Peter Obi for President? Or Biafra?

Peter Obi’s run for president has given way to many tribal slurs and attack against the Igbo people. We have been called IPOB and mocked for the terrorists who continue to use violence to force people to sit-at-home every Monday and every other day they feel like in the South-East. Those who mock Obi for the IPOB’s activities say that the Igbos cannot want two different things at the same time. Do we no longer want Biafra? If it were up to me, I’d say no. We don’t want Biafra. Mind you, I grew up idolizing Odimegwu Ojukwu – believing in his struggle and wondering what a Biafran Republic would have looked like. However, I was only a kid born and raised in Lagos, and I was only going to learn more as I grew up. And that I did. Like a scriptwriter’s work, I had my undergraduate studies in the South-East. Not due to any Biafran sentiment, it just happened. But my experiences as a student in Anambra state, spending most of my time around fellow Igbo folk and even holidays in my Nnewi hometown served to ground me in reality: Biafra will not be different from Nigeria. Not really. An experience in 2016 was the most remarkable for me. I’ll share it below. It was a Friday night and I was walking to my off-campus apartment from school when I noticed stationary white, red and amber lights shining above the short fence that separated my school campus from the main road. Some ways from the gate a small crowd of okada men and others gathered. I was curious. But it was night and opposite to the direction I was going, so I minded my business and went my way. Later as I stopped to buy my dinner at a store, a man who had been with the crowd was narrating what had happened. Apparently, two men had stolen a bike but ran out of fuel on their escape. And one of them was caught. The mob had beaten him to death and wanted to burn him. I have an issue with jungle justice. But that is not the reason for this post. The narrator, when asked of the origin of the thief, nonchalantly said, "Maybe Hausa or Abakaliki." (Both thieves were later confirmed to be Hausa). Because I had lived in that town for more than 2 years by then, I know that the attitude would have different if the thief had been a homeboy. Beaten, yes. But not killed. But you see, the mob did not care about this Hausa man’s life. And no, this is not a Biafran War dislike for Hausa. It’s just that uneducated Hausa people aren’t really valued like that in those areas. Neither are the Ebonyi people (where the Abakaliki man is from). Contrary to Biafran sentiment, the Igbo tribe is not a model of unity. Dangerous prejudices exist between us too. These were issues I only realized when I lived among my people. The only reason why they are no alarms yet is because of the perceived common enemies – Hausa and Yoruba people. My point here, though, is that if we get Biafra, prejudices that have existed in the hearts of people from different tribes, states and towns shall come to the fore; and they are ugly. The southerners will then see that the Igbos can be oppressive in themselves and always want to rule too, as we now accuse the Hausas of doing. And they will clamor for their Ogoniland and every other land that they want. The Igbos, themselves, will not value the southerners much (tales of Civil War atrocities come to mind), plus there will be lots of infighting amongst and between Igbos. Even our elections will not be free and fair. There is much to say on this matter but I believe that the point is clear: Biafra will not be a Utopia. It may even be worse than Nigeria has ever been – which will only lead to many more breakaways. Nigeria can be a great nation and as one we have many advantages which only beg to be utilized right. Breaking away will ruin that. Yes, we have been grieved, and continue to be cheated. But breaking away does not solve the problem, it only elevates a new oppressor. The solution is in looking into Nigeria and solving it as one. These grievances can be remedied. I hope that, irrespective of the elections outcome, the next president would humble himself and reason with those clamoring for Biafra to negotiate a resolution. However those agitating for Biafra think it'll be possible to co-exist with the other minority tribes which will be involved in it, they should suggest the same to the government. The solutions to the two conundrums cannot be too different. The answer will not be found in running away. It is in conference and dialogue. We need a national reorientation effort to help us value and respect every other person as humans that we all are; possessing values, dreams, goals, abilities and potential. The truth is, when we look into our hearts and search, telling ourselves the truth, we would discover that what we want is not Biafra or secession, but equity and a sense of belonging.

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