– A retired Nigerian army general has given insights into the agitation of Biafra by the Igbos of the South East region
– He said lack of trust between the Igbos and the minority South South will continue to hinder the actualization of a Biafran nation
– Edet Akpan in an interview said the South South minorities will always continue to support the existence of the Nigerian state
Former director general of National Youth service Corps (NYSC) Edet Akpan
A retired Nigerian army general has given reasons why the South South region will continue to support Nigeria despite the growing agitation for Biafra.
In an interview with Premium Times, the retired general Edet Akpan said it is impossible for indigenes of the South South region to be part of the actualization of the freedom of Biafra.
Akpan, who was a former director general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) said lack of trust between the Igbo – of the South East region – and the minority South South will always hinder the actualization of Biafra.
He said the minority in the area would always prefer to stay in Nigeria for this purpose.
The retired general said Nigeria is a large entity for all minorities to maneuver.
Akpan said: “It is much better than a region that you don’t feel (that you) belong. If you are suppressed as a minority (in Biafra) where do you cry to?”
He further added the Biafran war was lost because the minorities in the eastern region never agreed with Igbos.
“I remember one Igbo leader who said, ‘Don’t worry the quarrel between the Igbo and the minorities is that between a husband and wife’. Oh, this place almost went into flame. Then it was asked, ‘Who is the husband and who is the wife?’ You see, the lack of trust is still there.”
He also called for restricting of the Nigerian state to enable the practice of true federalism.
“You can keep the existing states, so long as you are not going to create states every other year. There was a national conference that took care of the issue of restructuring. The report is available. Some real autonomy for the states. I may not accept state police because of abuse. The autonomy should be more on economic matters,” Akpan said.
The retired general also said the bombing of pipeline by Niger Delta militants and the agitation of Biafra is a clear sign that there is a problem with Nigeria.
Akpan noted that the Igbo, who are currently agitating for Biafra are not necessarily ready for a split but genuine integration of the needs of the South East region into the Nigerian system.
“They want to feel that an Igbo man can one day become the president of Nigeria.
“They (Igbos) should seek whatever they want within the framework of the Nigerian state,” he said.
“I know he (Buhari) has integrity. I know he means well (for the country). The suffering that we see is temporary.
“If he was not the president now, to plug a lot of loopholes that have been in place all along, the money we have been getting now would have been so small. If we had had a president who would have closed his eyes to corruption, it would have been much worse (than what we are seeing),” he said.
The agitation for a Biafran nation has continued in the South East region since the time of Odimegwu Ojukwu.
Recently, the agitation continued after the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) through its leader Nnamdi Kanu made fresh call for this purpose or a referendum.
However, Kanu who had campaigned for Biafra was arrested upon his arrival to Lagos from the United Kingdom and has since being in prison custody since.
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