Follow Us on Google
By Sunday Ani
Human rights activist, conflict management and resolution professional, Daphne Nwafor in this interview spoke on various issues including reasons why insecurity persists in Nigeria.
The Primary elections leading to 2023 General elections have come and gone but the echo is still resounding. While some people describe that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as all-inclusive, others see it as an injustice to the South East. What is your view?
I regard those primaries of the APC and PDP as a sham, deceitful and democratically unacceptable. It is deceitful because nothing about what the two parties did can qualify for a process of picking party flag bearers. Weeks before the election even from the U.S, on social media, we saw bullion vans convey cash to and fro the residence of the standard bearer of the ruling party.
The world watched and saw how money was shamelessly doled out to bribe delegates and other contestants to step down for candidates of the ruling and opposition parties. During the voting process, we heard the moderator saying delegates that cannot read or write should ask for assistance, and when the votes were being counted, we heard number 97 then jumped to 107. Then, when eventually the winner was announced and party flag presented to him, he was too fragile and could not even hold the flag. We observed some members aided him to hold the flag.
In fact, both exercises lacked merit, credibility, equity, fairness and due process. If fairness and equity was considered, and rotation adhered to, the south region ought to have produced APC and PDP standard bearers. Recall that in 1999, the PDP and Alliance for Democracy (AD) zoned the presidency to the South West. This was done to compensate the region for their mandate, stolen from Abiola who was the acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential election, annulled by Ibrahim Babangida’s military junta.
I remember the political tension that erupted then by Banbangida’s act. If the Muhammed Buhari’s APC and the opposition PDP are passionate about the unity of Nigeria, they would have zoned their tickets to aspirants of Igbo extraction. Again, both parties –APC in particular- sold their interest and nomination forms so exorbitantly. Their aim was to exclude non-thieving candidates like Mr. Peter Obi, Sowore and the youth.
The calls for regional autonomy continue to resonate. Do you believe regional autonomy can help solve the myriad challenges Nigeria currently grapples with; particularly insecurity?
As a conflict management and resolution professional, the only way to provide a lasting solution to a problem is to address the root cause of the problem. We need to know and understand our history as a people and then ask important questions and seek long term solutions to the problem. What was our political formation before the coming of Briton? In the North, the Emirs held sway as political and religious leaders. Then there were also the Alkalis and the Waziris. In the South West, the Obas were in charge of political and religious authority. In the South East amongst the Igbo, we do not actually have a centralized government. Political and religious authority lie with the people.
The Igbo political setting is very similar to modern day democracy. The Umunna is the first point of administration in Igbo land; it is made up of the oldest male child in each family unit. The family unit is represented by a member at the larger community.
Then, in 1914, there was the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates by the British colonial administration. No Nigerian was a witness to this amalgamation, the entity called Nigeria was a contraption of the British Empire for easy administration of the colony. Even the name Nigeria was suggested by Vivian Fowler, the wife of Lord Laggard. Then, in 1960, Nigeria became an independent nation, and three years later, it became a republic.
The country then was functioning very well on regional government. The North built and developed their region from cotton and groundnut. The South West generated her revenue from cocoa and timber. And then in the South East, palm fruit, coal and other mining industries provided the region with funds to thrive on. Only certain percentage of the earnings were required as contribution to the central government and the economy flourished. This was before the military coup in 1966, and took over the running of the country and that changed everything.
Regional government is true federalism. It is still practised in the United States till today. New York State cannot generate grid and then send it to national grid first for national grid to take some of it first; and sends back what it thinks New York State needs. No, it is not so. Regions should be allowed to manage their resources and then contribute some percent to the center.
For instance, Niger Delta should be allowed to manage their resources. The environmental crises in Ogoni land is as a result of SPDC exploration. The fact that the 92 oil wells in Ogoni land are not owned by a single Ogoni indigene makes it more absurd. You will be surprise to know that the oil wells in the South belong to Fulani living in the North.
The main cause of the Biafra-Nigeria civil war was as a result of the fall out of the Aburi accord. When Ojukwu went to Aburi in Ghana, he went to negotiate regional government. At onset, Gowon agreed to this but the British interference in Nigeria politics changed everything. When Gowon and Ojukwu returned from Aburi, Gowon received a telephone call from the British high commission in Lagos. It was at this point that Gowon became reluctant to make a national broadcast to implement the resolution of the Aburi accord. Then, Ojukwu then went ahead to make the broadcast. That was the main cause of the civil war. We still have Gowon with us; he can verify this claim.
