WILL BIAFRA EVER BE POSSIBLE

 

I have watched with keen interest the brouhaha
generated by the call for secession by the “Biafran people”.
Some days back, I saw a picture of some South
Sudanese eating grass as food (I do not have
empirical evidence whether it is true or not). One
thing immediately struck me. Some years back,
when the agitation for the creation of South
Sudan was at the peak, we all thought that by
now, South Sudan will be in a state of
“oyunua” (wonderment), especially because of
the abundance of oil.

Alas, we all know the true story. No sooner had
they achieved independence that they
remembered that they were not only South
Sudanese but belong to diverse tribes. Today,
the newest African country is involved in a state
of “wadoghe” and “filaga filogo”(apologies to
Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon).

Today, all the promises the nascent nation once
held are no longer there. There is no more Omar
Al-Bashir to blame for their calamity. Every
mallam is now with his kettle.
Similarly, in the build-up to our independence,
Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi
Azikiwe and Abubakar Tafewa Balewa were ALL
Nigerians, they were not Ibos, hausas, yorubas
etc. Immediately we became a nation, everyone
suddenly remembered his tribe.
For those who have studied the BH phenomenon,
you will discover that one of the factors that
aided the acceptance of the sect in the north-
east is what I call the “gbogbonise effect”. This
is the belief that should Sharia law become
implemented, then most of the problems would
automatically die a natural death.
I think it is the same factor driving the quest for
Biafra- the belief that if Biafra secedes, all the
problems facing the Igbo people will

automatically vanish. Fa-fa-fa- foul!!! So, the
Aguleri man and the Umuleri man will suddenly
become chums? The Abia/Imo man will permit
his child to marry from Enugu/Anambra?
Ask the Igbo man what his problem is and he will
tell you he is suffering “marginalisation”