• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Tinubu Jets to Brazil After Japan Summit, Eyes Trade, Security Deals

      Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi (MFR), hosted the Executive Chairman of FIRS, Dr. Zacch Adedeji,

      Customs and the “National Single Window” Project

      FG Earmarks N13bn to Boost Power Infrastructure in Lagos, Ogun

      Centre for Crisis Communication, CCC,

      CCC Reviews Keyamo’s Crisis Management in Aviation Disputes

      NITDA Applauds Tech Giants for Advancing Online Safety in Nigeria

  • National
    • PHOTOS: Finally, President Tinubu Confirms Pedro as NTA DG, Announces Three…

      FG, States, LGs Share N2.001trn for July, Says FAAC

      FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws

      ACF

      ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

      Saudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in Kano

    • Government
      • FG, States, LGs Share N2.001trn for July, Says FAAC

        FG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform Laws

        Saudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in Kano

        FG Subsidises Dialysis Cost to N12,000, Says Northwest Not Excluded

        Ibrahim Yahaya Dandakata of Arewa Economic Forum AEF

        Arewa Economic Forum Alleges Targeted Removal of NTA Chief, Calls for…

  • Security
    • CRUSHING BLOW: other Top Boko Haram commanders neutralized in Bita, Wigo

      DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, PPRO Anamabra State Police Command,

      Police Command Moves to Address Protest Concerns in Anambra

      Nigerian Military Refutes Misinterpretation of CDS Self-Defence Comment

      CDS, General Christopher Musa and Katsina lawmakers, led by Senator Abdulazeez Musa Yar’Adua,

      CDS, Katsina Lawmakers Strategize to Tackle Banditry

      CP Jimoh Moshood

      Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis

  • Features
    • The Arrest of Ansaru Kingpins Mahmud Muhammad Usman aka Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri aka Mallam Mamuda

      Ribadu and the fall of Ansaru By Senator Iroegbu

      Fixing the Fault Lines in Nigeria’s Culture of Recognition, By Mukhtar…

      How Desperation Turns Nigerian Job Seekers Into Scam Targets By Tahir…

      Festus Keyamo Aviation Minister

      Rebuilding Trust in Nigeria’s Aviation Through Crisis Communication, By Mukhtar Ya’u…

      President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

      Citizen’s Diary: The message from the South-East to President Tinubu, by…

  • State
    • CRUSHING BLOW: other Top Boko Haram commanders neutralized in Bita, Wigo

      CP Jimoh Moshood

      Lagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with Cannabis

      ACF

      ACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the North

      Nigerian Navy Personnel

      Navy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues…

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      Police Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue…

  • Event
    • President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

      His Death is a National Loss, Tinubu Mourns Emir of Zuru

      Umar Lauya

      Umar Lauya Declares Candidacy for NYCN Presidency, Vows to Unite and…

      The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Department Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin (L), with the CEO of Legacy Sugar Company, Alh. Abubakar Isa Musa (R), during the signing ceremony.

      NSDC, New Operators Seal Landmark Development Agreements, to Produce 400,000MT of…

      Regional Vice President Western and Central Africa at the World Bank, Mr Ousmane Diagana pays a courtesy visit to Baze University

      World Bank Vice President visits Baze University, Commends Educational Standards, Assures…

      NIPR President Ike Neliaku and a recently inducted PR professional from Kano

      PHOTOS: NIPR Inducts 80 New PR Professionals in Kano to its…

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home Features Is Another War for ‘Biafra’ Inevitable?
  • Features

Is Another War for ‘Biafra’ Inevitable?

By
Ikechukwu Amaechi
-
June 4, 2021

Is Another War for ‘Biafra’ Inevitable?
By Ikechukwu Amaechi

As Thomas Paine, the English-born American philosopher, once wrote, there are times that try men’s souls. Nigeria is in the throes of such debilitating times, more so for Ndigbo.

It has never been this bad since the end of the civil war in January 1970. What is needed to pull the country back from the brink is a leader with empathy, a leader who inspires and uplifts. Unfortunately, President Muhammadu Buhari does not fit that mould.

After reading his comment on the crisis in the Southeast on Tuesday, I simply came to the inexorable conclusion that he does not get it. Or worse, he is an inveterate sadist.

Buhari is not a social media aficionado. Granted, he has a verified Twitter handle – @MBuhari – but he is not a Donald Trump, the former U.S. President. Buhari rarely tweets. But when he does, it underscores the importance he attaches to an issue. And he did so on Tuesday.

“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” he tweeted after a meeting with the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

So offended was Twitter that it deleted the tweet. What a shame. Our President has joined the infamous club of world leaders in Twitter’s Hall of Infamy, sanctioned for conducts that fan genocidal embers.

Buhari’s tweet was a triumphal act which he relishes anytime he is dealing with Ndigbo. He just reminded restive Igbo youths that he conquered their fathers in a civil war and is prepared to crush them once again if they dare him. But he is addressing the wrong crowd. Igbo youths under the age of 50 don’t count themselves as part of the crowd Buhari and his ilk conquered in a war half a century ago.  They are irrepressible.

