Losses incurred by Igbos in Nigeria in the past 72 years have been
put at 3.5 million lives and $50 billion in properties. This is
according to the International Society for Civil Liberties & the
Rule of Law (Intersociety), quoting extensive research by its Board
Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, whose “conclusive research findings are
being publicly expected in full in coming months.”
According to part of the research work, “Igbo Ethnic Nationality in
Nigeria is researchably and unarguably the oldest Ethnic Nationality or
Group in Nigeria having existed for 3,467yrs or since 1450BC and since
1187BC and 1087BC respectively when it crowned its pioneer kings in Nri
and Eri-Aka (now Agulueri) all located in present day Anambra State.
“Igbo Nation State was originally founded by Eri, a possible migrant
from Middle East (i.e. Israel through Egypt); who later settled at the
confluence point of “Ezu and Omambala Rivers”, called “Agbanabo”. His
first place of settlement is called “Eri-Aka” (now Agulueri) located in
present Anambra East Local Government of Anambra State. The name
“Anambra” or Anambra State is a corrupt spelling for “Omambala River”.
“The second oldest Ethnic Nationality in Nigeria can expressly be traced
to the doorsteps of Agbon (now called Agbor) and Bini (Benin) dynasties
in present Edo and Delta States. The Peoples of the two named dynasties
may most likely have existed for 2,917yrs or since 900BC. It is
important to inform further that the Agbon or Agbor People and their
kingship dynasty were not originally Igbo People, but Ominije People,
who later in 701BC established their “Ogele Kingship dynasties”, which
reigned till 1260AD with Ogele XIV Okwakpor as its last Ogele. The
Igbo-Agbor Kingship dynasty was established in 1270AD with Ebonka as its
first Igbo Dein of Agbor. The Bini Kingdom was much later established
in 1180AD.
“Hausa Ethnic Nationality is the third oldest tribe in Nigeria and has
existed for 1,217yrs or since 800AD. Hausa Nation-State or Ethnic
Nationality was founded by a Baghdadi (Iraq) Prince, named Bayajidda
around 800AD; about two centuries before the ancient Kano was founded by
one of his grandsons, named Bagauda who later became its first king or
Sarkin Kano in 999AD.”
The research said that “the Yoruba Nation State or Ethnic Nationality is
the fourth oldest Ethnic Nationality in Nigeria and has existed for
917yrs or since 1100AD having been founded by Oduduwa; a migrant who was
said to have migrated from Middle East. He later sent his last son,
Oranmiyan to Benin in about 1170AD as the first interim Oba of Benin and
was later succeeded by Oba Eweka 1 in 1180AD as the first substantive
Oba or King of Benin Empire.
“Fulani Ethnic Nationality is the newest and most violent Ethnic
Nationality in Nigeria. It has only existed in Nigeria for 213yrs,
having been founded by Usman dan Fodio; an Islamic scholar and urbanized
Fulani Jihadist in 1804 during which it imposed till date Islamic
Emperors in all its conquered communities including Ilorin and Bida
Emirates with the exception of the Borno Emirate, ruled till date by
descendants of the rulers of Bornu Empire (1380AD-1893AD).
“In all, there are 386 tribes in Nigeria and among them, Igbo Ethnic
Nationality is the oldest, dating back to 1450BC when Eri was migrated
and settled in Nigeria across the River Niger or 3,467yrs today.”
On the losses suffered by Igbos in Nigeria in a little over seven
decades, the research said that they arose out of the following
circumstances:
“By Direct or Physical Violence, it is act of armed hostile actions
against unarmed or defenseless persons or group of persons of asymmetric
background; perpetrated by public office holders including security
commanders and civilians in authority or those non State actors
sponsored or recruited by killer public office holders. It is direct or
physical violence because it is targeted at citizens with its
perpetrators clearly known. Direct violence often emerges from the depth
of structural violence.
“By Structural Violence, it is a kind of violence that is built in
societal structure or age long inequalities in societal structures. It
also develops as a result of sustained policy of asymmetry or power
imbalances including political exclusion and segregation; gross
lopsidedness in allocation of national human and material resources as
well as demographic injustice, ethno-religious cleansing and gross
lopsided spread in public offices appointments, etc.
