Good Morning Biafra!

By George Onmonya Daniel (culled from his Facebook wall)

Yesterday both BBC and Aljazeera focused on Biafra. They said the sit-at-home protest in solidarity with the 50th Anniversary of the Biafran war was 100% successful. Suddenly, Biafra looms larger than life internationally. Mr. Nnamdi Kanu's Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) have won this one, they have managed to bring the whole of Igbos together to focus on Biafra. They did all that peacefully and there was no report that anybody was harmed or killed. Thanks to the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration for not being analytical and strategic. For assuming that arresting Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would solve their problem. For assuming the show of power would make people fear them. For assuming to show they are tough would solve all their problem and through intimidation and sheer brutality they are in control. They lost control immediately they arrest Kanu.

All over the world the passion for Biafra was enkindled among the Igbo people and where Nnamdi Kanu was not popular he is popular today. And this sit-at-home protest has made him more popular. Even his ardent critics among the Igbos are awed at the compliance and I am sure politicians are watching now that they know they cannot ignore BIAFRA, now that Nigeria knows it cannot just ignore Biafra.

Whether we like it or not, we cannot ignore the fact that this Biafran agitations all over the world is not popular. It has always been popular. Critics of the whole Biafran project just want to tell the world it is not. What are the critics doing about it? Nothing. What are the Biafran agitators doing about it? They are everywhere on the streets and on the social media working vigorously day and night and making so much noise about the Biafra of their dreams. And people who ordinarily don't believe are now beginning in IPOB's dream of Biafra. A nation where milk and honey would flow, where everyone would be equal, where there would be freedom of speech, where there would be no corruption, and the Igbos would build a Singapore of Africa. If you listen carefully, if you just listen, you would find a lot of Igbos talking about this nation, not a Nigeria that is plagued with so many problems, disunity, terrorism, corruption, lack of employment, marginalization and you can just continue to name it.

The failure of the Nigerian government to move Nigeria ahead, to bring Nigeria together, to give Nigerian hope, the wanton looting and ostentatious display of wealth by a few, is responsible for all these agitations, from the Sharia Law where Northern Nigerian Muslims believe democracy isn't the answer but Islamic Sharia, to Odua People's Congress (OPC), and the Niger Delta agitation for independence over exploitation of their resources, it has been the Nigerian government that has been the problem, a group of cartel who care only about milking Nigeria.

Are they worried over the Biafran agitation? I don't think most of them are worried even though they should worry. After looting billions of dollars of taxpayer money they become uncreative and out of touch with reality. They don't see serious issue that would benefit or affect the nation.

In all this the biggest miscalculation was arresting Mr. Kanu. President Buhari has the reputation of assuming acting tough solves problems. He forgot that we are not in the early 80s when he was Head of State.

Nigeria need to talk to protesters and treat them differently. The hostility and attacks and even killings seem to energize them like fuel in a truck.