An expert in law and diplomacy,Emeka Emekesri is the Solicitor for Indigenous Peoples of Biafra as well as the legal Adviser ,Supreme Council of Elders of Indigenous People of Biafra.He is based in the United Kingdom and has traveled all over the world advancing arguments in favor of the actualization of the Republic of Biafra.Emeka Adolf Chigozi Emekesri,B.SC(HONS)Nig,LLB,BL,LLM,B.Th.,MA,PHD,ANIVS,RSV,AMNIM(Solicitor of England & Wales,Estate Surveyor & Valuer) is a tripartite professional trained in both secular and sacred studies,in science and Arts,Law,Theology,Estate Management,Planning and Environmental Studies.Along with his professional practice, he is the presiding Bishop of a Charismatic Pentecostal Church known as Christ The Rock Community .In this interview with Correspondent ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU,Emekesri who spoke on the 50th anniversary of the first military coup in Nigeria and its significance for Nigeria’s political development,says unless Nigeria learns from history,it may not stand the test of time as a nation for many years longer. Excepts;
QUESTION:Last Friday,January 15,2016 to be precise,Nigeria marked the 50th anniversary of the first military coup d état in the Country which took place on January 15, 1966 resulting in the incursion of the military into politics. What
significant does it have for Nigeria in relation to the current dispensation?
ANSWER : Well, I have seen no difference between the past governments by military rulers and
the present governments by military men who turned themselves into civilian
presidents. A retired soldier is still a soldier. He was trained as a soldier. He was not
trained in the art and science of governance so I do not believe that a soldier can
govern the people in a democratic dispensation even if he pretends to have become a
civilian.
QUESTION: Does the coup have any lessons in today’s Nigeria especially for Ndigbo?
ANSWER :In this discourse, I will use the term “Igbo” as an adjective as well as the Language of
the people and “Ibos” as the people themselves because of the etymological and
etiological origin of the two words. I wonder why you made a special and particular
reference to the Igbo people. The coup was not an Igbo coup. It was plotted and
executed by the military boys for the benefit of Chief Obafemi Awolowo who they
wanted to install as the Prime Minster in place of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. It is
unfortunate that when the war broke out, the coup was tagged an Igbo coup and the
“would-have-been beneficiary” of the coup joined the Northerners against the Ibos.
The fact is that the Nigerians do not learn any lessons from history. The history of the
coup and how the military entered into Nigerian politics is never taught in the
Nigerian schools. The history of the Biafran War of Independence is not taught in the
Nigerian schools. In fact, it appears that the Nigerian Government does not want any
remembrance of Biafra. So, I do not think that anybody has learnt any lesson from the
coup of 1966.
QUESTION: Does the current agitation by MASSOB/IPOB and others for the actualization of Biafra take any bearing from the coup and its aftermath ?
ANSWER :Sorry, I think you have not read the history of what happened in 1966. The coup was
not made for the secession of the Ibos. The military boys wanted a better Nigeria and
wanted Chief Awolowo to take over as the Prime Minister. They said that the Balewa
Government was terribly corrupt. The coup had nothing to do with any call by the
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Ibos for secession. The Ibos were everywhere in top positions in Nigeria and had no
need to secede from Nigeria. They did not agitate for independence. It was the
northerners that started clamouring for “ARABA”, meaning “SECESSION” in Hausa
Language because they wanted the Ibos to leave the north. They accused the Ibos of
dominating everywhere in the north. The same accusation was against the Ibos in the
west. Truly, the Ibos were and are still ubiquitous, actively participating in all aspect
of the economy everywhere in Nigeria. Most often, they perform better than the
indigenes of the locality and this causes hatred and jealousy against them. They coup
plotted by the military boys headed by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu of the present
Delta State was a trigger event the Northerners and Westerners were looking for to
kill the Igbo people in the North and West and throw them out of Nigeria. The
agitation for Biafra now is that we want to be free from Nigeria and there is no law
that makes it an offence for a people to desire freedom. Self-determination is a
fundamental human right. This is why we have taken Nigeria to court in the Federal
High Court Owerri seeking to exercise our right to self-determination. The case is in
progress and may soon be referred to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
QUESTION: Is the economic situation and political situation that led to the war then, same
today?
