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Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Why we stormed Enugu radio station -Biafra group
... Demands release of leader, other Members of the Biafra Zionist Federation (BZF) have demanded the im
mediate release of their leader, Benjamin Onwuka and 13 others recently arrested and paraded by the police for allegedly attempting to seize the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) to make declarations on Biafra.
In a statement issued by the Rivers State branch of the BZM and signed by Joseph Okolie, the group revealed that their mission to the Enugu radio station was to peacefully proclaim their freedom and independence from Nigeria.
In the statement entitled: "Why we desire to be out of Nigeria," the group said it had lost faith in the country following years of neglect and continuous killing of Igbo in some parts of the nation. "Thus, we re-declared Biafra on November 5, 2012, followed it up with the hoisting of Biafra flag at the Enugu Government House on June 5, 2014," it said.
The BZF condemned what it called "the reckless shooting, arrest and detention of our unmasked and unarmed leader and members.
"We condemn their public dehumanisation and humiliation; the torture, the nakedness and handcuffs of these unmasked and unarmed Biafra freedom fighters, as if they were common criminals.
"We therefore demand the immediate release of our leader, Benjamin Onwuka and other members who were shot at and arrested at ESBS premises in Enugu on June 5, 2014 and detained by the Nigeria Police, Enugu Command in the course of executing their legitimate right to peacefully announce our New Republic of Biafra.
"We are appealing to the international community to urgently grant our request and desires for self-determination and self-governance based on the situation we find ourselves in Nigeria and to accord us full recognition as a sovereign and independent nation to avert another bloodbath in this part of Nigeria.
"When the Biafra venture was aborted on January 15, 1970, we hoped that things would be better for us in Nigeria but after such a long time, we are saddened; thus we re-declared on November 5, 2012 our desires for freedom and independence of a universally recognised new Republic of Biafra because of the same treatments and fate of 1966/67.
"On March 8, 2014 we hoisted our nation's flag at Enugu Government House, soon to become Biafra's State House or seat of government. We also posted a banner indicating our intention to pull out of the 1914 Amalgamation.
"And on June 5, 2014 our leader, Ben Onwuka and other members went to a local radio station in Enugu, our capital, to peacefully proclaim our free
dom and independence, which was again forcefully, brutally and fatally aborted by Nigerian security forces."
THE IGBO RANT
BIBLICAL TRADITIONS OF NDI IGBO BEFORE THE MISSIONARIES CAME TO AFRICA* IGBO 101.
THE IGBO TRIBE AND ITS FEAR OF EXTINCTION
The Igbo: We die for causes, not for personalities
Written by Emeka Maduewesi
~on fb. 28th September, 2016.
The Igbo will never die for anyone. We will not even riot for anyone. But the Igbo will die for any cause they believe in because the Igbo have a true sense of justice and a determination to obtain it.
The Igbo will not riot because one of their own lost an election. Operation Wetie was the Western response to a massively rigged 1965 election. The Yoruba doused fellow Yorubas in petrol and burnt them alife. Properties were burnt with occupants. The Igbo will never do this.
In 1983, the Yoruba went on a rampage again over the massive rigging by NPN. Lifes were lost and properties destroyed. The riots were over personalities.
Contrast that with Anambra State where Chief Emeka Ojukwu was rigged out by his own NPN, who also rigged out Chief Jim Nwobodo. The Igbo did not protest because the goat's head is still in the goat's bag.
In the North, ba muso was the battle cry when Sultan Dasuki was imposed on the Sokoto Caliphate. The riot and protest lasted for days and crippled economic activities.
The Igbo will riot over issues and causes. The Aba Women Riot was over Tax. The Enugu coal mine riot was about conditions of service. The Ekumeku Uprising was over British colonialization.
Those of "Ekumeku" ancestry - Umu Eze Chima and Umu Nri - were at the forefront of the struggles for Nigerian independence, with people like Dr. A A Nwafor Orizu and Chief Osita Agwuna serving prison terms. Any struggles the parents could not conclude is continued by the children by other means.
The Biafran war was a response to the genocide. The war in fact was brought upon us. The battlefield was Eastern Region. The war ended in 1970 but the issues and causes were not resolved. That is where we are today.
The Igbo will also jointly rise to fight evil in their midst. They did it in Onitsha in the 1980's, Owerri in the 90's, and with Bakkassi in the 2000.
The Igbo will not die for any man. But the Igbo will stand by any man who symbolizes their cause and their pursuit of justice. Even if the man dies, the struggle continues, and like the Ekumeku warriors, the children will pick up the baton from their parents.
This is the Igbo I know, the Igbo I am, and the Igbo we are. This is my story. Feel free to tell yours.
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