Eddy Odivwri
Who is Running the South Eastern States, Governors or IPOB?
Did you hear that those our brothers have spoken again?
Our brothers? Who are our brothers?
You don’t know the Nnamdi Kanu disciples?
Nnamdi Kanu disciples? Which people are so called?
Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? You don’t know of the ubiquitous members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)?
Ohhhh, Of course I know of IPOB, those trouble maker boys.
Hmmm, be careful in your language. They are everywhere. Don’t let harm befall you.
So what did they say again? I thought they have been outlawed.
Outlawed? Hmmmm, what does it matter to be outlawed? Did Abubakar Malami outlaw Boko Haram? In any case, whether they are outlawed or not, is inconsequential. What is crucial is that they are a separatist group. They have and command a large following. They believe that some day, sooner or later, their wish will be granted or enforced. In fact , the non IPOB members in the South Eastern States, defer to them. Or have you not been observing how they (IPOB) has been controlling the states, dictating when they should go to work and when they should not? Don’t you see that whenever IPOB issues a Sit-at-home order, the people obey peremptorily?
You have come again with your grammar. Which one is perem… perem…what?
Come on, don’t make a joke out of this serious matter. Look, as I speak to you, IPOB has once again ordered that, on September 13, every body in Igbo land should sit at home. Do you know the social and economic implication of these sit-at-home orders?
But I thought the sit-at-home order, every Monday, has been suspended by IPOB. Beside, the various state governments in the South East have been saying the IPOB orders should be ignored and that people should go about their normal businesses. So what’s the fear you are generating?
Me? Am I the one generating the fear? I am merely telling you what is ahead . Be open minded and be circumspect about the propaganda of government and its people. Ask yourself whether the advice by the state governments that people should ignore the sit-at-home orders is being obeyed. Who are the people obeying—IPOB or Governors? Did you not hear that whenever the IPOB gives the order even banks, schools, filling stations, markets, private shops and even transport operators suspend action and stay away from the streets? Have you not seen how stripped and bare the streets are whenever the order is given? Even in Nsukka, Enugu, Awka, Onitsha, Abakaliki, Aba etc., there is huge compliance.
Even when the Ebonyi governor, Dave Umahi, threatened to sack workers who stayed away from work and seize shops that did not open on such days , as ordered by IPOB, the people had chosen to dare the governor and obey IPOB . My brother, it is not a joke o.
But Nnamdi Kanu their leader is in detention. How come he is able to have such a strong hold on the people? Is it not said that when you strike the Shepherd, the flock will scatter?
Ahhh, not in all cases. These flocks have refused to scatter. In fact, the incarceration of Nnamdi Kanu has further bonded the people to the ideology of Biafra. Many of them argue that he that is down needs fear no fall. That they are already down in the Nigerian state and so they do not really care what happens next. That is why they are becoming more and more fanatical about the Nnamdi Kanu/Biafran phenomena.
But you and I know that the idea of a Biafran republic is dead on arrival. It won’t work and it will never work. Nigeria is better off as one indivisible country.
On such matters my brother, Never say never! There is no where in history where self-determination groups and agitations got what they wanted on a platter of gold. But over time, they are able to achieve their aim, long after the process had begun. Do you think it was easy for Ethiopia to let Eritrea break away? Or you think the split of Sudan or even the old Russian federation was a tea party?
Are you implying that Biafra is feasible and we should get ready for a Biafran federation?
I didn’t say so. All I am saying is that never say never on such matters.
But don’t you know that many of the people complying with the IPOB order are doing so not because they believe in the argument and demand for Biafra Republic, but because they know that the Biafran agitators are violent and could visit harm on anybody they find on the streets, especially as the Nigeria Police and other security agencies are themselves scared and not on ground to protect the people in the real sense of the word?
Well, I won’t dispute that. But what I would add is that the many Igbo elite do not want Biafra, not because they think the idea is silly, but because it would affect their own economic interest. Once beaten, twice shy. The cold from a second rain catches feverishly. They do not want to remember the pangs of the Nigerian civil war and the measly twenty pounds aggregation of all they had before the war.
We can live together as one. The terms of habitation can be looked into and reviewed from time to time. That is why we have representative democracy. All issues are discussable. There are no-go-areas in the search for peaceful co-existence.
Absolutely! Let’s sheathe the swords and let’s jaw-jaw.
