MASSOB takes over Owerri for Ojukwu memorial day.

For those who thought the crisis that rocked the headquarters of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in Okwe, Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State has broken and weakened the organisation, they may after all be wrong as proved on December 10.

Many had thought that MASSOB had been hit so hard by the crisis and its members disintegrated and dispersed, which raised fear that the Ojukwu Memorial Day observed by the group would be greeted with low turnout.

But on December 10, the rescheduled memorial day for the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, members of the group took over Owerri by storm, especially the New Owerri axis where the Ojukwu Memorial International Library and Convention Centre is located.

Most of the members of the group in Biafran camouflage and T-shirts were in high spirits as they took positions, sector by sector, in canopies mounted outside the Ojukwu Library regaling and dancing to tunes from the musical groups that came with them.

They were waiting for the arrival of Ojukwu’s widow and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Iyom Bianca Ojukwu on whose instance Ojukwu’s memorial date of this year was shifted from November 26 to December 10 to enable her attend.

By 2:15p.m; Bianca arrived at the venue and was received by the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, who took her round the library to greet thousands of  MASSOB members who sat state by state, zone by zone, making them to erupt in thunderous cheers as some of them surged forward to greet Ojukwu’s widow.

Soon, the event began with Archbishop Chukwuereka Iheanacho  who came from Lagos leading in the opening prayers laced with words of advice for the Igbo.

He thanked the MASSOB members, their leader Uwazuruike, Eze Nri, Obidiegwu Onyesoh, Iyom Bianca for keeping alive the Ojukwu memories.

The archbishop noted that the day was significant to the Igbo man, praying that

God should bless Ndigbo, Biafra, Nigeria and Africa in general.

He lamented that Nigeria is now in a precarious condition like when the Israelites left Egypt and got to the Red Sea, saying that the country only requires prayers.

“In the 60s Nigeria was pregnant and it delivered the civil war, Nigeria is now pregnant with corruption and may deliver crisis; therefore, we need to pray for God to deliver our people,” he said.

The archbishop said that he had come to Owerri to celebrate the great man of valour Ojukwu, saying that he has two mentors, God and Ojukwu, who, he said, “was consistent with the aspiration of our people.”

The cleric said that Ojukwu showed the Igbo man that a man could be consistent with his dreams.

Also speaking, Ambassador Bianca expressed happiness that the Ojukwu Memorial Library was also completed.

She thanked the MASSOB leader and the Biafran war veterans who have sacrificed to ensure that the project is completed for their tenacity of purpose.

She, however, frowned at the way some politicians have been using the name of her late husband to enrich themselves while the same people have not done anything to immortalise him except what Uwazuruike, his adopted son was doing.

Her words: “I want to thank Chief Uwazuruike and the war veterans who have continued to remember Ojukwu every year by organizing a memorial anniversary for him. But those who have used the name of Ojukwu to win political offices and even those who have set up companies using his name have done nothing to remember him”.

Bianca also enjoined the MASSOB members not to allow external forces to cause them to disintegrate or break their ranks for the selfish interest of those people.

When Biance arrived at the home of Uwazuruike, she was amazed by the main door of the MASSOB leader which had a large picture of Ojukwu on the door, making her to tarry awhile at the door in order to raise praises for her late husband.

Also speaking, the Eze Nri, His Royal Majesty Obidiegwu Onyesoh, who led other traditional rulers to the event, said he had attended the anniversary because of the respect and honour he has always accorded to Dim Ojukwu while he was alive.

He commended Chief Uwazuruike for keeping the memorial of Ojukwu in the consciousness of Ndigbo by organizing the anniversary of his passage every year.

The traditional ruler of the Nri Ancient Kingdom pointed out that Uwazuruike has not only deemed it necessary to continue to celebrate the late revered Igbo leader but has gone a step further by erecting a befitting Library and Convention Centre in his name.

The royal father also lamented the continued marginalization of the South-East in the scheme of things in the country and insisted that the South-East must be given an additional state at least to assuage the region’s structural marginalization.

Hear him: “We South-East is marginalized today because of the injustice in the land and I am saying that the South-East must be given another state at least to redress the structural marginalization. Our people in government must see to it that it is done.

“I want our people to emulate the life Dim Ojukwu who scarified all he had for Ndigbo and that is why we are here today to honour his memorial as a great son of Ndigbo whose only thought and action was how to liberate the people from oppression and marginalization”.

