Northern House Of Assembly Proceedings, February - March 1964

Northern House Of Assembly Proceedings, February - March 1964

Below is an extract from the proceedings of the Northern Region House of Assembly between February and March 1964, less than four years after Nigeria’s independence from the British.

I have nothing to add. Read and judge for yourself:

• Mallam Muhammadu Mustapha Mande Gyan:On the allocation of plots to Ibos or allocation of stalls, I would like to advise the Minister that these people know how to make money, and we do not know the way and manner of getting about this business. We do not want Ibos to be allocated with plots. I do not want them to be given plots…
  

• Mallam Bashari Umaru:
  I would like (you), as a Minister of Land and Survey, to revoke forthwith all Certificates of Occupancy from the hands of the Ibos resident in the Region… (Applause)
  

• Mr. A. A. Agogede:I’m very glad that we are in a Moslem country, and the government of Northern Nigeria allowed some few Christians in the region to enjoy themselves according to the belief of their religion, but building of hotels should be taken away from the Igbos, and even if we find some Christians who are interested in building hotels and do not have money to do so, the government should aid them, instead of allowing Ibos to continue with their hotels.
  

• Dr. Iya Abubakar (Special Member, Lecturer, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria):
  I am one of the strong believers in Nigerian unity, and I have hoped for our having a united Nigeria, but certainly if the present state of affairs continues, I hope the government will investigate first the desirability and secondly the possibility of extending Northernisation policy to the petty traders. (Applause)
  

• Mallam Mukhtar Bello:
  I would like to say something very important, that the Minister should take my appeal to the Federal Government about the Igbos in the post office. I wish the numbers of these Igbos be reduced…. There are too many of them in the North. They are like sardines and 1 think they are just too dangerous to the Region.
  
  

• Mallam Ibrahim Musa:Mr. Chairman, Sir. Well first and foremost, what I have to say before this Hon. House is that we should send a delegation to meet our Hon. Premier to move a motion in this very Budget Session that all the Ibos working in the Civil Service of Northern Nigeria, including the native authorities, whether they are contractors or not, should be repatriated at once…
  

• Mallam Bashari Umaru:
  There should be no contracts either from the government, native authorities, or private enterprises given to Ibo contractors (Government Bench: Good talk and shouts of “Fire the Southerners”). Again, Mr. Chairman, the foreign firms too should be given time limit to replace all Ibo in their firms by some other people.

• The Premier (Alhaji the Hon. Sir Ahmadu Bello, K.B.E., Sardauna of Sokoto):It is my most earnest desire that every post in the region, however small it is, be filled by a Northerner (Applause)

• Alhaji Usman Liman:
  What brought the Ibos into this region? They were here since the colonial days. Had it not been for the colonial rule, there would hardly have been any Ibo in this region. Now that there is no colonial rule, the Ibos should go back to their region. There should be no hesitation about the matter. Mr. Chairman, North is for Northerners, East for Easterners, West for Westerners, and the Federation is for us all. (Applause)

• The Minister of Land and Survey (Alhaji the Hon. Ibrahim Musa Cashash, O.B.E.):Mr. Chairman. Sir, I do not like to take up much of the time of this House in making explanations, but I would like to assure members that having heard their demands about Ibos holding land in Northern Nigeria, my ministry will do all it can to see that the demands of members are met. How to do this, when to do it, al1 these should not be disclosed. In due course, you will all see what will happen. (Applause)

Copied

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL :Biafran Jews mark 50 years since failed bid for independence

Nigeria on Tuesday marks 50 years since the declaration of an independent Republic of Biafra plunged the country into a civil war, amid renewed tensions and fresh calls for a separate state.

The main pro-independence groups — the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) — have called for a day of reflection.

Among the IPOB are one of the largest ethnic groups in the central African nation, the Igbo people, and among them is a small minority of practicing Jews, who believe they are descended from the tribes of Israel.During the last 30 years or so, many Igbo Jews have moved to match their tradition of Jewish descent with the practice of rabbinic Judaism, the learning of Hebrew, observance of kosher dietary laws and observance of Jewish holidays. Many Igbo Jews are passionately Zionist.

In 1970, after nearly three years of fighting, Biafran soldiers, who were outnumbered 10 to one by federal troops and under-equipped, laid down their arms.

The conflict caused an estimated million deaths, many of them by starvation after the secessionist region was blockaded.

With surrender went their dreams of a separate state for the Igbo people, who are the majority in the southeast.

Half a century later, Biafra remains an extremely sensitive subject in Nigeria.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/biafran-jews-mark-50-years-since-failed-bid-for-independence/

MEMORY AND NATION BUILDING: BIAFRA 50 YEARS AFTER : A SOBER REFLECTION

Paper presented at The Conference - MEMORY AND NATION BUILDING: BIAFRA 50 YEARS AFTER : A SOBER REFLECTION.

By PROF. T. UZODIMA NWALA
       President

Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF).

1. Introduction.

Before I thank the organisers of this Conference and pay my tribute to the Memory of my friend, late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, in whose Foundation Center this historic event is being organised, let me quickly dismiss certain lingering pernicious fallacies that have dominated all discussion about the coup of January 15, 1966 and the Biafra War.

First, the Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, has alluded to the January 15, 1966 coup as an Igbo coup that, according to him,was replied by a Northern coup of July 29 1966.

