Once upon a time in the not so distant past there were two regions within the Nigerian entity fighting for equality and self determination. Though both struggles were similar in terms of their objectives, everything else about them was different.
Both the igbos and their Niger Deltan colleagues engaged in armed struggle.
While the igbos chose a more confrontational and direct approach to armed conflict the Niger Deltans opted for the familiarity of guerrilla warfare operations from the creeks.
This is where the struggles took drastically different turns.
The igbos concentrated on their conventional war and three years after it kicked off in earnest it was over. The Niger Deltans stuck to guerrilla warfare, kidnapping of expatriates and negotiation with the Federal Government.
At every opportunity House of Assembly members from the Niger Delta states spoke up vocally about their support for the struggle in the creeks and urged the FG to negotiate with the militants.
This was never the case with South East senators and House of reps members. They used every opportunity they got to distance themselves from the Biafran struggle.
Niger Delta Governors used their federal allocations to develop their states while fighting for equity and resource control. The logic was if they got what was due to their states they could do much more to improve the welfare of their people. (With the exception of Bayelsa state every other state within the Niger Delta is economically and technologically improved and the signs are there for all to see).
Majority of the south east governors squandered their federal allocation; some of them amassed private fortunes at the expense of their peoples welfare and turned around to blame the federal government for their own failings. (Apart from Anambra and Enugu states the rest of the igbo states have near ZERO basic infrastructure to point to since May 29 1999).
50 odd years later Biafra is nothing more than idle agitation and violent street protests in the south east while the Petroleum Industry Bill is on the verge of becoming a law.
If you have been trying the same method for almost 5 decades without progress don’t you think it’s time to revise that method?
