Skip to main content

Biafran Independence

A photo taken on May 30, 1967 shows Colonel Odumegwu Emeka Ojukwu reading a speech as he declares the independence of Biafra. Fifty years ago, the Igbo people of south-East Nigeria seceded, declaring an independent Republic of Biafra and sparking a brutal civil war that left about one million people dead.









In south-East Nigeria on Tuesday Shops, schools and businesses were shut. It was 50 years to the day since an independent republic of Biafra was declared, sparking a Civil war that was brutal.
In Anambra State  (Onitsha), the economic hub, the banks of the River Niger, most markets were closed and the streets were largely empty of people and traffic. Separatist sentiment persists in the region, which is dominated by the Igbo people, and the main pro-Biafran independence group has called on supporters to stay at home.

No work today, we are Biafran, we are not Nigerians,” “No violence, it is a peaceful sit at home. We are protesting peacefully,” said Ebere Ichukwu Eli, one of the few people to venture outside, where there was a visible security presence.

A woman who gave her name only as Justine, said: “The market is closed today. I’m just going home to stay with my children.
“We want our one Biafra. It’s our land. That’s why we all sit at home today.”
The closures were either to commemorate the anniversary in support or because of fears of violence, local people said.

Nigerian police last week denounced “planned protests and order of market closures” and warned it would “deal decisively” with any breach of the peace or unlawful protest.
Last year, demonstrations marking the declaration of Biafran independence turned bloody. Amnesty International said the military gunned down more than 60 people. Since August 2015, more than 150 people have been killed in pro-Biafra protests, said Amnesty’s Nigeria director Osai Ojigho. Nigeria’s government denies the claim.

“We urge the Nigerian security agencies to conduct themselves in a manner that will ensure public order without resorting to force,” he added.
Amnesty said the security forces had arrested more than 100 members of pro-Biafran separatist groups in the run-up to Tuesday’s anniversary. Calls for independence never disappeared even after the 30-month civil war, which left more than one million dead, most of them Igbos, mainly from starvation and disease.


Many people accuse the government of failing to invest in the south-East since the end of the war in 1970, blighting development. Some see it as a punishment for the conflict. Support for secession has increased since the arrest in late 2015 of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the pro-independence Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Qata’s Air-Conditioned Stadium to be test run on Friday

With a little under 2,022 days until the Qatar World Cup kicks off, the tiny yet hugely ambitious Gulf state will officially unveil the tournament’s first completed venue Friday. The Khalifa International Stadium — complete with the much-talked-about cooling technology that was central to Qatar’s controversial bid for the World Cup — will host the country’s biggest domestic cup competition, The Emir Cup final. On the pitch it will be a battle between arguably the Country’s biggest teams, Al-Sadd, skippered by Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez, and Al Rayyan.  But off the pitch, the stadium will provide a solid example of Qatar’s progress for the World Cup, a mere 2012 days before the tournament kicks off. “I think it is a source of immense joy and pride,” Nasser Al-Khater, a senior figure at World Cup organising body, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, told AFP. “It’s a stadium dear to our hearts, Khalifa Stadium, so we’re happy that it’s the first s...

Niger Delta youth demand removal of the South-South Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria from the Biafra map

Niger Delta youth under the support of Niger Delta Youth Congress (NDYC), vowed to resist war drums beaten by the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-South geopolitical zone of the country. This was made known by the National Coordinator of the NDYC, Comrade Israel Uwejeyan, after an emergency meeting held in Warri. He declared that youth in the South-South geopolitical zone of the country stand for United and Indivisible Nigeria, therefore called on leaders of IPOB to erase the region from its Biafra map with immediate effect. Uwejeyan also disassociated NDYC from some youth groups whom he described as nonexistent declaring support for Biafra, and added that they have strongly aligned with the statement of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, recently in Sokoto, “Rivers State is not a part of Biafra land’. He said: “The Niger Delta Youth Congress, NDYC, a foremost nonviolent youth organisation in the region held an emergency meeting in Warri, Delta State ...

Mr Richie Rich! 3 Things That Will Make You Rich

Mr Richie Rich! 3 Things That Will Make You Rich Hello Young people! these thoughts will make you Mr Richie Rich! in programming yourself for a great life, consider these three things. They'd make you rich. So here we go- 1. OPPORTUNITY   Opportunities always come in disguise this why there are few rich men in the world because not many recognize opportunity when it comes. Opportunities come as work; they often require action or effort and since most people don't like to work, they miss opportunity. When a lazy man is given work, he sees it as oppression meanwhile that's his opportunity. Work is a challenge to innovate, to harness and put to work all your learning and potential, to display your uniqueness and consequently attract the attention of forces that can promote you but lazy people don't know this! 'The diligent find freedom in their work;  the lazy are oppressed by work'.  (PRO 12:24 TLB ) . ' Work hard and become a leader;  be lazy ...