Consultant Surgeon and former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dozie Ikedife, has opened a new chapter in the struggle for Igbo self-determination struggle, with a new platform, the Supreme Council of Elders of Indigenous People of Biafra, where he is the Deputy Chairman. He tells Senior Correspondent, OKEY MADUFORO, the circumstances behind the idea and extent of its agenda.
The book, Government of indigenous people of Biafra
This book is trying to introduce to the public the message those of us who believe in Biafra are trying to pass to the rest of Nigerians. We believe that, as people of Biafra, by virtue of the United Nation Act, African Union Act domesticated in Nigeria, there is the right of every indigenous group to seek self-determination. We believe that with the backing of this law, we as Biafrans have every right to seek self-determination. Within the laws of Nigeria and that book is a statement educating people who are ignorant of the law on this matter. We believe in the process of the law. We believe that legal process gives us a big window towards achieving these objectives if we follow the law enacted and operational in Nigeria. This is just an information pamphlet introducing the idea to Nigerians. Recently, some people declared that they were the indigenous people of Ogoni land and that they wanted their own indigenous government. We should know that Nigeria has laws and these laws have four channels; these include: the sharia law, the customary law, the law derived from English law and the laws derived from judgments of the Supreme Court. We believe that the customary law permits us to establish customary government under the law and to seek for self-determination, not by fighting, throwing bombs and burning churches and mosques. That one is gone. This is a fight in the arena of judiciary and international community. That is our message.
When we are self-determining, we are self-determining. People do not seem to understand what that means. You do not gain independence by fighting. You do not need to fight as a matter of fact. Because even if you fight, at the end of it you go back to the table to discuss. I give you an illustration. Very recently, in the last five months, Scotland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, had Scottish Nationalist Movement, Scottish Parliament, but they wanted more independence from the United Kingdom. They went on a referendum and lost it by 45 to 55 per cent. They said the British government mounted a serious campaign of almost intimidation, therefore some people who were supporting them chickened out and they lost. They are getting ready to go back and prepare for another referendum. This is a modern civilised way of people coming to discuss and fashion out a way forward. Even in marriage, an association between two willing people can be established if the two people agree to stay together. So it takes two to tango.
Nigerians have consistently demonstrated from 1953 how they love or hate the Igbo, and the Igbo are the majority of what makes Biafra. Biafrans extend as far as South South (that is Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom), and part of Benue. It includes all the five South East states. Biafra had long existed before Nigeria was thought of. In ancient map of Africa going back to 1747, you will see Biafra written clearly. There were other kingdoms that were well established when the Portuguese explorers came passing and raced towards the East. They brought together these kingdoms for the purposes of trade and doing what they called protectorate government, and finally amalgamation of Nigeria, with no Nigerian being part of the discussions for that amalgamation. They brought together incongruous people of various cultural backgrounds, diverse orientations and religious inclinations in a false marriage. It was a mistake and I think it should be corrected now. That is part of what we are saying.
Why must the agitations be now?
Why not now? You see, during the Nigeria-Biafra War, there was a determination to exterminate Biafrans and completely annihilate them from the face of the earth. We saw the plan and surrendered in order to save the lives of our people. Our people in Igbo land say that when a child is not mature enough to seek for what killed his father, what killed his father would also consume him. But now, we think it is high time we addressed the inequities and imbalance and also the collateral problems of hostile neighbours. From 1953, there has been detailed reports of the killing of the Igbo for no just cause, culminating in the genocide and pogrom of 1966 and 1967, continuing with the war of annihilation, starvation and blockade, not minding that groups like Red Cross were willing to bring food to children who were suffering from malnutrition and all that.
And the hatred has continued; government after government has continued to do that. There has been discrimination in every stage and in every corner. So we therefore say: if you can’t allow us full integration into Nigeria, then you should allow us to exist on our own. However geographically disadvantaged we are, we shall still exist on our own. Out of 54 countries in Africa, 10 are land-locked and still exist till date. So even if we are land-locked, with our ingenuity, commitment and sense of endeavour, I feel confident that we shall survive.
Ohanaeze and demand for reparation
There are many ways of showing that we are not happy. The reparation issue is still on. When you look at the whole thing; at the National Conference, there was a discussion that came up in which Boko Haram protagonists said that they should be given compensation. The argument came up that the activities and issues of Boko Haram were still on and they were fighting; so if you give them anything, you are just empowering your enemies and that it was only after the insurgents had stopped and shown remorse and repentance that you can grant them pardon and then compensate them. I followed it up by saying that giving compensation to people who are devastated by war is good, but let us start with the victims of Nigeria-Biafra war. Nobody took notice of that and nothing has been done about it. So it is in that same line that I support the idea of reparation being taken serious.
Demand for Biafran state and treason
There cannot be a time you will raise any topic and get unanimous agreement on it. I will not be surprised to see people calling us names and disagreeing with us and what we are doing, maybe for personal benefit. Some people have asked questions like: if you people create the Republic of Biafra, what about the property we have in Kano, Kaduna, Abuja and Lagos. They recall the Abandoned Property issue that came into the picture after the Civil War. But you can see for yourself that we moved on with our lives. Several Nigerians own properties in many countries of the world and nobody is raising eyebrow. So if you are Biafran and you own property in Nigeria, it is still the same case. If Biafra stands out as a nation and Nigeria illegally acquires property of Biafrans, we go to court. It would be nation versus nation over claim of property and it will even be more meaningful rather than a Nigeria fighting over personal property. If it is a nation versus a nation you will have a stronger case. Such should help to fight for this agenda. This is a movement of a sort.
You talked about legality. We are operating well within the law. We are very much conscious of the law. We are not disobeying any law. Our chairman is a retired chief judge of a state, Justice Eze Ozobu. He would not go into breaking the law recklessly. Our legal adviser, Emeka Adolf Emekesri, is a well registered lawyer who practices in England and Wales, registered in practice in the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He is a pastor and estate surveyor. He has three feathers on his cap and is experienced. Our secretary is a very well-known name during the Civil War, Joe Achuzia. I am the deputy chairman. I am not an irresponsible person, and I will never subscribe to illegality or treasonable felony. We are operating within the law and we are covered by the law. The law gives us sufficient umbrella within human rights initiatives. Our organisation is incorporated in Nigeria as a body corporate which can sue and be sued.
Place of Ndigbo in Nigeria’s democracy and politics
I am worried about the place of Ndigbo in the Nigerian polity. After every election, Ndigbo always lose out at the negotiation table. This is indeed sad and most unfortunate. That is why I say that we should have Igbo people from the South East present in every political party that is in existence and that has relevance in Nigeria today. We should not be monolithic in one wing; winning with them or losing with them. The Yoruba and Northerners are in every political party in Nigeria. We, from the South East, want to be in one party alone and the party has not done us any good comparatively. We must not put all our eggs in one basket. This election is no longer a one-man show. It is no more one-man candidate with others just hanging on; it is now a contest between two big possible winners and you must not overlook one to the detriment of the other because you never can tell.
