Queen Elizabeth II; The Architect Of The Genocidal War On Biafrans

Queen Elizabeth II; The Architect Of The Genocidal War On Biafrans

■ Author : Chinonso Igwebuike Mbah
■ Date : 15th September 2022
■ Twitter:@umuchiukwu

Queen Elizabeth II 

I thought I was dreaming when the news broke out that the longest colonist that ever lived is dead, the chief monarch of a genocidal war empire on Indigenous people across the globe has finally left her throne, I pray her w-icked soul never found peace in the sight of God, Amen.

Before the declaration of the Nigerian genocidal war on Biafra in 1967 by Yakubu Gowon, General Ojukwu suggested a confederated Nigeria, the confederation was discussed during a peace negotiation at Aburi in Ghana and would later be tagged "The Aburi Accord" where every region in Nigeria will be in charge of there resources, just like we have in the United Kingdom, which would have made Nigeria a progressive country, but no, her imperial majesty Queen Elizabeth II wouldn't allow a particular region to control their resources, they prefer stealing from this region then allow them to take full ownership of their resources, the Queen and her cohorts through their puppet Jack Yakubu Gowon declared a genocidal war on Biafra for daring to live as free people like Queen Elizabeth II and his British people.

There is no difference between what  Adolf Hitler did to the Jews people and what Queen Elizabeth II and her empire are doing to Biafrans, the Queen and her empire have for long exhibited hatred towards the Biafran people in what is known and called Nigeria today, the hatred towards this particular region by Queen Elizabeth II and her empire was what prompted her to preside, encourage, facilitated and aided the Nigerian government under Jack Yakubu Gowon in committing genocide in Biafra.

The atrocities committed by Queen Elizabeth II on the Biafran people are so deep that it can only take the restoration of Biafra's freedom and sovereignty to initiate a healing process, the pain and suffering our people are going through caused by the British Royal Empire and the British government, headed by Queen Elizabeth II has ruined the lives of many Biafrans, until her death, she tacitly supported this w-icked regime of late Mohammedu Buhari and his Fulani! oligarchy consequently the numerous genocides happening in all the corner of Nigeria.

The British Royal family and the British government have dealt with Africa, more painfully Biafrans, as the Europeans have looted, raped, colonized, enslave and brutalized the Biafran people, the United Kingdom and mostly the Royal family depends on what they stole from Biafraland to keep their royal lavish lifestyle afloat and from every indication they are not willing to stop anytime soon but trust me IPOB are gonna force them out of Biafraland soon.

The British royal family's quest for the oil and gas in Biafraland is unparalleled,  which made Queen Elizabeth II spearhead the genocide in Biafraland, the Queen and her government also continued to harbour those who perpetuated genocide against Biafrans until her death.

The royal family and British government will know no peace until they tender an unreserved apology to Biafrans, for the atrocities they committed before, during and after the genocidal war of 1967-70 on Biafra, history will never be kind to them for causing the death of over five million Biafran people mainly women and children by imposing land, sea and air blockade, using starvation as a weapon of war and bombing of civilian residential areas, the British royal family should note that Biafrans are not happy with them until we are appeased with freedom and sovereignty.

King Charles III on behalf of the British Royal house and government can start the healing process by apologizing to those they have offended all over the world through colonisation, wars and forcefully joining of people with different value systems together without their consent, the British royal family hands are soiled with the blood of innocent Biafrans and Africans, it's only those without good mind that would wish the Queen to rest in peace.

Edited By Aguocha Chinwendum 
Published by Nwaiwu Chiukwuebuka
For Umuchukwu Writers .

IPOB PRESS RELEASE 26/06/2022 #BUHARI SHOULD STOP PREVARICATING

 

■ Twitter:@umuchiukwu

■ 27 June 2022

IPOB PRESS RELEASE 26/06/2022 #BUHARI SHOULD STOP PREVARICATING BUT ANSWER #BORIS JOHNSON ON WHY MAZI NNAMDI KANU IS STILL IN DETENTION

IPOB The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (I (IPOB) ably led by our great liberator Mazi Nnamdi Okwuchukwu KANU has again been drawn to a statement credited to the supposed President of Nigeria, Major General Muhammadu Buhari in Kigali Rwanda. The statement of Buhari about the plights and continued detention of Biafra leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU in Kigali during the commonwealth meeting going on in Rwanda showed that the world leaders are aware of the pranks of Buhari and his Fulani-controlled Federal Government of Nigeria.