Similarly, Dr Dozie Ikedife, erstwhile President -General of the apex Igbo cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said that the late Ojukwu remained the spirit of the Biafran struggle and as long as the spirit of Ojukwu was with the Igbo people the Biafra state would come to fruition one day.

“The state of Biafra will come to fruition because the spirit of Ojukwu is with the people. But this time we are not going to fight another war, what we are going to use now is wisdom because the case of Biafra in still in the court and we are going to be victorious, but Ndigbo should love one another as Ojukwu had loved Ndigbo,” he advised.

Also, Reverend Samuel Aniebo who came from Lagos to attend the memorial ceremony said that though the Ikemba Nnewi had left the physical world, he is still alive because his spirit has continued to live among the Igbo people.

“Even  though our revered and beloved leader has departed this physical world he is still alive because his spirit still lives among the people that is the reason you see this mammoth crowd of people who have abandoned their various businesses just to come to in order to honour the memory of the man who had sacrificed his father’s wealth, personal comfort to fight their cause,” he said.

He maintained that Ndigbo would be free in no distant future, pointing out that “if East Timor with a population of just 150,000 and Montenegro which has a population of 800,000 is free then Ndigbo with a population of about 70 million will definitely be free.”

One of the Biafra war veterans, Chijioke Nnam, a 67-year-old  man from Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, said that he has continued  to attend the memorial of Ojukwu, saying that if not for him Ndigbo would have been wiped out during the civil war which was imposed on the East by Nigeria.

The war veteran maintained that he would ever remain grateful to the late Dim Ojukwu for his sacrifice to Ndigbo, pointing out that other veterans who attended the event did so to honour his memory.

He also thanked Chief Uwazuruike for keeping the flag of Biafra flying.

In his speech, the leader of MASSOB, Chief Uwazuruike said that “Ojukwu brought Biafra,” promising that “Biafra would never die.”

He pointed out that before this time when Biafra was mentioned “the Nigerian security agents would clamp down on us but today that era has passed.”

Uwazuruike said: “Today, the Federal Government has come to the reality that Biafra has come to stay  because of the sacrifice that we have made towards the realization of the state of Biafra.”

By: Restore Biafra On 12/17/2014

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Biafra becomes AU member: ECOSOCC

Agitators for the actualization of the state of Biafra have revealed their admission as members of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) General Assembly of the African Union (AU). This is even as they stated that notable Igbo leaders were still in court with the Federal Government of Nigeria over rights to self-determination.

Going by this development, according to a document made available on-line and countersigned by the solicitor of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Emeka Adolf Chigozie, the actualization of Biafra is now taken up by elders and professionals in Igbo land, home and abroad, including Ohanaeze Ndigbo chieftains, using a legal framework outside the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) method.

The document read in part: “The skepticism and doubts expressed by some people, like Mr. Kalu Onu­ma, who asked the question, ‘Are you guys for real or you’ve been smoking something?” Our solicitor has decided to countersign this announcement and include his professional details. It is unfortunate that the pro-Biafran groups, which started the Biafran independence movement many years ago, did not follow due process of law and thereby, brought disgrace and ridicule upon a genuine self-determination struggle of indigenous people of Biafra that should be anchored on law. At the moment, the Biafran independence movement has taken a new shape. It is no longer in the hands of charlatans and fraudsters or blind leaders of the blind. It is now in the hands of intellectuals, professionals and diplomats.

“We are presently in Court with Nigeria in Suit No. FHC/OW/ CS/192/2013 at the Federal High Court, Owerri. We sued Nigeria in a representative capacity by Bilie Human Rights Initiative because Biafra is not yet a sovereign entity that can sue or be sued. We are discussing with powerful governments in the international community. “The Biafran struggle is now led by the elders of Biafra­land. The Chairman is, the Honourable Justice Eze Ozobu, OFR, the founding father and founding Presi­dent of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The Deputy Chairman is Dr. Dozie Ikedife, Ikenga Nnewi, JP, OON; the Secretary is Col. Joe Achuzia. Other members of the Governing Council are drawn from all parts of Biafraland, including South East, parts of South-South and parts of the Middle Belt being the land of Biafra, as shown in the Ancient Map of Biafra 1660 and 1707, which we have filed in court.”

