OpEd: What Do These Biafrans Really Want?

By Pomonua

I asked this question because the noise from their agitation is really taking a nuisance pitch and dimension. Let us set the records straight, the British continues to have an interest in the affairs of Nigeria and its governance. The country is a major source of earnings for them. When they departed upon independence, they entrusted its affairs in the hands of those they could trust; those who will allow them unfettered access to those things that fueled their economy. That is how the Fulani came to be in power. Biafra knows that Britain is the unseen hand working behind the scene to frustrate its actualization, even though the face of the Fulani is what you see. If in doubt, watch this video of the confession by Harold Smith, one of the principal participant during that episode.

Given an opportunity, we know more than 80% of Ibos will vote a ‘YES’ in a fairly conducted Biafran Referendum. That is why we have held back such opportunity. Our job is made easier by the discordant tunes within your groups. We see the internecine “wars” within your ‘factions’ – MASSOBB versus IPOB; IPOB versus LNC/MNN; OHANEZE versus IPOB. Please keep it going.

Nnamdi Kanu and Tony Nnadi are individually set in their ways. We hear that despite the best efforts of your elders, even with the intervention of “Nzuko Umunna”, they still could not get them to agree. We wish that your rancorous “mumblings” does not abate, to enable us coast-on to 2023. By then, we should have successfully put in place the structures that solidifies the position of the North within the Nigerian State. We would have totally revamped all infrastructure in the north. That has been our primary focus since inception in 2015. By 2023, we should have amassed sufficient resources, readiness for a restructured Nigeria or a Post-Nigeria Arewa Nation. As of today, we have fully entrenched our foothold in all the key agencies of government. We have super-imposed our ‘men’ in large enough numbers in core-positions. It would take, literally ‘forever’ to undo what we have put in place.

Our traditional ally, Oduduwa Nation has began to turn against us, no thanks to your propaganda machine. These were very pliant people, never used to question our authority. They accepted whatever we gave to them as their share of the cake. They were not people to foment trouble, knowing as it were, that we could really ruffle feathers. Through our controls at the centre and constitutional manoeuvre, we stymied their industrial development. We promulgated economic and fiscal policies to render comatose all manufacturing concerns within their territory. Over the years, we succeeded in stagnating their educational sector, while hoping we could bridge the gap between them and us. You have awaken their erstwhile ‘docile consciousness’. Worse still, you have emboldened them. Their visible trepidation of our ‘invincibility’ has suddenly evaporated. These people really used to look to us with awe and temerity! After their leadership witnessed the treatment we meted out to Aguiyi Ironsi, their most senior Officer in the military, Brigadier Ogundipe did not dare wait to mount the podium even when he should naturally replace Ironsi. That was how potent our message to them was.

Even when General Murtala died and we called his then deputy, General Obasanjo to take over; he refused, fearing for his life. We assured him of his safety, (if he does as he was told). It is not enough that you want Biafra, you are also planning to set Oduduwa free, even when they did not indicate they wanted out of the union. Your overzealousness has created all these bunch of agitators yearning for an Oduduwa Republic: Citizen AY, Maiyegun General, Frank Bello and Heritage Multimedia Television. We even hear they are planning an Oduduwa Radio Station. Do you realize that once they succeed in launching an Oduduwa Radio, it becomes a formidable instrument of awakening the sensibility of the entire Yoruba Race? We nurtured an opaque enough system that they did not even notice the “discordant” coloration in our political appointments. They accepted all, with equanimity. They conceded that God’s time is the best and were mollified in the fact that they were, at least better served in key positioning than the Ibos. No thanks to your propagandist broadcasting, they have realized that they were actually cheated out of key appointments. They now reason and ask why, despite having the seaports in Lagos, the Comptroller General of Customs has always been Hausa/Fulani. They have started questioning why, in spite of the preponderance of their tribe in accounting, the Accountant General of the country is Hausa/Fulani. You have now allowed them to see that despite the high number of cerebral lawyers in their land, we appointment less qualified individuals from amongst our own as Chief Justice, plus Minister of Justice/Attorney General. They have now started to think they will do much better as a Sovereign Oduduwa Nation without the Fulani. We succeeded in keeping them down and quite all these 50+ years with threats of another civil war. Where that threat failed, we tell them we will open up Port Harcourt, Warri or Calabar ports to rival their acclaimed Lagos (Tin Can/Apapa) Ports. We did not even have to mention the risk of their losing the 2023 presidential slot! Now, you have finally made them realize that we were bluffing all the while. You have finally exposed to them that Yoruba and Middle Belt Officers actually fought the Biafran War for us, that we only took the credit for it.