#UK prime Minister specifically asked Buhari why Biafra leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU is still in detention but because Buhari instead of responding to the question frontally chose to play to the gallery. Is it that he was not aware that his military invaded Mazi Nnamdi Kanu's Afaraukwu country home on September 14, 2017, or that he deliberately decided to be mischievous? It is on record that Nnamdi KANU did not jump bail but only ran for his dear life. The video evidence of the military invasion of his house which claimed no fewer than 30 lives, only confirmed that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu did what was needful for the moment. World leaders enjoy making Buhari advertise his ignorance of obvious realities and current issues. 

The global community after watching the military invasion of the home of the Biafran leader, where Armoured vehicles and Helicopter gunships were used against an unarmed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra clearly understand that Mazi Nnamdi KANU did not jump bail, instead he escaped for his life. The indisputable truth is that if he did not run, by now he would have been a dead man. 

The world is watching and looking for what is still keeping Nnamdi KANU in DSS custody, but Buhari and his security agencies won't admit the truth. We are aware that he has been under intense pressure to explain the role of his Government over the illegal abduction and extraordinary rendition from Kenya to Nigeria of a British citizen. 

The commonwealth meeting in Rwanda exposed Buhari and his Fulani-controlled Federal Government of Nigeria but because he is looking for an opportunity to lie against our leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU that is why he choose to lie to the international community and commonwealth heads of government in Kigali Rwanda. 

The world should hold Buhari accountable for the torture he is being put through and whatever that may happen to our Leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. UK prime minister specifically asked Buhari why Biafra leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU is still in detention. 

In response Buhari and his handlers present, in their cluelessness, uninformed and legal knowledge deficiencies in relation to internal developments in the country perhaps due to biweekly international junketings he made unsubstantiated, fallacious and misleading comments with reference to associating Mazi Nnamdi KANU with "jumping bail" as if he is ignorant of deploying the Military code-Name "operation python dance II which he as the Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed forces instructed to invade the palace, village and Afaraukwu Ibeku Kingdom (community) Umuahia province (Abia State) who's only mission was to kill MNK, IPOBs and any living thing found in his compound ti the extent that they killed a dog the house pet of our leader.

 Buhari who openly and shamelessly stated that Mazi Nnamdi KANU should defend his matter in the court and that he is not interfering with the judicial process has suddenly forgotten that he would not interfere in the matter before the Court to now make statements intended to intimidate the judge who is handling this case, the global world should take note of Buhari's meeting with Igbo leaders who visited him to demand the release of Mazi Nnamdi KANU. 

It is worthy and imperative for the global community to note that Mazi Nnamdi KANU never jumped bail as widely and consistently propagated and publicized in local, International and mainstream media by our enemies, instead "He" by the strokes of luck managed to escape a well planned military invasion of his home which was intended and calculated to murder him in his fathers compound.

 As much as we knew, he was fully prepared to storm the court with at least 2 million people already mobilised from among his followers to accompany him to the next adjourned court date which incidentally was just some days before the military invaded his home to kill him and stop him from attending the court case. 

Buhari's maximum Military (On land and Air) invasion of Afaraukwu for the assassination of Nnamdi Kanu was the only reason why he fled the country. The world leaders are watching Buhari and his court with keen interest and want to know why Mazi Nnamdi Kanu an extraordinary renditioned victim is still unlawfully detained in DSS custody.

Published By Umuchiukwu Writers 

Biafra: Time To End The Activities Of This Colonial Agent Called #BBC In Africa

■ Author:  Aguocha Chinwendum

■ Twitter:@umuchiukwu

■ 26 June 2022

     

          Biafra: Time To End The Activities Of This Colonial Agent Called #BBC In Africa 

Some British people protest in London against what they called "END THE OIL COLONIALISM" the British government is driving the African countries into debt and taking their resources, and the corrupt African leaders are incapacitated to speak up and refused the criminal advances of the British and other European countries governments. 