To:
All Indigenous People of Biafra at home and abroad
We are happy to announce that Bilie Human Rights Initiative Representing Indigenous People of Biafra has been granted the Membership of the ECOSSOC General Assembly of the African Union (former OAU).
Our membership of the African Union now opens more doors for us in the international community. We hope to hear very soon from the United Nations regarding our Consultative Status.
We shall give you more information during our monthly meetings regarding the effects, powers, rights and obligations which our Membership of the ECOSSOC General Assembly confers on us.
Please spread the good news!
Best regards

Admin Manager
Office of Indigenous People of Biafra

SOURCE 1

SOURCE 2 

By: Restore Biafra On 11/24/2014

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Where did Igbo originate from?

SOURCE

* The biblical connection

BY VINCENT UJUMADU
THERE is a  debate over the origin of  Igbo. Two Anambra communities – Nri in Anaocha local government area and Aguleri in Anambra East local government area claim the  Igbo originated from their areas.

It was Eze Obidiegwu Onyesoh, the traditional ruler of Nri, who started the argument when he said  his community  is the origin of Igbo. Shortly after,  Aguleri debunked it, saying Onyeso ought to know the truth because he had to visit Aguleri before his coronation in 1988 to receive blessing as Igbo custom demanded of him. According to Aguleri people, Aguleri is the first son of Eri who migrated from Egypt.

Igbo-menBut Onyesoh would not accept that as he insisted that his community is the first home of the Igbo  before they migrated to other areas and even beyond the shores of eastern Nigeria.
His words: The origin of Nri is Egypt about two centuries ago and the father of Nri was called Gad. Gad was the son of Jacob while Jacob was the son of Isaac and Isaac was the son of Abraham. The family tree of Nri was traced from the origin of Abraham who was the favourite child of God.

A man called Eri, the progenitor of Ndigbo, lived in Egypt and was the special adviser on religious matters to the 5th dynasty of Pharaohs of Egypt.

It was in those days in Egypt that Eri determined who was going to be the next Pharaoh. And by their law, there was a deity called Emem and anything to happen during the time, the man called Eri, in his capacity as the religion adviser to the Pharaoh of Egypt, was responsible.

Now Eri needed people to help him and he recruited devotees. These devotees were all appointed by him but he had to do something to really found their own loyalty. In their movement towards southern side, they arrived another confluence. This confluence was the tributary of River Niger and Benue known as Ezu na Omambala.

The last son of Eri, Agulu remained by the sea side because he was a fisherman. The first child Eri remained in his father’s house until he had a vision and was called to serve God in their own way. Nri was an incarnate to his grandfather, Eri.

So Nri was the reincarnate of Eri, and the functions which their grandfather performed came back to him. While his siblings all left to their respective farming positions, he remained in his father’s compound. The Ofo   Ndigbo resides at Nri because the process is from one Eze-Nri to another. There is a handover known as Ofo and Alo  and to become Eze-Nri without original Ofo and Alo,  you are not Eze Nri. The Ofo and Alo have been existing for the past 1,009 years.

When I finish and gone as the Eze Nri, the Ofo and Alo   will be handed to the next Eze-Nri.
Today, about 180 communities could trace their origin from Nri and the civilization of Nri spread around. He founded the Ozo title just like his father did; he spoke about anything that has to do with fairness and justice. Everywhere he founded was on behalf of his grandfather and they called themselves, Igbo.

He added: Aguleri, the last born of Eri, remained at the very close of the water front. Aguleri cannot claim that Nri came from Aguleri. Nri came from a place called Eriaka and, for now, Eriaka has gone defunct because the main man left Eriaka.

Eze Nri, Onyesoh said, doesn  t go to Aguleri to be crowned or be purified, adding that Eze Nri, as part of the tradition, after crowning him and other things perfected, must go to where there is water divided into two. He continued: We don  t have any other water divided into two as  found in Lokoja, the confluence between River Niger and River Benue. The place is too far for us and the closest one to us is the tributary river of Niger and Benue known as Ezu and Omambala. They have two rivers there, now it is at that river where the covenant must be taken. That covenant is what we know as ‘Udu-Eze’.

Any person telling you that Eze-Nri must go to Aguleri for any other thing is lying. Apart from the distance, one could also go to converging place between Niger and Benue to performance the rite instead of going to Aguleri. So, all manner of propaganda you now hear are all tissues of lies.

