Nnamdi Kanu is the Director of Radio Biafra. In this Interview with select journalists, he bares his mind on sundry issues as they affect Igbos; even as he describes Nigeria and an illegal entity. PATRICK AHANOR was there
Resurrecting Biafra
The reason we are resurrecting Biafra again is that the same reasons that led to the initial declaration of independence is now prevalent amongst us. It’s unfortunate that some persons who are not students of history failed to realize that the initial reason General Ojukwu declared was because they were killing us then, in the 1966
pogrom and nobody has been held accountable till date.
The reason we are resurrecting Biafra again is that the same reasons that led to the initial declaration of independence is now prevalent amongst us. It’s unfortunate that some persons who are not students of history failed to realize that the initial reason General Ojukwu declared was because they were killing us then, in the 1966
pogrom and nobody has been held accountable till date.
The same conditions are presently obtainable in Nigeria. They are killing us every blessed day. But they are very clever. The new thing they have done is to say that they are killing Christians.
Anybody that has a sense of decorum or has a brain cell in their skulls would know that those who are being killed intentionally are Igbo people- Biafrans of Christian extraction. The only people living in the northern part of Nigeria, or what I will prefer to call them, as Lugard recognized and named them, Mohammedian Muslims of the North, are essentially poor Igbo families who are trading in the north.
It is only a very hopeless race that will watch the incessant and indiscriminate slaughter of their people and they keep quiet. The same conditions are here again, and that is why we say, we must have Radio Biafra to alert our people to avoid their possible extinction.
Anybody that has a sense of decorum or has a brain cell in their skulls would know that those who are being killed intentionally are Igbo people- Biafrans of Christian extraction. The only people living in the northern part of Nigeria, or what I will prefer to call them, as Lugard recognized and named them, Mohammedian Muslims of the North, are essentially poor Igbo families who are trading in the north.
It is only a very hopeless race that will watch the incessant and indiscriminate slaughter of their people and they keep quiet. The same conditions are here again, and that is why we say, we must have Radio Biafra to alert our people to avoid their possible extinction.
Actualising the dream
Our plan is to actualize Biafra between now and the 31st day of December, 2015. If by the morning of the 1st of January 2016 there is no Biafra we know what to do with Nigeria and its asset.
Our plan is to actualize Biafra between now and the 31st day of December, 2015. If by the morning of the 1st of January 2016 there is no Biafra we know what to do with Nigeria and its asset.
How do you mean?
We will use what we have to demonstrate that Ojukwu’s statement when he said that even the grasses will rise and fight for Biafra and that Biafra cannot be defeated. We want to prove to humanity that those words are correct.
We will use what we have to demonstrate that Ojukwu’s statement when he said that even the grasses will rise and fight for Biafra and that Biafra cannot be defeated. We want to prove to humanity that those words are correct.
Radio Biafra
Radio Biafra started in 2009 with the help of MASSOB and Uwazurike. I invited him to London and he came for discussion. After that, MASSOB members contributed some money that we used in establishing Radio Biafra. But Uwazurike stopped funding Radio Biafra after three months. We were still on air for nine months, broadcasting on shortwave, which is very expensive. He stopped funding after three months having realized how powerful Radio Biafra is. He became scared because he knew we were going to expose him, because at Radio Biafra, we take no exceptions.
If I do anything wrong as a director, I expect them to expose me as well. He stopped because he was scared, or because his Hausa Fulani friends told him to stop funding Radio Biafra. Every effort to reach him failed. We had to go from church to church in order to sustain radio Biafra but to no avail. Then we closed, and
we reopened in 2012.
Radio Biafra started in 2009 with the help of MASSOB and Uwazurike. I invited him to London and he came for discussion. After that, MASSOB members contributed some money that we used in establishing Radio Biafra. But Uwazurike stopped funding Radio Biafra after three months. We were still on air for nine months, broadcasting on shortwave, which is very expensive. He stopped funding after three months having realized how powerful Radio Biafra is. He became scared because he knew we were going to expose him, because at Radio Biafra, we take no exceptions.
If I do anything wrong as a director, I expect them to expose me as well. He stopped because he was scared, or because his Hausa Fulani friends told him to stop funding Radio Biafra. Every effort to reach him failed. We had to go from church to church in order to sustain radio Biafra but to no avail. Then we closed, and
we reopened in 2012.
Are you on same page with other similar Igbo groups?
Radio Biafra is the mouth piece of the indigenous people of Biafra. We are in over 88 countries around the world, and that is where we derive our strength and formidability. It’s the mouth piece for every Biafran in the world. If you are a Biafran, Radio Biara is your radio.
The Indigenous People of Biafra are not a movement, we are a country. We are called the IPOB, we are not a group. We are the citizens of Biafra. Where we differ from those who are running around is that we don’t lie, we don’t cheat, we don’t kidnap people, we don’t appropriate land that doesn’t belong to us, we don’t engage Nigerian politicians, we don’t travel to Abuja, we don’t negotiate, we don’t retreat, and we don’t surrender. It’s Biafra or death.
Radio Biafra is the mouth piece of the indigenous people of Biafra. We are in over 88 countries around the world, and that is where we derive our strength and formidability. It’s the mouth piece for every Biafran in the world. If you are a Biafran, Radio Biara is your radio.
