{"id":12044,"date":"2016-10-22T21:52:25","date_gmt":"2016-10-22T21:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=12044"},"modified":"2016-10-22T21:52:25","modified_gmt":"2016-10-22T21:52:25","slug":"why-are-yorubas-afraid-of-biafra-by-oduche-azih","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/?p=12044","title":{"rendered":"WHY ARE YORUBAS AFRAID OF BIAFRA? by ODUCHE AZIH"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><code><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=11243&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/code><\/p>\n<div>Since Ken Okomma posed his question, WHY ARE YORUBAS AFRAID OF BIAFRA?, few weeks ago, I have been analyzing that issue from a number of perspectives. Most importantly I patiently awaited the response of my Yoruba <span id=\"more-4163\"><\/span>friends to enable me compare and contrast with my own personal observations and my own reading of the conclusions drawn by Okomma himself.<\/div>\n<p>The real question that should be on the minds of anyone keen on honestly building up our polity and\/or resolving issues along the many gaping fault lines, is this. ARE YORUBAS REALLY AFRAID OF BIAFRA? I do not think so. \u200e<\/p>\n<p>Many of our Yoruba compatriots actually believed the much publicised assertion by Dr Femi Aribisala that NIGERIA CANNOT SURVIVE WITHOUT THE IGBO, long before he brought this opinion into the public domain. While he is obviously not alone, it is worthy of note that this opinion is neither necessarily true nor inevitable. Economically the South-West should be able to survive, and even thrive with or without Ndigbo. Most other observers are smart enough to come to their own independent conclusions.<a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biafra.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7806\" src=\"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biafra.jpg\" alt=\"biafra\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>The average Yoruba elite stands toe to toe with his Igbo colleague and is not exactly scared of competition. The true stories of Dr Eni Njoku, etc, when retold, only helps to muddy up the waters some more. We can however overcome all that baggage. Even with decades long institutionalized disadvantages in the aftermath of the Nigeria-Biafra War, Ndigbo trudged along, asking for no favours but demanding only a level playing field. We have the example of Dr Alex Ekwueme recently telling the story of his experiences in his own words.<\/p>\n<p>For Ndigbo to advance or keep advancing, you do not need to take anything away from the Yoruba. Most enlightened Yoruba know this. \u200eHowever the rabblerousers would want us to believe otherwise, that it must be a zero sum relationship. Aribisala\u2019s warning in this regard is quite clear. Writer Chuks Iloegbunam has equally addressed this fallacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Those who hate Biafra:<\/strong> It is important to note that the vile and uncouth elements, who spew venom whenever Biafra and\/or restructuring is mentioned, constitute but a very tiny minority of the important voices in Yorubaland. The tragedy however is that these few individuals reside full time on the social media platforms, fully occupy them, and create the impression that the Igbo and Yoruba, contrary to all visible indicators, are engaged in an all out war and are at each other\u2019s throats. Nothing could be further from the truth.<\/p>\n<p>It is exactly because of such characters, and the similarly worded response from the justifiably angry Igbo youth of identical pedigree, that Dr Femi Aribisala wrote again a few months ago calling for a truce.\u200e He didn\u2019t need to appeal to the majority of the elite. They know better. What is lacking is their readiness to get into the fray and routinely and frequently come public with their convictions. \u200e<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\"><\/div>\n<p>Some anti-Biafra commentators often couch their opposition by advising Igbo youth and agitators to follow so-called official procedures. \u200eWhich procedures, I ask? In a country(?) that has no constitution that we can call our own? President Buhari has gone out of his way to announce in far away New York that he would never allow a referendum on the Biafra demand. The man is so limited that he does not realise that the matter is not exactly up to him. The country is going over a cliff and he is busy clutching at non-issues such as his personal likes and dislikes. That\u2019s part of the problem. How I wish our president has both the intellect and temperament to follow the latest contribution to the Biafran debate by world renowned constitutional lawyer Prof Ben Nwabueze.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The persistent systemic dysfunction and distrust makes even talking to ourselves extremely difficult. That is why people offer opinions on the social media, under the cloak of anonymity. Many like me will never give an opinion that we will not be ready to defend, modify or clarify in public among peers, over beer or whatever. That is why my name is signed on every opinion that I express. Operating in that mode, I can hardly be expected to offer gratuitous insult to anyone, no matter how much I disagree with them.<\/p>\n<p>Perception is part of reality. Most of those who have weighed in on Ben Okomma\u2019s article have mostly avoided dealing with his main question. If Biafra is such a bad and unviable proposition, and one is not gaining an unfair advantage from the current arrangement, why does a Yoruba person, (Note that I didn\u2019t say most or typical-o!), find it irresistible to play the devil\u2019s advocate on that issue. One writer confessed that the furthest east he has ever been in present day Nigeria, is Warri. That still did not prevent him from propounding a solid understanding of the geopolitics and economics of Eastern Nigeria. For him Biafra just cannot work. It is this very overt passion on display that is bothering Okomma. He just can\u2019t get it. Neither can I.<\/p>\n<p>Then again, it is quite possible that the fear of a potential downturn in economic prospects in Yorubaland, especially Lagos, without the leavening vibrancy of Igbo participation\u200e, is scaring the living daylights out of some segments of Yoruba society. The leading lights of Yorubaland cannot claim to be unaware of this potential, and the current faulty sentiments at the lower rungs of Yoruba society. They fully understand the available tools and methodologies for stopping the rush to the brink, even if a peaceful split turns out to be inevitable. Source: orsu24news.com<\/p>\n<p><code><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- www.deltanewsroom.com --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-2163942495525027\" data-ad-slot=\"1411897411\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/code><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.alternativeadvert.com\/show.php?z=30&amp;pl=11243&amp;ad_type=59&amp;rl=180\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since Ken Okomma posed his question, WHY ARE YORUBAS AFRAID OF BIAFRA?, few weeks ago, I have been analyzing that issue from a number of perspectives. Most importantly I patiently awaited the response of my Yoruba friends to enable me compare and contrast with my own personal observations and my own reading of the conclusions [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":7806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/biafra.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4oswh-38g","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12045,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12044\/revisions\/12045"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newsroom247.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}