Independent journalist, former editor-in-chief, The Biafra Times.
As an independent journalist, I’ve taken the pain and time to converse with most of the pro-Biafra independence movement leaders, beginning from MASSOB, BNYL, MOBIN, BRM, IPM(led by Asari-Dokubo), and most recently, the faraway, APLM led by Dr. Ebenezer Akwanga, an Ambazonian activist seeking for the independence of Southern Cameroons. In addition to that, I’ve also spoken to some leaders of Igbo groups – ADF, ICM, Ohanaeze, Nzuko Umunna, etc.
Within these shortest periods, I have held talks with them, some of them have granted me interviews which has been published and at the end of all the conversations with them, they tend to be pointing towards One Direction – ‘unity, support, and cooperation’ of all pro-Biafra groups in order to achieve the freedom we all yearn for. Almost all of these pro-Biafra groups, except one, has accepted to forge a common front, and join hands together with other groups who have identified themselves as Biafrans and are pursuing the same agenda for the overall interest of the Biafra populace. Unity of purpose is now a song on the lips of many leaders in the Biafra struggle and outside the struggle.
When I publish some of these interviews to enlighten our people, some attack me and say “Oh! you’re now working with this group, you’re now working with Iroanya, you’re now working with Asari, you’re now working with Princewill, you’re now working with Akwanga et al.” Most times, they accuse me to the point they bring themselves into serious confusion. But all these things doesn’t bother me much because I know what I’m trying to achieve. I’m not doing it to promote one group over another or make one leader shine over another or enhance my skill. I’m not also doing it because it enlarges my bank account in anyway. The truth is: I don’t work for any of them but I’m a friend to all of them because I see them as one people working towards one goal in different directions. To bring our people to the gloomy and scorching reality, I must present the truth of whatever they say. Time has passed when lies, deceits and propaganda is the order of the day in the Biafra struggle. We can’t afford to continue to live in surrealism; in the realm of impossibilities, concocting and spreading fake and irrelevant news all over the internet. My one purpose is to enlighten our people and shake them out from their slumber.
As an independent journalist, if I don’t engage these people and hear what each of them have to say(because all of them are stakeholders in the Biafran struggle), then I’ve not really began doing my work as a Biafran journalist. Therefore, my door will continue to be open to receive and hear whatever any one of them has to say to our people.
I always thank and continue to appreciate those who have supported me all these while. I appreciate those who read my publications to get enlightened, those who bring out their time to read, digest and contribute constructively towards the message any of the leaders are trying to convey, not those whose stock-in-trade is just to read the headlines this minute and jump into the comment section the next minute to abuse and hurl insults to the message conveyed by the leaders. You’ve been insulting them all these while but yet it hasn’t achieved anything towards our growth and upliftment as a people. Your insults has not done any good to any of us; we’re still at crossroads because insults doesn’t solve any problem. In fact, I couldn’t believe it when yesterday, one of the writers was telling me in a certain post to join hands to castigate and insult a fellow Biafran against another Biafran because he is against their ‘leader’ and I laughed. Is that what we came here to do? Just to insult people who reasons or makes their opinion different from yours or that of your leader? I told him that I didn’t join the struggle to begin to insult people. That’s not my kind of journalism. I have a purpose to fulfil and that is to open the eyes of our people to embrace unity and reality via journalism.
On the other hand, I’m also grateful that so far, the message has been penetrating. My publisher told me that my “controversial reports” always generate traffic from viewers/readers on the website and this latest interview from Dr. Akwanga has stirred a lot of debates and comments in virtually all the groups I posted it. Some comments were constructive, while some, as usual, are just ordinary insults and abuses here and there but I appreciate them all because when someone airs his opinion through the media, it simply means that people are becoming aware and are conscious to what is happening whether good or bad. I don’t expect everyone to see the publications in the same perspective with me. Some people must disagree, some must argue reasonably while some must contribute foolishly in an insulting manner yet, it won’t deter us from carrying out our duties as journalists and contributing our quota is raising the consciousness and minds of our people, media-wise, no matter the level of attacks it generates. After all, that’s the beauty of democracy and liberty to free speech. It has spurred me to continue.