Let it be said loud and clear that that coup, namely January 15, 1966 coup, was not an Igbo coup. It was a coup led by certain Igbo and Yoruba Officers, involving the active participation of soldiers from the North. The aim, as has been stated again and again, by the leaders of the coup was to release Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was in detention at the time and install him the Prime Minister of Nigeria.

That coup was foiled by Igbo military officers. Igbo political leaders and activists knew nothing about the coup.

Again the Incursion into the Mid-Westby the Biafran troops was not a quest for territorial grabbing by the Igbos. Ojukwu sent troops under the Command of Col, banjo in response to Chief Awolowo’s request for troops to help liberate Yoruba land from the occupation of soldiers from the North. By the time Col Banjo got to Ore, the British had gotten Gowon to offer Chief AwolowoVice Chairmanship of the Nigerian Government. Awolowo, therefore, asked Banjo not to proceed on his mission.

General Yakubu Gowon knows the truth of all these things. And that is why the Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF) had written him and asked him to tell Nigerians and the whole world the truth about the January 15, 1966 coup and the Biafra incursion into the Mid-West.to stop all the lies against Ndigbo, which have beenthebasis of the burden they carry as a nation within the Nigerian Federation.

Secondly, Chief OlusegunObasanjo, the former Head of State and a frontline commander on the Federal side during the war, said that they (the Federal military leaders) conducted the war without any hate or vengeance because it was a quarrel between brothers.

To this one is constrained to ask a few pertinent questions

1. How did the world come to describe the conduct of the war as POGROM?
2. What about the policy that hunger was a legitimate weapon of war and so was justified in its application against the Biafrans?
3. What about bombing of refugee camps, market places, churches, etc?

Again, when Chief Obasanjo said that they, the victorious side, have been more magnanimous than the victors in the American civil war,where, according to him, those who lost the war never had a chance to be President of America until several decades if not a century later, I would ask him WHAT ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA? WHAT ABOUT NELSON MANDELLA?

Such assertions rather than heal the wounds of the war, keep the wounds aglow, rather than reconcile pour raw paper of unjustified arrogance on the wounded hearts of the Biafrans. How can you genuinely talk about reconciliation with that kind o mind-set. The truth is that for General Obasanjo, the Biafrans are defeated people. Period!

Indeed, before we can talk about reconciliation, we must accept that grave wrongs were done to the Biafrans, Before, During and Since the end of the war.

1. Tribute to General Yar’Adua.

NOW, Mr Chairman, Ladies and \Gentlemen, let me go onto thank the organisers of this Conference- the Yar’Adua Foundation and the six Nigerian Universities partnering with the Foundation; the Ford Foundation and theOpen Society Initiative for West Africa who have provided support for this Conference - Biafra: 50 Years After.

What is more, I would like to pay tribute to the memory of my late friend, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. I met him for the first time during the 1994-5 National Constitutional Conference. There we struck a friendship that would have born great fruits but for his untimely death. I personally escaped being arrested with him.

General ShehuMusa Yar’Adua, became a great democrat after the war despite his aristocratic background. He genuinely believed that this wobbly Federation could be given a dependable foundation. Consequently, he set out to recruit gifted compatriots to work with him for that purpose. What a great hunter of talentShehu was!

I remember two memorable moments in our interaction. One afternoon, after lunch in his house, we sat down on the sofa. I asked him

“General why is it that when you are not smoking cigar (cigarette), you are chewing kola nut?

He answered me. I will not tell you his answer today. Wait for my Memoire that should be ready by my next birthday.

At another moment, also after lunch with him and late Prof. Aborisade, wesat down on the sofa.Shehusaid to me “Dr Nwala, let me show you why we Northerners are reluctant to relinquish political power”.

He brought outtwo volumes of strategic studieswhich he had commissioned some intellectuals to produce in preparation for the Constitutional Conference of 1994-5. I glanced through volume 1 which deals with the indices of power in Nigeria. I read the discussion, looked at the statistics and the graph, and shook my head, and said to myself this guy is a great political actor. I also reserve the details of what I read inthat volume as well as our discussion for the sake of my forthcoming memoire.

I saw those two volumes of strategic studies at the Library of the Yar’AduaCenter when I visited there about two week ago.

What is important in this narrative is that General Yar’Aduawas avery sincere leader, he always spoke to me and to anyone in his political company from the bottom of his heart. He was sincerely in search of a genuine way forward. He was a man who knew that all is not well with the Nigerian Federation and genuinely sough the correct path to its healing!

The point of the story is to reveal a bit of the life of this great political strategist, who if he had lived after that Conference, he and the powerful circle of comrades he had built at the Conference would have helped to see to a more liberal accommodating political order in Nigeria. Shehu was the darling of a liberal democratic movement that was emerging in Nigeria before he died. He was equally hated by what many of us call the hegemonist who have consistently aborted every opportunity to create a democratic political culture. It is the later who have consistently made it difficult to achieve a genuine reconciliation in Nigeria. It is these forces that have insisted on a Federation founded on the peace of the grave yard.

Yes, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua along with the compatriots he had worked to put together would have constitute an authentic force for reconciliation and national integration. He was a victim of the forces of hegemony.

1. Post –Biafra Reconciliation – What Lessons?

During the trial of Adolf Hitler after Germany and her allies lost the war to the Allied Forces, the following exchange took place between Hitler and his interlocutor –

Interlocutor to Hitler: You were responsible for the Second World War?

Hitler: No! The Versailles Treaties was.

