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The campaign by the Indigenous People of Biafra and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra to boycott future elections in Nigeria has been on for sometimes thereby heating the polity; but whether the threat is real or not, leaders and stakeholders are not taking it lightly
| By Olu Ojewale | Aug 7, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT |
BARING any official hiccup, the gubernatorial election slated for November 18, in Anambra State is going to hold as schedule. But from all indications, it might not be a smooth sailing for the state as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, are up in arms against the election. They have vowed that there would be no election in the state on the day and from now on no elections would hold in all states of Biafra areas, unless the question of Biafran state is put to a referendum and done with.
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the IPOB, who spoke on behalf his organisation at his father’s palace in Afara Ukwu Ibeku, Umuahia, Abia State, also threatened that members of his group might also boycott the 2019 general election. He also said Biafrans were ready to go to prison if the federal government did not grant their request of having a republic.
“If the federal government does not agree with us on a date for referendum, there will be no elections in the southeast, we are starting with Anambra come November this year. There will be no governorship election in Anambra State,” Kanu said.
“In 2019, the whole of Biafra land will not vote for any president. There will be no senator, there will be no house of reps, there will be no house of assembly and there will be no councillor-ship elections in Biafra land if the federal government fails to call for a referendum.
“Nigerian government should build as many prisons as possible to jail all Biafrans because there is no going back and we are ready to go prisons unless the federal government gives us Biafra.
“We are not like any other people. People like us don’t come twice. That’s why I know that with the last breath in this very body that Biafra will be restored. There’s nothing anybody can do about it. Tell them that’s what I said. Nobody on this earth can stop Biafra.”
Giving further clarification on the call for a boycott, the IPOB, on July 5, said its determination to mobilise Biafrans to boycott the November 18, governorship election in Anambra State, was to emphasise its rejection of the 1999 constitution given to the nation by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar military regime.
The IPOB disclosed that its Directorate of State, DOS, had resolved that since the election was predicated on Section-178 of the constitution, “Biafrans will boycott the poll to protest our fundamental human rights not to vote.”
In a statement signed by Emma Nmezu and Clifford Chukwuemeka Iroanya, the IPOB said: “The DOS notes that Decree Number 24 of the Abubakar military government, which gave birth to the 1999 constitution and its derivatives, was neither people-oriented nor generated by the citizens.
“Hence, Biafrans shall not be part of a constitution that is skewed in favour of Islam, Sharia, and overarching influence of the North as evidenced in sections 3, 8, 9, and 49. Section 48 is directly and proportionally related and derived from Section 3(1) and Section 2 (2),” the statement said.
The group further noted that the election of Anambra State governor was irrelevant to the quest for the restoration of a sovereign state of Biafra, arguing that, “regardless of who wins or eventually becomes the governor, he or she must subscribe to Schedule seven of the constitution, which makes the governor obedient to Section 2 (1).
“Of what use will a governor be to Anambra State when he or she swears to preserve, protect and defend a fraudulent constitution, which includes Section 4 (2) and Schedule 2 (Part1) where he or she is stripped of any involvement in the security of his or her state, development of inter-state roads, seaports, airports and in the maximum use of 100 percent of revenues realised from resources located in his or her state?” the IPOB queried.
The MASSOB made a similar threat of boycott on June 4, when it gave six months ultimatum to the federal government to conduct a referendum in Biafra land or there would be no election in the South East region and parts of Kogi and Benue states in 2019.
“MASSOB, Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and other genuine pro-Biafran groups will mobilise the people against 2019 general election in all Biafran territory to boycott the election if federal government refuses to conduct a referendum for the exit of Biafra from Nigeria,” the group said.
Samuel Edeson, national director of information of the MASSOB, who disclosed this on Sunday, June 4, in a statement, said Kogi and part of Benue states were also negotiating with the MASSOB to be part of Biafra.
The statement said in part: “We are not going to disrupt anybody, including electoral officers; they will move to their wards to conduct election, but they won’t see anybody. No Biafran will come out to vote that day…
“We don’t condemn our brothers, the politicians, who are agitating for restructuring, because that is what they believe in, but for us, no Biafra, nothing else.”