“By Cultural Violence, this is act of promoting and sustaining violent
campaigns and heightened intolerance by the State and its coercive
agents and hired others against ideological, religious and linguistic
beliefs and their symbols; of asymmetric or minority ethnic and
religious groups. It also involves use of genocidal and murderous
jargons and other derogatory languages against minority or asymmetric
populations by government and its agents or hired others. The
description of Tutsis in Rwanda by Hutu extremists as “cockroaches”
during the Rwandan genocide; the labeling of Igbo People as “Nyamiri”
and Christians in Nigeria as “Infidels” by Hausa-Fulani Muslims; leading
to countless hate killing of Igbo People and other Christian
populations in Nigeria are all clear cases in point.”
Continuing, Intersociety said in a statement issued on Monday in Onitsha
and quoting Umeagbalasi’s research findings: “The Igbo Ethnic
Nationality had further been made to undergo countless butcheries and
ethnic cleansings in Nigeria since 1945. While it is researchable to
conduct research on Igbo killings or anti Igbo pogroms in Nigeria, it is
highly un-researchable to conduct same research in the opposite
direction or killing of other Nigerians by Igbo People.
“In other words, Igbo People are inherently tolerant, peaceful and
loving Ethnic Nationality in Nigeria or any part thereof, despite
decades of sustained violent campaigns to wipe them out. Igbo People and
their Ethnic Group have remained peaceful and refrained from reprisal
radicalism or militancy till date not minding the fact the 3.5 million
lives and properties valued at $50 billion belonging to them have been
lost, destroyed or forcefully possessed since 1945.
“Statistically, in the first Igbo pogrom in Nigeria which took place on
June 22nd 1945 in Jos, perpetrated by Hausa-Fulani Muslims, as much as
200 Igbo citizens were massacred; with the then British colonial
authorities doing nothing. The second Igbo massacre took place in Kano
in 1953, in which hundreds of Igbo lives were lost. Between May and
October 1966, intensive and extensive anti Igbo pogroms were carried out
in various parts of the North, leading to death of over 30,000 Igbo
citizens. From October 1966 to May 1967, the butcheries intensified;
with more thousands of deaths recorded; forcing then Col Emeka
Odumegwu-Ojukwu to militarily opt for secession from Nigeria, which
resulted to Biafra-Nigeria bloody civil war of 1967-70.
“There was also Asaba Igbo massacre of early October 1967, perpetrated
by Hausa-Fulani Muslim led Nigerian troops in which more than 700 men
and boys were killed, some as young as 12 years old, in addition to many
more killed in the preceding days. Other Igbo killings or pogroms that
had taken place in Nigeria or any part thereof are those of Kano 1980,
Maiduguri 1982, Jimeta 1984, Gombe 1985, Zaria 1987, Kaduna and
Kafanchan 1991, Bauchi and Katsina 1991, Kano 1991, Zango-Kataf 1992,
Funtua 1993, Kano 1994, Kaduna 2000, Kaduna 2001, Maiduguri 2001.
“The rest are those of Jos September 2001, Kaduna 2002, Kaduna’s Miss
World Riot of November 2002 and Prophet Mohammed Cartoons Riot of
February 2006 (Maiduguri), the Apo-Abuja Six killing by the Nigeria
Police Force of (six young Igbo traders: Ekene Isaac Mgbe, Ifeanyi Ozor,
Chinedu Meniru, Paulinus Ogbonna and Anthony and Augustina Arebu) of
June 2005, the November 2008 Jos LGA Poll Riot/killings, the Jos 2010
Christmas Eve bombings, the Madalla Igbo Catholic Church bombings of
2011, the 2011 post general elections’ riots/killings that led to
killing of 10 Igbo NYSC members and several other Igbo People in the
North, the Mubi Igbo killings of 2012 and Nyanya Bombing of April 2014.
Over 4000 other defenseless Igbo people residing in the North were also
butchered by northern Muslims’ backed Islamic Boko Haram terrorists
between 2009 and 2014.
