There is tension across the South East where some groups agitating for self-determination and the independent state of Biafra are in regular conflict and mind games with government security agencies. Most pronounced are the clashes between the federal forces and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
ESN is an armed security outfit established by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The group imposed it on themselves to protect the South East and offer security to the farmers, mostly women, from the menace of criminal elements masquerading as herdsmen. For some time now, criminals have been terrorising most parts of the country, turning the landscape into a killing field. The bandits are frequently involved in rape, kidnapping and unprovoked mass murder of defenceless citizens without being held accountable. The recent massacre in Ishelu Ebonyi state remains fresh. Worst is the police account that all 65 suspects mysteriously grew wings and absconded!
Though the ESN establishment is not backed by any known law, the traumatised people who felt abandoned to their fate by government hailed it as a child of necessity and do not want to hear anything negative said about them, even though IPOB which established ESN is itself designated by the government as a terrorist organisation, making the clear intention of ESN suspicious, hence the crackdown by government forces. The truth is that the security agencies have enabled ESN and IPOB by refusing to serve and protect the people. Those of us with some sympathy for law and order have become increasingly unpopular and our voices diminished. The recent conflicts and attacks on government institutions are not the first-time federal forces will engage pro-Biafra groups in violent clashes. There was the Okigwe massacre of 2003, Onitsha crisis of 2004, 2006 and Nkpor killings as well as Asaba, Obigbo, Aba, Umuahia, Owerri, Enugu, Abakiliki, Nsukka and Oji River which have witnessed different dimensions of conflicts.
The contrast, this time, is that IPOB rather than take the beating are emboldened for a duel and direct confrontation with security forces. How did IPOB recruit thousands of volunteers? Is this the beginning of the dreaded armed struggle for the actualisation of the independent state of Biafra? Is dialogue completely exhausted?
Me thinks it’s time we began a serious conversation on the future of Nigeria. Nigeria cannot afford opening another unending war in the South East. We all know the truth but are busy waging war against the truth. We can change the dynamics by accepting to create a nation of equal citizens.
When IPOB was proscribed and the group went silent, I was concerned by the silence of their opinionated leader who is attracted to radio broadcasts like the bee is attracted to honey. I was alarmed because like in Jaw, when the shark went out into the deep sea, it sailed back with a roar. With the birth of ESN, has IPOB sailed back with a roar? IPOB once prided itself as a non-violent group carrying out non-violent agitations for self-determination. Every effort made to the government to dialogue with them was rebuffed. The government was hardnosed. It took all the wrong-headed approach to what ordinarily was a simple problem. It arrogantly jettisoned the 2014 Confab report which actually addressed most of the fundamental problems leading to the agitations. It also refused to correct the glaring issues of Fulani privilege and herdsmen menace but very eager to suppress IPOB by force?
I recently spoke with a very high-ranking military officer. I wanted to know why the use of force in suppressing IPOB when the government could open a serious conversation, listen to their complaints and meet them halfway. I reasoned that given the too many flashpoints across the country, that IPOB problem was one that did not require force. The officer said the problem with IPOB was its separatist agitation. Biafra, or its independence, he said, meant war, and that the Federal Government was obligated to forcefully stop any attempt at balkanising the federation. He said the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria listed the 36 States of the federation and that any attempt by any state or group of states to break away under the guise of self-determination or independence was an invitation to war because the Federal Government would be defending the constitution. I reminded him of IPOB’s right to self-determination, that IPOB wants a referendum as a pathway to peace, not war. I reminded him that the group is being pushed to an armed struggle because of the high-handed tactics being employed and failure of government to address pertinent issues of marginalisation, devolution of power and general insecurity. I told him that bullying and intimidation will not resolve the issues and that war is avoidable. He responded that war does not determine who is right or wrong, that he is a soldier and not a politician. He said the politicians will fix what is wrong with our politics, be it true federalism, restructuring or fundamental dialogue among the different ethnic groups. He warned that IPOB is on overdrive and should be called to order by South East leaders because they are playing with fire. He stressed that fire would burn those that plays with it. He said soldiers don’t crave war and do not want war but that if the need arises, the military will fight to defend the constitution and keep Nigeria one. With things moving aggressively very fast, especially the introduction of unknown gunmen killing security agents, I tried to browse this issue with some other fellows to determine how we can achieve a conflict free society. We were all agreed that IPOB is right in their agitation but that the Federal Government has failed in addressing legitimate grievances of the people. We also agreed that a unilateral declaration of Biafra will result in war. Between 1966-1970, Nigeria fought a bitter civil war with the Republic of Biafra. In that war, millions of lives were lost. When the war ended in 1970, the defeated Igbos wholeheartedly embraced the Nigerian project with the hope that the promise of reconciliation is real. They not only rebuilt the Igbo land, they built back where they lived across Nigeria. Rather than be accepted as equal partners in the Nigerian project, they are rejected, maligned, marginalised, victimised and treated like a conquered people. They are reminded that the war is not over.
The hatred for the Igbo climaxed with the current Buhari administration. Despite a landslide win in a general election, the president came with vengeance to subdue the Igbo and make them sorry for not voting for him. Because no one wants to be slave or second-class citizen in his own country, especially when all he wanted is a level playing ground in a free nation that is fair to all, the disgruntled Igbo suddenly found solace in listening to the regular broadcast of a demagogue who identified and highlighted their problems through his pirate radio. They were reminded of a Biafra where they will no longer be marginalised or deprived. While Biafra or its independence may mean war, let me be emphatic that we the Igbo are not at war with Nigeria. We have no pending issues of war and do not want any future war. War of arms is brutish and primitive. There are civilised ways of settling disputes, and dialogue remains a viable option. The truth is that the Federal Government is complicit in the ugly situation we are in. They have used all the wrong tactics in trying to contain a legitimate agitation because of their mindset of ‘might is right,’ forgetting that you can conquer a people but cannot overcome the spirit of the people.
No country, it is said, can twice survive a civil war. If we want to avoid a second civil war in Nigeria, we must address the prevailing fault lines in the federation. It’s never too late for the Federal Government to end marginalisation and discrimination of all kinds against all people of Nigeria. Instead of the futile effort to kill the spirit of Biafra, we can transform it into a positive energy and a force for good for the greater good of Nigeria