Nri has no similar culture with Aguleri. Since the beginning of Aguleri, it has no traditional institution.
If Nri and Aguleri have much in common, Aguleri would be producing their own traditional ruler just as Nri does. For the past 110 years, it has been only Idigo dynasty that occupies the kingship.

‘Historical distortion’

But Aguleri people described Igwe Onyesoh  s story as a historical distortion and a travesty of Igbo history.  They appointed nine persons from the area who chronicled their community  s version of Igbo origin. Those who carried the assignment are Ralph Igwah, Eddy Okoye, Osita Chinwuba, Jerome Nnechi, Paul Nnamah, Raph Chikwenze, Emma Ikem, George Ejimofor and Charles Chieze.

In their report, they said: We find it difficult to believe that a prominent member of the family of Eri, the progenitor of the Igbo, and of all personages, His Royal Majesty Obidiegwu Onyeso of Nri, is credited with such a grievous falsification of facts on the history of the Igbo.

Igwe Onyeso’s present stance, as reflected in the story, is a shocking contradiction to what he knows and believes to be the correct situation, as he practically and faithfully demonstrated during his visit to Aguleri in 1988, as part of the necessary traditional rites for the traditional ruler of Agukwu-Nri.

For him to be singing a different tune now, even to the point of contesting the headship of Eri clan, and by extension of Ndi Igbo, with Aguleri is, indeed, unfortunate.  The erroneous assertions by Igwe Onyeso have made it necessary to correct that impression and set the records of Igbo history straight, particularly their settlement in Nigeria.

The continued: Eri from Israel was the fifth son of Gad, the seventh son of Jacob (Genesis 46:15-18 and Numbers 26:16:18).  He migrated from Egypt with a group of companions just before the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt many centuries ago. They travelled by water and finally arrived at the confluence of Ezu and Omambala (Anambra) Rivers, located in present-day Aguleri, where, according to oral tradition, it was spiritually or divinely revealed to Eri that the point was to be their final destination and settlement. They moved into the hinterland and settled in the present-day Aguleri. Eri lived and died at Aguleri.

Agulu was the eldest son of Eri, and not Menri, as claimed by Igwe Onyeso. This is supported by oral tradition in Aguleri and in other communities of Eri clan. It is also confirmed by historical accounts by many writers of Igbo history.

As the population at the settlement of Eri at Aguleri increased, and in combination with other factors, the children of Eri and/or their descendants left the settlement and founded various other settlements outside Aguleri, while Agulu, the first son, remained in their father’s home at Aguleri with his descendants. Agulu, fondly called Agulu-Nwa-Eri, appended the name of their father, Eri, to his name and founded Agulu-Eri (Aguleri). Menri left Aguleri and settled at a big forest, where he engaged in hunting and farming, while also performing his spiritual work. He called the settlement Agu-Ukwu (Nri).

When he was getting very old, he told his children to take him back to his ancestral home, as he would not want to die outside his father’s home. Menri was brought back to Aguleri, where he died and was buried. His grave is still marked at Okpu, in Ivite Aguleri, till this day. There is no other grave site of Menri, the founder of Nri, anywhere else in Igbo land, even in Nri itself, except in Aguleri.

It is also a known fact that, by tradition, no Nri man would break the kolanut where an Aguleri man is present, except with his permission. This is in deference to the fact that Agulu (Aguleri) was the elder brother of Menri (Nri). Furthermore, in recognition of the fact that Aguleri is the first son of Eri and the ancestral home of Ndi-Igbo, as well as the custodian of all the spiritual sites and places of Eri kingdom, traditional rulers of Agukwu-Nri, from time past, till date, including the famous late Igwe Tabansi Udene, visited Aguleri for certain traditional rites, without which they would not have become traditional rulers of Nri. These facts amply confirm that Aguleri was the first settlement and the ancestral home of the Igbos, and not Nri, as erroneously claimed by Igwe Onyeso.

In fulfillment of the age-long traditional rites for kingship in Nri, Igwe Obidiegwu Onyeso, as Igwe-elect, visited Aguleri in 1988, accompanied by a delegation from Nri, which included the late prominent lawyer, Chief Ezebilo Umeadi (SAN). Igwe-elect Onyeso and his delegation spent seven days in Aguleri, from 9th February to 15th  February, 1988, visiting sacred places, paying homage and making sacrifices to certain deities/shrines.

