BIAFRA :THIS IS HOW IT STARTED.

On this day 50 years ago, Lt.  Col. Ojukwu addressed "his" people and proclaimed the Sovereign State of Biafra. Nigeria was only 7 years old as an independent Nation, everything was still setting up. With perceived injustice and no alternative way of righting any/all wrong, Ojukwu declared a break way. Nigeria did not kiss the new Nation on their forehead and bade them goodbye, no!!!! No Nation would do that, as it eroded Nigeria's territorial integrity. So the Radio announcement and declaration of Independent Biafra led to a civil war.

Pro-Biafrans declared today "Biafra Memorial Day" in honor of the lives that was lost during the 30-month civil war. Indeed, 30th May is a day to remember for all Igbos, not exactly in regards to Biafra, but in recourse to the time our very existence as a people was shaked.

I believe that the next 30 months should be a time of sober reflection for the Igbo Nation. For 50 years ago marked the beginning of a 30 - month rampage in our land. Our people were laid bare in battle. Lives were lost, properties pilaged, bellies starved, families seperated and we lived in fear. The next 30months should be a time our brighest in mind will gather and discuss our political, cultural, social and economical prospects as a people, 50 years after the struggle.

50years ago, the heated passion of one man led us to a civil war. Would we allow the heated passion of another man to lead us to another war?  During the Biafran war, men were conscripted into a makeshift Army and men inexperienced in warfared swelled the ranks. With little or no weapons in their Arsenal, they resorted to making theirs. Yet they faced a well-equipped Army with well trained men. Ojukwu was shielded in a bunker while other men, women and children ran helter-skelter, seeking refuge under trees and in bushes. From the convenience of his bunker, Ojukwu continued to hail momentum and spur on the men who were sent to a gun fight with a knife (worse still with empty hands).

At the heat of events, Ojukwu left for Ivory Coast, seeking refuge, to preserve his life and the course. Ironically, should things heat up so badly, Nnamdi Kanu does not even need to seek refuge anywhere, he would simply return home(Britian).

Ebere mu na emere (I pity) the able-bodied young men who think the Biafran pursuit is about them or about what they feel is wrong, unjust or a form marginalization against them. Any attempt to make them realize that they are only playing the role of pawn is rebuffed with the best action of a pawn ...... attack. As they continue to hail and occupy the frontline, those seated at the round table continue to make the (real) decisions.

The "success" of today's sit - at - home order cannot wholly be attributed to a positive response to the call of Pro-Biafra groups. Most people chose to stay back at home for the safety of their lives, considering the fatalies that have been recorded in events like this before. Some traders did not bother going to the market because their market leaders have told them that no shop should be opened on this day.

So whoever gave the sit - at - home order should not declare in pride that the people are in congruence with him. That is how one man declared an independent Nation on our behalf and helplessly the people paid the price for his declaration. Let us not fold our arms and watch another man make declarations on our behalf and lead us as a people to perilous times(again).

We used to hear about MASSOB, now IPOB is leading the agitation. Another arm of MASSOB is gaining consciousness - Biafra Independent Movement (BIM). How do we become one with these divisions. Is that how it is going to be? Would one just jeck up and set up his own camp if he feels he/she is no longer attune with the other camp? Do you know Nnamdi Kanu began his agitation under MASSOB, but along the line strung his own camp and named it IPOB? Is that how we would keep dividing like a cell under a microscope?

One ploy IPOB has employed that is making their movement grow roboust is their ability to gnare international attention. They paint gory images of the plight of people of  Eastern Nigeria to the outside world. If you hear a foreigner sympathizing with the Igbos and narrating the sad tales that evoked his/her sympathy, you would almost want to shut him/her up, disclaim the tales and set the information straight. But who would blame them, that is what they are being told and made to believe.

I am not saying that everything is as it should be. Particularly, things have gotten worse for us as a people in Eastern Nigeria in this present dispensation. But we have not always had it(this) rough. Generally, Nigeria is a troubled country, and every region has a peculiar manifestation of the troubles.

As Biafra is being resonated, how prepared are we for the possible consequences? Nigeria is never going to give us a firm handshake and bid us farewell. So will the pursuit lead to the (in)evitable.