Here we have the ordinary British people protesting for the economic freedom of the black people and they don't even know about it, our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu used to tell us that the ordinary British people in the streets are good and most civilised people on earth but those managing their government are evil. 

Africans are suffering today from the failures of bad, corrupt, insincere and heartless leaders, and countries like the United Kingdom will take advantage of our bad administrators to steal our resources and join in causing poverty and death in Africa, a minister in Nigeria steals what would be a national budget of a European country and hide it in a bank in Europe and governments like that of the United Kingdom will protect them because they use the money in their banks to grow their economies.

 What surprises me is when these European countries will pretentiously come to African countries claiming to be giving us financial aid when we are the ones feeding their greedy belly, our leaders are quiet about these things because they are corrupt and their lots are well recorded by these European colonies who take advantage of it at the detriment of the African people. 

It amazes me that a big media house like the #BBC is headquartered in London and owned by the United Kingdom government but has not investigated the economic assassination and sabotage the European countries are committing against the African people especially the United Kingdom who are surviving on the resources of the African people. The #BBC are a bribe-taking media organisation, they don't run sincere investigative journalism, they perform according to the amount of money paid into their bank account, and they can turn red to be white just because their account is well-fed, the BBC cover corrupt politicians in Africa just to protect the interests of the United Kingdom government.

 #BBC is one of the problems Africa has, they lie about everything about Africa, where is the BBC report on the Buhari regime the most corrupt government I have ever seen since I was born, just a few days ago the accountant general of the Nigerian government was arrested for stealing about eighty billion nairas that would be over five billion dollars, we have numerous worst corrupt cases like that in Nigeria even in the military but the BBC has failed to make investigation and reports on them, the BBC has not made investigations and reports on the extrajudicial killings and genocide going on in Eastern Nigeria (Biafraland) by the Nigerian military, the BBC has failed to investigate and give reports on the genocide and the ethnic cleansing going on in the north as Christians are being wiped out. 

I want to suggest that African countries begin to ban the BBC just as countries like Russia. China and others have done, BBC is the headquarters of fake news and misinformation, the earlier BBC is chased out of Africa the better for us. 

The BBC has proven to be a colonial tool still in use in Africa, their only interest is on how to promote and protect the colonial interest and their willing tools in Africa, a total ban and suspension of all their activities in Africa will do us a lot of good because the BBC has caused more harm to us than good. 

Published By Udeagha Obasi 

For Umuchiukwu Writers

DID YOU KNOW THAT BRITAIN WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GENOCIDE OF 1967-70?

September 03 2020 | Umuchineke Writers

Let's listen to what Ojukwu said about Aburi-Accord. A learned man, highly polished.

"The Tapes are available, the records are there (Aburi records), about two weeks ago I saw the records. The transcripts are available. We talked about the Nigerian situation and certainly at the end, everybody said Oh you tell them this you tell them that. The fact was that, our case (BIAFRA) was so clear that I actually believed at the end of Aburi that the problem was not Gowon. There were some Ambassadors in Lagos who were pressing for something else.

We understood each other. We agreed on everything. The drafting of the Aburi-Accord was done by my Chief Secretary, another two Secretaries from Nigeria side. They drafted it, we looked at it and we agreed.

General Ankrah (Ghana President) read all the document, asked us at the end if we wanted to amend anything? We said No. At the end of all that, the position was so good.

Ankrah drove Jack (Gowon) and myself to the airport. Jack was sitting on his Left side and I was sitting on his right, he was at the middle. In the course of that journey, General Ankrah shook his head and said "Thank you, thank you, if only we can go on like this everything will be alright." Suddenly, I took up Gowon's hand and placed it on Ankrah's lap brought out my hand and put it on top.

