Lagos. Their hotel accommodation and meals are 
provided by the Government of Olusegun Obasanjo. From time to time 
Obasanjo, Gemade, Shagari, Ciroma call on them to settle disputes between 
the North and the SW, OPC and APC, Obasanjo and Naaba, Obasanjo and 
Senators etc. They brag that they are very busy working for their political 
party. Yet when important decisions like completing the Benin‑Asaba 
expressway, allocating funds for important projects like dualizing 
Onitsha Owerri road, dredging the River Niger, building a river port at 
Onitsha, Oguta, improving the port complex at Port Harcourt, citing 
important industries, choosing Directors of Corporations, Privatization, 
etc are made, nobody invites or consults them. Yet they come home to Igbo 
land once in a while and tell Ndiigbo, "We are in charge." They have in 
effect become agents of Olusegun Obasanjo and fire fighters for a political 
party that they do not control. Another group hangs around Lagos and 
Ibadan. They pretend to have some influence in what happens in the AD 
political party. They roam around Lagos looking for an opportunity to talk 
to newspaper reporters on issues of national importance. At the end of any 
interview, they make sure that the reporter will call them "Leader of the 
AD" in the S‑E zone. They know full well that Adesanya, Falae, Ige and 
other leaders of the AD have absolutely no respect for them. They do not 
consult them when decisions are made and just tolerate them for their 
nuisance value. They neither influence nor shape the policies of the AD, 
which in any case they are never allowed to be privy. The third group is 
the "Roving Ambassadors". This group is the self‑appointed Igbo 
ambassadors. They are constantly on the move. They shuttle from one Emirs 
palace to another. They trudge from one Obas palace to another. Any time 
there is a crisis in Lagos, Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Minna, Ibadan, they will 
be the first to go to the traditional ruler and the prominent politicians 
in the place and beg for forgiveness. If Hausa/Fulani tugs just slaughtered 
Ndiigbo, these self‑styled ambassadors will beg Fulani Emirs to forgive 
Ndiigbo. If OPC murdered scores of Ndiigbo and looted their property, they 
will beg the Oba of the town as well as Obasanjo and prominent Yoruba 
politicians to forgive Ndiigbo. You never see the logic in their begging 
missions. Yet these "begging ambassadors" are constantly on the move 
looking for the next opportunity to beg. 
These three groups share these general characteristics. They have 
never talked to a group of unemployed young men and women in their 
community or elsewhere concerning how they are surviving and how their 
condition can be improved. They have never attended a meeting of the town 
union and advanced a properly conceptualized and clearly articulated 
program designed to address the problems of the community in particular or 
Ndiigbo in general. They have never planned or arranged even one meeting 
with the Traders Associations, Market Women Associations, Student Unions in       Aba,  Onitsha, Umuahia, Enugu, Awka, Abakaliki, Owerri, Asaba, Ogwashi‑Ukwu, Agbor, and Okigwe. They have never talked to the leaders of Market  Associations at satellite Igbo Markets located at Alaba, Oshodi, Kano, 
          Benin, Gombe, Jos, Minna, Sokoto, Kaduna, Zaria etc. They have never tried 
          to find out what kinds of harassment, hardship and discrimination Igbo 
         businessmen are subjected to by forces of hatred and jealousy in the host 
         communities. They have never brainstormed with these brothers and sisters 
         on how they can deal with these problems. 
         Consider the following situations and ask yourself what it means 
         for your survival and that of Ndiigbo. 
         1. Most so‑called Igbo Leaders in whose hands you have entrusted your 
         welfare and survival live permanently in Lagos, Abuja. They do not live in 
         Enugu, Aba, Awka, Umuahia, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Onitsha, Abakaliki, 
         Asaba. They only visit Igbo land. 
         2. No Yoruba leader of any significance lives permanently in Abuja, 
         Enugu, Onitsha, Aba or any other town in Eastern Nigeria from Igbo 
         Akiri/Agbor/Kwale to Arochukwu and from Enugu‑Ezike/Okpuje to Opobo/Bonny. 
         All of them live permanently in Yoruba land. 
         3. No Hausa‑Fulani Leader of any significance lives permanently in 
         Lagos, Enugu, Onitsha or any other town in Eastern Nigeria. All of them 
         live permanently in Northern Nigeria. 
         4. Because Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba leaders live among their people, they 
know first hand what problems their people face and fight, together with 
their people to solve these problems. 
5. How will Igbo leaders who live permanently in Lagos and Abuja know 
what problems you are facing everyday? If they do not know how can they 
fight for you? If it does not affect them, how can you be sure that they 
will fight for you? 
6. Most so‑called Igbo leaders built multi‑million naira mansions in 
Lagos, Abuja and live there. 
7. No Yoruba leader built a multi‑million‑naira mansion or lives 
permanently in any of the above‑mentioned towns in Eastern Nigeria. 
8. No Hausa/Fulani leader built a multi‑million‑naira mansion or lives 
permanently in any of the above‑mentioned towns in Eastern Nigeria. 
9. Why do Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba leaders not build and maintain 
personal mansions in Eastern Nigeria while Igbo leaders build and maintain 
very expensive personal mansions in Yoruba and Hausa land? Yet Hausa/Fulani 
and Yoruba "rulers" are hundred times richer than Igbo leaders who run 
around developing Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani towns and cities. 
10. Why do your so‑called Igbo leaders not build these expensive 
mansions in any of the above‑mentioned towns in Eastern Nigeria from 
Igbo‑Akirri/ Agbor/ Kwale to Arochukwu and from Enugu‑Ezike/ Okpuje to 
Opobo/Bonny? 
11. Eighty per cent of private real estate businesses in Abuja, 
especially expensive hotels and houses, are owned by Igbo Leaders 
[politicians and businessmen]. The same is true of Lagos. 
12. How many private real estate businesses [expensive hotels and 
houses] in the above‑mentioned towns in Eastern Nigeria were built and 
owned by Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani leaders? The answer is zero. 
13. How are Igbo professionals: engineers, architects, surveyors, 
lawyers, doctors, nurses, accountants, bankers, teachers, professors etc 
who migrate to places like Abuja and Lagos (developed by Igbo leaders) in 
search of jobs treated? They are treated like dogs. Most of them are 
severely discriminated against and kicked around like slaves. Many of them 
live from hand to mouth. Yet they are the best brains and they are the 
people who do all the hard work. 
14. So If Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba leaders do not invest their money and 
resources in Igbo land why are Igbo leaders investing their money and 
resources in and developing Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba land only to be 
discriminated against, attacked, humiliated, and often killed? 
15. If Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba leaders neither build their residential 
mansions in Igbo land, nor live there, why are Igbo leaders building their 
residential mansions in and living permanently in Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba 
land and not in Igbo land? 
16. Where did M.I. Opkara, Akanu Ibiam, Dennis Osadebey, Mbonu Ojike, 
Alvan Ikoku, Phillip Effiong build their residences? How many private 
mansions and expensive real estate did they build in Abuja and Lagos? 
17. Do you honestly believe that a person who has sunk several millions 
of naira in real estate in Lagos and Abuja will seriously support your 
efforts towards liberating yourselves and Ndiigbo from the 
Hausa/Fulani./Yoruba colonialism and your struggle for self‑determination 
through MASSOB? 
18. Do you honestly believe that Igbo leaders who have mortgaged 
themselves to Hausa/Fulani feudal oligarchs, Emirs and generals, who wine 
and dine with Hausa/Fulani oppressors of Ndiigbo, who share oil money with 
these corrupt thieves and oppressors, will rise against the oppressors in 
defense of Ndiigbo. Do you honestly believe that they will be willing to 
put their lives at risk for the benefit of Ndiigbo as Okpara, Ibiam, 
Osadebay and others did? 
19. Do you honestly believe that Igbo leaders who have sold their souls 
to Yoruba Obas, politicians and generals will rise up, challenge these 
people with whom they share money stolen from your ancestral land, and 
defend your interests and that of Ndiigbo? Do you honestly believe that? 
20. Is it any wonder that every time Ndiigbo are persecuted, killed and 
their property looted in Northern and Western Nigeria by extremist mobs 
unleashed by Igbo‑hating Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba colonialists, Igbo leaders 
simply remain mute, dumb, quiet or go on begging campaigns in Northern and 
Western Nigeria. 

