First Biafra, now Birom
ZUBBIE EKWUEME
"Be bold and resolute, and mighty forces will come to your aid"
-
Basil King,
on overcoming fear
"Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."
–
Goethe
"Cowardice, which was never a quality of our ancestors, is now celebrated in
Igbo land"
-
Odumegwu-Ojukwu
Soon
after Farouk AbdulMutallab, a Nigerian, had intended to incinerate about 287
people
last Christmas over Detroit, Nigeria is once again
reeling from mindless mass slaughter of Christians by Hausa/Fulani Islamists. As
I write, over 500 men, women, and children are getting mass burial. The
goings-on in Nigeria today, to say the least, are bizarre indeed and
mindboggling.
Nigeria is a big and hairy place where neo-feudalism easily mixes with something
they call democracy, with a small "d."
As is now known worldwide, nobody knows the whereabouts of the substantive
president, Umaru Yar'Adua. No Nigerian official has seen him since he reportedly
returned to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia, where he
received treatment for pericarditis. There is an acting president, Dr. Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan who, reportedly, has not seen him either.
Whether
the president is alive or otherwise is anybody's guess, and this feeds the rumor
mill. Rumors of byzantine chicanery indicative of neo-feudalism is making the
rounds and forcing people to shake their heads in disbelief.
But enough of the uncertainly in Abuja, Nigeria; let us attend to the matter at
hand: the slaughter of over 500 Birom Christians in the hands of Islamic
Jihadists of northern Nigeria.
The
Birom Christians are taking it on the chin. These killings are nothing new to
Nigerians. They've been going on, say, every two weeks or every month, year
after year dating back to 1945. Nothing has ever been done to quell the hate.
Nobody has ever been prosecuted. Nigerian soldiers sometimes shoot on sight,
leaving no concerted efforts to police reoccurrence.
This time, whole villages were wiped out; babies were thorn from their mothers'
backs and murdered. Women were raped and impaled; old people, slaughtered. It
all took place on the altar of “one Nigeria.” As if Boko Haram was a mere
dress-rehearsal, and Kala Kato was a walk in the park, the current bloody orgy
is as stupefying and incomprehensible as it was in 1966-1970, when the Igbo and
Easterners were mauled, pillaged, decapitated, and impaled by the northern
Islamic hordes. Like today, babies were ripped open, mothers impaled, men and
elderly disemboweled, and fed to the dogs.
Yet,
the world kept quiet, acquiescing to mass murder as they did in Rwanda. The
United Nations (UN) did nothing. Harold Wilson, then prime minister of Britain,
actually supported the killings spree. And
Please click on each links below.
1.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/03/20103962035685387.html
2.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8557072.stm
3.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2009/07/200972913505618217.html
The contents of these videos are truly eye popping. From Al Jazeera to the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the world is watching
The Birom
The Birom Christians are being eliminated in much the same and for much the same
reasons that the Igbo and southeasterners were targeted for extermination in the
1960s: The Birom are Christians; nothing more, nothing less. The Biroms are
being mauled to make way for Islamic Hausa/Fulani to dominate their state,
Plateau State. This fire is lit because the Birom are dangerously straddling a
highly volatile seismic fault line of two ancient traditions.
The mixture of Islamic Sharia and Christian Democracy in one nation state is,
regrettably, a bad idea. It has turned into a witch’s brew of combustible
ingredients. Where both traditions meet, there is bound to be fireworks of death
and desolation.
The Birom made the mistake of sharing border with a foreign, alien tradition
that is wholly incompatible with dovish Christianity. Inevitably, they, the
Birom, bear the brunt of the cold and bloodied hands of Islam,.
Now, after the Hausa/Fulani Islamists gains the new Biromland, after they take
Plateau State, they will set their eyes on the next state to the south. This
time, it will be Benue's turn. When they are done pillaging and taking Benue,
then it will be the turn of the Southeast and the Igbo, again.