It is, indeed, unbelievable that after going through these entire coronation rites, Igwe Onyeso could refer to his visit to Aguleri in 1988 in a very casual and less-than-honest manner. Also, by saying that Aguleri and Nri do not have much in common, Igwe Onyeso knows, from the bottom of his heart, that he was being very economical with the truth. His visit to Aguleri to collect the Ududu-Eze or clay from Agbanabo is not a casual affair. It goes with a lot of ceremonies and tradition.

Besides, Agbanabo, in the oral tradition of Eri clan, including Nri, is not just  any place ‘where two rivers meet’. It has great spiritual significance, because it was at this point that Eri had a divine revelation that they had reached their ordained place of settlement.   Members of Eri clan, including Nri, therefore, have a strong spiritual attachment to Agbanabo. And this has made it an important and mandatory feature in the coronation rites of the people of Nri.   That was why Igwe Onyeso had to go to Agbanabo, at Aguleri, as a matter of traditional obligation, and not merely as any place ‘where two rivers meet’.

The visit of Igwe Obidiegwu Onyeso, as Igwe-elect, with his people to Aguleri in 1988, including the places he went to, making sacrifices and paying homage to certain deities/shrines, was well captured in a video coverage. The video is available in Aguleri archives for anyone who cares to see and is interested in knowing the truth.

From historical facts, Aguleri, and not Nri, is the first son of Eri and the ancestral home of Ndi-Igbo. We do not know what propelled our brother, Igwe Obidiegwu Onyeso, to engage in virtual apostasy by repudiating the traditional rites he went through at Aguleri, as well as the unwarranted denigration of Aguleri and the sacred and spiritual facts about Eri and his descendants, even to the extent of saying that ‘Aguleri and Nri do not have much in common’. This was after he had stated that Aguleri and Nri were among the direct children of Eri.

We are, indeed, at a loss  to understand our brother any more. We hope it is not a case of ‘he who the gods want to destroy, they first make mad’. The spiritual and traditional bond between Aguleri and Nri cannot easily be wished away, just as we are reminded of the fate of some Igwes of Nri in the past, who failed to visit Aguleri to consummate the traditional rites for kingship in Nri. Perhaps, what happened to them is instructive and should be a guide to all it may concern!

By: Restore Biafra On 11/20/2014

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Biafrans Protests as FG fails to arraign 12 Biafra activists

 SOURCE.


The expected arraignment of 12 members of the Biafra Zionist Federation (BZF) before the Federal High Court Enugu on Thursday was stalled, prompting angry reactions from members of the group.

The Biafra activists are facing charges of treasonable felony.

The Attorney General of Federation (AGF) is prosecuting the accused persons on behalf of the Federal Government

As early as 8.am, BZF members thronged the court premises to
see their leaders, who had been in detention in an isolated police cell in Force Headquarters Abuja for over four months
now.

Although it was reliably gathered that the detainees were brought down to Enugu two days ago for their arraignment, they were not in Court.

The accused persons are Benjamin Onwuka (Leader of the Movement), Kelvin Eke, Samson Ijaga, Uduma Uduma, Bethrain Obiekwe,Abraham Ugwu, Paulinus Uzoegbu, Fidelis Nwaano, Nnamchi Ndubuisi, Michael Olennya, Jeophet Nwaodo and Aloysius Chukwuma.

The AGF, who filed the charge against the accused persons, also did not appear in Court yesterday.
 Addressing the Court, the defence counsel, Olu Omotayo, said he was surprised about the absence of the AGF.

Omotayo, who is the South-East Zonal Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) said: “I am surprised that despite the fact that AGF has filed a charge in this case, the accused persons have not been brought to court.

“They have not written to Court about it. In this circumstance, we are asking for a very short date. On the next date, if they fail to bring them, we will ask that the matter be struck out.

“This is a ploy to frustrate our fundamental human rights suit, which we have filed. We are asking that they should be brought to court or they should be released. They filed the charge to frustrate our matter that is coming up next week”.

After hearing the submissions of the defence counsel, the presiding judge, Justice D. V. Agishi adjourned the matter for November 19.

Speaking with journalists outside the courtroom, National Chairman of BZF, Mr. Cyril Onyia expressed their disappointment over the setback in the arraignment of their leader, Ben Onwuka and 11 other members who have been in detention for over four months without trial.

“We are not happy. We came the other day and their lawyer pleaded that they will bring them today. We came today again, we didn’t see their lawyer and our people who they are holding in Abuja.

