NEWS ANALYSIS: Biafra’s UN Invitation: Path to Imminent Global Recognition?

By Rommy Igboanugo-Imah

Two remarkable things have happened within a space of six months in the struggle for the actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra. And these are positive signs that after all, Biafra may still be without going through the shooting of guns.

In December 2014, following a recent admission of the Indigenous People of Biafra to the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union, AU, the Supreme Council of Indigenous People of Biafra was among other countries invited as members to attend the General Assembly of the African Union in Nairobi, Kenya.

Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Indigenous People of Biafra and former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, disclosed in Nnewi then that the delegation was expected to spend five days in Nairobi, Kenya for the meeting.

“We received our invitation from Addis Abbaba the way others received theirs to be part of the meeting. And this means we are getting international recognition and opportunity

to interact and present our case at the international level. It is a big leap forward,” Ikedife was quoted as saying.

And just a couple of weeks ago, the Supreme Council of the Elders of In­digenous People of Biafra re­ceived an invitation from the United Nations (UN) to attend one of its meetings in New York in June, making it the first invitation to such a meeting since the Biafran pressure group came into existence.

Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who disclosed this to Daily Sun in Nnewi said a delegation of the pro- Biafran group would be leaving Nigeria for the June meeting as soon as the group raised lo­gistics for the trip.

On what the group will be doing at the UN, Ikedife said: “We have no other request than the recognition of Biafra, recognition that we exist, recognition that we have the right to be given the oppor­tunity for self-determination, that the Indigenous People of Biafra have the right for self-determination, which Nigeria should allow to take place.”

While insisting that the group would continue to pursue its right for self-determination without breaching any municipal or international law, Ikedife noted, “The only setback, which can discourage us, is lack of money to finance the project. You know dissemination of information is not cheap. We have a radio station called Voice of Biafra. We also have difficulty in financing it be­cause we think the people we are fighting for will appreciate the effort, but they have not bought into the idea of sup­porting the movement.”

He assured that the suit for self-determination filed by one of the arms of the organisation, Billie Human Rights Initiative, against the Federal Government at the Federal High Court, Owerri, would soon continue now that judiciary workers had called off their strike.

Elsewhere, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) had sustained its call on the United Na­tions (UN) to pass a resolu­tion recognising the South- East of Nigeria as a State of Biafra.

According to the organization, this would be in conformity with the recognition given the ter­ritory in the late 60s by some countries during her struggle for self-determination.

National Assistant Director of Information of the move­ment, Sunday Okereafor, in a statement, said the outcome of the 2015 general elections in the country was nothing but a repeat of the 1960s in which two of the three major blocs in the country conspired against the South-East, cul­minating in the civil war that claimed the lives of many Igbo.

He stated that with the present political marriage be­tween the North and South- West, Ndigbo had no place in the political arrangement of today’s Nigeria, emphasising that in the present circum­stance, it would be expedient for the UN to recognize Bi­afra as a sovereign state.

The struggle for the actualization of Biafra has witnessed a sort of dramatic change. The agitation is now spearheaded by professionals, intellectuals and diplomats among the indigenous people of Biafra, living at home and abroad, using legal framework outside the pattern of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

No doubt the agitation for the rebirth of the defunct Biafran republic has been kept alive in the minds of some Biafran die-hards, a good number of people from the region still view the agitation as one of the greatest deceptions being masterminded by some selfish and self-acclaimed freedom fighters positioning themselves to profit from where they did not sow. Yet, there are those who strongly believe that Biafra will become a reality soon and so, support the agitation.

It is on record that apart from the 1967-70 Civil War in which Ndigbo attempted a secession, the post-war protagonists of the actualization of Biafra have over the years, carried out their campaigns in a very peaceful manner without carrying arms against the Nigerian government. They have executed their campaigns through the media and sometimes stage processions that are devoid of violence.