The crack that separates these two traditions are actually comparable to, say
the "ring of fire" in geology. It is akin to where two massive
tectonic plates meet and grind and rub on each other, causing massive eruptions
and huge plumes of fire, earthquakes and thunderous volcanoes. The Birom
Christians represent the frontiers of Christianity in
The
split runs through the entire length of Nigeria, from the North to the South, in
a southwesterly direction. As was predicted by Samuel Huntington (http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/48950/samuel-p-huntington/the-clash-of-civilizations
) the clash of civilizations is happening now in northern Nigeria, and Birom is
the current epicenter. However, the Muslims keep shifting the goal posts. They
are pushing the boundaries southward, and eastward.
The world, the United Nations, western governments must pay special attention to
these ever-increasing kinds of conflicts. The world must never again forget
Biafra, Rwanda, or Birom. When Christian and Islamic populations cohabit,
safeguards and political moats with draw bridges ought to be erected to stave
off violence that must occur. It is either this or complete separation. To
pretend otherwise is foolishness indeed.
One thing to remember is that one language or one ethnic nation separated by
Islam and non-Islamic citizens is already TWO de facto separate and independent
nation states. If both are not separated timely, it will become a slow unending
and bloody war of attritions forever.
1966 -1970 -Biafra Genocide
Today,
it is the Birom, but previously
it was Easterners and the Igbo. Between 1966 -1970,
The horrors of the Biafra war were unimaginable. Cities were razed to the
ground; civilians, especially women and children were starved and strafed. Take
a look at these pictures of Biafra children;
they were all starved to death in war-torn Biafra by Nigerian Armed
Forces. Thousands of innocent children
became grim victims. Shell-shocked and strafed, civilians and
non-combatants were bayoneted to death.
And for what reasons was this killing spree?
Oil
That's what it was all about, and the oil was in then East Region. Northern
Nigeria wanted this oil so bad they had to get the help of then Western Nigeria,
Harold Wilson of Great Britain, Russia, and jet pilots from Egypt to commit the
crimes in Biafra. Hausa/Fulani cooperated with Yoruba/Edo to murder these
children in what have become, unquestionably, war crimes. The officers and
civilians that carried out these mass exterminations are still here with us. But
God knows there are no statutes of limitation on murder. We must make them pay.
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Census or the lack of it
Nigeria is said to be split into two halves: 50% Muslims; 50%
Christians. But who actually knows for sure or with certainty. The
feudal lords that rule Nigeria removed from the census records any
mention of religion or ethnicity. Go figure that one out. Populations
are arbitrarily fixed for a purpose: allocation of revenues.
Nothing more nothing less! The bigger you are, the more you get
from oil money stolen from the Niger Delta but disbursed by the feudal
lords. As the most corrupt nation on the face of the earth, with no
infrastructure, no water, no roads, no railways, no schools, and massive
ineptitude, is it any wonder why Nigeria boils over time after time?
Things to understand
Before we kick off on this resolution part, there are a few things we
must understand:
1. Power is never given, nor is it ever handed over on a platter; it is
always taken, usually by force or through elections.
2. Fighting for one's life, one's way of life, and the future of one's
family, is one engagement that is universally accepted as essential for
homo sapiens.
3.
The South-South and Southeast must start
thinking of mending the old Eastern Region, to its pristine, prewar
status;
4.
What is our vision, to be like say Ghana or Brazil, a widget-producing
nation, or like Saudi Arabia and produce nothing. My view is to become,
a producing nation, a vibrant democratic, industrialized, modern nation.
5.
If you agree with me, then we
must stand up and be prepared to die for our right to live as we choose.
How do we get out of this mess
First, if there ever was the most favorable time to breakout,
it is now. United States Congress is debating Nigeria and terror.
Farouk AbdulMutallab and al Qaida are now closely associated with
Nigeria but, essentially northern Nigeria. Boko Haram and Kalo Kato are
distinguishing Nigeria as a murderous, calamitous state. The mass
murders and mass graves in
Jos,
Maiduguri, and Bauchi are all
painting northern Nigeria into the terrorist-Jihadist camp.