Besides, the group said that it was tired of Nigeria and that no amount of restructuring would change its vision to actualise Biafra.
Irked by the audacity of the groups and, perhaps, the larger implications of what would happen in case the threat becomes a reality, some leaders, stakeholders and security agencies have been warning members of the IPOB and MASSOB to jettison the idea of boycotting elections.
In no mistaken term, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, on Wednesday, July 26, vowed not to allow the IPOB repeat the mistake made by the MASSOB who dissuaded the people from coming out during the last national census.
Obiano, who spoke during his visit to an erosion site at Odume Layout, Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state, made the statement while responding to the statement by Kanu that there would be no election in the state in particular and in South East zone. Obiano said: “There is going to be an election on that day. Whoever says there will be no election is not carrying the interest of the people at heart.”
He said further: “We will not repeat what happened during the national census period in the years back here in the state when those who called themselves MASSOB disrupted the exercise in Igbo land and the consequences of that disruption led to rating our population figure very low which is what we are still suffering today because we were counted less than what we are.”
Nevertheless, the governor used opportunity to canvass for vote during the state gubernatorial election in the state on November 18, in order to sustain the good governance he inherited.
On its part, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Igbo’s socio-cultural organisation, on Thursday, June 29, asked the Ndigbo to denounce the IPOB and its ilk.
John Nwodo, president-general of Ohanaeze, made the pronouncement while addressing the members of the Anambra State House of Assembly at the Legislative Complex, Awka, Anambra State on the day.
Nwodo, who was particularly embittered by the IPOB’s call for the boycott of the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November 18, said Kanu had breached the undertaking he took before him (Nwodo) when he was released from detention.
He said: “I’m just being paternal. The way I commended them as my children, is the way I have the right to chastise them when they go wrong. We don’t need this heating up.”
Nwodo, who said he was shocked by Kanu’s declaration that there would be no election in Anambra State in November, said:
“I hereby countermand that declaration as president-general of Ohanaeze. Whereas Ohanaeze understands the marginalisation and unfair treatment of Igbo which have given rise to self-determination movements in Igboland, leaders of these movements must not arrogate to themselves the supreme leadership of Igboland.
“Statements of the kind credited to Nnamdi Kanu are provocative, misleading and unproductive. Why should Anambra people be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader? Why should any of us who are not from Anambra, no matter how highly placed, descend into the arena and dictate for the Anambra people when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for?
“Anambra, nay Igbo, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria. Yes, some of us want Biafra. Yes, some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present Federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or unjust.
“Our approach to reforms of our laws, even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring, must be lawful. We must convince other Nigerians of our point of view, we must strive to make others share our convictions.”
That notwithstanding, Nwodo observed that Kanu’s statement would be noted by the inspector-general of Police and possibly lead to Nigeria Police’s invasion of Anambra, thereby “increasing the already existing siege of our people which lead to daily extortion on our highways. All these developments have arisen out of unguarded utterances.”
Many other stakeholders in the state have also expressed their opposition to a possible disruption of election in the state. Sam Oraegbunam, chairman, Hope Democratic Party, HDP, Anambra chapter, said though Kanu’s call for the restructuring of Nigeria was genuine, he mustn’t use it to cause confusion in the state.
Oraegbunam said: “Nnamdi Kanu has done enough to draw the attention of Nigeria and the world to the type of equity in the country and the plight of the Igbos.
“But in terms of boycott of elections and issuing datelines for referendum, I think it is an overstatement on his part. If Anambra does not hold election in Nigeria in November, it means that there will be a vacuum and what happens to the state in terms of administration.”
The politician noted that there is an elected governor in Abia State where Kanu comes and therefore, advised him to allow Anambra State indigenes to exercise their right to elect their own governor in the state, being a component of Nigeria.
“My advice is that Kanu should consult, listen more and talk less, there are others who share his point of view, he should not derail democracy in Anambra,” he said.
Similarly, Jude Emecheta, national chairman of Willie Obiano Support Group, WOSG, said Kanu’s call for boycott of the election was uncalled for.
Emecheta said such call was why the South East poorly participated in the 2006 population census and the “result is what we are suffering today.”