“I won’t say more than this because we are in court. We are waiting for the court to decide. We will not take law into our hands. We have never taken the law into our hands before”, Onyia said.

He noted that their members converged in the court from Kogi, Abuja, Lagos, Calabar, Benin and other parts of the country in solidarity with their comrades being held in captivity by the Federal Government, and not seeing them in court, they were now stranded.

By: Restore Biafra On 10/30/2014

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Biafra traced through factual history ... Part 1

Carol Chidinma Munday

Outline of History .. (The leaves of a tree can not survive without the roots of the tree.)

Many of us are interested in the pre-history of Biafra and its events. When we read any West African history in particular there are contradictory accounts, and its not always clear to differentiate between mythology and history. As we progress and more archaeological and historic research is acquired we will have a clearer factual account. I personally find it exciting to bring pieces of history together, I search for only the proven history that which emanates from written historical records.

THE PORTUGUESE CONNECTION TO BIAFRA

In 1454 Pope Nicholas V gave exclusive rights to Portugal to explore and conquest the African sea routes. Later because of a Columbus voyage that touched the Indies by a western route there was a dispute between the Spanish, the British and the French who had claimed they had used the routes before 1380 but this was not proven and Pope Alexander VI settled the dispute by a Papal Bull on 4th May 1493 giving Portugal the influence over a line drawn north and south a hundred leagues to the west of Cape Verde Islands, and the Spanish extended to the west of the line. So West Africa and what we are looking for Biafra and the Gold Coast were under Portugal influence for now until the soon decline of papal rule. The coast lines had been explored by the Europeans prior to this date as it is shown on The Medicean map of 1351 and 1356 at Florence, known as the Laurentian Portalano (sailing directory).

In 1472 the King of Portugal sent the ship Fernao Gomez to explore the coast lines and the Gomez reached LAGOS and this was the “first” recorded history that Europeans set foot in what was then Biafra, (yes on the old maps Lagos and Benin were part of Biafra and the capital city was in what is now Cameroon but we can argue this later, just keep an open mind as a lot has been bastardized over time). In 1481 British explorers tried to set out for Benin but the King of Portugal protested and under papal rule they were denied the voyage. In 1485 Jao Affonso d’Averio a portuguese made the journey to Benin to meet with the Oba and he was well received and not only gave them lots of pepper the Chief of Ugwato (the port of Benin) went to Portugal with the ship as an ambassador to the court of Portugal. The Portuguese loved the pepper it was good for the cold dull winter diet but the King never encouraged it as he had good relations with india trading for spice and didn’t want to cause any rivalry. The Oba/Chief had told them of the Yourba race in the interior lands and that the King of the interior lands was a white man a christian who would send slaves for them along with jewels in a cross, however the portuguese went to find this mythical King and it was never concluded so they took it to be a myth. The Portuguese ventured far up the cross rivers to lead mines in Abalkaliki. Jao Affonso d’Averio died on the Coast and he had spoken of the magnificence of the City of Benin in those days and the excellence of its art in brass and wood.

Jumping forward in time a bit, thou there is documented history on the explorers in the years in between and battles but I’m trying to keep concise and to the relevant parts..

In the years around 1700 in Benin there was a great warrior by the name of Chima he quarreled over the then kingship and took his followers and led them eastwards to the Niger where they divided into two groups one crossed to Onitsha and the other went down to Aboh (Delta). It is then noted (**please also note) that the Obi of Onitsha recognized the Obi of Aboh as his close relation not only his brother but his senior brother. Later as years went on and on the people begrudged to admit this and the relationship faded.

In 1644 Portuguese priests from Sao Tome Island visited King Mingo of Warri (Delta) and they tried to persuade him it was not good to have so many wives and that he should give them up, so the King agreed to the proposal and told them he would give up his wives only if they gave him one good one “a white one”. The priests agreed this was the only solution they returned to Sao Tome and persuaded a Portuguese woman from Sao Tome to marry the King and they did and they had many sons which there are authentic reports later of the mulatto Kings of Warri.

(Explains a little.. more history to follow as I search for and explore many records).

By: Restore Biafra On 9/10/2014

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4 die as MASSOB commanders battle Uwazuruike.

Four persons were feared dead as the cri­sis rocking the Move­ment for the Actuali­sation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) esca­lated yesterday.

There were also reports that dissatisfied members of the movement had ousted the leader of the group, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike after over­powering his loyalists in a fierce battle.

