Biafra cannot be achieved through mere demonstrations.

Enugu The renewed clamour for the secession of Biafra from the Nigeria nation agitates the mind of Ndigbo on the rationale behind the strident call. After the Civil War,General Yakubu Gowon(Rtd) had enunciated, as a panacea to remedy the battered infrastructure in the south-east geopolitical zone, three Rs,reconstruction,rehabilitation and reconciliation as veritable, to integrate the people into mainstream governance in the country. Chief Okorie But the Igbo have continued to agitate for better government presence, claiming that   successive governments had not treated the region fairly culminating in the activities of groups calling for secession although they have been rightly faulted severally. The Chairman United Progressives Party,UPP, and former Presidential candidate,Chief Chekwas Okorie, told Saturday Vanguard that mere protests and demonstrations embarked upon by MASSOB,IPOB and other affiliate groups for Biafra secession cannot achieve any desired result. “Mere demonstrations and protests cannot achieve Biafra. I will advise them to use a political option. As a matter of fact,President Muhammad Buhari has tacitly suggested that when he spoke with an international news channel. Buhari said ‘Nigeria is a multi-party democracy. Igbo people should take advantage of that,organize a political party and use it to vote for what they want’. Last February, Republic of Ireland celebrated its 100 years of struggle for self determination to breakaway from United Kingdom. And they are still counting because it is not over yet. In 2014,Scotland also had a referendum. In that referendum,what Britain did was to give some concession to Scotland. The referendum failed to achieve what it was set out to achieve. Today,majority of their people,voted to remain. “Even if you want to do a referendum in Nigeria,it cannot be possible without the cooperation of the sovereign country covering the area. Merely demonstrating on the streets cannot achieve a separate country. It can’t. It has not achieved it anywhere in the world. Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, at St Peter’s Square Rome, during their visit to Pope Francis at theVatican. “He(Buhari)had almost given them a hint to what they can do. It is like somebody you want to breakaway from advising you on how to go about it. I toe the line of our late great leader,Dim Chukwuemeka Odumuegwu Ojukwu who said,’Biafra of the spirit is indestructible,but Biafra of a geographical area will require a superior Tank,to the Nigerian Tank’. “That means a superior military force to the Nigerian military force. Which means it has to be war. Ojukwu tried and failed and advised that it should not be tried again. And I agree with that completely because that is the reality of the present day. Look at the Palestinians,they have been fighting for donkey years. But when they used a political bend instead of fighting Isreal, today,Palestinians have attracted the attention of the United Nation. “That is why I said a lot of diplomatic leg walk and political efforts will be required. Merely raising Biafra flags and blocking the roads,streets will not achieve anything. I know my view may not please the youngsters. Biafra cannot be obtained by a mere broadcast on radio. Things have changed. Part of what agitates the youngsters is the complete absence of federal presence in the region. “Not one. Look at the 2nd Niger Bridge, it has been talked about for ages. The Akanu-Ibiam International airport is only international by name. I flew it the other day and it was riddled with portholes on the tarmac. There are no lights. So, no plane can land or takeoff there in the night and you call it an international airport? Our roads are death traps.   No federal presence anywhere. There is no way we can get development if we remain politically docile and all we do is to join other political parties of others and become their errand boys. We will continue lamentation if we do not form a political bloc. We must take concrete steps to mobilize our people the way Nnamdi Azikwe did in the first republic and we were relevant in this country. In the second republic the same Zik did it again. The All Progressives Grad Alliance,APGA, would have done it. But again,traitors among us destroyed that vision. So,we are starting all over from the very beginning.” UNEMPLOYMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR AGITATION Chairman, Enugu Unity Forum,Chief Tahil Och told Saturday Vanguard that,”the Federal Government has a big role to play in making sure that some of these regional agitations are addressed. With what is happening in the North-East,South-South and South-East,it will be difficult for President Buhari to achieve his ‘Change’ mantra if there’s no peace in the land. “These agitations from the youths are because of the unemployment situation in the country. If federal government can channel the N500 billion for social welfare into agriculture,it will go a long way to address some of these agitations. When the youths are busy,they will not have time to carry guns against anybody. MASSOB LEADER REACTS Uchenna Madu, MASSOB Leader, exclusively revealed that,”the current struggle for Biafra actualization which was started by MASSOB with mobilisation, sensitisation and rallies in   September, 1999 during Obasanjo’s administration was a reaction to government’s inaction in the area. “Though the Biafra struggle for actualization which is anchored on non violence has lasted for about 17 years, MASSOB still believes that the continued application of non violence is better.