September 4, 2019
By Nelson Ofokar Yagazie | Biafra Writers
Some time ago I had encounter with an Nsukka born journalist domiciled in Lagos. This fellow was pouring venoms on the agitators of a free state of Biafra, making no attempt to hide his unbridled hatred for the leader of the struggle, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. In one of the invectives being spread by this misguided sheep, he mentioned that Nsukka was labeled treacherous by other Igbos while a certain bearded Colonel (referring to Ojukwu) was the one fanning the ember of war. Expressing further his antagonism to the Biafra quest, this lost soul unloaded everything venomous on Kanu.
Trying to save a soul from hell, I put forward the rhetoric, “are you not proving them right by your actions?” If someone says that you betrayed a project and you are saying it’s not true, yet you are currently kicking against that project, you are actually proving the person right. I explained to the short-sighted journalist that if the other Igbos accused Nsukka people wrongly, it behooves Nsukka folks to extricate selves from such label and that they must do by engaging vigorously in the fight for Biafra. That way they would have proved their innocence.
Yes, Nsukka province has been called treacherous by other Biafran provinces. Contrary to the interpretation of some of our brothers from Nsukka axis, the treachery tag on Nsukka is not born out of spite. Some things actually led to it.
Nsukka was the first to fall during the war. Of course, Nsukka is a border province and should be excused. Nevertheless, the ease with which it fell sparked the suspicion. And then, the attitude of the indigenes toward the war. It was said that some Nsukka folks when captured, would volunteer to show the enemy the hideouts of Biafran soldiers in exchange for their life. Of course, that saw the wastage of many lives as the fighting Biafra soldiers were taken unawares by the vandals. Regardless of how one might want to excuse such action, it is treachery in definition.
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The president-general of the now proscribed Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, came out last time in Lagos to publicly declare his willingness to sabotage Biafra at every given inch. As if that is not enough, he has recently requested German police to arrest and prosecute IPOB members in Germany for reminding Senator Ike Ekweremadu and other Eastern politicians that our people are being killed by Fulani and as the people’s representatives in government, they should stand up to the challenges. Nnia Nwodo is an Nsukka man.
The other time it was Bar. Kenneth Okonkwo – a movie star popularly known as Andy Okeke that unashamedly demonstrated his antipathy toward Biafra restoration quest, applying everything despicable in his description of the project. Kenneth Okonkwo is an Nsukka man.
Rita Eberechukwu Anigbogu was so dear to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He so trusted her that he made her his Chief of staff. You know what that entails. But what did our sister do with the trust reposed on her? She led a detachment of Nigerian police to assassinate Kanu in our Enugwu office in 2014. It did not end there. When Kanu returned from jail in 2017, Eberechukwu Anigbogu visited him, shedding crocodile tears. Kanu's loving heart rose to fore as he embraced and welcomed her as a brother would a sister, letting go of the ills she had done him. Yet, Anigbogu later turned against him once again. Anigbogu is an Nsukka woman.
Ngozi Madu was IPOB women leader ...decorated by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu himself. Conceited and tricked by her own mind, she turned against the struggle, vowing to fight the struggle to a standstill ... a threat Uche Mefor (IPOB deputy leader) personally took as a challenge, asking her and her league to do their worst. She tried her best, but as with all enemies of Biafra, fizzled out like an evening wind. Ngozi Madu is an Nsukka indigene.
One might argue, as I have in the past, and rightly so, that treachery is not peculiar to Nsukka people as the likes of Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Ukpabi Asika, Martin Elechi, Ken Saro Wiwa, Elechi Amadi, Isaac Adaka Boro, Joe Igbokwe, Ralph Uwazuruike, Ikechukwu Enyiagu, Uchenna Asiegbu (Omiomio) Clifford Iroanya, Emma Nmezu and all the rest of treacherous souls in Biafra are not from Nsukka. Nonetheless, when you have prominent figures like Nnia Nwodo and Kenneth Okonkwo sprouting out from Nsukka to voice their treacherous inclinations without an equivalent voice to the contrary, one would be excused to think that such stance resonates with an average Nsukka man, hence the perception of Nsukka as saboteurs.
Get me clear, you are not saboteurs … at least not every one of you is. But the deeds of a few – the likes of Nnia Nwodo – threaten to cast you all as one. You know that saying “ofu mkpuru aka ruta manu o zuo ora?” (When one finger touches oil it spreads to the rest.) That’s exactly what is playing out in the said perception of Nsukka as treacherous by the other Biafran provinces.
It's therefore incumbent on us the Nsukka people to act in such a way that will extricate us from the vice of the black sheep amongst us, and prove to the wider Biafra community that the likes of Nnia Nwodo don't represent Nsukka. It is expected of Nsukka people, therefore, to exert a coordinated effort towards Biafra freedom as a way of proving their innocence.
In the novel “Sunset at Dawn”, Professor Chukwumeka Ike, through the character Dr. Amilo Kanu, showed how a man initially judged a traitor can make amends and even rise to the very fore. Rather than grieve over the label, Nsukka folks should borrow a leaf from Amilo Kanu.
Nsukka deje nu!
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80% of nsukka people re for biafra so forget about the 20% who re against it for their personal and political interest and move ahead. Nsukka deje nu.
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