If there was a time to redefine the
Southeast and South-South, this is it. We are
democrats. Say it loud and clear; mighty forces will come to our aid.
Northern-dominated army would be afraid to deploy because they are under
international surveillance. The US and EU will discourage them from
stupid adventures.
Folks, we have the gorilla caged.
So, this is going to become one onerous task, as it might sound
counterproductive for some. Some might say,
"do not bring religion into
politics." Some might even recoil, paralyzed with sheer fear. But
introduce religion into our politics, we must. Yes, religion has got to
begin to creep-in into our national political lexicon. It had been a
"no-go area" for far too long.
People are dying. The government is inept. Religion must be considered
as essential to the process for freeing us all from Northern domination.
Besides, the Northerners use religion all the time. The South, led by
the East, is not going to take it anymore.
Eastern Region must begin to think outside the box. There is no better
time than now. That means thinking, planning of ways to take the "king
making" ability from Northerners and PDP. The idea is to take the rug
off the feet of the dominators. So, how are we going to do that? Well,
for starters, how about giving Nigeria it first ideologically based
party, that is opposed to Sharia. Have this party oppose and attack
Sharia, electorally of course, from the onset. Force Nigerians to choose
between Democracy and Sharia.
Why is opposing Sharia important? Good question. When you attack Sharia,
you are not attacking Islam per se. You are simply attacking the Islamic
world's legal and political ideology. Just as attacking Democracy is not
the same as attacking Christianity or the Bible, even though both are
from western philosophical concepts. Understanding the political geology
of Nigeria, its philosophies, its deep constituent parts, and framing
our politics around ideologies and philosophies are tasks that must be
done. Exposing who we are, essentially, is the key to moving politics
from neo-feudalism to the 21st century. This
"as-man-know-man business"
got to stop.
Southern democratic party must be based on the purity of democratic
principles, as they exist
elsewhere, say Ghana or in the western
nations. So, the Igbo and the East should dump PDP, choose or create a
new party that is utterly democratic. Members of this party must
denounce Sharia. The DNA of the Igbo and Eastern nations are primed for
democracy. We are different, neither feudal like the Hausa/Fulani nor
monarchical like Yoruba/Edo; we are proto-republicans. We are
essentially like the ancient Greeks, the mother of western civilization.
Facing-off with Sharia
Developing an ideologically-based democratic party is a must. Framing
this party as decidedly, anti-Sharia party is also a must. The contest
will then be between believers in Sharia and believers in western kind
of democracy.
This is a fight we can win hands down. This party will be in business
mainly to oppose Sharia at every turn, attacking it in the elections,
and inundating Nigeria with pro-democracy agenda as well as anti-Sharia
propaganda. Folks, we got to take the fight to the North. People from
the 12 Sharia states will be very vulnerable indeed. We will paint them
as feudalists with Sharia-friendly policy and vision. Make everybody
coming from the 12 northern Sharia states to pay a tragic price for not
opposing Sharia, in short supporting it. People from the Shariadom will
become ineligible to become president of Nigeria. If they want the
presidency, then oppose and dismantle Sharia. It is as simple as that.
Any person that did not oppose Sharia in his or her own state can never
be a democrat. No Muslim nation is a democracy
anyway. Democracy runs against Islamic dogma.
Everybody must know this. Not one single Islamic nation is a true
democracy. Even Turkey tending currently toward
democracy is still having a hard
time. The reason is simple: they already have Sharia which they believe
is comparable to western democracy. So, why change?
Nigeria may never be fixed, until the power to name our presidents is
wrestled
from the hands of northern
Nigerian zealots. Coalition of willing states like Niger Delta and Benue
are welcome to join. Do you see the
arrowed, yellow portion on the map
above? It is the old Eastern Region of Nigeria. South-South and
Southeast had better be prepared to fight to keep it under 5% Islamic
population. If you need to become industrialized, a producing nation, a
healthy, educated and vibrant nation, then join and fight the power.
South-south and Southeast, this is the time: Liberate yourselves! |
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