IPOB THE FIRST AMONG EQUALS

By Ogechukwu Ubah (Abia Writers)
Edited by Livingrich Ezeikpe
The emergence of the Indigenous peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and her activities in 2014, has as a target the restoration of Biafra and has been working towards it. Her actions have been coming in stages; they have organized different types of protests from 2014 to date. After the first heroes remembrance day on the 30th of May 2014, organized in Enugu, the second one was at Aba 2015, and Nkpor for the 2016 edition.

A mega protest was held in the whole of Biafra land in 2015 where IPOB was divided into groups A and B. Group A which comprised of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Imo and Rivers states walked from Bayelsa to Igweocha (Port Harcourt) to Aba, where Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers have joined Abia and they moved to Imo state. Group B comprised of Igbanke in Edo state, Delta state, Anambra, Enugu and our brothers in Benue state. This group walked from Igbanke to join Delta, from Delta to Anambra and from Anambra to Enugu state where the Idomas and Agatus were waiting.

There have been series of peaceful demonstrations and evangelism in Biafraland, and even outside Biafra land, like Lagos and Abuja. Biafrans in the Diaspora are not left out as mega protests were held in over 80 countries in the quest for the restoration of Motherland. On 9th of February 2016, they assembled at National high school Aba for prayers, and on the 20th of January 2017, they also made their presence felt in Igweocha (Port Harcourt).

In all her peaceful protests, IPOB members have been openly killed, injured, abducted, arrested and detained. The ordeal IPOB has gone through in the hands of the Nigerian government is not hidden, everybody has seen it, and the World has been talking about it. It is also on record that IPOB children have conducted their own peaceful demonstration in quest of the restoration of motherland-Biafra.

The most recent is IPOB women protest in Owerri, on the 17th of August 2018 where over 150 of them were arrested and detained by the Nigerian government. IPOB spearheaded Anambra election boycott and are still ready to boycott the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. There was also a show of force protest by IPOB volunteers all over Biafraland on the 12th of September for the anticipated Saboteur's Day General Strike. Then there was the successful sit at home protest on 14th September 2018 which shut down the whole of Biafraland.

Some groups that existed before and after IPOB that claimed to restore Biafra, groups like MASSOB (Movement For The Actualisation Of Sovereign State Of Biafra), BIM (Biafran Independent Movement), RBI (Radio Biafra International), Zionist Movement, Lower Niger Congress e t c, are nowhere today. Their activities and roadmap for Biafra restoration leave a doubt whether they were actually created to restore Biafra.

What these groups do today is criticize IPOB. Any movement IPOB makes, they will criticize, but when they see the success of such moves, they will be the first to claim credit. They say IPOB is not getting it; if IPOB is not getting it, they should come up with their own agenda, and if it is better, IPOB will join them to make sure that Biafra is restored because that is all that matters to IPOB. Although criticism sometimes is good because they make one better, but it is constructive criticisms and not those borne out of jealousy. it cannot get Biafra.

Instead of criticizing IPOB, joining of effort can do better work. If for example, IPOB is protesting in Igweocha (Port Harcourt), and BIM is doing the same thing in Owerri, MASSOB at Aba, Zionist at Onitsha, Lower Niger Congress at Enugu or Asaba, e t c. Nigeria will be thrown into confusion, the world and the International bodies will be attracted quickly, and before long Biafra will be restored. Unnecessary criticism will keep Biafra far because the world will see the agitators as not being serious.

When Biafra restoration is pursued with every amount of seriousness without many saboteurs especially insiders, before you know it, Biafra is restored.  My advice to all these groups, if actually they are there to restore Biafra, is that they should bring out their agenda and work towards it; otherwise, it will be assumed that they are working for the Nigerian government and also deceiving themselves.