I said General Sir, I want to say something. I asked him to put his hand on top of the two hands. And I said, General I want to assure you that I am totally satisfied with everything we said. I will even go further to say something I did not say at the conference and that is, THAT ONCE WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED EVERYTHING WE HAVE SAID, I WILL ASK YOU FOR ONE FAVOR AND THAT FAVOR IS, TO BE THE ONE TO PROPOSE JACK GOWON AS THE HEAD OF STATE OF NIGERIA" ~ Gen Dim Ojukwu.

Have you heard it before that Ojukwu and Gowon had no problem. They drank champagne together but upon their return to Nigeria, white Ambassadors in Lagos said No and that is Britain. Why?

They didn't want Biafra to have an independent economic system. They said, we don't want it so that the Eastern region don't grow their economy. They wanted to destroy the Economy of the East under Doc Mike Okpara who had the fastest growing Economy in the whole world. Dr Mike Okpara of the Eastern Government, the East were manufacturing everything. Britain could not stand it. Britain knew that Restructuring will allow people to grow.

The ingenuity of BIAFRA will come, the intelligence of an Igbo man will rise up. So, the best they could do is to bring darkness, Janjaweedism.

Has ICC called up our case? The answer is No, even with the killing of our people. They know that BIAFRA is the light of Africa and any day it stands, Africa will stand. So, what they have done is to go to the source and switch off the light. They took away the fuse and what is the fuse that Britain took away? It's called FREEDOM.

You don't Know what I have seen, you don't know how far we have gone or why we do things the way we do. You are confused and if you are, you should ask questions. You don't know the number of enemies you have. No, you don't have no clue. Now you understand who stopped the Restructuring in 1966 after Ojukwu and Gowon agreed to Restructure in Aburi.

Excerpts from The Radio Broadcast by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu 30:08:20

Source: The Biafra Telegraph

Published by:

Chibuike John Nebeokike

Biafra Heroes Day: We Remember

May 31 2020 | Umuchineke Writers

All over the world, the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) led by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the director of Radio Biafra and TV; remember our fallen heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price for us. Every 30th May we remember our fallen heroes and heroines. They were slaughtered in their millions unjustly by the government of Harold Wilson and the government of General Gowon.

Millions of Biafran children were starved to death with the advice of Awolowo to Gowon. Chief Awolowo was the sage whose idea ended the Nigerian civil war. He advised the Gowon Cabinet to block all food supplies to Biafra so as to end the war quickly and according to him, “starvation is a legitimate instrument of war.” This led to the starvation of over one million Biafran children.

Many Biafran children suffered disease in Biafra we learnt that the killer malnutrition condition kwashiorkor has been renamed Harold Wilson syndrome. Kwashiorkor was the order the day, we remember these great children. Their memories will always be fresh in us. Those that was murdered in their market places, worship centres, schools, and many sectors.

As long as man walk pass this Earth, we must continue to remember your memories. You died for my freedom, you died so that we will live, you died a painful death. Tears rolls from my eyes, one thing I must assure you my fallen heroes and heroines that we must restore your pride back. We must restore the lost glory. We promise no retreat no surrender. Until what you died for is restored.

You have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We live for the legacy. Onitsha Massacre, Igweocha Massacre, Ahaba massacre, Aba National High School massacre, etc. We will always remember. Biafra must be restored. Until then, may your souls never rest in peace, continue fighting alongside with us until freedom is achieved.

Finally, those that call for your Extermination, may they never experience peace in their lives. Continue to torment them till they do the needful. Fight on great heroes and heroines. Biafra must be restored and we will always remember. All hail Biafra the children of light.

In memories of our fallen heroes and heroines. We will always remember.

Source: The Biafra Telegraph

Published by:

Chibuike John Nebeokike

30TH MAY 2020 IS AT THE CORNER – A MOMENT OF SOBER REFLECTION

May 28 2020 | Umuchineke Writers

A moment of sober reflection of our past heroes and heroines. With few days to go as it has become a tradition for Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) to remembers her fallen heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price with their precious lives.

We remember our fathers, mothers, siblings who were massacred in millions by the murderous agents of the British government led by Harold Wilson, Nigeria government led by General Yakubu Gowon and her foreign aliens. Their memories are ever fresh in our hearts and we will never fail to always remember them.

