Questions on Biafra

With the emergence of Radio Biafra, the issue of the Biafra seems to have generated much agitation among Nigerians dividing the nation into two: it’s either you’re Pro-Biafra or Anti-Biafra. One of my friends recently raised an alarm concerning a Biafra fanatic threatening to kill him for being Anti-Biafra, isn’t that pathetic? Well that’s by the way, so I was having a conversation with an avid Pro-Biafra Igbo friend and somehow the Biafra issue came up. I asked her these simple questions:

Can the Biafra thrive if given a chance?

If Biafra emerges, who has more to lose, Nigeria or Biafra?Before you give answers to my questions, permit me to give you a brief story involving Sudan. The people of the Dafur region of Sudan (now Southern Sudan) believed they deserve to stand alone by becoming independent. They fought tooth and nail until they eventually got their coveted freedom from Sudan. Fine, they got what they wanted; Southern Sudan became a country on its own. While the world was still congratulating them on their independence, leadership crisis emerged among two major ethnic groups (Dinka and Nuer) that make up the newly formed Southern Sudan. Today, Southern Sudan may be free from a lot of things; crisis is not one of them.   

 

Now let’s go back to the Biafra concept. If formed, the Biafra will comprise majorly the South-East and likely the South-South part of Nigeria. The South-East will form the majority in terms of population while the oil rich South-South the minority. Please consider the composition of Biafra carefully pondering over this question: How certain are we that Biafra will not encounter the same leadership crisis currently tormenting Southern Sudan?