I believethis Conference has been provoked by the renewed agitation for Biafra.In that case, a similar question can be posed to the Biafra Self-determination Agitators in Nigeria today as to whether they are responsible for the renewed Agitation for Biafra.

I imagine that the Biafra Freedom Agitators, just like AdolfHitler, would emphaticallyrespond NO!Theywould rather blame the present upsurgefor Self-determination and Biafra and all its fallouts on all those leaders on the victorious side who, rather than pursuing the path of genuine Reconciliation, pursued the path of punitive retributions against those who lost the war.

Unfortunately, as it was in the case of the defeated Germany that was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened, so do we find in the case of Biafra, that despite all the retributive measures against her people, Biafra and the Biafrans, have neither been pacified, nor conciliated,nor have they been permanently weakened.

Unlike the Treaty of Versailles that exerted bloody pound of flesh on the side that lost the First World War, the victorious side in the Second World War padded their retributive actions with the Marshall Plan. And thus unlike the intended Carthagenian peace of the Versailles Treaty of 28 June 1919, the Marshall Plan brought a relatively permanent peace to Europe that withstood the shock waves of the cold war including the Cuban Missile crises.

In pursuing the lessons of the retributive post-war treatment of the Biafrans, I would ask the leaders on the victorious side –

When you took all their financial deposits in the banks and paid them only £20 (twenty pounds), what did you expect the result to be – pacification, conciliation or to have them permanently weakened?

When you allowed massacre of unarmed soldiers and leaders even when they had declared their return to Nigeria, what did you expect? I mean when you murdered Prof. KaluEzera or when you killed unarmed Col Onwuatuegwu in cold blood, what did you expect?

When you killed and also buried alive thousands of innocent civilians in Asaba, was that a circus show?

I escaped being killed at the end of the war through the mysterious intervention of my college mate, Mr Nwogugbe fromAsain Abia State who was a member of the Nigerian battalion that overran my area on that fateful day of January 8, 1970. The solders had sent for me and when I arrived at NkwoMbaise their base, Nwoguegbe instantly recognised me and shouted Nkume! I responded Nwoguegbe! Despitebeing introduced to his commander, Captain Jibowu, the later took him to one corner, asking to be convinced why I should not be treated in accordance with the official instructions, namely to waste any such able-bodied young-man who may have been an actual or potential Biafra soldier. I was lucky. Nwoguegbe saved me, but several of my mates from my community were not.CornelliusOguikpe, Michael Osuagwu, EfriamChukwunoyerem, EchewodoOnwunali, all were murdered at the end of the war by the Nigerian soldiers.

Yes, post-Biafra was not attended by any genuine efforts to seek reconciliation nor even to find out what led to the war. Rather, what we have witnessed is decades of vengeance, arrogance and conspiracy against Alaigbo and Ndigbo–

Yes these are on record -

• Immediate post-war punitive massacre,
• Dismissal of some officers on the losing side, reduction in rank of others
• Dismissal of civil servants.
• Secret Execution of some officers (Col. Onwuatuegwu, Prof, KaluEzera)
• Abandoned property seizure of Igbo property.
• Punitive boundary adjustment.
• Closure of the Eastern Sea Port and Railway lines.
• Deliberate policy of encirclement of Alaigbo, inciting Igbo outside Igbo heartland to reject their Igbo identity.
• Deliberate policy of exclusion from the governance and power equation i Nigeria..
• Deliberate policy of destroying Igbo businesses.
• Continued massacre, lynching of Igbos in many places in the North
• Insensitivity to the plight of the IDPs of Igbo extraction whowere initially the major targets of Boko Harm bombings and killings.
• No serious effort at post-war reconstruction and reconciliation

I strongly recommend to all those who care to understand how the Igbos view their predicament in the Federation to read the Petition of Ohanaezendigbo to the Human Rights Violations Investigating Committee of 1999. It is captioned

The Violations of the Human and Civil Rights of Ndigbo in the Federation of Nigeria (1966-1999).

President Obasanjo should speak to the nation now about why and how that initiative of his was aborted. A Truth and Reconciliation was a great idea, but just like all National Conference decisions meant to deal with the resolution of the injustices of the system. It was arrogantly dismissed and nothing happened.

1. Biafra : A Collective Guilt

• Have we forgotten that Biafra was a collective guilt and that those who created the Nigerian Federation did so to satisfy their own agendaThey designed a local a local agenda for the same purpose?
• Have we forgotten the cause of Biafra and the war? Have we ever come together to examine why Biafra?
• Obasanjo’s Truth Commission and the Justice Oputa Commission were arrogantly dismissed and nothing happened.
• Who was the aggressor in that war?

1. Aborted Efforts to Solve the Nigerian Problem

What about several efforts to sit down and dispassionately examine the fate of the Federation and how to heal the wounds of the past.Several aborted historical opportunities for peace and stability, or a genuine democratic system include -

• Ibadan Conference of Sept/Oct 1966
• Aburi Accord.
• Abiola’s election that wuld have set a precedent.
• 1994-5 Constitutional Conference and the 1995Draft Constitution, the best Constitutional Draft in the history of Nigeria.
• Conferences organised by Obasanjos regime.
• President Jonathan’s 2014 Conference.
• Current Ferocious opposition to restructuring.

1. Laying the Foundations for Genuine Reconciliation – The Biafra Initiative

The Birth of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) – A child of the post-war East Central State Youth Volunteer Services Corps (ECSYVSC) whose memo to General Gowon led to the establishment of the NYSC by the Federal Government.