As the Jews remember the holocaust and the genocide against her people, we the Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) remember about 6.2 million Biafran massacred unjustly.  Come 30th May 2020 which is few days from now; every Biafran, friends of Biafrans, lovers of freedom and even enemies of Biafra must SIT-AT-HOME to remember this heroes and heroines who died so we shall live. We must reflect on their pains, the starvation and the Harold Wilson syndrome.

We are using this medium to urge Biafrans in Biafraland to Sit-At-Home in honour of our fallen heroes and heroines. During this Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, we must reflect on the souls that was lost in between 1967-1970 Genocidal Civil War and till date. We must remember them because they deserve it.

Let the campaign continue, Biafra freedom is inevitable and we will stop at nothing until we restore the ancient kingdom of Biafra upon the surface of the earth. Remember come 30th May 2020, is SIT-AT-HOME, tell your neighbours, mothers, fathers, sisters, brother’s and even children that come 30th May 2020, everyone must SIT-AT-HOME and pray for our heroes and heroines. All Hail Biafra the children of the light.

Source: The Biafra Telegraph

Published by:

Chibuike Nebeokike

Spilt in Identity: Anioma v Igbo

 

May 02 2020 | Umuchineke Writers

Last year I took my friend and partner, Tunde Leye to my homestead. In going to that area, we did not cross the Niger River (Oshimmiri in my native dialect) the way most people cross it these days. Rather, we went the old way. We took a boat from Cable Point (Ikpele Nmili) in Asaba, and 12 minutes later, we were sharing a beer with some of my acquaintances at Onicha Marine. You see, for those who know the history, Asaba and Onitsha, prior to the building of the bridge, both communities were quite closeknit, something we’ll discuss later on today.

Tunde preparing to cross the Niger River at Cable Point, Asaba.

The third point in the dictionary definition of a mongrel is “any cross between different things, especially if inharmonious or indiscriminate.”

This is the classic definition of the Igbo people, something I wrote about six years ago. The Igbo people came from different parts of what is today’s Nigeria, and settled in the area that they now call home. This, centuries worth of migration, mixing and consolidation, was anything but harmonious or planned. However, further research has shown me that some of what I wrote then was incomplete, but I will refrain from saying “wrong”, because I am unfit to untie Elizabeth Isichei’s shoelaces, and it was from her 1976 work, A History of the Igbo People, that I drew heavily for that piece.

As an aside, I think it’s time for me to do my first social media appeal. Is anyone willing to finance me to go and sit with her in New Zealand once this pandemic is over? She lives there now, and she is such a repository of Igbo history. She was born in 1939 which means that at 81, the window for a comprehensive debrief of the stuff which didn’t make any of her three books that focused on the Igbo people is closing…

Let me go back to topic.

In the last few days there has been a lot of argument on Twitter about whether the Igbo speaking people of Delta State in Nigeria are Igbo, or something called Anioma. Some people from this area have pointed out that they have been victims of taunts by some Igbos from the East of the Niger, who have themselves said that Delta Igbos are not Igbo.

Both sides of this argument are right, but one tweet I saw was an outright lie. There is no one from the East who will call a native Anioma person “Onye ofe mmanå. That particular slur is reserved for Yoruba people as the thinking behind that stereotype is that the Yoruba people cannot cook, but rather drown their soups in oil and pepper to cover the lack of culinary skills. My pot belly can tell you that that stereotype is way off, but that is another topic for another day…

The words used for the various peoples of the former Bendel are as follows — NdË Ika to describe the Igbo speaking peoples of the Midwest; NdË Idu to describe the Bini people; NdË ohu (a slur) to describe the Esan people (and the history of this is actually linked to Benin); NdË Usobo to describe those in the “proper Delta”, that is the Ijaw, Ijekiri, Isoko and Urhobo.

Now, the problem with most of Nigeria, is that we do not know where we are coming from. Generally, if you do not know where you’re coming from, it’s kinda hard to know where you’re going to.

