Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
The Founder of Biafra Independence Movement and Movement for Actualisation of the Sovereign state of Biafra (BIM-MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has declared that Biafra remains an existing nation.
Uwazuruike, who made the declaration, yesterday, at the Ojukwu Memorial Auditorium, Owerri, when he played host to the representatives of the Yoruba World Congress (YWC), maintained that what Biafra lost during the civil war of 1967-70 was sovereignty and not recognition.
In a statement made available to Sunday Sun by his Special Assistant on social media, Emma N. Nnadi, Uwazuruike expressed delight at a round table discussion tagged: “Handshake across the Niger 3”, describing the Yoruba nation as the game changers in Nigeria.
He, therefore, pledged to work with Professor Banjo Akintoye in the same way Nnamdi Azikiwe worked under Herbert Macaulay, noting that the two nations had come a long way. He recalled how a top Yoruba military officer, the late Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, who was the then Military Governor of Western Nigeria, sacrificed himself to save the life of an Igbo man in 1966.
“What we are fighting for today is sovereignty. There is no difference between Oduduwa Republic and Biafra nation. The two nations have shared their own portions of injustices,” he said.
According to Uwazuruike, the annulment of June 1993 presidential election won by MKO Abiola, remained the greatest injustice against the Yoruba nation.
He also lamented the injustice suffered by the people of the Southeast, saying only the Igbo nation has five states in Nigeria while the five other zones have six states each.
Professor Banji Akintoye, the leader of Yoruba World Congress (YWC), who spoke on behalf of the Yoruba nation, said they were on the same path with the Igbo in their struggle for freedom. “We are ready to work hand in hand to achieve our noble purposes to which we stand. We are sure we stand together. Let us stand together in peace and confidence,” he said.