I led the delegation, as Chairman of the ECSYVSC, that delivered the Memoradum to the Federal Government on the eve of the first post-war independence anniversary, precisely on30th September, 1970.

In response General Gowon had given Dr UkpabiAsika’s Government £75,000 (Seventy-five thousand pounds) in appreciation of that historical initiative of the youth of Alaigbo.

The great objective of that historical initiative as conceived by us, the youth of Alaigbo, was to forge a genuine instrument of national reconciliation and national integration.

What has happened to the NYSC? Any credit to the initiators? Several attempts have been made by the chaps in the NYSC Foundation in Abuja to interview me in order to draw inspiration from the original mind that conceived the NYSC; each time they were discouraged from a follow-up.

It was the same way that a former Governor had advised the Federal Government to create an institution to house the Biafra scientist. The answer was no!, because doing so would give credit to the Biafrans.

1. The Road to Reconciliation.

Not Restructuring but Renegotiation of the basis of the Nigerian Federation.

Nigeria is a multi-national Federation. The task is to agree on the terms for a form of political union among these nations and mini-nations.

Unless this is done, there would never be any stable Federation uniting all these peoples who are culturally, religiously and philosophically separate nations and mini-nations.

Prof. UzodinmaNwala
President
Alaigbo Development Founda tion (ADF)

THEY CAME,SAW, DESTROYED AND LEARNT NOTHING

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: 
HOW  TO BUILD  2 STANDARD INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORTS IN  ONE MONTH AND MAINTAIN THEM AFTER DAILY BOMBINGS:   Authors : BIAFRAN ENGINEERS. 1967-1970

Every 3 years  we  hear  of  the closure of  Abuja airport, poor  and dangerous position of  the airport etc . I believe  the Nigerian engineers should read this  old book from the  rubble of  war. 

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: 

• HOW  TO BUILD  2 STANDARD INTERNATIONAL  AIRPORTS IN  ONE MONTH AND MAINTAIN THEM AFTER DAILY BOMBINGS:   Authors : BIAFRAN ENGINEERS. 1967-1970
  

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Nigerian soldiers came saw,destroyed and LEARNT NOTHING.

Photo of  General Obasanjo (Nigerian Army Engineer) Jan 1970:  posing  for  a remembrance picture and jubilating   at their first sight of the  (one of the airstrips) ULI airport fully constructed and maintained  by the Biafran Army Engineer corps throughout the war.
The Nigerian  destroyed  without learning NOTHING till now.

ARMY PROBING ARMY...WHO IS FOOLING WHO?

Army probes Amnesty’s report on killing of IPOB members, others

By Karls Tsokar, Kanayo Umeh (Abuja), Clarkson Voke Eberu and Damilola Obakoya (Lagos)   |   09 March 2017   |   4:33 am

Members of the Indigenous People of Biafra during a protest. PHOTO: AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Civil society groups differ over document

The leadership of the Nigerian Army yesterday inaugurated an eight-man Special Board of Inquiry to investigate allegations of rights abuse levelled against its officers by Amnesty International (AI).

While commissioning the Major General Ahmed Jibrin (rtd)-led panel yesterday in Abuja, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, noted that besides the commendations for the professional conduct of the soldiers in the ongoing anti-insurgency fight in the North East, there had been allegations of misconduct perpetrated by some of them, “especially in the early days of the operations.”

The empanelling was consequent upon the 2016 report of the global rights organisation which indicted the military and security agencies of gross rights violations. The document particularly claimed that more than 170 members of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and 240 civilians had been extrajudicially killed in different parts of the country by soldiers. A claim, which the military vehemently denied.

Since the army had consistently brushed aside the allegations, its latest move signals a readiness to purge itself of its alleged excesses and make its operations and the individual conduct of its officers to be in sync with civilised society. However, the credibility of the exercise can only be determined by its report.

Other members of the investigating panel include Brig.-Gen. A. Dadan Garba (rtd); Brig.-Gen. Abdulquadir Gumi (rtd); Brig.-Gen. O. Olayinka; Col. L. Mohammed and Col. U. Wambai. Lieutenant Colonel C. Akaliro is to serve as secretary.

Earlier, the Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC) and Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) took divergent positions on the report.

While the CPC faulted the document in its entirety, HURIWA on the hand, advised the Defence Headquarters to scientifically address the issues it raised.

During a briefing in Lagos, CPC’s Chief Media Strategist, Mr. Emeka Nwankpa, accused the global rights organisation of acting the script of vested interests determined at undermining Nigeria.

His words: “We join our counterparts in Global Amnesty Watch (GAW), Africa Arise for Change Network, Coalition of Civil Society Group (COCSG) and others in putting pressure on Amnesty International and its mischievous collaborators to desist from undermining the integrity of our military and security forces that have continued to rescue defenceless Nigerians from the dastardly activities of Boko Haram and similar groups.”

The group commended the “excellent professional conduct of the military and other security agencies for keeping to the rules of engagement anchored on best global practices in deterring criminal acts of destruction of our national oil and gas installations, preventing militancy as well as stopping crude oil theft, piracy and others.”

Nwankpa, who lauded government’s initiative for the rebuilding of the North East and the consultative approach adopted in resolving the renewed militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta, prescribed the method for the resolution of the political agitations in the South East.