Too many Igbo people both East and West of the Niger, do not know where they are coming from. Referring back to the piece I highlighted earlier, I pointed out that, “ The Anioma sub-group is divided into two, Enuani and Ukwuani. Enuani and Onitsha people migrated from Igala along with Ishan.” This is incomplete.

In the intervening years, I’ve had discussions with older men in Onitsha, Idumuje-Ogboko, Onicha Ugbo, Atani, Obosi, Issele Azagba and Ibusa, and built a more complete profile. Yes, some Onitsha people indeed came from the Igala area, but most claim their ancestry from around Benin (possibly from what is now called Igbanke), who fled East sometime in the 16th Century to escape the wrath of Oba Esigie. These people, under their leader, Eze Chima, founded a number of towns along the way — Ìnicha Ugbo, Ìnicha ÌlÍna, Issele Uku, Issele Azagba, and then one of their number crossed the great river, and settled at Ìnicha Mmiri, which is today known simply as Ìnicha, or as the British colonists three centuries later transcribed it, Onitsha.

Now, to cross to what became Onitsha, that band of ämå Eze Chima (children of Eze Chima) must have crossed the river at the closest point where the water is calmest. From the area that was called Ikpele Nmili by the natives, but was rechristened Cable Point by the British when they set up their communication channel there soon after decimating the population of Asaba. These ämå Eze Chima were helped too cross by the locals who had themselves settled there two generations earlier under the leadership of Nnebisi, who had himself left his hometown, Nteje in today’s Anambra State. Nteje itself has Igala origins, and I have an appointment with the Eje of Ankpa in today’s Kogi state, to discuss this relationship (note the title of their traditional ruler — Eje, and then relate it to Nteje)…

According to Dennis Osadebey in the book, Building A Nation, Nnebisi was the son of an Nteje woman, Diaba, who had gotten pregnant for an Igala man, Ojobo. Nnebisi grew up in Nteje thinking he was of the kindred, but one day, after a quarrel, he was told that his father was not from there, so he could not take part in land sharing. He thus left Nteje with his followers, and followed a route which brought him to the great river.

If you look at a map of those areas, it is quite easy to trace the route taken by Nnebisi, which must have taken him through Nsugbe, and then along the Anambra River (Ìma Mbala), and then to the point where the Anambra River joins the Niger River. That precise point where the Anambra River joins the Niger River, is coincidentally, the precise point where you can take an eight minute boat ride and land at Cable Point in Asaba.

Nnebisi and his people crossed, landed at Ikpele Nmili and decided to plant their crops there for the year, given that planting season was just starting. A year later, they were pleasantly surprised to find how good their harvest was (of course the area is rich in alluvial soils brought from upstream by the river), so they decided not to move from there. Nnebisi called the place Ani Ahaba (We have settled in this land), and four hundred years later, some white chap hearing the name that the natives called their land, wrote “Asaba” in his map, and not Ahaba.

That man was Carlo Zappa, an Italian priest who was appointed Prefect of the Upper Niger by the Catholic Church to build the faithful in the region. He spent a lot of time converting the natives in both Asaba and Onitsha, and all the way to Ojoto, East of the Niger, and Agbor, West of the Niger. A look through Catholic records during the era of the Ekumeku resistance will show that at the turn of the century, most of the Catholic priests in what is now the Diocese of Issele Uku in Delta State, came from the Onitsha area, as they were all under the same ecclesiastical province. These records are still available.

A look at the roll call of the dead from the Aba Women’s affair of 1929, shows that the wife of the Sanitary headman in the Opobo area, was from Asaba, which kind of tells you the direction in which people went in the decades leading up to the split of Southern Nigeria into East and West in 1954. Up until that point in 1954, many from the Igbo speaking areas just west of the Niger River, found it easier to cross the river to do their business. And why not?

