Arnold, in a Facebook post, argued that the amount—which is twice Britain’s annual GDP—would become the largest reparations claim in human history if paid.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Mike Arnold, a former volunteer Mayor of Blanco City, Texas, United States, has accused the British government of opposing the emergence of an independent Republic of Biafra because it wants to avoid paying reparations.
He made the claims recently in a Facebook post titled ‘Britain’s Bill is Due’, where he argued that the UK currently owes ‘Biafrans’ approximately $6 trillion.
Arnold, who is sympathetic to the Biafran struggle, noted that an independent Biafran nation could demand payment of this amount from Britain.
In his words, the sum—twice Britain’s annual GDP—would become the largest reparations claim in human history if eventually paid.
Stating that what the British did to the people of Nigeria’s South-East “is a vast, horrific, ongoing evil”, Arnold traced what he described as Britain’s crimes against the Igbo people to the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorates in 1914.
“In 1914, Lord Lugard drew a line around two incompatible civilisations — the Islamic Caliphate of the North and the Christian and traditional peoples of the South — called it Nigeria, and handed it to the Crown. Nobody was asked. The contraption was designed from birth to keep the Caliphate in administrative control and the oil flowing to London.
“When the Southeast tried to leave in 1967 — after tens of thousands of Igbos were slaughtered in northern pogroms — Britain showed its hand. Their own declassified Foreign Office documents state it plainly: ‘The sole immediate British interest in Nigeria is that the Nigerian economy should be brought back to a condition in which our substantial trade and investment in the country can be further developed, and particularly so we can regain access to important oil installations,’” parts of the post read.
He further noted that at the time, Shell-BP — which was partly owned by the British government — controlled 84 per cent of Nigeria’s oil production, two-thirds of it in Biafran territory.
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Arnold went on to outline how Britain racked up the $6 trillion debt to the ‘people of Biafra’, which he believes an independent Biafran nation can demand as reparations.
Explaining that the $6 trillion figure was reached through “a calculation built category by category from documented facts”, he stated:
“Oil Revenue — Biafran Territory: Nigeria has earned approximately $600 billion in oil revenue since the 1960s. Two-thirds of Shell-BP’s operations were in Biafran territory. At a 60% territorial share, that is $360 billion. Adjusted for inflation from 1967 dollars to today, it is conservatively $2.5 trillion.
“Wrongful Death — Up to 3 Million People: International wrongful death precedents — such as Holocaust reparations, ICC awards, and comparable genocide settlements — range from $100,000 to $500,000 per life. At a conservative $500,000 per person, that totals $1.5 trillion.
“Structural Damages — 112 Years of the Contraption: The 1914 amalgamation; the installation of the Caliphate as the administrative class; the 1960 handover engineered to protect British commercial dominance; and the ongoing genocide that this architecture enables to this day. Caribbean nations are currently pursuing $10 trillion from Britain for slavery reparations. Nigeria’s case is more recent, more direct, and more documentable. Conservative estimate: $1 trillion.
“Obstruction of humanitarian aid; arms supply to an aggressor; and compounding interest on all the above — add a $500 billion minimum.
“The Total: Approximately $6 trillion. Twice Britain’s annual GDP. The largest reparations claim in human history. Every penny of it is sourced from declassified British government documents: Harold Wilson’s own words, Shell-BP’s own records, and the Foreign Office’s own confessions.
“A free Biafra — or any legitimate successor government representing the South-East — would have full legal standing to file this claim before the International Court of Justice. Which is exactly why the British don’t want anyone talking about Biafra.”
Arnold’s views align with claims made by pro-Igbo self-determination groups — including American Veterans of Igbo Descent (AVID), Ambassadors for Self-Determination, and the Rising Sun Foundation — that Britain’s desire to keep Nigeria from breaking up is the reason it has refused to intervene in the case of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu, who is also a British citizen.