Nevertheless, the point I’m trying to emphasize here is the fact that no single group can restore Biafra as no single group is Biafra itself, otherwise, we wouldn’t still be in Nigeria today. I have never taken time to publicly address or advice all these groups but they should hear me out. This may be the first and last time, cos I don’t usually do this... There’s need for synergy, there’s need for cooperation, there’s need to come together and work together, there’s need to forge a common front. No single pro-Biafra group has ALL it takes to actualize Biafra; no single group can do it alone. All these groups who have since realized that working together would achieve greater results cannot all be wrong. Biafra does not belong to one single group and cannot be restored by one single individual or group. It’s a collective effort of every tribe and group that make up the Biafran territory.
Dr. Akwanga said it that pro-Biafran groups and leaders are only good in fighting for leadership, power tussle everywhere when they have not secured their land, when they have not gotten autonomy/authority, when they run away on self-exile, yet they continued fighting for power, at the detriment of the Biafran masses. He said when you work for the interest of the people, they’ll endorse you as their leader when you achieve independence. But if these groups continue to work at cross-purposes against themselves, then they’ll fail without even knowing it. If they continue to work in isolation, if they continue to work in disunity, then all their efforts will continue to be counter-productive. If any one of them likes, let him travel to Jakarta and to all the countries of the world, if you’re not working in unison with other interest groups, if you’re not working in consultation with other tribes in the Biafran region, then you’re doing in vain and you’re bound to fail.
Even if one individual or group succeeds in restoring Biafra in an atmosphere of disunity and disarray, the nation is bound to fail and may be worse off than South Sudan because there would be series of infighting, backbiting, internal wranglings and suicidal missions because the nation wasn’t restored in an atmosphere of togetherness. With my perception on the places I have visited and the people I’ve met so far, a lot still needs to be done inwardly before engaging people out there and that work would be perfectly done and achieved when everybody comes together, without it, Biafra will continue to be a mirage just like Dr. Akwanga said in the interview and just like Dokubo-Asari said during the Biafra Day commemoration that Biafra is feasible within one year if the people of the defunct Eastern region can come together. He said that everybody needs to join hands together and play their parts towards gaining sovereignty and nationhood. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of blessed memory along with other nationalists came together to birth Nigeria’s independence, he(Zik) didn’t do it all alone. If he could liaise with Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba and get them to see reasons with him to achieve Nigeria’s independence, then why would it be difficult for brothers and sisters within the same geographical entity to drop or quash their ego, step down from their high horses and come together for our general good and greater tomorrow? Let’s not, because of our ego, selfishness and personal gains, destroy or rubbish the sacrifices of our heroes who died for this cause because posterity will not judge us well if we allow all they have sacrificed to go down or vanish in vain.
In a complex struggle like ours, there’s no supreme leadership or supreme group or supreme individual, every group, no matter how small they are, counts and until we achieve our freedom, there are no particular Biafran leader. What we have today is pro-Biafra group leaders or agitational platform leaders because a true leader is a father of all groups and does not neglect anybody or despise any group or person. I don’t want to talk about the media and security department because they’ll always be there on their own but leaders must come together, unite and give the Biafra struggle a face capable of chasing the real enemies to the desert and the valley of perdition where they belong. If Dr. Akwanga who is faraway in Ambazonia can call for unity between the Biafra people and the Southern Cameroons, then who are the internal pro-Biafra leaders that they won’t sheath their swords, drop their selfish interests, settle their differences and come together as one people for the general interest of the Biafran populace? With unity of purpose, a lot can be achieved, one thousand miles can be covered within a space of time and God helping us, everything will come to place and sovereign nations will be pleading for negotiations on the terms and conditions of existence of the Biafra nationhood. Thank you.
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