March 17 2007

This is the News Analysis segment of the Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcasts

For March 17^th, 2007

You have heard the news; now, the analysis…

Fellow Biafrans:

Boycott any elections arranged by Nigeria! We are going to boycott the fraud called Nigeria’s elections. Why? Because we are Biafrans, not Nigerians. That is reason enough. Yet, there is more compounding indictment against Nigeria...

Moral reasons: One does not see fraud, understand that it is fraud, and then, participate actively and or directly in the fraud, especially when one has the option of not participating at all. It is plainly evident that each process in the Nigeria elections-cog, thus far, is mired in fraud and corrupted by same. (Nigeria and elections of course have this atrocious relationship, well-known to history and by experience). What is clearly morally disturbing is that those who are “proud” to call themselves Nigerians see the brazen fraudulent deportment and conduct, but then, still proceed to adopt it and practice it. There is no Moral sense in patronizing fraud by even accommodating it; but it is Moral suicide to actually participate in the known fraud. It is Moral mockery to legitimize fraud. That is why we all have a Moral duty to refuse to join the crowd reveling in fraud: we must boycott Nigeria’s elections.

Commonsense reasons: It is obvious that the political class in Nigeria is not interested in representing the hapless peoples in Nigeria. This class sees politics in Nigeria as a way to make huge sums of money very easily and without working for it: the corrupt government and governance of Nigeria empties the country’s coffers into the eager waiting hands of these politicians. And, then, they just sit there waiting for more money while performing no government/governance functions at all. Little wonder that the “President of the Corrupt,” the president of Nigeria himself, General Obasanjo, defined his dictatorship using his party’s prospects to return to power by rigging yet another election, as “do-or-die” affair—for him and for his party, PDP. The “pay” is excellent, and the work, very little—next to nothing. When a famous repeat bank robber was asked why he robs banks, he is quoted as saying: “that’s where the money is!” Nigeria’s politicians and aspirants go into politics because of the easy money, not to represent the people. For this reason, the gulf between the people and the politicians who are supposed to be representing them is as wide and as deep as the space between Earth and its Moon. There is a total disconnect between the peoples in Nigeria and the politicians/government of Nigeria. So, if these politicians want to go through the motions of elections, why should the common person join them? There is nothing in it for the common person. Therefore, every non-politician ought to boycott any elections planned by Nigeria. Boycott!

Fellow Biafrans: we are not interested in Nigeria’s fraudulent elections, and we are not interested in Nigeria. Faced with the crises in Nigeria and with the evil that is Nigeria, we have stuck with our principled approach: Biafra, not Nigeria; Do the moral thing, not the immoral or a-moral. There are those who still want to accommodate Nigeria by endorsing one Nigerian party or candidate or the other. This is like one trying to make a pact with Evil: one always loses out as Evil will turn against one and swallow him or her up eventually! Going along with colonial Britain and agreeing to allow the so-called amalgamation of South and North to form Nigeria was the first accommodation; we now live and regret it. Zik was the consummate one-Nigerianist: where did it get him, and us? Aguiyi Ironsi endorsed and pushed for one-Nigeria: the Northern Nigerian Army officers first killed him for that, then, turned around and killed our people also, in order to sustain that same principle of one-Nigeria, for which they originally eliminated Ironsi! Before his murder, Ironsi accommodated Nigeria when (after the first wave of the massacre of our people living in Northern Nigeria by the Northerners in 1966, trusting Nigeria in her feigned plea for our people to return to the North to continue to provide needed services for the North), he sent our people back to the North. This provided fodder for the second wave of the unconscionable genocidal slaughter of our people—the price of accommodating Nigeria once again. Odumegwu Ojukwu accommodated Nigeria: he foiled Nzeogwu’s coup; Ojukwu was later rewarded by being branded a “rebel” by Nigeria. Still accommodating Nigeria, Ojukwu went to Aburi and reached landmark decisions and agreement with Nigeria’s military junta under Gowon—agreements which would have solved the problems of / with Nigeria then; Gowon, on behalf of Nigeria, promptly reneged on the agreements once he returned to Nigeria, setting the stage for the Biafra War. At the end of the war, Biafra had the option to continue with guerrilla warfare, but instead accommodated Nigeria, going along with the “No victors, no vanquished” deception, only for our people to end up under occupation by Nigerian forces up till today. Our people, post war, embraced Nigeria in unparalleled accommodation once again, only for the suffering to deepen, as a result of deliberate anti-Biafra policy of Nigeria. Our so-called leaders accommodated the politics of Nigeria, only for Nigeria to render our people irrelevant, after full and ongoing exploitation of our human and natural resources. We could go on and on: the point is that there has never been an instance or a time when our accommodating Nigeria has yielded any positive results for our people. All we have gotten out of it is more pain, more misery, more death. Therefore, we are not about to let ourselves be talked into making the same type of error repeatedly any more. Whoever Biafran wants to accommodate Nigeria once again by endorsing this Nigerian candidate or that Nigerian party for their fraudulent elections, he or she is on his or her own: we shall not follow him or her, we shall not listen to him or her. We will boycott Nigeria’s elections as planned.

