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… As group celebrates 27 Years
From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The leadership of Biafra Independence Movement, BIM and Movement for Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has revealed reasons why its leader and founder, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike introduced non-exodus and non- violence in his quest to actualize Biafran Independence.
Addressing newsmen as part of activities lined up for the 27th anniversary of MASSOB, the group’s National Director of Information, Mazi Chris Mocha, said, ‘’Uwazuruike adopted Non-violence and Non-exodus methods to avoid further loss of human lives and property of Ndigbo following their sad and traumatic experience during the genocidal Biafra-Nigeria civil war which ended on January 12, 1970.
‘He disclosed that before the jinx associated with Nigeria’s transition from one civilian administration to another, that a lot of MASSOB members who lived outside of Igboland were anxious as what to do before the general elections of April 2003.
He explained that some of the members during this period under review asked if they would relocate to the east before that general elections just as our affiliate bodies like the Biafran foundation (BF), and even Voice of Biafra international (Vobi), Washington DC, advised that our people residing outside of Igboland should endeavour to return home before the jinx month of April 2003.”
He said contrary to their expectations, Uwazuruike who had studied the situation side by side with the MASSOB’s motto of Non-violence and Non-Exodus decided that no member of MASSOB – now BİM-MASSOB , and indeed no Easterner should be encouraged to leave his base in the North or South West on account of fear or intimidation by the Hausa or Yoruba..
Mocha noted that, in formulating this principle of Non-exodus for MASSOB on September 13, 1999, that absolute care was taken by Uwazuruike to ensure that Ndigbo did not lose their lives and property again due to running from one place to another during crisis in Nigeria.
“We feel that the number of lives lost in such crisis are more than what could actually be lost if we had remained in our places of residence in the North or South-West,” Mocha said.