But HURIWA, backing the report, advised the Defence Headquarters to stop issuing out threats against international non-governmental bodies for speaking against the country’s human rights record.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA urged Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo to encourage the constitution of an independent panel headed by the United Nations to investigate the claims of extrajudicial killings of demonstrators raised by the global rights watchdog and similar bodies.

It recalled that the Amnesty International said: “The military was deployed in 30 out of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory where they performed routine policing functions, including responding to non-violent demonstrations. The military deployment to police public gatherings contributed to the number of extrajudicial executions and unlawful killings. Since January, in response to the continued agitation by pro-Biafra campaigners, security forces arbitrarily arrested and killed at least 100 members and supporters of the group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Some of those arrested were subjected to enforced disappearance.”

HURIWA advised the Defence spokesman, Brigadier- General Balarabe Abubakar, to be moderate in the use of language in order not to send the wrong signals to the outside world that Nigeria is a banana republic where might and brute reign supreme.

It argued that the document in question spoke to the critical issues of brutal encounters the citizens had had with a section of the nation’s armed forces in the period under review.

Besides, AI condemned the spate of arrests and detentions of journalists and bloggers, saying the development stifles freedom of expression. In a presentation in Abuja by its Nigeria’s board chairman, Auwal Rafsanjani, the organisation said 10 journalists and bloggers were arrested and detained last year without trial. It, however, commended the military for attempting to probe the rights violation allegations against it.

Also yesterday in Lagos, a group, Igbo Ekunie Initiative (IEI), in a statement by its president, Chief Tochukwu Ezeoke, called for the release of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kalu and other agitators.

 SOURCE

https://guardian.ng/news/army-probes-amnestys-report-on-killing-of-ipob-members-others/

BIAFRA FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND POLICY - IPOB

The State of Biafra shall be a union of voluntary nations with the same irreducible value-system, culture and historical ties. To join the union of Biafra, each proposed constituent nation or sub-nation listed below must vote in a referendum, where they will unambiguously assert their will to be part of the union of the State of Biafra.

 There shall be no, inducement, coercion, force, pressure or arm-twisting. The rebirth of the State of Biafra shall be a coalition of wiling nations under the protection of the Most High Supreme Creator of the Universe Almighty God Chukwu Okike Abiama, in whose grace and protection we place our trust.

BIAFRA AUTONOMOUS NATIONS

The idea of national autonomy is based on the principle of equality of all constituent Biafra nations.

They shall constitute the primary area of Legislation, Governance, Management and Control of Natural Resources and issues relating to Self Determination.

1.      ANIOMA-IGBO

2.      ANNANG

3.      EFIK

4.      IBIBIO

5.      IDOMA/IGEDE

6.      IGALA

7.      ALA-IGBO

8.      IKWERE-IGBO

9.      ITSEKIRI

10.  ISOKO

11.  IZON

12.  OGONI

13.  UHROBO

 The Purpose of Biafra Autonomous Nations are:

-         to reaffirm our faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

-         to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

-         To maintain national peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and national law, adjustment or settlement of national disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;

-         To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;

-         To achieve national co-operation in solving national problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

STATE OF BIAFRA GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE

§  EXECUTIVE

v BIAFRA PARLIAMENT

v PRIME MINISTER

v PRESIDENT

§  LEGISLATIVE

v BIAFRA PARLIAMENT

v NATIONAL LEGISLATURE

v CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES

§  JUDICIARY

v CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

v APPELLATE COURT

v COURT OF JUSTICE

v COMMON LAW COURT

POLITICAL SYSTEM

The three branches are :

the Legislative - the part that makes laws,

the Executive - the part that carries out ( executes) the laws, and

the Judiciary - the courts that decide if the law has been broken.

These Separation of Powers helps to make sure people are safe. The executive branch carries out the laws but cannot make laws to make themselves powerful. Also the judiciary is responsible for making sure that criminals are punished so that members of the government or legislature cannot ignore the law as the judiciary can check on them.

The Executive carries out the day-to-day government and administration of Biafraland. It proposes laws to the parliament and executes the laws passed by the parliament. The Executive is formed from the majority party or parties in Biafra Parliament. Members of the Executive (Directorate of State) are all members of either the Biafra Parliament or National Legislature. The operation of the Executive and the Parliament are inextricably intertwined.

1.     There shall be a Prime Minister who is the head of government and leader of a multi-party System in Biafraland.

(a)  The Prime Minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government.

(b)  The Prime Minister is the pivotal person in contemporary executive governments. The PM is the focus of public and media attention, and has immense power to shape the composition of the government and determine its policy directions.

(c)   The Prime Minister overviews the Executive Arm of Government in Biafraland, including information on the major Conventions, the operation of the Directorate of State, the work of Ministers and the Cabinet, ministerial behaviour and resignations.

2.     There shall be a President of Biafra who shall be elected by the Chamber of Deputies by a secret ballot process.

(a)  The minimum age limit for the office of the President shall be 30years and the maximum age limit shall be 75years. Minimum qualification shall be the old Standard Six or bachelors degree in any discipline.

(b)  The President of Biafra is the de jure head of Biafraland. The position is largely an apolitical and ceremonial role.

(c)   The President's ceremonial roles include signing every law (except those pertaining to the President's powers) and international or bilateral treaty, ceremonially appointing the Prime Minister, confirming and endorsing the credentials of ambassadors, and receiving the credentials of foreign diplomats.

