Opinion: How Biafra Referendum Will Look Like
I am against the school of thought that always say that referendum will settle everything. For me, the only thing referendum will settle is which people will and will not be in Biafra. When you raise certain issues, some people will tell you to stop. Their reason for telling you to stop is that they believe that referendum will settle it.
It is important that we understand what we are going into. It is never proper that we vote in ignorance. Voting in ignorance will make someone that should vote yes to vote no and those that supposed to vote no will vote yes. It will set the stage for anarchy.
Biafra as a nation will be absolutely nothing compared to Nigeria. While Nigeria was created under fiat, Biafra will be created out of Referendum. This referendum won't be autocratic. The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has stated that the referendum will be according to race.
It means that the referendum will never be entire Biafrans voting yes or no at one setting. It will be the different nations under Biafra voting for themselves. This means that Ndi Igbo will vote for themselves. Ijaw for themselves, and Efik for themselves. And likewise others. If you vote no, so be it.
With this, the principle of choice is maintained. No body will ever claim to be forced into Biafra. You should not be begged nor forced. There will be nothing like minority or majority. That's because you will be recognized as a nation inside Biafra. This means that you are going to be 100% in control of your resources. You will make your local laws and in your language too. There will be a weaker central government. Something in great contrast to what is obtainable in Nigeria.
This is the true example of freedom.
Stop thinking that this struggle is for oil. Don't think that because the Igbo are fully into this struggle and have been sacrificing, then they are looking for what you have. The problem with some people is that the Nigeria establishment has distorted their brains with lots of misinformation, in that they hardly think straight and reasonable again.
For the past 50 years since after the civil war, the Nigeria establishment has not only presented the Igbo as a tiny people, they have presented them as a people with no natural resources, and at the same time a people that is land locked. This is a lie.
Igbo land is not limited to South East region of Nigeria. In fact, Ndi Igbo transcends South East into the South South states of Delta, Rivers, Akwaibom, Edo, Bayelsa, and even to the Northern State of Benue.
Majority of the Igbo speaking communities carved into these places are Oil producing communities. The Igbo states like Anambra, Abia and Imo are also oil producing States. Ebonyi is home to agriculture and stones. Enugu is center for coal.
The twist is that with these natural resources in Igbo land of South East and South South, an average Igbo man doesn't care about oil. They believe in what they can invent or produce. Their power is not in what is beneath their feet. Their power is in human resources. So if you think that the Igbo is sacrificing their all for this struggle, because of the oil in your backyard, then I must say that you truly don't understand the Igbo man.
This freedom we seek for is nonnegotiable. We are leaving the zoo. It doesn't matter if other nations in Biafra land decides to vote No.
We are going!
Written by Elochukwu Ohagi
For Family Writers International
I am against the school of thought that always say that referendum will settle everything. For me, the only thing referendum will settle is which people will and will not be in Biafra. When you raise certain issues, some people will tell you to stop. Their reason for telling you to stop is that they believe that referendum will settle it.
It is important that we understand what we are going into. It is never proper that we vote in ignorance. Voting in ignorance will make someone that should vote yes to vote no and those that supposed to vote no will vote yes. It will set the stage for anarchy.
Biafra as a nation will be absolutely nothing compared to Nigeria. While Nigeria was created under fiat, Biafra will be created out of Referendum. This referendum won't be autocratic. The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has stated that the referendum will be according to race.
It means that the referendum will never be entire Biafrans voting yes or no at one setting. It will be the different nations under Biafra voting for themselves. This means that Ndi Igbo will vote for themselves. Ijaw for themselves, and Efik for themselves. And likewise others. If you vote no, so be it.
With this, the principle of choice is maintained. No body will ever claim to be forced into Biafra. You should not be begged nor forced. There will be nothing like minority or majority. That's because you will be recognized as a nation inside Biafra. This means that you are going to be 100% in control of your resources. You will make your local laws and in your language too. There will be a weaker central government. Something in great contrast to what is obtainable in Nigeria.
This is the true example of freedom.
Stop thinking that this struggle is for oil. Don't think that because the Igbo are fully into this struggle and have been sacrificing, then they are looking for what you have. The problem with some people is that the Nigeria establishment has distorted their brains with lots of misinformation, in that they hardly think straight and reasonable again.
For the past 50 years since after the civil war, the Nigeria establishment has not only presented the Igbo as a tiny people, they have presented them as a people with no natural resources, and at the same time a people that is land locked. This is a lie.
Igbo land is not limited to South East region of Nigeria. In fact, Ndi Igbo transcends South East into the South South states of Delta, Rivers, Akwaibom, Edo, Bayelsa, and even to the Northern State of Benue.
Majority of the Igbo speaking communities carved into these places are Oil producing communities. The Igbo states like Anambra, Abia and Imo are also oil producing States. Ebonyi is home to agriculture and stones. Enugu is center for coal.
The twist is that with these natural resources in Igbo land of South East and South South, an average Igbo man doesn't care about oil. They believe in what they can invent or produce. Their power is not in what is beneath their feet. Their power is in human resources. So if you think that the Igbo is sacrificing their all for this struggle, because of the oil in your backyard, then I must say that you truly don't understand the Igbo man.
This freedom we seek for is nonnegotiable. We are leaving the zoo. It doesn't matter if other nations in Biafra land decides to vote No.
We are going!
Written by Elochukwu Ohagi
For Family Writers International
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