The Unpleasant Biafran Story
The federal government has continued to hold the self-styled leader of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu in custody by denying him bail. But the case is now sandwiched between fears over national security and Kanu’s fundamental human rights. Should government continue
Picked up some four months ago precisely in October 2015, on conspiracy and terrorism charges that were later dropped, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, is gradually becoming a case study in rights abuse. Although the courts have ruled a few times that he should be released, officials kept pressing new charges just to continue to keep him behind the bars. Fresh six-count charge preferred against him after he was ordered to be released by a Federal High Court, Abuja, include allegations of treasonable felony, maintaining an unlawful society and illegal possession of items, among others. The charges were reportedly filed by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, and signed by the federal Director of Public Prosecution, Mohammed Diri. They alleged a plot by Kanu and some persons now at large to cause crises that might force the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to concede certain parts of Nigeria to a purported Biafra nation. He was also alleged to have been maintaining unlawful society and retaining items belonging to IPOB, among others. The allegations, the charges said, contain offences punishable under sections 41 (C), and 63 of the criminal code act; as well as section 47(2) (a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act. Two other persons jointly accused in the fresh charges are Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi. And with the disposition of the federal government, it does not look like Kanu and co may enjoy freedom anytime soon.
The First Biafra Agitation
No historian, who knows its onions, would ever attempt to capture the story of Nigeria without mentioning the 1967 civil war. It was a war that had its root in Biafra agitation and the impact of that war left a mark of horror on Nigeria’s sociopolitical space ever since. The Nigerian civil war was a war fought to retain the unity of the country. From the onset, no one was deluded to believe that the Nigerian federation, as it is known today, was a homogeneous country. Far from it! It is a country of various people that were conscripted into one entity by the colonial masters, who decided to keep the country one in order to effectively control her resources for economic interests. The Governor-General of Nigeria between 1920 and 1931, Sir Hugh Clifford, once described Nigeria as “A collection of independent native states, separated from one another by great distances, by differences of history and traditions and by ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social and religious barriers.” - quoted from The Nigeria Council Debate, Lagos, 1920. Those obvious differences never went away and when political parties were emerging, they were constituted based on ethnic and tribal sentiments instead of national interests. Therefore, instead of unifying Nigerians against the colonial masters, the people were the victims of the political struggles. After Nigeria attained her independence in October 1960, the next phase of the struggle remained how to consolidate the legacy of political and military dominance of a section of Nigeria over the rest of the federation and it was that melee that led to coup, counter coup and the bloody civil war.
The 1976 Biafra Civil War
Eventually, the Nigerian civil war, better known as the ‘Biafra War’ broke out on July 6, 1967. It was the product of the tense situation that trailed Nigeria since independence in 1960 and it was a situation that has been traced to the geography, history, culture and demography of Nigeria. The civil war could be said to have been triggered by the coup and the counter coup of 1966 that eliminated the trust that was gradually building among leaders of the major ethnic groups, which would have created the platform to hold the country together. As at that time, Nigeria had twelve states from the original four regions in May 1967. The former Eastern Region under Lt. Col. Ojukwu felt that creating states by decree and without proper consultation, was an affront to his people – who were already being molested in some parts of the country and as such, declared the South-east region an independent state of Biafra. Expectedly, the federal government of Nigeria, as it is doing today, considered the move as an illegal attempt by the Igbo people to secede from the country. Efforts were made to amicably settle the crisis but they all proved abortive and when it was obvious that peaceful resolution was not going to work, government had to forcibly restore the region to the country. To the Nigerian side, the Biafrans would be easy to run over and to the Biafrans the war was that of survival and they were ready to fight to the last man. Therefore, By August 1967, the war had been extended to the midwestern region by the Biafrans soldiers, who were moving to reduce the pressure on the northern front and to threaten the Federal Capital, Lagos. It was a war that was characterised by political, diplomatic, psychological and military strategies but in April 1969 - after
Picked up some four months ago precisely in October 2015, on conspiracy and terrorism charges that were later dropped, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, is gradually becoming a case study in rights abuse. Although the courts have ruled a few times that he should be released, officials kept pressing new charges just to continue to keep him behind the bars