(d)  The President is the only government official with the power to pardon or commute prison sentence.

(e)  The President appoints the Chairman of the Treasury Board of Biafra upon recommendation from the Prime Minister.

(f)    The President also ceremonially appoints judges to their posts after their selection, he/she is nevertheless crucial to the operation of Biafra’s executive government.

(g)  The President chairs the special session of the Directorate of State, gives assent to legislation, makes appointments on the advice of the government, and performs a host of other executive and ceremonial functions.

(h)  The President’s role is also in appointing the Prime Minister who is usually the leader of the largest party in Parliament following an election, dissolving parliaments and calling elections.

3.     There shall be a Parliamentary System of government in Biafraland.  

(b) Biafra Parliament shall be sovereign in  exercise of functions relating to the governance of Biafraland. It shall exercise this sovereign powers through the office of the Prime Minister.

(c)  Members of Parliament shall be elected in general party based parliamentary election.

(d) From among the elected members of the Parliament, the Prime Minister of Biafra shall be elected by members of Biafra Parliament.

(e)  The minimum age limit to be elected a parliamentarian shall be 21years.

(f)   The Parliamentary Dress code shall be corporate –  suit and tie.

(g) The maximum age to seek elected office shall be 55years of age.

(h) There shall be a Speaker of the Parliament and a Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

(i)   Biafra Parliament shall be the legislative arm of government and an equal partner in relation to the other two (2) arms of government namely the Executive and the Judiciary.

                                             I.            Individual parliamentary privileges include:

-         Freedom of speech

-         Freedom from arrest in civil action for anything said on the floor of the house. All statements made on the floor of the Biafran Parliament is covered by privilege and shall not form the basis of a law suit.

-         There will be NO immunity from arrest and prosecution for all elected officials and public servants.

-         Exemption from jury duty

-         Exemption from appearing as a witness

-         Freedom from obstruction, interference, intimidation and molestation

                                          II.            Collective parliamentary privileges include:

-          Power to discipline

-         Regulation of the House's internal affairs

-         Management of Employees

-         Authority to maintain the attendance and service of Members

-         Right to institute inquiries and to call witnesses and demand papers

-         Right to administer oaths to witnesses

-          Right to publish papers containing defamatory material

                                       III.            Parliamentary Committees amend bills on the appropriate subjects. Committee chairpersons are chosen by their members, on recommendation of the House Committee, and their factional composition represents that of the Parliament itself. Committees may elect sub-committees and delegate powers to them, or establish joint committees for issues concerning more than one committee. To further their deliberations, they invite government ministers, senior officials, and experts in the matter being discussed. Committees may request explanation and information from any relevant ministers in any matter within their competence, and the ministers or persons appointed by them must provide the explanation or information requested.

Permanent committees amend proposed legislation dealing with their area of expertise, and may initiate legislation. However, such legislation may only deal with Basic Laws and laws dealing with the Parliament, elections to the Parliament, members of the Parliament, or National Legislature.

 Special committees function in a similar manner to permanent committees, but are appointed to deal with particular manners at hand, and can be dissolved or turned into permanent committees. Parliamentary inquiry committees are appointed by the Prime Minister to deal with issues viewed as having special national importance. In addition, there are two types of committees that convene only when needed: the Interpretations Committee, made up of the Speaker and eight members chosen by the House Committee, deals with appeals against the interpretation given by the Speaker during a sitting of the Prime Minister to the Parliament rules of procedure or precedents, and Public Committees, established to deal with issues that are connected to the Parliament.

                                      IV.            Permanent committees:

-         House Committee

-         Finance Committee

-         Economic Affairs Committee

-         Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee

-         Interior and Environment Committee

-         Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs Committee

-         Education, Culture, and Sports Committee

-         Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee

-         Labour, Welfare, and Health Committee

-         Science and Technology Committee

-         Committee on the Status of Women

-         Special committees:

-         Committee on Drug Abuse

-         Committee on the Rights of the Child

-         Committee on Foreign Workers

-         Biafra Central Elections Committee

-         Public Petitions Committee

-         Child Welfare Committee

The other committees are the Arrangements Committee and the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee is responsible for jurisdiction over Parliament members who violate the rules of ethics of the Parliament, or involved in illegal activities outside the Parliament. Within the framework of responsibility, the Ethics Committee may place various sanctions on a member, but is not allowed to restrict a members' right to vote. The Arrangements Committee proposes the makeup of the permanent committees following each election, as well as suggesting committee chairs, lays down the sitting arrangements of political parties in the Parliament, and the distribution of rooms in the Parliament building to members and parties.

4.     There shall be a Chamber of Deputies made up of Traditional Rulers and Elders.

(a)  Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall be elected by the people of the respective villages/towns of State of Biafra on non-partisan basis.

(b)  The minimum age to be elected to the Chamber of Deputies shall be 30years.

(c)   Every President of Biafra must come from the Chamber of Deputies. The Chamber of Deputies shall elect the President of the State of Biafra from among those qualified for the office of the President within the chamber.

(d)  Dress code shall be native of traditional wear – no corporate wears will be allowed.

(e)  The Chamber of Deputies shall have an oversight function over the Laws passed by the Parliament of the State of Biafra.

(f)    The Chamber of Deputies shall elect “The Speaker of the House of Deputies” who shall head the House of Deputies.

(g)  The Speaker shall forward the name of the elected President to the Prime Minister who shall in turn present the name to the Parliament for ratification.

