Leader of the Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has said only the conduct of a referendum
on self determination in the Southeast, South-South, and some parts of the
North central regions can halt Nigeria’s slide into another ‘civil war’.
Kanu, who stated this in a
statement on Wednesday made available to journalists by IPOB spokesman, Comrade
Emma Powerful, took a swipe at the proponents of restructuring and true
federalism.
He said restructuring of Nigeria
had defied any sensible definition, adding that true federalism is unworkable
in the country because one-third of the states in the federation as presently
constituted have Sharia as state religion and code of justice, which denies
non-adherents of that Islamic religion certain freedoms guaranteed by the
Nigerian Constitution.
The IPOB leader said: “We, the
Indigenous People of Biafra have proposed and still proposing the only idea
that would halt Nigeria’s spiral towards bloody implosion. Our prescription is
clear: Conduct A Referendum On Self-Determination for Biafrans; and indeed any
other organized and cohesive group that demands it. That is the only fair way;
not “True Federalism” or “Restructuring”.
“To drive home our demand, IPOB
will ensure that the entire land of Biafra is paralysed on whatever date they
choose to hold the presidential elections. This position is irreversible unless
our simple demand is met.
“While others are busy
pontificating on newspaper pages or selling their soul to the highest bidder in
Abuja, we remain on this long walk to a free Biafra, where black people in
sub-Saharan Africa will for the first time since colonialism, live under guaranteed
freedoms and rights unlike the primitive arrangement people are forced to live
under in Nigeria. We won’t get there overnight.
“But in this 2019, we will make
some of our most significant strides yet to accomplish our stated mission which
is to restore Biafra. We must always be guided by the reasoning that underpins
our belief that Nigeria as presently constituted in unworkable.
“By virtue of their orientation
and heritage, the dominant ruling Arewa Northern Nigeria, with their feudal
societal structure, is not designed to understand or practice democracy. This
is one of the greatest mistakes early thinkers like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe made. The
social arrangement they have in Northern Nigeria makes it impossible for their
leaders that are thrust upon the people in Nigeria to appreciate and respect
democratic values such as respect for the rule of law, freedoms and liberty.
These noble ideals of democracy are incompatible with Sharia.
“True Federalism” particularly is
evidently unrealistic in a country where twelve states have already adopted
Sharia as state religion and code of justice, which denies non-adherents of
that religion certain freedoms guaranteed by the military-imposed Nigerian
Constitution. Conversely, Restructuring has defied every sensible definition.
Come to think of it, was it not a
federal arrangement or True Federation that Nigeria had at independence but
which could not survive more than six years? What then is this new true
Federalism or Restructuring that will suddenly become workable when it had
failed in the past and even led to a war of attrition?
I have nothing against those
wishing to live under the Fulanised British colonial contraption called Nigeria
as most Yoruba and Hausa people do.
“What we resent is the inability
or the unreasonableness of the chattering class in Nigeria to come to terms the
inescapable realization that no country with a myriad of divergent value
systems can peacefully exist as a nation state. This is elementary political
philosophy.
“Meaningful human development in
Nigeria is impossible because the Fulani feudal mindset, Yoruba monarchical
system and the republican disposition of Biafrans are forever irreconcilable
value systems that will ensure the unworkability of Nigeria as a country.”
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