“By
far, the most important legacy of military rule
has to be the radical political transformation
of Nigeria through the prosecution of one of Africa’s
most tragic civil wars”. This statement,
issued by the Biafra Memorial Project (BMP) Committee,
was part of a resolution which has proffered a
practical means to revisit the Biafran issue for
the ultimate good of the Nigerian nation.The statement
acknowledged that the radical stance of the Movement
for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra
(MASSOB), in spite of the unrealistic ambitions
of its founders, has brought back the unresolved
issues of the Civil War to the center of national
consciousness. The BMP release further opined
that “re-emergence of the Biafran issue
should not be seen as just a national security
matter .... ....
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There
is a clamor by membership of major pan-Igbo groups in America
to coalesce their organizational efforts into the formation
of Ohanaeze-USA as an integral part of the main body at
home. The nature of contemporary Nigerian politics requires
an Ohanaeze that is composed of dynamic, experienced and
competent hands which are in ample supply in many large
population centers across the USA. A
spokesman of one of US-based pan-Igbo groups, in private
comment, envisions a new Ohanaeze that “has more of
the Oha than the Ezes within is ranks.”....
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As
a tool for healing the pain of the Civil War, the bill has
asked the President to establish a “Civil War Reconciliation
Committee”, from all political parties and all geopolitical
zones in Nigeria, to address all pertinent issues regarding
the Civil War. The Committee shall be required to invite group
and individual testimonies which shall “focus on the
causes of the Civil War, the massacres of the Civil War, the
tortures of the Civil war, and the necessary reparations to
be made by the Federal Government to the aggrieved, if any”.
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More
One
of the primcipal objectives of the BMP is opening of the Nigerian
Eastern Economic Corridor which encompasses the Niger Delta,
southeastern coastline, Alaigbo and the hinterland. This corridor
starts from Warri to Calabar estuaries and extends into the
Nigerian heartland. Opening this new corridor shall instantaneously
double the economic output potential of Nigeria by expanding
present activities in Lagos corridor. .....
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In
the face of severe suffering, hunger and death as well as
unrelenting military pressure from the well equipped and
more numerous federal troops, the average Biafran needed
to hear the type of inspirational speech that Ahiara Declaration
turned out to be. It was a great paradox that the enunciation
of the Biafran dream predated its collapse by only 6 months.
Nonetheless, the Ahiara Declaration posed many
questions.... ...-
More
The
proposed ‘Igbo Day’ has been portrayed as a
conduit for addressing the recent sociopolitical history
of our people within the Nigerian context and also as a
showcase for resurgent Igbo nationalism. Because of the
implications of the latter, it would have been more prudent
to deeply reflect on the choice of terms, such as ‘Igbo
Day’, so as not to unduly encourage the stigmatization
of Ndiigbo who do not belong to the Southeast and those
who reside and work regularly in other parts of Nigeria.
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The
Biafra Memorial Project (BMP) Committee recently paid a
visit to the Home for Biafran Veterans in Oji River, Enugu
State. The delegation, which was led by Meke Ifejika and
the BMP leader for the Southeast, Chief Chuba Nweke, ended
on a very high emotional tone when the veterans and their
dependents as well as the guests burst into nostalgic songs
of the Biafran era. ....-
More