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, chieftain said Kanu’s call to boycott Anambra election was capable of plunging the state into political crisis. “This call is not needed, it is undemocratic and it is a show of youthful exuberance. That is why sometimes I get worried about issue of empowering the youth. We have a supreme council of IPOB elders who should speak for the group; Kanu is head of publicity by virtue of being the head of Radio Biafra,” he said.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, on its part said that it would not benefit the party if the call for the boycott of the Anambra governorship election by the pressure groups is allowed.
Okelo Madukife, the state publicity secretary of the APC, in a press release stated this while debunking allegations that it collaborated with the leader of the IPOB to call for the boycott of the election.
The APC said it rejected the boycott call in its entirety because only the ruling APGA would benefit from it.
Okelo said the speaker of Anambra Assembly being a member of the APGA would be sworn in, in the event that the boycott works. He, therefore, said that if any party colluded with the IPOB to call for the boycott, then it should be the APGA, which he said are aware that they will not win the election.
“We reject the call from Nnamdi Kanu into-to and urge Ndi Anambra to come out en masse and vote in an APC government to bring development to Anambra State with strong central backing…
“November 18, 2017, governorship elections must hold peacefully, freely and fairly,” he said.
Chekwas Okorie, national chairman of the United Progressive Party, UPP, said it would be dangerous to boycott elections as it would be “more like committing political suicide for them than for anybody else.”
From all indications, it appears that the IPOB and MASSOB do not have support of some other pressure groups who are agitating for Biafra.
For instance, the Movement of Biafrans in Nigeria, MOBIN, is vehemently opposed to the threat of boycott as championed by the IPOB. Ezenwanyi Eberechukwu Anigbogu, director general of the MOBIN and former aide to the IPOB leader under Radio Biafra, on July 25, told newsmen that Kanu had no power to stop elections in South-Eastern Nigeria.
Anigbogu who was responding to questions in Awka at the weekend stated that the mission of the MOBIN, her organisation, was to mobilise Biafrans to vie for political positions, or to vote for those who are vying, in order to sack politicians who do not believe in Biafra.
She said: “Nnamdi Kanu should be aware that Biafrans are hungry for good governance. Biafrans are tired of governors who only shed crocodile tears when Fulani herdsmen kill their families without taking any action. Biafrans are tired of governors who sit and watch while unarmed, protesting Biafrans are being shot on the streets.
“Biafrans are tired of weaklings who pay allegiance to emirates and sultanates of the north in order to oppress their own people. We are raising an army of Biafra conscious politicians to take over the political space of Biafraland, and sack them all. We are raising politicians who think, talk and act Biafra.”
She said that the group had discussed with Kanu to see reasons why Biafra, as a matter of urgency, sons and daughters of Biafra should be voted into. “We will not allow people who don’t have value for our lives rule over us and kill us. Kanu cannot stop the takeover of this land by Umu Biafra. I am Ada (daughter of the land), and I speak the voice of my ancestors. Kanu cannot stand in the way of the same Biafra he and I have worked together to achieve. He must understand this,” she said.
According to her: “We are sure a core Biafran will win the elections come November 2017, that is the starting point. As soon as we have a pro-Biafran or a Biafran activist as the governor of Anambra State, that automatically means that we have gotten one state out of core Igbo states for Biafra. From here, we will begin to spread our tentacle. Come 2019, we hope to have core Biafrans as governors of Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa and Rivers states.”
Anigbogu, who was also the first female leader of the IPOB worldwide, argued that the call for referendum by Kanu was too premature, saying the area she described as Biafra land is very politically weak. She argued: “You see, once you rush into referendum, it is sure to be hijacked by the same elements who describe we Biafran activists as riffraff. You have to get them out of power and replace them with politicians who are Biafra-conscious. Of course, you know that referendum is a political process, you cannot just come out and you are singing referendum, without any plans, maybe setting out a process of achieving it. Referendum is politics and politics is referendum.
“One thing you have to know is that we are Biafrans who are still living in Nigeria. As long as we are living in Nigeria, and we want to go, there are methods to use. One is that we have to prepare for referendum. We have a Biafran national political party, and we will have to register and have our voter’s card, because it’s this voter’s card that we will use to register during referendum.