Sometimes too, they print posters and adorn T-shirts bearing the Biafran flag and insignia. Yet, some go to the extent of circulating old Biafra currency notes. All these are in an attempt to give their supporters a false hope that Ndigbo would soon re-awaken the defunct Biafra Republic.

MASSOB, led by Chief Ralph Uwazurike, has been in the forefront of the agitation for the re-birth of Biafra. However, along the line, the group got polarized with some close associates of the leader forming splinter groups. For instance, Benjamin Igwe Onwuka, a London-based lawyer left and formed the Biafra Zionist Movement, BZM in 2012 that later metamorphosed into Biafra Zionist Federation, BZF. Onwuka’s aim was to fast-track the re-emergence of the Republic of Biafra.

The splinter groups have variously alleged that the MASSOB leader had begun to fraternize with the Federal Government explaining why he insisted at a point that Biafra’s agitation is a thing of the mind and not by armed struggle. In fact, Benjamin Onwuka, leader of the Biafra Zionist Federation, in particular,  alleged that Uwazuruike was “highly settled” by the Federal government to drop the Biafra campaign which was why there was a lull in the tempo of MASSOB’s activities.

There are of course, other groups like the Radio Biafra led by one Nnamdi Kanu, the Biafra National Youth League, among several other groups both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, all claiming to be working for the actualization of Biafra Republic.

Onwuka had said while re-declaring a new Independent Biafra Republic  in November 2012 that it had become clear that the security of life and property of the Biafra people were no longer safe and guaranteed in the entity called Nigeria. “Therefore, we the Biafra people have resolved to re-declare our independence today November 5th, 2012 based on the mandate given to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu on May 30th, 1967 in order that we the Biafra people can provide our people with security according to international law,” he stated in his address at the that declaration.

He said that it was clear that the Biafra people’s right to freely worship according to their Christian faith is no longer safe and guaranteed: “Therefore, we the Biafra people have resolved to opt out of Nigeria to freely worship our God without being bombed or killed according to the United Nations Convention on the freedom of association,” claiming that God had given them right to re-claim the lost sovereignty stolen from them in 1914, and added that Biafrans were determined to build a country that would be democratic and transparent.

However, following Onwuka’s arrest, another faction of the pro-Biafra movement known as Radio Biafra emerged under the leadership of Nnamdi Kanu who declared his readiness to continue with the struggle for the actualisation of Biafra, saying “Nigeria will cease to exist by December 2015.”

Speaking at a gathering of members of defunct Biafra, including scores of its aged war veterans, Kanu vowed that he would not rest until the Republic of Biafra is realized. He regretted that despite the declaration of “no victor, no vanquished” after the Nigeria/Biafra civil war in 1970, successive governments, including the present Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had continued to deliberately marginalize and make life unbearable for the Igbo nation.

Since the end of the Civil War in 1970, there has been sustained condemnation of policies of successive governments in Nigeria aimed at under-developing the Southeastern part of Nigeria. Those making this condemnation had argued that the various issues affecting the Igbo nation that forced Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to declare Biafra a Republic in 1967 have not been addressed. They have often insisted that Ndigbo deserve a better deal than what they presently get.  

But some political watchers believe the recent invitations sent to Biafra to attend both the African Union, AU and United Nations, UN meetings point to an imminent actualization of this prolonged agitation for independence. It is an indication that Biafra is on the verge of experiencing global recognition.

It could be recalled that during the Nigeria-Biafra war, four African nations such as Tanzania, Zambia, Gabon and Ivory Coast endorsed the independence of Biafra. There was also support from some World powers such as the USA, France, China and Israel.

The physical battle for the actualization of the Republic of Biafra may have ended in 1970, the continued injustice, discrimination and lopsidedness in the distribution of Federal projects in Nigeria as well as the perceived persecution of the Igbos have continued to ignite the struggle for the actualization of the State of Biafra.

By these invitations, the international community seems to be inching towards according Biafra the recognition it has been craving for. Only time will tell.