Tag Archives: secession

Niger Delta Avengers Issue Fresh Secession Threat

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The Militant group, Niger Delta Avengers have again threatened to secede and create a Niger Delta republic from Nigeria, if calls for the restructuring of the federation go unheeded by the Federal Government. 

They made this fresh threat in a statement by their spokesman, Mudoch Agbinibo, and the Avengers suggested an October 1 ultimatum.

 

The rationale for this threat is due to what they call an alleged division of the country by the administrations ‘misdirected policies’.

 

According to the statement, Nigeria as a nation is completely unattractive to the point that nobody, not even the Niger Delta people, wish to continue to be part of the system.

 

“Our prayer for Buhari and the Northern hypocrite (Northern Governors) is that oil should be found in commercial quantity in the North, so they can let the Niger Delta go.

 

“The Buhari Led government has fail Nigerians with their misdirected policies that has divide the country, as such nobody wants to be part of that failed state not even the Niger Delta.

 

“The October 1st, declaration of independence is still sacrosanct. If the Nigeria government fails to retrace its step by restructuring this country.We want to warn the general public that those using NDA to defraud people days of reckoning is close,” the statement said.

Biafra: Military Warns MASSOB, Vows To Crush Acts Of Sabotage

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Military authorities in the Country have warned groups (Biafra agitators) or unpatriotic elements threatening to make the country ungovernable because of their narrow interests, to have a rethink and desist from such, as the armed forces were fully mobilized and ready to crush acts of sabotage.

 

 

The Defence headquarters in a statement signed by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig-General Rabe Abubakar said,

 

“The attention of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has been drawn to some newspaper publication by a group of persons threatened to embark on acts of sabotage against the Nigerian state”.

 

“The DHQ hereby warned that the military and other security agencies will not condone any acts by individuals or group that is capable of breach to security and economic sabotage in the Niger Delta or in any part of the country. “This is because the nation’s interest is above that of individual or group’s interest. “In as much as the military recognizes the supremacy of the Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and association, the constitution also frowns against individuals or groups hiding under it to stir up trouble and insecurity in the land. “Any individual or groups who have genuine complain or grievances should use the available means of dialogue for amicable resolution but certainly not violence, as it will not be tolerated. “The DHQ will continue to partner with other security agencies to protect and provide enabling environment to all citizens to engage in their respective and legitimate businesses without fear of molestation.

 

The Military’s reaction followed the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra’s threat yesterday to make Nigeria ungovernable if the Federal Government failed to conduct a referendum in the South-East. MASSOB and other pro-Biafra groups, including the Indigenous People of Biafra, are demanding a referendum in the region to enable the people decide, through voting, whether they wish to secede, or remain in Nigeria. The Biafra activists claim that majority of people in the region would vote in favour of a separation from Nigeria.

 

MASSOB said it had concluded plans, with other pro-Biafra groups, to disrupt governance in the country, if the Federal Government would not conduct the referendum.

 

National Director of Information, MASSOB, Samuel Edeson, who signed the statement, said the agitators would fight the Federal Government with ‘everything’ at their disposal. He said the group intended to instigate civil disobedience, and strikes, particularly in the South-East, and Lagos. Edeson added, “MASSOB and other pro-Biafra agitators will make Nigeria ungovernable if the Nigerian government failed to conduct referendum in Eastern Nigeria. “We shall use everything at our disposal to fight the Nigerian government, especially through civil disobedience.

 

 

It will be recalled that the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Thursday, asked the Federal Government to quickly conduct a referendum in the south-east geopolitical as a precursor to secession or face the total shutdown of socio-economic activities in the region and beyond.

 

Credit : Vanguard

 

Of Insecurity, Threats And Secession

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I was not born when Nigeria witnessed  her first civil war from 1967 to 1970,  but if the accounts of the books I have read are to be believed, it was a bloody and terrible event, one I hope never to see in my lifetime. The accounts of the war though varied, are united in claims of avoidable events which led to the war, and I can’t stop drawing parallels with that time and now.

The Nigeria of 2012 under the Goodluck Jonathan administration is bediviled with several problems that threaten the very existence of the country. From corruption to insecurity, the list is endless, and the government appears at loss for what  do. There has been a slow descent into anarchy as religion and ethnicity becomes  effective tools for making outrageous demands.

When Boko Haram came into the scene in 2002, the government ignored the warning signs of an impending security catastrophe and concentrated on depleting the national reserves. The sect was ignored just as the Niger Delta militants were ignored till they grew formidable and became more than a rag tag army weilding unsophiscated weapons to one with IEDs and assault rifles that send the men of the Nigerian army scampering into bushes. While the president continues to indulge in useless political diatribe and finger pointing, the sect continues to flourish, spreading its tentacles across the entire North.

The government’s lackadaisical attitude has emboldened more people to become revolutionaries, fighting for a cause or merely issuing threats to all and sundry, or in some cases to particular targets who may have drawn their ire. The threats too have been ignored or given less attention than they deserve. From Abubakar Atiku’s threat of violent change based on the famous words of late president John Kennedy of America to Asari Dokubo’s recent threat that the country would disintegrate should the house of representatives impreach president Goodluck Jonathan, making threats has become the order of the day. Asari and Atiku are not alone in the threat business, we have had religious leaders from the two major faiths in the country struggle to outdo themselves with inciteful words, adding more fuel to the burning fire.

As if things are not bad enough, there are talks of secession from nearly every corner of the country. For MASSOB who still dream of the secessionist state of Biafra, there is no going back on the clamour for a separate country. The demands of the islamists up North have bordered on getting a separate state run on the dictates of religious laws. We will not forget the furore generated by the Ekiti state government’s decision to  adopt its state anthem and flag, and how the state governor Rauf Aregbesola was accused of harbouring a secession plan. Now  groups from the South South geo-political zone seem to have caught the secession bug. On August 2, Goodluck Diigbo, factional leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) declared independence for the Ogoni ethnic group in Rivers State. Barely seven days after Diigbo’s announcement, the Bakassi people also declared their independence. The declaration which was spearheaded by the Bakassi Self Determination Front (BSDF) witnessed the hoisting of the Blue, White, Red official flag with eleven stars on the blue and launching of a radio station called ‘Dayspring’. Then, last Wednesday August 8, Bayelsa State government announced plans to have state-owned flag, coat of arms and anthem.

I don’t know if President Goodluck Jonathan is aware of the grave consequences of ignoring the issues on ground. I don’t know if he is capable of shrugging off the toga of ineffectiveness, political naivete and incohrence to bring sanity to the land. I don’t even know if he knows that being the president calls for deep insightful action than empty rambling, but one thing I know is, if things are left to continue the way they are going, there will be a repeat of 1967, only this time, it will be on a larger scale as the lines are blurred and the enemies plenty.

 

Umari Ayim is a lawyer, published author and a thinker devoted to the Nigerian cause.

Her column ‘Revolution Woman’ where she will be dealing on topical issues runs every Monday.