“The United Nations will not just come into Biafraland and bring people together. There must be a process. If you look at Scotland, who are also calling for sovereignty from Britain, there is a Scottish national party who involve in, and win political positions. If we have adopted the United Progressive Party, UPP, as the Biafran national party, when the time of referendum comes, it’s through that process.”
Besides, she noted that Nigeria would not be interested in referendum because it would not want Biafra to be free. “Biafrans must build their own political space, Biafrans must design a coherent political environment that is acceptable in the comity of nations. It’s only when there is such a political climate that the same Biafrans will constitute a political process for referendum, supervised by the United Nations, ECOWAS, AU, and other such organisations,” she said.
In the same vein, the Biafran Reformation Movement, BRM, on Monday, July 24, while Kanu was relishing some support in Ebonyi State, said the IPOB leader was carrying out actions dangerous to the interest of the Igbo people. While speaking with journalists in Enugu, Ndubuisi Igwekani, the leader of the group, said Kanu’s call for the boycott of Anambra election was ill-mannered. He said Kanu was behaving like an enemy to the Igbo people, adding that the forthcoming election in Anambra State must hold.
Holding the governorship election in Anambra State as scheduled, indeed, is what Emeka Ononamadu, the new resident electoral commissioner, REC, in Enugu State, recommended on July 25, and warned pro-Biafra activists championing boycott of elections in Anambra State and other parts of the South East to think twice.
Ononamadu said the boycott would do more harm than good to the people of the zone. Addressing a press conference in Enugu, where he updated journalists on the continuous voter registration exercise in the state, he said those calling for the boycott of the Anambra governorship election were doing a disservice to the people.
“Even if you want to do a referendum, you will still need voters’ registration, so telling people not to participate is like shooting yourself on the foot. Election has no ethnic/religious face. Even in churches and in selection of traditional rulers, elections are conducted. It has become part and parcel of society.
“Election is a central tool you can use to aggregate opinion about who rules,” he said.
That notwithstanding, the Anambra State police command has vowed to deal with anybody or group of people who plan to disrupt the November 18, governorship poll in the state.
The warning followed alleged threats by the IPOB calling on Anambra people to boycott the election and plots to attack political rallies in the state.
Youths suspected to be members of the IPOB had allegedly disrupted a Church function attended by Godwin Ezeemo, a governorship aspirant in Anambra State on the platform of the Progressives Peoples’ Alliance, PPA.
That, perhaps, prompted Umar Garba, Anambra State commissioner of Police, after a meeting with other security agencies, to caution in a statement that security operatives would descend heavily on any individual or groups that would disrupt public peace in the state under any guise.
“Our attention has been drawn to the fact that some misguided elements have perfected plans to disrupt the relative peace through street protests and to declare that the Anambra State governorship election scheduled for November, 2017 will not hold.
“The plans by these misguided elements to cause a breach of public peace in the state are unacceptable and would not be tolerated,” the boss said in the statement.
Apart from members of the IPOB and MASSOB, boycott of elections process in the South East looks like an unpopular move for now as majority of opinions weigh against it.
Notwithstanding that they are in support of elections boycott, it was gathered in some quarters that the politicians in the South East are actually seeking the IPOB leader for support to win elections in their respective state. But most of them are said to be doing this nocturnally in order to avoid rebuke of people outside the states.
Chuma Anierobi, a public commentator, said in an interview: “People who will not leave the Palestinians alone are seeing this con artist. There is no referendum clause in the current constitution and that means that Kanu is ignorant of what he is saying. All Igbo do not need a repeat of blood bath.
“The first was forced on us but the second is being called by Nnamdi Kanu. The father and mother should tell their son to go look for job in England and leave my hardworking people alone. Igbo are more in business than politics and they are doing very fine.”
Indeed, a lot of people in the South East would like to live in peace without any anxiety to their lives as in other parts of Nigeria, but where there is equitable and justice. That is why a good number of Nigerians are asking for restructuring to deal with issues militating against the Nigerian state.
In this case, Nigeria, it appears, would do better to embrace dialogue and not force to get the agitated to reason.
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