The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has responded to former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s comment that Biafra was dead and buried on January 13, 1970.
In a statement released by IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful and obtained by News About Nigeria, the group said that Biafra is not dead and that the movement to restore it is still alive.
Obasanjo made the remark during a speech at the one-year celebration of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s inauguration as the governor of Anambra State in Awka.
He also acknowledged the existence of “Igbophobia” in Nigeria, and IPOB pointed out that the Igbo people have faced subjugation, maltreatment, deprivation, discrimination, profiling, militarization, and the killing of their youths.
Powerful emphasized that no amount of propaganda or blackmail could stop the restoration of Biafra.
The statement read: “We want Obasanjo to know that Biafra is not dead and definitely not buried. No amount of propaganda and blackmail against the IPOB movement will make us change our resolve to restore Biafra. We either restore Biafra or we die restoring Biafra.”
The Biafra movement began in the late 1960s when the Igbo people attempted to secede from Nigeria and form their own country.
The conflict resulted in a civil war that lasted for three years, leading to the deaths of millions of people.
In 1970, the Nigerian government declared victory, and Biafra was reintegrated into Nigeria.
However, the movement to restore Biafra has continued to grow in recent years. IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, has been at the forefront of the movement, advocating for a separate Biafran state.
The group has faced significant opposition from the Nigerian government, which has labeled it a terrorist organization and cracked down on its members.
The Biafra movement has been a divisive issue in Nigeria, with some arguing that it is necessary to address the marginalization of the Igbo people, while others see it as a threat to the unity of the country.
The Nigerian government has maintained that the country’s unity is non-negotiable and has taken steps to prevent the secession of any part of the country.