The distance between Asaba and Owerri is just 102km. Asaba to Enugu is 125km, while Asaba to Umuahia is 142km. All of these places are closer to Asaba than Warri, which in modern Nigerian geopolitics is in the same state as Asaba. Warri is 176km from Asaba. The Asaba man, when he arrives in either of Enugu, Owerri or Umuahia, speaks the same language as the people in those places, barring the normal dialectal differences that occur in languages that are spread over large geographical areas. This same Asaba man, would arrive in Warri, and would be at a complete loss as to what the native in Warri is saying…

Referring back to Dennis Osadebe, I’ll recommend that any young Anioma person who wants to learn his history should find Osadebe’s book, Building A Nation, and read it. Osadebe understood where he was coming from, and was unequivocal about it. Thus it was that he joined first the Asaba Union, then by sheer force of will helped to coalese it into the Western Ibo Union, and then by 1939, he was the General Secretary of the Ibo Union. He joined OBN Eluwa on his trip around both Eastern and Western Igboland between 1947 and 1953, a trip which created the Igbo identity that we know today (until 1966) at least.

Osadebe was at the forefront of agitation to remove the Asaba Division from the Benin Province to which it had been joined in 1931 and either rejoin it to the Onitsha Province where it had been prior, or create a province of its own. Of course that agitation fell flat in 1954 once the Southern Region was split into East and West, but being a pragmatic fellow, Osadebe teamed up with his Benin and Delta Division neighbours to campaign for the creation of the Midwest Region, a campaign which succeeded in 1963 with Osadebe becoming premier of the region. Even at that, Osadebe maintained his close relations with his kin from across the river, and thus it was that when war broke out four years later, more than any other, Osadebe’s people, from Asaba, bore the biggest blow that any town in Nigeria faced, the Asaba Massacre of 1967.

This was where things began to take a negative turn for the Midwestern Igbo identity. In 1964, a brilliant and ambitious 30-year old from Asaba joined the public service. Phillip Asiodu, an Oxford graduate who spoke Yoruba as a first languge, rose very fast and by mid-1966 as Nigeria was melting down around everyone, was already a Permanent Secretary in the federal civil service.

Unfortunately, he faced the same mistrust that every Midwest Igbo faced in Nigeria of the time: where did his loyalties lie? With Nigeria, or with the rebels? He chose Nigeria, and as tends to be the case with people who have to prove themselves, showed his loyalty to Nigeria only too well.

Asiodu was the one who adviced Gowon to renege from the Aburi Accord when he pointed out that Ojukwu had outmanouvered Gowon in that meeting in Ghana. The moment Gowon reneged on that deal, war became inevitable. The war had a personal effect on Asiodu as his brother Sidney, a well known prize winning athlete, was killed during the Asaba Massacre in 1967. But Asiodu kept his head down, and remained firmly Nigerian, and non-Igbo. That was the birth of the split in identity.

A people defeated in war have a tendency to bow their heads. Those who can, reject being members of that defeated group. So it is no surprise that those Igbos who could (borderlands) decided that they no longer wanted to be Igbo. Midwest Igbos created a new identity to the extent that the town of Igbo Akiri changed its name to Igbanke, and its most prominent son, Samuel Chiedu Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, who along with Alexander Madiebo narrowly escaped death in the July 1966 coup, dropped “Chiedu” from his name entirely, and emphasised Osaigbovo. To be honest, I cannot hold people responsible for such behaviours. The city of Gdansk in Poland was once called Danzig, and it was in Germany…

Going back to Dennis Osadebe, after the war, some prominent Igbos including Osadebe banded together to try and resurrect the Igbo Progressive Union which had been proscribed by Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966. So they formed the Igbo National Assembly who’s stated goal was to unify Igbos under a common umbrella body. In no time, the INA was banned by the FG, but by 1976, shortly after the murder of Murtala Mohammed, they tried again, and this time, went the route of a socio-cultural organisation. Thus Ohaneze NdË Igbo was born, and one of the original signatories to the Ohaneze charter was Dennis Osadebe. Along with Ben Nwabueze, and a few others whose names I don’t recall.

Osadebe knew that the place of the Midwestern Igbo in Nigeria’s geopolitics would always be with his kin from across the river, and he always acted accordingly. Osadebe was the one who coined the term Anioma, as the entry region of the Midwestern Igbos into Ohaneze. Some of these things are simple to check out, for example, the expression “Anioma” does not appear in any document predating 1975.

