By Odoh Michael
In 2015, I wrote a piece titled, “The Power of War, History and Memory.” I talked about how with history, we can heal wounds and unite a divided nation. I also talked about how the study of history especially the study of the Nigerian Civil War can make us a prosperous nation. May 30 for the average Nigerian is just another day on the calendar but for those of the South Eastern region, it is a day that heralded a significant part of our history, a day that marked the birth of the state of Biafra in 1967. I have come across lots of writeups written by Igbo scholars to mark this day. In all of these, I see no mention of the Biafran ideology. These scholars talk about the war, Nigeria and the Igbo race. For you to understand Biafra, you must first understand the ideology behind Biafra.
It pains me whenever I want to discuss the Biafra topic and friends whom I see as being educated start saying things such as, “Igbos, you want your own country…Biafra cannot happen…Igbo people do not like themselves, etc.” We have outgrown this phase. Biafra is not about the physical war. It is not about the killings of three million Igbos. It is about the survival of a continent. In his post war analysis, the late Chief C.C Onuh noted that, “If a people who were cut out from the world for three years could survive and become manufacturers of their own weapons which were technologically advanced, what will become of those people if they were supported.”
Biafra is about survival, growth, development. The Igbos were able to manufacture their own weapons and survived for three years without external help. They made bombs, cars, tanks, among other things. They had their own communication equipment. Imagine where Nigeria will be if after the war, there was focus on these innovations. We will rival Japan and China today. The British saw this and acted in their own best interest and ever since, Nigerian leaders have followed in their ignorance. The Hausa man who is suffering from bad governance and rose above that to become relevant is a Biafran; same for the Yoruba man. Biafra is not a people living in a geographical location; it is an ideology of discovering who you you’re your ability to survive, to grow and shine. The Igbos have continued to do this generally though on an individual level.
Wakanda is how Africa is supposed to be like. It took an external blockade and three years of war for the Igbos to look inwards and they fully discovered their capabilities. Nigeria has all the natural resources to be better than the fictional country Wakanda, but we choose to live like beggars due to bad leadership on every level of government and in every region. The defeat of the Igbos in the Nigerian Civil War caused a huge setback for the Biafran ideology and in general, affected the development of Africa.
If we had keyed into the development in Biafra after the war, Nigeria would be a true giant of Africa today. The colours of the Biafran flag which was designed in the 1920s by Marcus Garvey long before Ojukwu was born symbolizes a people who despite their challenges at the hands of their oppressors are still strong and have what it takes to develop. Nigeria, through Biafra, would have been the Japan of Africa. The support for Nigeria during the civil war by the international community was a concerted effort to kill Africa’s technological advancement and our bad leaders are still following in that line.
After seeing all of this, Emefiena Ezeani titled his bestselling book, In Biafra, Africa Died. If Nigeria had keyed into the development in Biafra, Africa would be a leading producer of world technologies. We can still achieve this but only with the right system. Restructuring of Nigeria is a must if we are to take the lead in resurrecting Africa. Biafra is not about a people living in a geographical location, it is an ideology for economic development. An honest appraisal of the Nigerian civil war is all we need to move ahead. We need to sit down and talk as a people. The continued denial of this will only make things worse.
Odoh Michael is a public affairs analyst writes from Abuja and can be reached on Odohmike2@gmail.com
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