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| Nnamdi Kanu - IPOB Leader |
Awolowo was 37 years, Akintola was 36, Ahmadu Bello was 36, Balewa was 34, Okotie-Eboh was 27, Enahoro was 27 when they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after the death of Macaulay. Only Zik was 42 at the time!
In 1966, the first military coup was led by Kaduna Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by Muritala Mohammed 28, T.Y Danjuma 28, Ibrahim Babangida 25, J. Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23, and M. Yar'adua 23, and yakubu Gowon became the head of state at 32 with Obasanjo at 29 and Buhari at 24 leading the civil war against Biafrans with other top Nigerian military officers that are less than 30years! While Ojukwu at 33 defended Biafra with other Biafran elites,all less than 30 years!
All these people mentioned above, belongs to our grand fathers generation, that grew up under the clutches of the white supremacist colonial masters, that enslaved their fathers and grandfathers generation for more than hundred years! During which they plundered and shipped away their natural resources to far away Europe.Our grandfathers did not just talk and lament over the situation they found themselves in, Like the youths of this my present generation does on social media, hoping for a miracle from an expired generation of recycled leaders,that cares only about themselves. Our grandfather's generation knew that it was their future that was at stake, despite the fact that they had a better management under the colonial masters than we have under them today, yet they mobilised themselves and started the struggle for their freedom. To rule themselves, manage their resources and decide over their future. Anyway thanks to the American government at that time that pressurized the British imperialists and other colonialists to leave Africa.
At the dawn of independence in 1960, these young leaders with vision took charge of the country, with strong will and determination to make things right for their people with constructive competition among the three regions of Nigeria in terms strong economic policies and provision of quality infrastructures in education, health, industries, road networks and proper management of resources, which our fathers' generation enjoyed and also excelled in academics that saw them rise above their contemporaries in other Regions. This massive development in both human and material resources sparked envy, hatred and ethnic resentment from the Hausa/Fulani and the Yoruba, that later culminated to a pogrom and a war of genocide in other to quench our progress and exterminate every Biafran through series of massacre and food blockade, under the supervision of their British overlords, in other to exploit our natural resources and convert our rain-forest to their grazing reserve!
However, our fathers' generation just like their fathers, fought these predators with all their might and survived, even though they lost their political and economic freedom. Nevertheless, according to Professor Gordian Ekwe Ekwe (a foremost Biafran scientist during the war) in his speech at Harvard University, during his review of "Ali Mazuri's" book on Christopher Okigbo, he said: "The "Biafran" people did not lose the war, because they survived! He stressed that "the Hausa/ Fulanis with their Yoruba Allies through the help of the British government, failed in their mission to exterminate every Biafran from the face of the earth despite the full Nigerian and the British military might that was brought down upon them". No wonder our fathers generation remained silent in the face of harsh economic and political situation that they were subjected to immediately after the war, because all they needed was just to survive.
Therefore, they ignored all the privileges and benefits that comes with political power and faced business as their only means of survival while their conquerors plunder our resources pollute our environment, and skew all the government policies against us! The few privileged ones that were opportune to find themselves in the corridors of power only cared for their pockets and therefore cannot question any of these government policies that is jeopardizing the future of this our present generation in terms of:
*Lack of employment opportunities in many federal government ministries and departments.
* Education policy that awards lower cut off marks to students from the North against higher cut off marks for the South
*Federal appointment and Ambassadorial posts into strategic positions and countries.
*Military Admissions and recruitment in the Nigerian Defense Academy and promotions.
*Economic policy of exploiting the south without any contributions from the North.
* Imbalance in the political structure that awards more states and local government to the North.
* Imbalance in the financial allocation of fund for infrastructural development by the federal government.
* Institutionalised Sharia system in the constitution.
* Islamization agenda. Etc
Despite all this glaring evidence of subjugation, some Biafran youths still believe that we have any meaningful future in today's Nigeria as presently constituted. One thing some of these youths is yet to understand is that every generation has got its own fare share of anti progressive forces to contend with, our grand fathers fought the white supremacists that took control of their affairs and got back their economic and political freedom, which the British took back again from our fathers through the Instrumentality of the Hausa/ Fulani and their Yoruba Allies and even tried to exterminate them, but they fought back and survived!
Now the question before every Biafran youth of this generation is this; Now that we have survived through our businesses, shall we continue to merely survive? Or shall we take our future into our own hands? Our fathers generation cannot fight their own battle of survival and at the same time fight for our own emancipation. Because every generation has its own mandate against a common enemy, our fathers own was to survive, ours is to emancipate ourselves and lead! And this new Biafra Revolution that is led by Nnamdi kanu will surely turn the tide and set this generation of youths as the leaders of the New Nation that will lead our younger generation into the 21st century civilization that is ruled by science and technology.
By Okpara Chimaobi
Editor/Publisher: Chinwe Korie
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