We had perfected the art of managing these people. Did you not see how we managed them during the MKO Abiola episode? We only need to identify the one among them that is a rallying point. We humiliate that one person to humble him. Usually, that sends a strong enough message of our “No nonsense’ to all of his followers and that is the end of their trouble. If their noise becomes ‘too loud’ we look around, take one of them to replace the one that has been humiliated. Think back at Awolowo & Akintola, MKO Abiola & Shonekan. It is for the same reason we were able to ridicule Gen Oladipo Diya and Chief Olu Falaye. As for General Olusegun Obasanjo, we reached a firm agreement with him, that he would protect and defend our interest before he was installed, in both 1976 and 1999. Yoruba has never been our problem. You, the Biafrans have always been our headache. It was for the same reason that Ebitu Ukiwe constituted a nuisance value to Ibrahim Babangida, which made IBB get rid of him.

As for the Middle Belt, we only need to decimate a few of them and others will fall in line. What did it take for that stubborn Governor Ortom of Benue State to capitulate, after we ravaged so many of the villages within his domain? You ask yourself that question!! How about the Berom people in the Plateau?
Still on the Middle Belt, how are you even going to convince an Ilorin man who always believed he is Fulani to go against the dictates of the Sokoto Caliphate? When we appointed Professor Ibrahim Gambari as a replacement Chief of Staff, we effectively cemented Kwara State to the North, in case you still fail to understand our clandestine political intrigues.

It is no thanks to you that all the ethnic groups who, over the years, without scrutiny, assumed themselves to be northerners are now beginning to re-examine and question their “notherness”. The Nupes, Igalas, Afemai, Idoma, Tiv, Ebira, the Junkuns, Biroms, even Ilorin, whom Afonja, the Oyo War General helped us to conquer, have started to re-examine their affinity to the Yoruba race, all because of your nonsense “TWO-WRAPPER’ logic.

Since you have chosen to awaken their psyche, and with the table turning against us, we can only now hope to manage them through their religious divide. The christian/muslim split within them is the one weapon of division that we may have to rely on and insha-allau, we hope our game therein is not laid bare.

You see, the contemplation of any form of association, much less collaboration between Biafra and Oduduwa has been our worst nightmare. Such collaboration would not only be disastrous, it would actually be suicidal for Arewa Nation. It would amount to setting ourselves up for immediate catastrophic failure. It may even potentially, make us a laughing stock in the comity of West Africa Nations, if not beyond. It is for this reason that we continue to do anything and everything possible to thwart any “confluence of common interest” between Afenifere and Ohaneze or between IPOB and Yoruba World Congress (YWC). We would use every resources and machineries available to us at the Centre to frustrate such agreements. We are comforted however, because we know that there are no shortage of greedy and avaricious individuals within your ranks. It is not difficult to carefully identify and isolate such elements to use for our purpose. As you well know, for every Hope Uzodinma, there is an Ibikunle Amosun. For every Chris Ngige, there is a Bola Tinubu and for every Joe Igbokwe, there is an Aregbesola. There are no shortage of dishonorable men within each of your two Nations, those who are willing and ready to sell off their kinsmen for a “pot of porridge”. They all have their prices and remember; we have a very deep pockets.

In truth, our plan was, and is still, to create enormous poverty in the entire South. Poverty of such scale as would frustrate and silence all voices of opposition and ultimately send them on self-imposed exile. That way, our move for total domination is unobstructed. Why else did you think we were signing all those loan agreements with absolute nothing on ground to show? Do you think we really cared about developments! Did you think we were borrowing to make the life of people in the South better? Some of you accuse us of emptying the National Treasury. Yes, we are actually taking out all we can take. We are systematically hedging against the future, in readiness of what may become the faith of what you call “the British Contraption called Nigeria”.

Based on all the dramatizing going on with Biafra and Oduduwa agitators, it would be foolhardy not to anticipate that a Restructured Nigeria, infact, a totally disintegrated entity is not imminent. Consequently, we have ramped up efforts to put infrastructural facilities in Arewa Nation in good shape. It was for the same reason that, we urged the World Bank Representatives to focus all their development projects in the North. It is for the same reason that we are running the gas pipeline from the Niger Delta, through Ajaokuta, Kaduna and Kano. As you could see, we never denied giving that directive nor embarking on that project. It was for same reason we directed Sadiya Umar Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, to focus the Covid19 Palliative handout in the north. Never mind her denials; she had a clear mandate. Historically, what we would do in the face of such high tempo separatist movements would be to call “our boys” in the army to take over the rein of governance. By so doing, we ensure that power remains in the north since the army is essentially northern. With the way things are going and given the extensive and elaborate exit planning we ourselves have been making, there might not even be a reason to exercise that option.

It is not for nothing that we are selling Crude and carefully warehousing the proceeds. It is not for nothing that we are making all these recoveries of stolen monies and in addition, obtaining all these loans!!

