Founder and leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, tells CHUKWUDI AKASIKE about the Biafran struggle, why an Igbo man may not become Nigeria’s president and the herdsmen crisis, among other issues

MASSOB has been agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra for a long time. Do you still believe that you can realise it?

Why not? MASSOB is even more realisable now, especially with the way things are going. Remember when we were in Aburi, and Ojukwu was talking about Biafra, nobody believed it. The things he said in those days, which people jettisoned and criticised him for, are the same things that people are clamouring for today. So also is my agitation for Biafra. In 1999 when I started the struggle, people criticised me, called me names. But today, the same people, who criticised and called me names, are repeating all the things I said. Just take a look at what is happening; the people who fought against Biafra are now regretting fighting against us. I am talking about the Middle Belt people. They (Middle Belt people) fought the war against Biafra and not the Fulani. The Fulani have no strength; they are not strong enough to fight. Till tomorrow, no Fulani man can fight; they only used the Middle Belt people. Today, the Middle Belt people are being killed by the same Fulani people who sponsored them to kill us. Now, they are regretting it. So, Biafra becomes more feasible because the truth begins to emerge every other day because Nigeria is led with lies and falsehood and people are beginning to realise their folly and are accepting the reality of time.



While you are saying that every region should go its separate ways, we still have some calling for national unity. How do you reconcile this?

Those who are calling for unity are politicians. They are the ones who are benefitting from the system. For instance, Nigeria used to be North, West and East. It was the Igbo that brought about the idea of the six geopolitical zones because of their selfish interest; they (Igbo) wanted to be President at that time. But the six geopolitical zones have rendered the Igbo a minority tribe in Nigeria. The Igbo lost relevance. It used to be three tribes before; Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. They brought in six geopolitical zones idea out of selfish interest.

But the six geopolitical zones might have been created out of the need for national development.

Which national development? It was out of selfish interest. The Hausa got the entire North; three geopolitical zones. The South-East has five states and we became a minority. All these people who are talking about national unity; which national unity do we have in Nigeria? The fact is that some people want to narrow their interest to Vice President, Senate President or Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives. All these irrelevant positions are what the Igbo man is looking for because he can never be the President of Nigeria.

But there is this recent call on the Igbo to be ready to occupy the position of the President in 2023.

Yes, they started saying it since 1999. Remember, it was the Igbo man that formed this PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) but they snatched it from him. Then, it was clear that an Igbo man would be the President of Nigeria. But in Jos, it was the Igbo who robbed themselves of that opportunity. The Igbo at that political event in Jos started speaking Hausa. The Igbo started sponsoring (Olusegun) Obasanjo against (Alex) Ekwueme; giving N100 million and all that to another tribe to emerge. Let me tell you, the Igbo tribe is the most foolish tribe I have ever seen in the world.

That is too strong a word to use.

No, no, no; I wish I could use a stronger word. The Igbo tribe is the most foolish tribe I have ever seen in the world. While the Yoruba embraced unity, the Igbo man was the person speaking Hausa in Jos; the Igbo man was the one donating money against his own brother in Jos to another candidate. Is that a wise tribe? Then, who should I apologise to for using the word ‘foolish?’ Then what have we achieved from the PDP? For how many years have the Yoruba people used the PDP? Eight years! Now, when it was the turn of the South-East, they sent it to South-South. They wanted to appease the South-South region because of oil. This was because the South-South was agitating for resource control; they had to appease them. That was after power had gone back to the North. But the agitation for Biafra is never supported by the Igbo man. To the Igbo man, the agitation for Biafra is nothing. They want presidency. How did Obasanjo become president? It was because the Yoruba were angry over the death of (MKO) Abiola. So, Obasanjo was then brought out from the prison to become the President as compensation for the Yoruba. The quest for Igbo presidency started in 1999, and it will continue to elude the Igbo for the next 100 years. Forget about 2023 because you will be alive in 2023 and I will ask you: ‘How far? Has an Igbo man become the president of Nigeria?’ I bet with my life that no Igbo man will emerge as president in 2023.



How cordial is MASSOB’s relationship with IPOB?

I formed MASSOB. As a matter of fact, I am the originator of the new Biafran struggle. I originated it in 1999 and no other group spoke of Biafra before 1999. I also said it that we would allow the formation of other groups. I studied Political Science and Law and I have read many issues on struggles and revolutions and concluded that there was no way one body (a group) could achieve Biafra without other factions. I went to London and floated Radio Biafra there. I needed somebody to operate it and I appointed Nnamdi Kanu as the director but he felt that the best thing he could do was to blackmail me with the radio.

You mean with your own radio station?