ANSWER :The question about the economic and political situation of the country then and now
is quite instructive. Well, the foundation of Nigeria was laid in fraud and corruption.
The Bible says that a bad tree cannot produce good fruits. The British Officer, Harold
Smith, has told us how they rigged the census and election in favour of the North to
ensure that power was given to the North. On 9th July 2000, Chief Richard Akinjide,
SAN QC, in his lecture informed us that the amalgamation of the peoples of the north
and south to create Nigeria was a fraud. Everything about Nigeria appears weird. The
Nigerian demographical equation states that population increases towards the desert
and decreases towards the sea. This is why the North will always have higher
population figure than the South. Therefore, by the Nigerian formula, more people
live towards the desert than towards the sea. That is the Nigerian demographical
equation. It has always been a corrupt country and the politics has always been the
same. If we need change, it must start from the root.
QUESTION: What is the way out since nobody including you wants a coup d état in
Nigeria again?
ANSWER: I have answered this question in my book, “Biafra or Nigerian Presidency- What the
Ibos Want”. It is very simple. The problem is that the Nigerians live in denial. They
know the truth but do not want the truth to prevail. At the launch of Nigeria’s Golden
Book in Abuja in 2011, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State called for the
renegotiation of Nigeria. It was published in The Sun Newspaper of 28 September
2011. He condemned the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and said,“I agree with Mimiko that we need to talk. We never sat down to develop this Constitution. It was entrusted on us. Every time amendment, amendment; let’s discuss that document entirely.
We are either a federation or not. Let’s state where we are. This is as simple as ABC. I sit
in Anambra State and get orders and instructions from somewhere else!” The last
statement of His Excellency, Governor Peter Obi, needs some emphasis: “We are
either a federation or not…I sit in Anambra State and get orders and instructions
from somewhere else!” In a nutshell, he is asking for autonomy in a federation. We
have seen that the marriage called amalgamation is not working. The marriage of all
the incompatible tribes of Nigeria by the doctrine of amalgamation in 1914 will
certainly break up unless the Nigerian polity is restructured to guarantee self-
governance to the six geopolitical regions. I speak this on the authority of law and the
historical evidence of the powers of the fourth world geopolitics. Perhaps, you do not
understand the power of the fourth world geopolitics.
The major countries amalgamated by the British Colonial Masters have broken up
along the lines of compatible tribes and tongues. India was a colony of Britain but
broke up after its independence resulting in the three countries today called India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh after brutal and prolonged civil wars. Sudan was another
great empire built by the British which broke up into two countries in July 2011 after
prolonged civil war. Other great empires of the modern world wielded together by
colonial powers have broken up along their ethnic lines. Malaysia broke up
immediately after independence into Singapore and Malaysia. Indonesia broke up into
Indonesia and East Timor. Czechoslovakia broke up into The Czech Republic and
The Slovak Republic. Yugoslavia broke up into five countries namely, Serbia,
Croatia, Kosovo, Monte Negro and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The USSR was formed in
1917, three years after Nigeria, and broke up few years ago before our eyes into
dozens of separate countries. The truth is that forced marriages do not stand the test of
marriage and must be dissolved either by Court Order or by self-help of desertion. I
therefore speak with authority on this matter as an expert in law and diplomacy based
on the preponderance of evidence that I have already cited that Nigeria will definitely
break up unless restructured to guarantee self-governing status to the six geopolitical
regions in a confederation. This, in effect, is like returning to the Aburi Accord which
General Gowon and Nigerians violated. Had they implemented the Aburi Accord,
there would not have been any war between Nigeria and Biafra. Unfortunately,
Nigeria had a pyrrhic victory over Biafra but lost the peace and joy of nationhood!
