COSON chairman, Tony Okoroji writes on Biafra.
Do you know that the great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, was once referred to by some as a saboteur to the Igbo cause? You may ask, ‘how can?!’
What was the treachery of this undeniably great son of Igbo land against his people? It is simple. In the heat of the Biafra war, the wise old man had surveyed the killing field in which thousands of Igbo men, women and children were being slaughtered every day and he could not bear it any more. He sought for an end to the mayhem to ensure that the Igbo man was not annihilated. To some, that was heresy!
In Biafra, it was very easy to be termed a saboteur if you were not constantly singing “Save my bullet when I die, Oh Biafra! Save my bullet when I die, Alleluia, if I happen to surrender, I die forever. Biafra save my bullet when I die!”
Indeed, many were summarily executed for questioning the war, its methods or the leadership. I can see that today many of my brothers and sisters who are in a position to bring some introspection into the recent events are scared. They will not talk because they are afraid of being referred to as saboteurs. I very much understand it. They are afraid of the dire consequences any questions asked may bring.
Last week on ‘Saturday Breakfast’, I served a piece titled “I have seen Biafra and it is not funny‘. The intent was to ensure that we have a serious discussion of the issues before diving headlong into a confrontation we may not be quite prepared for. The reaction to the piece which travelled further than I had expected was interesting. While a good number of people showed a clear understanding of what …Read More
Source:: The NET