The Indigenous People of Biafra are not a movement, we are a country. We are called the IPOB, we are not a group. We are the citizens of Biafra. Where we differ from those who are running around is that we don’t lie, we don’t cheat, we don’t kidnap people, we don’t appropriate land that doesn’t belong to us, we don’t engage Nigerian politicians, we don’t travel to Abuja, we don’t negotiate, we don’t retreat, and we don’t surrender. It’s Biafra or death.
We have done something that nobody has been able to do. One thing we forget very quickly when discussing Radio Biafra, and the push for Biafra freedom is that Radio Biafra is the only infrastructure that is owned by all the Biafrans. We don’t own anything else, just Radio Biafra. The only thing that is publicly funded by Biafrans all over the world and it is the only platform that gives them a voice.
Radio Biafra may be broadcasting once every four days from the back of a Volkswagen, driving from one place to another, but now we can broadcast from any surface on this earth and people on satellite can receive us. Uwazurike couldn’t do it, nobody could do it, but the collective might of all the Biafrans all over the world, which will be tested on the 30th of May. This is to show people how powerful we are,
we are not paper tigers. We want to demonstrate our strength on the 30th of May, when we will hounor our fallen brothers.
Radio Biafra and what it represents, through the Indigenous People of Biafra is a total different kettle of fish altogether. We are the only people registered at the United Nations as Biafrans. MASSOB is not there. I recognize the works most members of MASSOB did, those that have died, and mind you, we shall also be honouring MASSOB members that died genuinely and not those that died doing kidnapping or armed robbery.
Radio Biafra may be broadcasting once every four days from the back of a Volkswagen, driving from one place to another, but now we can broadcast from any surface on this earth and people on satellite can receive us. Uwazurike couldn’t do it, nobody could do it, but the collective might of all the Biafrans all over the world, which will be tested on the 30th of May. This is to show people how powerful we are,
we are not paper tigers. We want to demonstrate our strength on the 30th of May, when we will hounor our fallen brothers.
Radio Biafra and what it represents, through the Indigenous People of Biafra is a total different kettle of fish altogether. We are the only people registered at the United Nations as Biafrans. MASSOB is not there. I recognize the works most members of MASSOB did, those that have died, and mind you, we shall also be honouring MASSOB members that died genuinely and not those that died doing kidnapping or armed robbery.
Can’t this be taken as treason against the Nigerian government?
Nigeria has no government. What we have is a collection of illegality, and more justification of illegality. The question we are asking is, who is a Nigerian? I can show you a Yoruba person, Biafran and Arewa person. Is anybody an indigenous person of Nigeria before Frederick Lugard came? The answer is no. In other words, we accept that one single white man created a nation, and no single person can create a nation. Nations emerge as an organic process that defines boundaries.
But in our own case, one man came, took some parts of Yoruba –there are Yoruba people in Benin Republic. Are you telling me that somebody bearing Adeboye in Cotonou is not more closely related to another Adeboye in Badagry? So, what is Adeboye of Badagry doing wth Okechukwu from Okigwe? Nigeria itself is an illegal entity. Frederick Lugard did not come to my village with a visa. Therefore, I do not need permission to restore my people to what they used to be.
Nigeria has no government. What we have is a collection of illegality, and more justification of illegality. The question we are asking is, who is a Nigerian? I can show you a Yoruba person, Biafran and Arewa person. Is anybody an indigenous person of Nigeria before Frederick Lugard came? The answer is no. In other words, we accept that one single white man created a nation, and no single person can create a nation. Nations emerge as an organic process that defines boundaries.
But in our own case, one man came, took some parts of Yoruba –there are Yoruba people in Benin Republic. Are you telling me that somebody bearing Adeboye in Cotonou is not more closely related to another Adeboye in Badagry? So, what is Adeboye of Badagry doing wth Okechukwu from Okigwe? Nigeria itself is an illegal entity. Frederick Lugard did not come to my village with a visa. Therefore, I do not need permission to restore my people to what they used to be.
My grouse with Uwazurike
I do, and every Igbo politician, and every other persons that have used the name of Biafra to lie and cheat. I hate liars and cheats. He compromised the struggle. Isn’t it very funny that Asari Dokubo is coming openly to say that he will give Shekau a battle? Why is it that Uwazurike has not spoken? What is freedom fighter doing with hotels and mansions? Why did he campaign for Ohakim? I have the video to prove. Why did he allow Al Mustapha to come to Freedom House? Why did he allow the same people that shot and killed MASSOB members to be walking about Freedom House in Okwe?. Why did he invite the son of Abacha to Okwe with a 21 gun salute and 21 gun salute for Al-Mustapha- the same people that participated in the genocide of 3. 6 million Igbos?
I do, and every Igbo politician, and every other persons that have used the name of Biafra to lie and cheat. I hate liars and cheats. He compromised the struggle. Isn’t it very funny that Asari Dokubo is coming openly to say that he will give Shekau a battle? Why is it that Uwazurike has not spoken? What is freedom fighter doing with hotels and mansions? Why did he campaign for Ohakim? I have the video to prove. Why did he allow Al Mustapha to come to Freedom House? Why did he allow the same people that shot and killed MASSOB members to be walking about Freedom House in Okwe?. Why did he invite the son of Abacha to Okwe with a 21 gun salute and 21 gun salute for Al-Mustapha- the same people that participated in the genocide of 3. 6 million Igbos?
No comments:
Post a Comment