QUESTION:What is your take on the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu and others by the federal government even against court orders? What does that tell you about Nigeria?
Answer : I do not know the facts of the case so I will not be able to comment properly on the
issue. I do not know whether President Buhari is holding the accused persons in
detention contrary to Court Orders. If he does so, he is wrong. The rule of law is that
every Court Order must be obeyed. But where a person is granted bail by a lower
court and a higher court sets aside the bail, the Order of the higher court will prevail.
Again, where a person is granted bail against an offence, for example, stealing, he can
still be re-arrested and detained for a different offence such as murder or
manslaughter.
QUESTION:Do we need another coup for things to take shape in a democracy? And how
would you rate Nigeria’s relationship with regards to the economy to the ethnic
nationalities in Nigeria?
ANSWER: The military rulers are the worst in governance; so, do not suggest a coup. They are
all the same. What is required is a fundamental renegotiation of Nigeria. Those who
want to be Nigerians should be Nigerians and those who do not want to be Nigerians
should be allowed to build their own country. We are Biafrans but forced to become
Nigerians. We want our own country even if other ethnic nationalities want to
continue as Nigerians.
On the question of Nigeria’s relationship with regards to the economy to the ethnic
nationalities, there is only a single index economy in Nigeria. Everything is controlled
from the centre. Whoever occupies ASO ROCK controls the economy of the whole
Nigeria. So, you do not talk about the ethnic nationalities in terms of the economy.
There is only one economy, and that is the Nigerian economy.
QUESTION; What are the problems of Ndigbo, since after the war,Ndigbo appear to have been suffering from self-loathing of sorts.For instance,it is said that rather too many of the buildings and businesses in lagos and elsewhere are igbo-owned yet Igboland is practically empty.Do you have any contrary view?
ANSWER : Yes, I have a contrary view. You have never wondered why the Ibos have been
investing their billions of naira in the North and West instead of in Igbo Land. After
the war, there appeared to be a deliberate government policy to render the East sterile
for business. The East was denied of all the facilities, amenities and infrastructures
required for businesses to thrive. Do you know that even today, the businessmen in
the East who are importers are required to go to Lagos to clear their goods and bring
the containers to the East? Do you know that Chief Sam Mbakwe of the old Imo State
went to the Nigerian Federal Government crying like a child before he could do the
little he did in the East? Do you know that the Nigerian Government denied us of
International Airport until we levied ourselves by what we called “Survival Levy” to
build the Imo Airport? Recently they upgraded the Enugu Airport to an International
Airport. Why is the second Niger Bridge being politicized? Why can’t we have more
than five bridges across the River Niger opening up the trade routes to the East? Why
do we not have functional Seaports in the East? Why did they destroy the Onne
Seaport in Port Harcourt? Why have they not dredged the River Niger Seaport to the
sea so that the containers can come into Onitsha directly instead of landing in Lagos?
Why is there no functional Seaport at Calabar? There are social catalysts that make
businesses to thrive. Without these social business catalysts, businessmen will not be
attracted to locate their investments in the East.
QUESTION :Don’t you think we have lost out in the Nigerian project following utterances here
and there against Ndigbo?
ANSWER : Yes, we have lost out in the Nigerian Project. Today, Nigeria belongs to the people of
the North and West. We believed in One Nigeria and made every part of Nigeria our
home. We settle down in every village in the remotest part of the North or West and
develop the area believing in One Nigeria but they see us as invaders from the East
coming to dominate them in their own land. Now, we want to build our own country-
the Biafran nation.
QUESTION: Do you think our present Igbo leaders in politics and religion have failed us? Why and if not why?
ANSWER :Yes, most of the present Igbo political and religious leaders have failed us. I see the
political leaders as stooges imposed on us by the northern and western political slave
masters. Most of the present Igbo politicians were made by the North and West. They
therefore serve the interests of their masters to remain in power and in money.