(h)  Members of the Chamber of Deputies shall not belong to any political party and are in effect custodians of our ancient cultures and tradition. They epitomise truth, integrity and honour of the people of Biafra.

5.     There shall be National Legislatures for each Nation that make up the State of Biafra.

(a)  The Powers of the National Legislature shall devolve from the Nation of Biafra and guaranteed by the Parliament of Biafra.

(b)  The head of each National Legislature and by virtue, head of government business pertaining to that region, shall be called the Premier, who will be elected by members of the respective National Legislature who will in turn be elected by the people in a party based national elections.

(c)   There will be a National Legislature for each Nation that makes up Biafra, for example the Igala National Legislature.

(d)  The National Legislatures shall have 100% control over all natural resources found within its boundaries.

(e)  National Legislatures shall have full financial/fiscal autonomy pertaining to the internal workings of that nation.

(f)    The National Legislature shall have full right to exercise fiscal autonomy over the economic affairs of the region.

(g)  The National Legislatures shall have the Right to Self Determination. This right shall be exercised through a Referendum of the people in an election. If 2/3 of the people of a particular Nation are in support and agrees to leave then they MUST be allowed to exit the union peacefully. Such a Referendum shall be ratified by the State of Biafra Parliament for formality sake.

(h)  The National Legislature shall have the powers to break away from the union and exist independently from the State of Biafra or they can vote to join with another nation to become one larger Legislature.

6.     All Nations of the People of Biafra shall have District Assemblies depending on population size and geographical spread.

(a)  The Powers of the District Assembly shall devolve from the National Legislature

(b)  There shall be the office of the Mayor with an administrative Council in each District/Province.

(c)   The Mayor shall be elected by the people in a regional election.

(d)  The District Assembly members shall be elected on a fixed term.

7.     Any part of Biafraland can vote through a Referendum to leave the union of the State of Biafra if 2/3 of the people and 2/3 of the members of Parliament of the Nation are in support and agree to leave. Such a Referendum shall be ratified by the Biafra Parliament for formality sake.

8.     National indigenous language(s) shall be the language of business in respective National Legislature.

FISCAL AUTONOMY & NATURAL RESOURCE CONTROL

1.     Every Nation in Biafraland shall have full ownership of all natural resources found within their Region, for example the oil and gas found in Izon land belongs to the Izon Nation, the gas, coal and oil found in Ala-Igbo belongs to the Ala-Igbo Nation. The same applies to every nation in Biafraland.

(a)  There shall be no individual ownership of natural resource assets in Biafraland because they are Commonwealth and belongs to all the people of the nation where they are found. Individuals may own shares and equity in mining and exploration companies but the practice of a person owning oil wells will be explicitly prohibited in every part of Biafraland.

(b) Proceeds accruing from the sale of all natural resources shall be used solely for the development of the nation from where the resources are found.

(c)  Companies engaged in the prospecting of natural resources in Biafraland shall pay royalties to the treasury of the National Legislature of the nation from where the natural resources are found.

(d) Mining companies of all exportable natural resources in Biafraland shall pay operational tax accruing, to the Central Government of Biafra ring-fenced for the infrastructural development of the whole of Biafraland.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/ FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

1.     Elected officials and civil servants shall not operate foreign bank accounts and shall not own properties outside of Biafraland.

2.     All employed persons and companies shall pay tax.

3.     Compulsory public declaration of assets by civil servants and political office holders before assumption of office. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from office, fine and prosecution.

4.     Civil and public servants shall be precluded from engaging in private sector business while still in active service.

5.     There shall be free movement of persons, goods and services within Biafran territories.

6.     Every adult of a working age or above 18 must complete an annual tax returns to the Revenue Department.

EDUCATION

1.     Education shall be free and compulsory up to OND level or it’s vocational equivalent. Parents that fail to send their children to school without valid reason shall be prosecuted.

2.     Every child under the age of 12 years shall be the ward of State. Their welfare up to National Primary Health Care provision shall be the responsibility of the State only where parents opt of the scheme and can demonstrate income to cater for the needs of the children under his/her care.

3.     Children of civil servants and public office holders shall attend public schools nearest to their place of residence. Children of Ministers of State are barred from studying abroad. Should any Minister desire to send their children abroad for studies, they are expected to first resign from their position as public servants before doing so.

HEALTH CARE

1.     There shall be a unified subsidised public health care system across Biafraland subject to availability of funding.

2.     The Health Services Commission shall be responsible for the public health care system.

3.     To make sure that critical infrastructures are developed and maintained, foreign medical tourism or treatment by elected government officials and civil servants will be prohibited. Any Minister or political office holder whether elected or appointed must first resign from their position should they wish to embark upon foreign travel for the purposes of securing medical treatment.

NATIONAL AND SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT

1.     There shall be a 75years Biafraland development plan which shall focus both on Infrastructural and Societal Development.

2.     Human Capital Development not natural resources shall be priority in the implementation of the 75year development plan.

3.     The use of electric generators with the exception of emergency agencies like hospitals, police, ambulance, fire service and defence headquarters will be prohibited in Biafraland. Those dealing in electric generators will be encouraged to get involved in power generation and distribution.

4.     A Public Accounts Commission shall be put in place which shall verify every government approved contracts and make same public. Every government contract or project involving the use of public funds must be published in a government journal and made public. Every contract bidding process must be held in the open.