Of course, the president is entitled to his fantasy, but he misses the point. Ordinarily, his age should afford him the ample opportunity to introspect. If Buhari was someone given to solipsism, he should be asking himself why Nigeria loses its soul anytime he is in power. Blaming others for his self-inflicted leadership woes is a sign of weakness.

Reacting to the president’s tweet, @DrOlufunmilayo said: “When Buhari speaks to bandits, he begs them. He appeals to them. But when Buhari speaks to citizens, he threatens us. He uses language that can be used to justify harm, violence and massacre against the same people he swore to protect.”

@UNCLE_AJALA said: “Civil war that killed plus or minus 3m Igbos 51yrs ago, and still hurting so many people is what President Buhari is using to threaten people in 2021, while Boko Haram members are getting rehabilitated … it’s so unbelievable.”

This is the crux of the matter. Reminding Igbo youths how over 3 million of their folks were slaughtered just a day after the remembrance of the holocaust smacks of lack of emotional intelligence. It is callous. 

Why does Buhari loathe Ndigbo so much? His supporters accuse the Igbo of hating him. So, whatever crime he is committing against them is a well-deserved comeuppance. Those who propagate this harebrained notion hinge their ludicrous argument on the fact that Ndigbo have consistently rejected him at the polls even when he picked two of their sons – Dr Chuba Okadigbo and Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke – as running mates in the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections.

While it is true that Ndigbo are never enamoured of Buhari’s leadership qualities and, therefore, serially rejected him at the polls – and they have been vindicated by his woeful performance – it doesn’t translate to hatred.

After all, one of the most revered Igbo leaders, Dim Chukwuemaka Odumegwu Ojukwu, contested both elections on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and his party also lost in the Southeast just as Buhari’s All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) did. Does that mean Ndigbo hated Ojukwu?

Some others say Ndigbo hate Northerners. Some who want to be more mischievous narrow it to hatred for the Fulani. But they forget that Buhari is not the first Nigerian president of Fulani extraction.

In 1979, just nine years after the civil war, Shehu Shagari, scion of the Sokoto Caliphate, was elected president with Dr. Alex Ekwueme as his deputy. In that government, Ume-Ezeoke was Speaker of the House of Representatives and Dr. Joseph Wayas, was Senate President. Ndigbo worked well with Shagari. The same applies to President Umaru Yard’Adua, also a Fulani.

Read Also:

  • CRUSHING BLOW: other Top Boko Haram commanders neutralized in Bita, Wigo
  • Police Command Moves to Address Protest Concerns in Anambra
  • PHOTOS: Finally, President Tinubu Confirms Pedro as NTA DG, Announces Three Female Executive Directors

Those who accuse Ndigbo of hating the North are deliberately mischievous. I am writing this piece from my hotel room in Kano where I attended the 2021 biennial convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors. I can say without equivocation that there are more Igbo entrepreneurs in Kano than the indigenous population. And Kano is not an exception. Ndigbo are in all the nooks and crannies of northern Nigeria, doing their legitimate businesses, contributing to the growth of the local economy. They build homes, not just houses, in their communities of residence. They pay their taxes and other development levies. Some are the reason why there is electricity in their adopted communities. It is on record that some Igbo people in the north have singlehandedly constructed roads in the communities where they live. These are not signposts of hatred.

So, Buhari should introspect. Rather than pointing fingers of blame at imaginary enemies, he should purge himself of animosity. It is abhorrent for a president to deploy state resources in inciting violence against an ethnic group. That gambit worked in 1966. It will fail in 2021.

Buhari’s recourse to chest-thumping, always waving the civil war flag to remind Ndigbo that he conquered them is ridiculous. The president is not the only Nigerian military officer who fought the war. He was only a Lieutenant then and there is no record of his outstanding exploits in that war of attrition. So, why is he behaving as if he single-handedly extinguished the Biafran flame?

As I noted recently, Ndigbo are not Nigeria’s problem. Declaring war against them at the drop of a hat is unconscionable. Today, soldiers have been deployed to the Southeast with a clear presidential mandate to kill. And what a great job they are doing. Innocent youths are mowed down on the streets. Young men are yanked off the embrace of their weeping mothers and taken away. Most of them are murdered in cold blood by what has become an army of occupation.

There is no accountability. Thousands have disappeared as soldiers carrying out the explicit orders of their Commander-in-Chief storm students’ hostels and churches to whisk away youths in the name of hunting down Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) activists.

Alaigbo is in turmoil. Sadly, this war is not inevitable. All that was needed is a leader with character, sobriety and an acute sense of justice. Unfortunately, Buhari is not such a leader. But genocidal leaders will always pay a steep price.

In the Southeast, we have a wimpy political class. The governors are not only mortally afraid of speaking truth to power but also willing to throw their own people under the bus if only to appease an unappeasable emperor.

Since nature abhors a vacuum, the yawning leadership void has been filled by an irascible non-state actor, Nnamdi Kanu, who has effectively stepped up to the plate and impressionable Igbo youths in search of a hero have found in him the superman they have been looking for.