We are very familiar with the saying that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Meaningful engagement is a natural security. When people especially the youth are engaged positively, crime will reduce. If Nigeria should divorce from this unholy, unprofitable British wedlock, you will discover that each region has what it takes to develop and sustain its citizens. Federal allocation to the state is distributed by the population and the North claims to have more population than any other region. What this means is that Kano State which is not an oil producing state gets more revenue than Rivers and Bayelsa which are oil producing states, combined.
Inequities as this are root causes of Niger Delta militancy. Marginalization, exclusion and persecution of people of Igbo extraction are reasons the South East region is agitating for the sovereign State of Biafra. In theory, federalism is the system of government in Nigeria but in practice, it is not so. Regions should be allowed to control their resources, then contribute certain percent to the central government. That is true federalism.
Another instance I can present us is the Police Force. The Police is a security outfit responsible for prompt, active and quality response to crime. It is amazing that engagement of the police in Nigeria is even in contradiction to the county’s claim to federalism. In the United States which is a true example of federalism, you have the city, county, state and federal police. Nigeria should revert to this system for the country to progress.
You speak with much passion for the South East. How worried are you over the continued incarceration of the acclaimed Leader of the Igbo, Mazi Nnamdi Kalu?
In June 2021, the entire world watched and saw how the Leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was kidnapped in Kenya by the Nigerian government security operatives. Mazi Kanu was tortured, brutalized and extradited to Nigeria and has since been remanded in the DSS custody in Abuja.
Kanu after his release from prison in 2015, remained in his native home Afaraukwu in Abia State; and was exercising his civil duties because we all have the right to the freedom of expression as provided in the constitution. In 2017, the Buhari government tried to kill Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by sending the military to his country home, Afaraukwu. As fate would have it, the Lord rescued him from the enemy’s onslaught. But 23 other innocent people in that house and neighourbood were killed in cold blood by the Nigerian Army.
The same government turned around to place charges against Mazi Kanu that he jumped bail. We have a saying that it is only a tree that cannot move when it is going to be cut down. Naturally, every human would exit an unsafe place; where there is threat to life.
Nnamdi Kanu never jumped bail as accused by the Nigerian government. Under this present administration, Nigeria has been more divided like never before. It is no secret that the President Muhammed Buhari hates Igbos and will never intervene in any positive engagement that would resolve the crisis in the South East. We are all aware of the hate speech he made against the Igbo on Twitter in 2020 that prompted the suspension of his account by Twitter. Till date, he never retracted
that hate speech nor did he apologize to the Igbo. Rather, he went ahead to ban the use of twitter in Nigeria.
There has been consistent calls for Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s release. Why do you think the Nigerian government has remained adamant to these call? Again, I repeat myself. It is out of the hatred Muhammed Buhari bears for anything South East.
Notable among individuals and groups who are unrelenting in call for Kalu’s release is the IPOB North America. We have staged protest to the British embassy in Washington DC to put pressure on the British government to intervene in securing his release. The call on Britain is on the heels that Mazi Kanu is a British citizen and was travelling on a British passport before his arrest and deportation. We have also held rallies and peaceful protest at UN headquarters and at the Nigerian embassy in New York.
Also, IPOB members across Europe have held similar protests. There have been protests to the Kenyan embassy in Brussels and recently the one million man march to the European Union (EU) headquarters in London. To this end, Kanu’s international and human rights Lawyer, Bruce Fain has filed a motion in the international court of justice petitioning the Nigeria government over its continued detention of Kanu. Reverend Fathers Ejike Mbaka, Emmanuel Obinma, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom and countless others have added their voices to this call. I have an online petition on change.org also calling for his release and we are very optimistic that all these efforts will yield positive outcome for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
It is indeed sad to note that under Buhari and the APC administration, the Nigeria judicial system has degenerated to the worst the world over. Sadly, Nigeria Judiciary is not independent of the Executive. And it cannot be; for as long as the Executive appoints Judges and determine who gets into the Supreme court as judges. We see a situation where the president terminates the position of the Judges, Chief Justices, even the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN) etc. so at this backdrop, how can Mazi Kanu get fair trial is near impossible. But, with the Most High God, nothing is impossible.