Daily Sun reliably gathered that heavy fighting broke out at the administrative head­quarters of the group in Okwe in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State as early as 7.30 a.m. when suspected armed thugs numbering over 5,000 invaded the facility, ap­parently to dislodge the com­manders, who had earlier taken over the premises on the alleged orders of the MAS­SOB leader.

National Secretary of the movement, Ugwuoke Ibem Ug­wuoke, who confirmed the incident, said Uwazuruike re­cruited the thugs, who alleg­edly attacked the headquarters with sophisticated weapons but were resisted by MASSOB commanders, who had already taken over the secretariat.

However, when contacted, Uwazurike said he was not aware of such incident, but he got the information that there was a crisis at Okwe, and promised to contact his administrators there to find out what the problem was.

“ So many people have been wounded in the early morning attack and those people were not members of MASSOB but were hired by Uwazuruike from Onitsha to come and as­sassinate us because we chal­lenged his style of leadership, but we overpowered them and we have taken over the head­quarters of MASSOB. Uwa­zuruike has turned the struggle as a personal property.”

He added: “Our crime is that we told him to reduce the dues collected from poor members of MASSOB, who toil monthly to pay money into his personal account.

“ As I speak with you, over N20 million is remitted to his account monthly, while those who died in the struggle have been abandoned in the mortu­aries without proper burial.

“What we are saying is that we can no longer be used by Uwazuruike to enrich himself. While we are dying, he is busy buying houses and exotic cars, but we cannot continue like this anymore. We are calling on Igbo leaders to intervene because Uwazuruike has used the blood of innocent Igbo youths, who are killed daily while obeying his orders, to make money.”

Similarly,  Ndubuisi Ig­wekani, the leader of the Bi­afra Defence Mission, stated that if swift actions were not taken to call Uwazuruike to order, the security situation in Igboland would worsen.

“We have called on Igbo leaders, especially Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to call Uwazuruike to order because his kind of Bi­afra was not the one Ojukwu fought for. He has abandoned the struggle and now uses MASSOB as a means to extort Ndigbo, we are out to stop him no matter what he does.”

“ There was no problem, except that some of the security men working at the headquarters were transferred but were yet to relocate and that may have been misconstrued as disobedience to my instructions” Uwazurike said.

SOURCE 1, SOURCE 2

By: Restore Biafra On 8/21/2014

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Biafrans are heroic people & the minorities are more loyal than other Biafrans: Bishop of Birmingham(1968).

    

By THE LORD BISHOP OF BIRMINGHAM (John Leonard Wilson) while addressing the UK parliament about Biafra on 29th of April, 1968. SOURCE.

   My Lords, I do not apologise for speaking on this subject, even at this late hour, because it is one of great importance. Although it may not be a "forgotten war" it is one that very few people know much about. I have often asked people what they know about Biafra, and they have said. "Isn't that an Italian football club?" That is about as far as the large majority of people can go. Yet this is not just a tribal internal matter; it is a matter of a large number of people.

    I know it is difficult to get at the truth, and that people use the words "truth" and "liberty" for base and ignoble ends. I know there are many rebels against just law and wholesome moral restraint who have masked their caprice under the name of "liberty". On the other hand, we should have to blot out half the pages of heroic history if we are to erase the deeds done, the suffering endured, in the name of liberty. I am sure Biafra comes in the second category. They are heroic people. Some may regard them as wicked because they defend themselves, but I was there last month and I spent five days, not only with the Ibos who are the main body in the central part, but also with the minorities, and there is no doubt whatever that they are strongly Biafran—the minorities included. I will speak about them later.

    I do not want to raise too many difficulties about the question of bombs. It is quite certain that people believe that the bombs are British, and I said to them: "If I am going to be briefed as an advocate I must have the truth, and I must have evidence which would stand up in a court of law". They did not give me the evidence that would satisfy me in a court of law, but I did see the outside shells. I saw the casings which said, "Made in Britain" and I saw "GE" cut off—and it could not have been stuck on, because every dent and every cut corresponded with the other half of the casing underneath it. If it was faked it was done by a highly skilled person who had come from China, or somewhere like that. But it was not faked; it was definitely what it purported to be. When we put it to them that these may have come from another nation to which Britain had sold them, their answer was, "No, Britain makes a stipulation that they are not for re-sale". Of course that does not mean that the stipulation is kept.