5.     Employment, Food, Clothing and Shelter are Fundamental Rights of every Biafran citizen and any national government that fails to meet agreed set targets will be dissolved and fresh elections called.

6.     High youth unemployment above 10% of the employable adult population will trigger automatic resignation of the Biafran Prime Minister. Deterioration of Road infrastructure shall be a ground for the resignation of a Mayor. Irregular electricity supply shall constitute grounds for the resignation of a Premier.

7.     Child Labour like street hawking and other forms of child employment shall be prohibited and offenders prosecuted.

8.     Discrimination in whatever form shall be prohibited and offenders liable for prosecution.

9.     Bribery and corruption shall be prohibited, both givers and takers of bribe shall be prosecuted.

10. All Biafran districts, cities, towns and villages shall have indigenous and native names as prescribed by our progenitors.

11. Special assistance shall be provided to people with disability in Biafra and it would be against the law to discriminate against disabled or physically challenged persons.

12. Electricity and water supply are fundamental rights of Biafrans and must be uninterrupted.

13.  The Calabar, Eket, Warri, Igweocha, Oneh and Onitsha seaports shall be upgraded to modern international standard.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

1.     The Police shall not be routinely armed neither are they allowed to carry guns on the streets of Biafra and when not on duty must be in civilian clothing. It shall be purely a civilian service dedicated to serving the interest of safeguarding lives and properties of Biafrans.

2.     There shall be no Police Barracks in Biafraland. Police officers shall go to work from their homes or places of residence as every other civilian.

3.     On no account shall the military be deployed on the streets of Biafraland to deal with internal civil unrest. Every internal law enforcement situation will be dealt with by the police.

4.     There shall be no Police check points, rather the police shall patrol the highways and street of Biafra in Police vehicles.

5.     Special armed Police Response Units and Air Ambulance Units shall be established.

6.     All arrests and searches of private property must be by authority of the Magistrates. Where an arrest is made without such authority, the Police must inform a Magistrate within one (1) hour of an arrest.

7.     If an arrest is made during Emergency period, the Magistrate must be notified within 24 hours of the arrest.

8.     All prosecuting powers shall be vested in the Office of the District Attorney and the Department of Justice. The Police must present all accused persons before a competent court of law with jurisdiction to hear such matters. If the Police and Directorate of Justice are found to be have connived to delay the arraignment of an accused person on time, they will be summarily dismissed from their positions and prosecuted.

9.     The National Bureau of investigation has the power to arrest and investigate in accordance with the law but cannot prosecute an offender.

10. There shall be an independent Ethics Commission within the Police authority which shall report to the office of the Attorney General.

11. Accused persons must be charged to court within 48hours of their arrest

12. Bail of arrested persons must be free.

13. The relation or next of Kin of an arrested person must be notified of the arrest within 2 hours of an arrest and a lawyer for the arrested person must be present before interrogation. Where the arrested person cannot afford a lawyer, the State MUST provide a lawyer for him/her.

MILITARY

1.     Biafra Military shall comprise of the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and Coast Guard

2.     The duty of the military shall be to defend the territorial integrity of the State of Biafra against external aggression.

3.     The military shall not be seen outside the barracks in military wears/uniform or carrying guns except during external emergencies and external national security threat.

4.     The Military shall not be deployed or mobilised to deal with internal civil issues and unrests. Only the Biafra Parliament and respective National Legislature has the right to vote to levy war.

5.     Outside the confines of military barracks every military personnel is effectively a civilian and must not indicate or identify who they are by their military rank unless under interrogation by the Police.

JUDICIARY

1.     The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature of Biafra government.

2.     The trial of offenders in criminal trials must be by Jury and not by one Magistrate or Judge deciding the fate of an accused person as this leads to miscarriage of justice.

3.     Criminal cases must be concluded within 3 weeks.

4.     Fundamental freedom of press, personal opinion, speech and of association shall be protected under the law. It shall be prohibited in law for a journalist, broadcaster or public commentator to be arrested or prosecuted for criticising the government, her policies or State agents.

ENVIRONMENT

1.      To protect our environment, Gas flaring and oil spillage shall be an offence

2.      Use of firewood shall be phased out and every building shall have gas pipelines for uninterrupted gas supply to all household

3.      Our polluted farmlands and rivers shall be cleaned up preserved and protected.

4.      The natural village settlement shall be protected.

OTHER PROVISIONS

1.     Biafran Government shall provide free oil and gas to Oduduwa and Arewa nations to aid their development. This shall be reviewed every 5 years by the Biafra Parliament.

2.     There shall be no noise pollution, no sirens, no police escorts and no convoys.

3.     Only Emergency vehicles such as Ambulances, Fire Service and Police cars may use sirens when on emergency duties.

4.     Heads of foreign governments visiting Biafra may have two (2) front outriders in front and one or two Police cars behind but without sirens.

5.     In times of Emergency only emergency services and Agencies shall be mobilized and deployed.

6.     CAVEAT EMPTOR

Nations are free to merge and de-merge within Biafraland and Nations that are not within Biafraland are allowed to join Biafra and be part of it as long as the indigenous people of that nation decide through a referendum. For example; Should Bini Indigenous People want to be part of Biafra, the indigenous of Bini will decide if they really want to join through referendum and that they are willing to abide by the laws and rules governing Biafra.

http://www.ipob.org/2017/02/biafra-fundamental-principles-and-policy.html