POLL: Will Lagos Erupt In Biafra Protests?
Editor's Note: The South East and South South regions are on the throes of protest by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The group, angry over alleged marginalisation of Igbo ethnic group, wants to create a country under Biafra. They are also angry over the continued detention of Radio Biafra director, Nnamdi Kanu. The protest is still limited to the south east. But will it spread to Lagos?
Like a wild bush fire in the harmattan season, the Biafra protest by the IPOB, championing a separation from Nigeria is sweeping across the South East and South-South geo-political zones.
READ ALSO: Biafra Supporters Protest In Port Harcourt
At the last count, the protest has grounded Enugu, Onitsha, Port-Harcourt, Owerri and threatening other places. In Asaba, the capital of Delta State, angry Biafra youths shut down the Niger Bridge.
In Onitsha, the protest turned violent and one person was reportedly shot dead. In Port Harcourt, Governor Nyesom Wike, is a having a hell of battle containing a protest that is threatening to shut the city down.
Across the world, the protesters have also demonstrated in major cities such as Paris, New Delhi and other European cities.
The IPOB, a separatist movement is seeking to secede from Nigeria citing marginalization of the South East under the Buhari administration and other grievances chiefly of which is the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, the Radio Biafra director.
Kanu had been arrested on a visit to Nigeria from his base in London. He was seized by security operatives and had been in detention since after failing to meet stringent bail conditions set by a Nigerian court. The Biafra conundrum also has historical antecedents.
The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970, was a war fought to counter the secession of Biafra from Nigeria. Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government.
READ ALSO: Police Tear-gas Biafra Protesters In Asaba
The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain's formal decolonization of Nigeria from 1960–1963.
Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup, and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role.
Within a year of the war, the Federal Military Government surrounded Biafra, capturing coastal oil facilities and the city of Port Harcourt. The blockade imposed during the ensuing stalemate led to severe famine—accomplished deliberately as a war strategy.
Over the two and half years of the war, about two million civilians reportedly died from starvation and diseases. Over the years agitations by the Igbo ethnic stock has grown.
READ ALSO: Hundred Of Biafran Protest In Onitsha (PHOTOS)
Alleging marginalization, the group has continued to seek greater inclusion in the affairs of the country. But allegations of deliberate marginalization have not stopped, leading to the current protests.
As the Biafra protests grow in its spread, there are fears that it may turn violent. Already people are worried that the confrontations between the protesters and security may escalate into violence.
More concern has been over the scope of the protest. For now, IPOB demonstrations have been limited to the South East and South-South States. Other geo-political zones such as the north and South west parts of Nigeria have been particularly quiet.
But this is not for lack of Igbo population in those areas. Lagos for example has one of the largest Igbo population. But the city has largely been free of protests such as the ones that have grounded commercial activities in the South East.
Will the Biafra protest soon spread to Lagos? Will the protest be supported in Lagos? What do you think? Let us know what you think.
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Source: Legit.ng