    I also argued—and I hope genuinely, because I believe what I have heard—that there was not an escalation. I dislike the fact that we went on sending arms, but I do not think we had escalated the war to that extent. When I asked whether these bombs might have been there before, the man in charge of the ordnance gave me his full assurance that he was there before this war broke out and therefore he could certify that they were not there because there was nothing of that kind among the ammunition which had come from Britain. However, there were the markings and sufficient superficial evidence for a large number of people to believe this story. It is easy for these things to be exaggerated, and I hope there may be some way of convincing them by an assurance that it is a lie. For instance, one might have suggested an examination by Crown Agents, or something like that.

    I want now to address myself to the question of minorities, because this is an important and delicate question. It is true that many of the minority peoples were in positions of responsibility in the Biafran Government. It is true that there had always been peaceful relationships, cultural exchanges and a good deal of inter-marriage between these peoples. But the main brunt of the destruction in the war fell on these areas and had the effect of stiffening their loyalty to Biafra rather than the reverse. It had been pointed out that we could only meet the leaders, who were unquestionably loyal to Biafra—the others might be far away. It is true that one cannot examine every witness, yet the crucial test was the force of the argument put to me by Colonel Ojukwu: what happens when the minority areas are invaded? Instead of falling into the arms of the Federal soldiers and greeting them as great liberators, the inhabitants retreated towards Biafra. I went to meeting after meeting which was crowded by various minority groups who gave me "large welcomes", as they put it, a little tempered by their dislike of Britain, but still thinking that the Church of England was the Government of England. I tried to disillusion them on that point, and said that we had very little influence whatsoever but that I would do my best to put their case forward.

    These were people from minorities, who said that they would be loyal as Biafrans. In some cases they were critical of individual leaders, but still they were more loyal than the other Biafrans. So I do not think there would be a great deal of trouble with the minorities. There is no doubt that some kind of a nation has been formed and, as I said out there, I consider it is a crazy way to try to get people into a Federation—bombing their civilians; and I know it was civilians because time after time I was shown the hospitals, the market places, the colleges that had been bombed. Of course there may have been military objectives as well to which they did not take me, but I went up as far as Onitsa and I saw what they were doing. I definitely saw a large number of market places that had been bombed. How can we expect people, 30,000 of them, or even if we amend it to 20,000, being massacred not in war but definitely being massacred, chiefly as they came out of the churches, right through the North, to federate? Between 1 million and 2 million were scattered from their homes—and these are true facts which are accepted generally.

    To go on bombing their peoples and then say, "You will come into the Federation whether you like it or not, and it is one of the conditions that you must come in and can never have your independence", is asking for trouble. We have asked for it in our own British history, and had it for years, with a certain country that used to be part of Great Britain and is now a republic. You will never get these people working together for a very long time unless there is far greater mutual trust. They definitely believe that it is genocide; that the others want to wipe out the Ibo people. They think it is also a religious war. I tried to calm them down. They think it is Moslems against Christians. There are no Moslems among the people in that western part of the Eastern Region; they are nearly all—95 per cent. of them—Christians, chiefly Roman Catholics, though there are a large number of Anglicans, Presbyterians and Methodists, with great names like Mary Slessor of Calabar, whose great work is remembered with love and affection by the people she cared for and thought of. And now so many of them are being killed by arms which they think are coming from Britain.

    I know it is true to say that "If you stop your supply other people will supply bombs". But the psychological effect would be tremendous if Britain said, "It is time you got together, and until you do we are not going to send any more arms". I doubt whether one could say that it was a de facto Government, let alone de jure, of the Federal Army. The main thing, if we are to get them to come together, as I hope we shall (I do mot think it will be in London, because of this deep feeling: I wish it could be, because I think Ojukwu would be safer here) is that they should come together without conditions. When I say "without conditions" I mean just that. I pressed Ojukwu on this question. He had at first said a cease-fire and peacekeeping forces on the borders. But later on, I understand, it was to be entirely without conditions, though the cease-fire would be at the beginning of the agenda. Let us try to get that. But do not let 'us British try to force them back, because we had a wonderful blueprint of a great union of Nigeria. Do not let us press them too hard to go back into something which will cause more and more difficulty in the future. I am grateful to the Commonwealth Secretariat. They have done fine work. I am extremely grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Brockway, for introducing this Question, and giving us a chance of clearing our minds as to what are the real issues.

By: Restore Biafra On 8/05/2014

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