So, based on this, there is need for the international community to be involved by mounting pressure on Buhari; through application of sanctions. If this is not done, continuous detention of Mazi Namdi Kanu is a violation of his fundamental human rights, freedom of movement and freedom of expression.
Madam, are you among those who maintain that insecurity in the South East region is the handiwork of outside forces to destabilize the region?
The Nigerian government has been sending the military to the South East to maim, kill innocent and law-abiding Biafran youths. This is all in the name of fighting terrorism but we all know that presently, the North is the base and global headquarters of terrorists and terrorism. The IPOB is a non-violent pro-Biafra movement. All we seek is the restoration of the sovereign State of Biafra through referendum. Unlike the Fulani herdsmen, IPOB group does not move about with AK 47, grenades or bombs.
IPOB does not engage in criminal activities like burning of structures, shooting and killing Moslems or Christians in Mosques and churches. IPOB does not engage in destroying farmlands for human sustenance. I can’t help but wonder aloud, do these Fulani herdsmen destroying lands not eat food? Again, I ask: if the Fulani herdsmen exterminate all humans on planet Earth, who then would purchase and consume their beloved cattle?
Make no mistake about this, with the exception of a few, these politicians are in the same wine keg. The IPOB is the only true opposition of the oppressive APC/Muhammadu Buhari’s government. This is the reason they see the group as a real threat. So, to discredit IPOB, they labeled it “terrorist movement”.
Boko Haram, Fulani terrorist herdsmen and bandits are operating in the North unhindered yet all the security operatives are sent to the South East to suppress Biafra agitation and freedom of expression. The government is not fighting crime in the south East. This is injustice against the people of the region, and we cannot continue to live in fear, oppression, intimidation and persecution in our own homeland. The Igbo race has become endangered species and target for persecution and extermination in Nigeria.
In 2016, the Nigerian security forces led by the military embarked on a chilling campaign of extrajudicial executions, resulting in the death of at least 150 peaceful
pro-Biafra protesters in the Igbo land. This is according to investigations by Amnesty International. Testimonies relating to demonstrations and other gatherings between August 2015 and August 2016 consistently show that the military fired live ammunition with little or no warning to disperse crowds. Another report by amnesty international in 2021 has it that, at least 115 people have been killed by the military in four months.
These figures are available for whosoever cares to see them. Also, in June 2022, Ogbaru community in Anambra State witnessed the lawlessness of the Buhari government, with the deployment of military personnel to that area. The soldiers were mobilized from Ogbaru naval base and Onitsha 302 Artillery regiment in over 20 trucks with arms and ammunitions. They targeted and opened fire on innocent, defenseless locals; mainly young males.
We have the right to self-determination and any infringement on that is a violation of our fundamental human rights. We have the right to hold peaceful protests and the sit-at-home directive in every South Eastern States is part of that civil protest. Inadvertently, this mode of protest has helped to avoid the brutal mass killing of innocent Igbo men and women by the Buhari/Osibanjo government.
What do you consider should be the way forward to entrench lasting peace in Nigeria?
Peace can only return to the country if the people have a referendum to determine whether they want to remain as one country or go their separate ways. The second is the unconditional release of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He has not done wrong to warrant his kidnap and extradition to Nigeria for trials. The Nigerian constitution provides for the freedom of expression without intimidation but in practice, anyone who protests, writes or voices truth against the Buhari government is arrested and charged with treasonable felony.
The world witnessed how recently the Kuje prison in Abuja, the nation’s capital was attacked by Boko-Haram members to free their counterparts who were arrested. The prison warden stated that for two long hours, the terrorists carried out their activity unhindered. This speaks volume on how well prepared and armed the terrorists were against the Nigerian military who over the years, cannot account for or justify the huge funds being pumped into security. I am vexed; and millions of people the world over are, over the level of marginalization against the Igbo race in Nigeria. Kanu who leads a non-violent IPOB is held at the maximum security prison while killer terrorists who wage war against even the government are kept in minimum prison. Nigeria is the only country in the world where the government pampers and negotiates with terrorists. And even offers them amnesty and reintegrates them into security apparatus, apparently for being the President’s tribesmen.