As I noted recently, there is no Igbo leader today that has as much hold on Igbo youths as Kanu. Such enormous power should come with great responsibility. That seems not to be the case. Biafra or no Biafra, Ndigbo need to be alive. Brainwashing Igbo youths to confront soldiers that have no respect for any rules of engagement is suicidal.

Today, some Igbo are as afraid of Kanu as they are of Buhari. This my way or the highway philosophy of IPOB detracts from the struggle. Threats against those who do not necessarily disagree with the struggle but have a different idea of how things can be done without bloodshed smacks of a budding autocracy. Blood is sacred in Igboland and any strategy that will orchestrate the wanton spilling of precious Igbo blood should be reevaluated.

Mass self-immolation, which is what I am seeing in this “it is either Biafra or war” battle cry of IPOB is not a sign of bravery. It is a red flag of a society on the path of self-destruction.

You don’t wage a war against a bull in a China shop, because even if you win, you risk losing all. You deploy tact and wisdom in guiding the bull out of the shop. That is not cowardice. Ndigbo who are calling for restraint are neither fraidy-cats nor quislings.

Calling Nnamdi Kanu out if he errs is not an act of betrayal and, therefore, does not deserve a fatwa. With the way things are panning out, particularly the stratification of Alaigbo along the lines of those who are for and against Kanu, we risk Igbo on Igbo violence. It is a slippery slope.

Ndigbo don’t need to fight another war even for the sake of a territorial Biafra. Buhari is a rampaging bull who has no qualms replicating the tragedy of the late 1960s. Playing into his hands is foolhardy. This war is not inevitable.

Ikechukwu Amaechi is award-winning Nigerian Writer

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Biafra
  • Muhammadu Buhari
  • Ndigbo
  • Nnamdi Kanu
  • War
Previous articleCorps Members are like Soldiers, they are not Mobilised for War- NYSC
Next articleBalogun Alanamu of Ilorin, Akanbi Jos is Dead
Ikechukwu Amaechi
Ikechukwu Amaechi
http://www.PRNigeria.com

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

The Arrest of Ansaru Kingpins Mahmud Muhammad Usman aka Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud al-Nigeri aka Mallam Mamuda

Ribadu and the fall of Ansaru By Senator Iroegbu

Fixing the Fault Lines in Nigeria’s Culture of Recognition, By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

How Desperation Turns Nigerian Job Seekers Into Scam Targets By Tahir Ahmad

Festus Keyamo Aviation Minister

Rebuilding Trust in Nigeria’s Aviation Through Crisis Communication, By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Citizen’s Diary: The message from the South-East to President Tinubu, by Fredrick Nwabufo

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida IBB

IBB: The Golden Touch at 84 – By Zubair Abdurra’uf Idris

Ribadu’s Quiet Revolution By Jude Obioha

INEC

Looming Peril Ahead of 2027: Why Nigeria Must Act Now, By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

Police Officer

Security Forces Eliminate 2 Bandits in Bauchi as Police Inspector, Civilian Shot Dead in Benue

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and CG Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

That Presidential Endorsement of the Customs Boss

Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago,

Badeggi FM and the High Cost of Governor Bago’s Overreach

Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari

Let Bashir Ojulari Drive NNPC Reforms By Abdullahi Mohammed

Recent Posts

  • CRUSHING BLOW: other Top Boko Haram commanders neutralized in Bita, Wigo
  • Police Command Moves to Address Protest Concerns in Anambra
  • PHOTOS: Finally, President Tinubu Confirms Pedro as NTA DG, Announces Three Female Executive Directors
  • Nigerian Military Refutes Misinterpretation of CDS Self-Defence Comment
  • CDS, Katsina Lawmakers Strategize to Tackle Banditry
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
CRUSHING BLOW: other Top Boko Haram commanders neutralized in Bita, WigoPolice Command Moves to Address Protest Concerns in AnambraPHOTOS: Finally, President Tinubu Confirms Pedro as NTA DG, Announces Three Female Executive DirectorsNigerian Military Refutes Misinterpretation of CDS Self-Defence CommentCDS, Katsina Lawmakers Strategize to Tackle BanditryFG, States, LGs Share N2.001trn for July, Says FAACLagos Police Intercept Vehicle Loaded with CannabisFG Unveils Personal Income Tax Calculator Under New Reform LawsACF Decries Worsening Insecurity in the NorthNavy Hands Over Seized Smuggled Rice, Cannabis to Customs, NDLEA, Rescues Trafficking VictimsPolice Creates 2 New Area Commands, Upgrades 5 Divisions in Benue to Boost SecurityAnambra Police Nab Suspected Vandals, Recover Transformer Parts, High-Tension CablesTinubu Jets to Brazil After Japan Summit, Eyes Trade, Security DealsTroops Eliminate 2 Top ISWAP Commanders, Others in BornoSaudi Arabia Conducts Life-Saving Cardiac Surgeries in Kano
X whatsapp