“As if these not enough, the government security forces including the
Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force under the present Buhari’s
central government in Nigeria shot and killed over 270 defenseless and
unarmed Igbo People who nonviolently agitate for regional autonomy and
assertion of their regionally and internationally recognized rights to
self determination. The killings took place between July/August 2015 and
January 2017 in Southeast and South-south of Nigeria. Since June 2015,
the terrorist Fulani herdsmen have slaughtered over 70 rural Igbo
citizens.
“Over 370 young Igbo citizens agitating or supporting the nonviolent Pro
Biafra campaigns were also shot and terminally wounded; with several of
them crippled for life. There have also been several cases of secret
arrests, torture, disappearances or secret killings carried out by
Nigeria Police SARS, soldiers and SSS targeted at key figures in the
nonviolent pro Biafra campaigns.
“Above all, out of 3.5 million Igbo lives lost in Nigeria since 1945 or
in the past 72yrs, 3million citizens were killed during the
Biafra-Nigeria Civil War, with over half of them killed by famine,
hunger and starvation deliberately imposed as a war policy by
Hausa-Fulani led Nigerian troops. Not less than 200,000 other Igbo lives
were in decades’ long Igbo butcheries which started in 1945 while
300,000 others died untimely as a result of successive and present
central governments’ hash policies against the Igbo People including
massacre of their bread winners and legal guardians.
“It saddens our heart that till date, the Federal Government of Nigeria,
on behalf of successive federal governments in Nigeria, particularly
those controlled by top Hausa-Fulani military officers and their
civilian counterparts; have remained defiant and unapologetic to age
long injustices against the Igbo Race. Professor Yemi Osibanjo (Vice
President) has also joined them in remaining defiant and unapologetic.
The hard and unapologetic stance of the present Buhari Administration,
which has worsened the age long Igbo hatred and hardened anti Nigeria
territorial oneness activism and activists; is only making Nigerian
balkanization project and its protagonists inevitable and unyielding.”
Intersociety paid tribute to Ndigbo for the success of Monday’s
sit-at-home-protest which paralysed the five South-East states and parts
of the South-South. It, however, berated Governor Wiilie Obiano of
Anambra State for allegedly going the extra mile to sabotage Igbo
interests.
The group said: “The massive heeding and participation by the Igbo
People in yesterday’s voluntary appeal by the leaderships of IPOB and
reformed MASSOB for sit-at-home in honour of fallen Biafra heroes and
heroines is a clear case in point. Despite battalions of soldiers,
police personnel and other security operatives with truck-loads of arms
and ammunition moved to the Southeast and parts of South-south; the Igbo
People defied them and exercised their inalienable right to freedom of
assemble and expression in a grand style.
“Through apt wisdom, tactics and strategies applied by the organisers of
the voluntary sit-at-home protest, the blood suckers in uniforms who
sucked over 140 innocent bloods during the 2016 anniversary of the
epochal event; and their guns were forced into silence and irreparable
humiliation. Despite Governor Wiilie Obiano’s stern order that
government offices and parastatals must be opened and markets and
streets vigilantes to forcefully open all markets and streets’ security
gates; traders and other people of the state mocked him, defied his
counterproductive orders and stayed away. Banks, street markets,
teachers, pupils, parents and guardians, motor park managers and
commercial vehicular operators also courageously joined in observing the
voluntary sit-at-home protest in honour of their slain heroes and
heroines.
“While we boldly commend and congratulate the People of Igbo Nation for
massively heeding the sit-at-home voluntary appeal, it is saddening and
shocking that Governor Willie Madubuchi Obiano, whose Eri-Aka (Agulueri)
Community is the first ancestral birth place of the Igbo People with
himself as a descendant of Agulu-Nwa-Eri, now called Agulueri; could
descend so low and barbarously too by joining forces with Hausa-Fulani
led Nigerian Army and other security forces to massacre not less than
140 innocent, defenseless and unarmed pro Biafra campaigners of Igbo
stock on 29th and 30th May 2016 who gathered to honour the Igbo or
Biafra fallen heroes and heroines; during which as many as 110 Igbo
citizens were massacred at Nkpor and Onitsha and over 30 massacred or
killed in Asaba. More than 130 others were terminally maimed, with some,
if not many of them crippled for life.”
The article was first published on News Express