           Ndiigbo, Igbo Youths whose lives have been turned up side down, 
stop waiting for deliverance from the current crop of Igbo leaders. Most of 
them are neck deep in the decadence, corruption, stealing that is going on 
in Nigeria. They are not interested in whatever happens to you. All they 
are interested in is how to become President, Senator, Representative, 

Minister, Commissioner, get million‑dollar contracts from Abuja, become 
rich and hobnob with other crooks from Northern and Western Nigeria. They 
tell you that once they get into office they will solve all your problems. 
It is all lies and you know it. Look at their records. Your destiny is in 
your hands. Take it now. A single example will convince you. For many years 
you were begging Igbo leaders to save you from the chokehold of armed 
robbers who threatened to strangle to death every town, village, market, 
business in Eastern Nigeria. Your lives became a living hell as Igbo 
society was driven back into stone‑age lifestyle. What did Igbo leaders do? 
Igbo leaders hired tugs and mobile policemen to guard themselves and their 
families. Their guards chased you off the road with their sirens and 
horsewhips. You were left to fend for yourselves. Several thousand of you 
were slaughtered by heartless robbers. Mothers, wives and daughters were 
mercilessly raped and brutalized. Billions of dollars worth of businesses 
were ruined. Then you, ordinary men and women took up the challenge. 
Bakassi boys took on the armed robbers and their sponsors. You challenged 
them, liquidated them and ran the rest out of town. Today Igbo land under 
the security of Bakassi is peaceful and quiet again. See what you can do 
when you take charge of your lives. The same thing is happening with the 
sale of petroleum products. Those who are still standing on the fence we 
urge you to join BAKASSI and MASSOB. Become part of this MOVEMENT to reorganize Igbo land, and create a good life for yourselves. It is your 
MOVEMENT. You will reorganize LEADERSHIP in Igbo land from Governor, Senator, Representative, Minister, Commissioner, Chairman, to Town Union Presidents. You will decide who will lead or represent you. You will tell them what to do and they will do it. You will make them accountable to you, not to Obasanjo, Ciroma, Alhaji, Oba, General. Once you do this, you will solve the problems lazy, 
corrupt Igbo leaders have failed to solve. You 
will create bright and rosy future for yourselves, your children, and 
future generations by building a just, honorable and progressive society. 
You will bring back the glory of your fathers and forefathers. Youths, your 
future is in your hands. Don't sit on the fence. Join the MOVEMENT. 
Brothers and sisters, all Igbo Nationalists, the time is now. It 
is time to choose between living the life of a slave in Nigeria, the most 
corrupt country in the world and living with freedom, liberty and dignity 

in the free Nation of Biafra? It is like choosing between darkness and 
light, evil and good, hell and paradise. Which do you choose? The choice is 
yours. 
What we say to Igbo Youths also applies to the youths of all the other 
ethnic groups in Eastern Nigeria. 
Ndewo nu. Ekwe Nche ekene unu.