And just so you know, we are deliberately and systematically crumbling your infrastructure that gives the South that sense of superiority over the North. We have effectively crippled your Stock Market. We have enacted and implemented policies that inhibit the performance of your industrial base and the Southern economy as a whole. We have the wherewithal to render you rudderless. Do not for once forget that we are in charge of everything, and I mean “EVERYTHING” – The Customs, Immigrations, Central Bank, Armed Forces, Ministry of Finance, The Senate, The House of Rep, All land, sea and Air border points, Sources of Money Supply (National Security Printing & Minting Corporations- NSPMC), National Security, All Para-Military… you name it; Our Men are in charge – We Hold The Four Aces. We only need a few Fiscal and Monetary Policies to crash you. Since we closed your borders in the South, what did you do about it? Probably grumble and that is all. Do you remember what happened to Diamond Bank? How about Oceanic and Intercontinental? You have a few more standing i.e. Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank… we can send ‘Undertakers’ after these ones as well. Do not dare us! Moreover, do not count on Godwin Emefiele at the CBN, just because you assume he is Ibo. He is totally bought over and is on our side now. He himself knows not to derail. And your people in the Public Sector?; that would be a slam-dunk. Our men hold all the key positions and they have only one assignment: keep their eyes open to frustrate any Biafran interest. Let me see how you survive that.

We know that you are ahead of us in all ramifications. That is why your mere mention of Biafra sends jitters down our spines. We see all your exploits. We noticed your inventions during the war of 1967. We have seen how you have been able to pull yourselves up by the bootstraps even when we only availed you 20-pounds after your war defeat.

Thereafter and in barely 50 years, you created successful stories in the likes of Innoson Motors, Stella Okoli of Emzor, Ohuanbunwa’s Neimeth, Nduka Obaigbena in Thisday, Cosmas Maduka’s Coscharis etc. You have created industrial hubs in Aba, Nnewi, Abriba and Onitsha…all of which from the ashes of your defeat. In 1970, we thought you had been crushed, body, soul and spirit, leaving you in penury. Yet you emerged with all these Professors of Astro-physics, Aeronautics, Engineering, Social sciences, Mathematics and Medicine. From the ashes of defeat, you have produced world acclaimed writers like Chimamanda Adichie and renowned scientific brainpowers like Philip Emeagwali.

In comparison, what do we have? How many Fulani professors of Mathematics, Engineering, Aeronautics and Medicine do you see around? We admit – we are comparatively, intellectual lightweights and do not possess your level of cerebral faculty. That is why we stick to schools in the North; schools that will afford us some latitude and accommodate our deficiencies. How would you imagine we could cope with all those your energetic and competitive students at OAU, UNILAG, UI, UNN and UNIBEN? You keep whining that we are allowed to enter Unity Schools with scores as low as 10 while requiring a child from Anambra, Imo, Ogun and Delta to score over 100! After implementing the “Federal Character” recommendation for decades, are we anywhere close to bridging the educational gap between the North and South? Imagine if that option was not available!

Okay, maybe we have a Dangote, who we elevated through fiscal policies purposely crafted in his favor. Mind you, the constitution was written by Fulani for the benefit of Fulani and most importantly, to the detriment of Biafrans, Oduduwa and other minorities. We make no pretences nor apology for this. We have embedded within the Constitution provisions that allow us to give privileges to our people. Such loopholes have also enabled us to create a few millionaires trading in Forex. What Manufacturing or Industrial base do we have? How much Capital Market prowess do we have? Biafra and Oduduwa have their citizens all over the world, remitting huge chunks of cash inflows to their two regions. Do we have that? NO. What is a Fulani man or woman going to do in foreign lands where he would be matched-up against other skilled professionals from around the world, including China, India and Russia and then be judged based on their competence and productivity? How can a Fulani man stand up to such scrutiny of accountability and organisational value added?

The one and only other thing that we had to hold on to; political leadership, you are asking us to relinquish. As earlier stated, we foresee a possibility of a Restructured Nigeria or perhaps, even a total geographical disintegration and formation of new alignments. It is no use pretending this tenuous string will not snap anytime soon. There are lots of bad bloods and pent-up anger on all sides. “Better a declared enemy than a doubtful ally”.

In the very likely event, the breakup is inevitable, (as it is increasingly looking); it must be done on our own terms. It must be within a timeframe that affords us a smooth, non-turbulent landing. While we may not have a choice but to accept the tough reality that the impending divorce portends, it would be in the overall best interest of Biafrans and Oduduwas, in anticipation, to commence a gradual downsizing of their assets in the Arewa Land. Otherwise, our people are waiting in the wings to take possession. I do not think the United Nations Charter on the rights of a people for self-determination addresses the topic of recovery of “abandon properties”. Do not say you were not warned.

Pomonua is a public affairs analyst and commentator. He can be reached at pomonua@yahoo.com