Regarding the religious leaders, I will say that they have turned the Churches of God
into business enterprises, making a merchandise of the flocks. The whole motive is
money. Even in the present agitation for Biafra, most of the Biafran Activists have no
jobs apart from Biafra. They feed from the people they have deceived. I know one of
them who asked the people to donate millions of dollars for him to buy arms and
ammunition to fight for their independence from Nigeria. They donated the millions
or hundreds of thousands of dollars and pounds to him. He is now one of the richest
Biafran Activists in the struggle. So, the whole problem is the love for money, power
and fame. They deceive the people and feed from Biafra. Most of the Igbo political
and religious leaders, both the old and the new ones, have failed us. I said most of
them, not all of them. There are still some leaders who have remained faithful to their
calling. They are like the Caleb and Joshua in the Bible who brought the new
generation of the Israelites into the Promise Land. God Almighty has not forsaken his
people. He has prepared a brand new breed of leaders who will emerge soon and be
led into the Promise Land by the faithful Joshua and Caleb from the old generation.
We need the faithful elders of the land who have not compromised with the devils to
betray their people.
QUESTION: Your organization is a toothless bulldog because even in Anambra nobody feels
your impact, yet you are gallivanting on the web making noise about Biafra?
ANSWER : I do not know what you mean by our organization being a toothless bulldog. In the
Biafran National Liberation Struggle, we created three platforms to achieve the goal.
The remnants of the Biafrans who were not consumed in the war were constituted into
a body called INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF BIAFRA in 2011 under the leadership of
the Supreme council of Elders and was formally created and given judicial
recognition in 2012 in the Federal High Court Owerri in Suit No
FHC/OW/CS/102/2012 now renumbered as Suit No FHC/OW/CS/192/2013. As the
body was a non-legal entity, it could only sue or be sued in a representative capacity.
We therefore sued Nigeria in a representative capacity by the human rights
organization called Bilie Human Rights Initiative which was authorized by the
Supreme Council of Elders of Indigenous People of Biafra to represent the Biafrans.
The Chairman of the Supreme Council of Elders is His Royal Majesty, the
Honourable Justice Eze Ozobu OFR (rtd); the Deputy is Dr Dozie Ikedife OON, JP;
the Secretary-General is the Brig. Gen Joe Achuzia (rtd). These men and the other
members of the Council were the persons who signed the Legal Instrument that
authorized the ongoing suit between Biafra and Nigeria in the Federal High Court
Owerri. The Supreme Council of Elders is the Customary Government of Indigenous
People of Biafra. If we were a toothless bulldog, why did Nigeria join issues with us
and file a defence? They should have ignored our Originating Summons if they
thought that we were a toothless bulldog. This is the case that terrifies Nigeria
because Nigeria has no good defence.
You said that nobody is hearing about us. We operate lawfully within the ambit of the
Nigerian law. We have established our Customary Government Headquarters in
Enugu. We have been granted Special Consultative Status in the United Nations
ECOSOC and granted seats in the UN Headquarters in New York, Geneva and
Vienna. We have been granted ECOSSOC status in the African Union and have
attended AU Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Our self-determination case between Biafra
and Nigeria is still going on at the Federal High Court Owerri. Well, the Nigerian
Press has published some news on the case a few times. We do not expect the
Defendants to use their radio and media to publish it because the case is against them.
In the beginning we had a mobile internet radio station called Radio Biafra which we
planned to use to disseminate information lawfully and professionally on the case but
the person we put in charge of the station turned it into something else, broadcasting
with abuses and insults, became stubborn, disobedient and incorrigible which made
the Supreme Council of Elders to ostracize him by a Public Notice and Disclaimer.
Instead of repenting, he ran away with our mobile radio and now claimed that he is
the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra! Well, you can help to publicize the case
between Biafra and Nigeria pending in the Federal High Court Owerri. The next
adjourned date for the hearing is 30th March 2016. Please spread the good news.
SOURCE ; THE AUTHORITY DAILY 18/01/2016
https://www.ipobgovernment.org/ipob1/ipob-lawyeremeka-emekesrinigeria-will-definitely-break-up/
www.radiobiafra.co
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