Let us now point out emphatically that we will, as usual, follow the MASSOB’s non-violent methods in this boycott exercise. We will never try to interfere with anyone else’s activities related to the elections. That’s not MASSOB, and that’s not MASSOB’s way. The most basic thing one can do to effect the boycott is to personally avoid the electoral booths: stay home or indoors where possible. If in fact these fraudulent elections hold, the most risk to our people is being seen outside one’s house; one would thus become a target for heavily-armed Nigerian soldiers and police looking for any Biafran to shoot at. In short, when we boycott the elections, just make your own self un-available. Do it!

We end this segment by asking Nigeria to release from jail Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of MASSOB; Uchenna Madu, the Information Director of MASSOB, other MASSOB officials; and other MASSOB rank-and-file members. We include in our demand the release also of Asari Dokubo. Self Determination is not a crime: it is a Divine Right, a Moral Imperative and a socio-national duty.

Biafra alive! Because it is God Who makes it so.

That’s the News Analysis for the week. Thank you.

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God bless and keep Biafra, and you, until our next broadcast. Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcast continues (http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm), now with the summary of the News Analysis in Igbo language.

Ndi Biafra, ekele e o-o! Anyi e kelee unu.

Nkea wu akuko nke anyi na a kpo News Analysis, si na Voice of Biafra International Radio, di na Washington DC, na ala America, na a bia ra unu na abali a.

Boycott! Boycott! Boycott! O wu so-o-so boycott ka anyi ga e me o wuru na Nigeria e nwee election aru ya. Anyi ga a boycottu election ahu maka anyi wu ndi Biafra: anyi a wughi Nigeria nke i ga i soro Nigeria mee election ojoo ha.

Mara kwa unu na o wu oke ajoo-ihe na mmadu huru ihe-ojoo, mara na o wu ihe ojoo, ma ga kwa mee, ma o wu soro ihe-ojoo ahu. Election Nigeria, onye o wula a mara la na o wu ihe wuru-wuru, ihe-asi nke otu mkpuru ezi-okwu a dighi na ime ya. Onye soro mee election ya a ghola onye ihe-asi na ajoo-ihe na a togbu a togbu. Anyi ndi Biafra a wughi udi mmadu ya. O nweghi ihe anyi na ajoo-ihe nwekoro otu. Boycottu wu ihe anyi jiri saa okwu a. O wu ihe kwesiri omume.

Unu e chefughi kwala na politics na ala Nigeria wu maka naani otu ihe: otu ndi na e gwu ya wu politics ga e si e ri nnukwu ego. O nweghi ihe ha na e mere ndi oha-madu. Anyi si ha gaa nu ga ri wa ego ha: anyi ga a boycott election ha. Cheta kwa unu na o na a wu na "...ndi Biafra taa, ha a vuo Nigeria na obi; ma Nigeria taa cha, ya a vuo ndi Biafra na anya,” vupi chaa anyi anya. Maka nkea, o nweghi otu anyi ga e si a kwado onye owula na e so uzo ndi Nigeria na election ya. Naani boycottu ka anyi ma; ma, ndea mara kwa na o wu naani ita-ahuhu na onwu ka Nigeria buru ndi Biafra na obi.

Anyi ga e so uzo nke udo ndi MASSOB na boycott anyi ga e me: o nweghi onye anyi ga e gbosiri uzo ya i ga i so ndi Nigeria mee election ojoo ha. Ma, anyi na onwe anyi a gaghi a ga ebe a na a tu votu. O wuru ma anyi nwere ike i me ya otu ahu, ka anyi nodiri onwe anyi na ime-ulo anyi na oge ahu, na e cheta kwa na ndi army na soldier na police ndi Nigeria ji egbe nochie ebe na ile, na a cho ka e nye ha oghere ka ha gbagbue ndi Biafra. Zee unu onwe unu; a putaghi kwa la i ga ebo owula na akuku ebe ha na e me votu ha. Boycottu!

Nigeria ga e weputariri Ralph Uwazurike, onye isi MASSOB; Uchenna Madu, onye ndu MASSOB, na ndi ndu ndi ozo, na ndi otu MASSOB ndi ozo site na mkporo. Anyi na a gunye kwa Asari Dokubo na nde Nigeria kwesiri i weputa na nga ha. O nweghi mmeghie ma o wu odida-iwu no na i cho, na ime, ka Obodo noro onwe ya, chia kwa onwe ya, maka otua ahu ka Chineke jiri kee ya, Ye kwa ndi mmadu ike i biri otu ahu.

Biafra, ndu gi! Biafra, ndu gi!! Biafra, ndu gi!!!—na ndu anyi kwa. Maka Chineke nonyere la gi—nonyere kwa ra anyi!

Ndewo unu!

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Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) broadcast continues

Voice of Biafra International (VOBI)
A SHORTWAVE Radio Broadcast Service
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