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From: Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), on Tuesday, asked the Biafrans to remain calm and resolute and not to lose sleep over the recent move by the Federal Government to acquire some aircraft from the United States of America (USA).
It would be recall that some IPOB members had expressed and agitated by the news of the aircraft purchase from the US Government as they felt it would amount to losing US support. They also were having the fear that the Federal Government was acquiring the aircraft not to only fight Boko Haram, but Biafra agitators.
The Federal Government it was gathered had approached the US government for the purchase of some aircraft from her to enable it intensify and win the fight against Boko Haram.
The move has been seen in many quarters of the Biafran land as a negative omen for the Biafra agitation, with many feeling that US government selling aircraft to Nigeria would be equipping the FG to run over the agitators.
But in a statement yesterday by the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Comrade Emma Powerful, the group said the business deal by the two governments would not in any way affect the Biafra actualisation struggle.
The statement reads in part, “Because in their (USA) view, Boko Haram threat has to be dealt with militarily. It’s for USA to provide compelling reason(s) as to why the sale of these aircrafts will be detrimental to overall US national interest. The United States of America is a country of civilized people, therefore, they base their foreign policy decisions on cold hard facts and self preservation, not sentiment or emotion.
“Nigeria remains a ‘sovereign’ state, with the backing of US closest ally Britain that created it, what we are witnessing here is international politics at play and nothing for IPOB to worry about. Britain having publicly vowed to save Nigeria recently when they said they won’t allow any break-up, have now gone the extra mile to back up their words with military assistance from the world’s top super power, which is to be expected under the circumstance.
“This move if politically motivated by the British is calculated to demoralize IPOB and if we allow it to, then they would have scored a crucial psychological victory over us.”
The statement further said, “Liberation struggle is never a walk in the park or endless smooth sailing, sometimes you get knocked sideways but you recover and continue marching forward. The question we must ask is this, is the existential threat of Boko Haram more compelling at this material time to necessitate military assistance from the US to the Nigeria vis-a-vis human rights needs?
“Unfortunately the answer is yes, because President Donald Trump knows that there is no way the Nigeria Air Force could conceivably conduct unprovoked and disproportionate bombing raids against Biafran populations in this digital day and age.
“We must therefore not allow ourselves to be distracted from doing the needful, which is hard diplomatic work necessary to win over foreign powers to our cause. Boko Haram is an extremist violent Islamic group and therefore falls within the category of issues that US accord the utmost priority, so this deal is nothing to worry about.”
“We must not forget that we IPOB, especially the new leadership in the US, can stop this deal dead in its tracks if we work doubly hard to invoke the Leahy Law, but then again do we want Boko Haram to continue to gain ground unchecked? These are hard questions we must address with cool heads.”
It therefore stressed that the battle for Biafra independence would not be determined with fighter jets and bombers but with the influence of friends and allies of Biafra in the corridors of power all over the world.