The funny thing is that by 1992, even Asiodu who was perhaps most directly responsible for the identity crisis facing his people, had come around, and along with some notable people from Anioma, wrote a letter to the military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida asking him to take Anioma out of Delta state, excise Onitsha and Atani from Anambra state, and create an Anioma state which would have been a part of what is now the South-East geopolitical zone. The signatories to that letter, dated 15 June 1992 where as follows: Nnamdi Azikiwe, Owelle Onicha; Dennis Osadebe, Ojiba Ahaba; Phllip Asiodu, Izoma Ahaba; Anthony Modebe, Ogene Onicha; Ben Nwabueze (from Atani in Anambra state); Chukwuma Ijomah (from Aboh in Delta state); and Ukpabi Asika. BIC Ijomah died just over a month ago, so of all the sages who signed that letter,  Ben Nwabueze and Phillip Asiodu are still with us, and for whatever reason, IBB did not act on the letter.

What is the lesson from Chief Asiodu’s apparent turnaround?

Once your name is Emeka (figurative of course), Nigeria will always happen to you.

That is what people like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala understand.

That is what people like Austin Okocha understand.

That is what great men like Osadebe, Ijomah, Achuzia, and eventually Asiodu, understood.

The truth is that based on our history, the Anioma man never saw the Niger River as a barrier. As a matter of fact, just read Chinua Achebe’s Chike And The River, and you’ll get a sense of how people used to cris-cross the river at that salient point before the bridge was built. The remnants are still there today. Cable Point projects into the river, it is clearly an old market, and Onitsha Marine also projects into the river. That is the original location of the famous Onitsha Market. Has any one from Onitsha ever stopped to ask himself why the Basilica of Holy Trinity was built basically a few metres away from the river at Onitsha Marine? Cross the river to Asaba and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church is in an almost identical position. Both churches were built about the same time, commissioned by the same man, Carlo Zappa.

How else do you explain that the dialect of Igbo spoken in Asaba, and that spoken in Onitsha, are the same language?

In the end, the Anioma man, because Biafra lost a war 50 years ago, may deny his identity all he wants, but it will not change the fact — in the Byzantine politics of Nigeria, the day will come when Nigeria will tell you who you are.

I think that is the one thing Nigeria never fails at.

Once your name is Emeka, or Chike, or Nnamdi, or Uju, or Chukwuma, or Obi, or Ogechukwu, or Ekwi, or Azuka, or Ike, or Nonso, or Ifeanyi, or indeed Cheta, the day will come, when Nigeria will tell you who you are. Don’t be caught flat footed.

For the Igbos from the East, never forget some facts — the most effective Biafran diplomat during the war was Raphael Uwechue, Oguluzeme Ogwashi-Uku. The majority of the weapons that were supplied to Biafra came from France, and it was his efforts. Almost all of the CARITAS flights that saved starving Biafran children, had his fingerprints on them. Plus the fact that Emeka Ojukwu, Ikemba Nnewi got out of Biafra in the end and spent 12 years in exile in a French speaking country, was due to his diplomatic efforts. Raphael Chukwu Uwechue was also President-General of Ohaneze NdË Igbo for four years. NdË Anioma, that was your son.

Also, Igbos from the East, never forget that the successful commander of Biafran forces during the war was Joseph Achuzia, Ikemba Ahaba. From 4 October 1967 to 12 October 1967, he prevented Nigerian forces from successfully crossing the Niger River.

The Nigerians could only establish a bridgehead at Onitsha Marine before they were beaten back by Achuzia. This defeat was one of the things that led to the massacre of his kinsmen in Asaba on 7 October 1967. On 31 March 1968, Achuzia directed Jona Uchendu’s company of about 700 men in what became Biafra’s most spectacular success of the war, the Abagana Ambush. In that event, 700 Biafran men defeated a Nigerian force of 6000 men. Only 100 Nigerian soldiers, including Murtala Mohammed survived. It was after that action that Murtala did not take part in the war again. Achuzia who died two years ago, was also an Anioma son.

Source: Vanguard

Published by:

Chibuike Nebeokike