Yes, with my own radio station! It is not new because that is the nature of an Igbo man. It is for the Igbo man to backbite, to double-cross his brother; and that is why we are behind the Nigerian scheme. As long as the Igbo man continues with that mentality, the Igbo race is doomed. Look at what is happening in the political parties. If an Igbo man sponsors another person to be governor, that governor becomes his enemy the next day. Juxtapose it with what is happening in Yoruba land. If (Bola) Tinubu had been an Igbo man, he would have gone on exile. Look at how many governors he anointed in Yoruba land; they all pay him respect up till today. If it were to be in Igbo land, they would send him out of town immediately. He will not live in Igbo land because they will chase him out. Look at all the Igbo who were anointed governors. How many of them respect those who anointed them? That is the mentality of the Igbo man, retrogressive mentality; the mentality that leads to nowhere but doom. So, what Nnamdi Kanu did was of no difference because it is the typical nature of the Igbo man. That is what makes the Igbo man to be backward and they will continue to remain backward until they change their ways of life.

To answer your question finally, I have no quarrels with IPOB or any other group in the struggle. What I am against is falsehood, blackmail and lies, which IPOB brought into the struggle. The more, the merrier; I want more factions to emerge. If Uwazuirike were the only person speaking of Biafra, the tempo would not have been like we have noticed it today. The tempo should be higher if other groups emerge, but to use lies and blackmail against the founder is abominable.

MASSOB appears to be fractionalised and we hear different persons claiming to be spokesmen for your group. How do you address this situation?

There is no problem. Where don’t you have factions? Even in the political parties in Nigeria, there are factions. In the PDP, the APC, even in the Ohanaeze, you have factions. Our people like power. One of the persons you could be talking about, I appointed him, but they will always allow politicians to influence them. Some of them would say that Uwazuirike has amassed wealth, but they forgot that in 1999 when I started MASSOB, they were all sleeping in their homes. They didn’t know what I used to float MASSOB, to nurture MASSOB up to the time they joined. They did not realise that by the time I travelled to India to study Law and Political Science, they were in their mother’s womb. I did not travel with their money. If I was feeding from the gutters, I would not have travelled to India and stayed there for almost nine years or more. They felt that I started getting money immediately I floated MASSOB. They forgot that even the house I used in Lagos as the headquarters of MASSOB up till today belongs to me and that I bought that house almost five years before I started MASSOB. They did not realise that even the one in Okigwe that was destroyed by the Federal Government was bought in 1989. But I started MASSOB in 1999, 10 years later. So, they saw Uwazurike as a rich man overnight because he floated MASSOB. Since they floated their own factions, how rich are they? Why are they not millionaires?

There is this allegation that MASSOB is into land grabbing in the name of Biafra, especially in Imo State. Is this true?

Let me tell you, by right and nomenclature, all the land in the South-East belong to MASSOB. This is because we are agitating for a republic and that republic has a territory and the territory is the South-East and to an extent, the South-South. So, all the land in the South-East belongs to MASSOB.

Even when you have not realised Biafra?

You are here now asking me about Biafra. Would you have done that many years ago? No, because nobody used to talk about Biafra, but you are talking about it now. Who told you I have not realised it? We have realised it. What we have not realised now is sovereignty; the power to have our own army, our own currency and our territory manned by our own soldiers. In other spheres, we have had that and this is why we are discussing it now.

Which political party is MASSOB supporting in the South-East?

We are not into politics; we are not into Nigerian politics.

But some politicians may want to curry your favour…

Why not? I am even encouraging my members to register and vote. Time will come when we will look at the terrain and we can make our decision. We have 25 stages and I blatantly refused to announce the 25 stages because all these people floating around, saying they are faction this and faction that, they have no programme. If I had published my 25 stages, they would have stolen it.

What are these 25 stages all about?

They are 25 stages towards realising Biafra. It is still ongoing and time will come when we shall do other wonderful things that people have not even heard about. They want to hear what Uwazurike will say. Before I say something, they start making it their own programme. I studied this thing.

What is Biafra doing to stop Fulani herdsmen from killing the people in the South-East?

The issue of Fulani herdsmen is political.

Why do you say so?

Yes, it is political because it is being organised by the President himself. It (killing) is an organised agenda by the Federal Government. It (Fulani herdsmen crisis) is Buhari’s agenda to Islamise… If Buhari has no hand in it, it can never last 24 hours before it will go into oblivion. There is something our people forget. When (former President Goodluck) Jonathan was there and the Army was attacking Boko Haram, it was the same Buhari that said that any attack on Boko Haram was an attack on the North.

Has Boko Haram relented?

It is because they cannot control the boys again. It is just like MASSOB. I formed MASSOB, but at a certain stage, some elements thought they could also emerge. Then it looked as if Uwazurike could not control MASSOB again; but this is non-violent, not to talk of violence. When you have bought guns and given to a set of boys, you cannot control them again. They (Boko Haram members) started getting support from some Arab countries and saw themselves as independent. They were getting more money than you can even afford as their sponsors. So, when you talk, they don’t listen to you again. That is what happened with Boko Haram.

Do you have proof of what you have just said?

They (Federal Government) is aware that I know so much. It is just like the way they lured Nnamdi Kanu to work against me. At a point, the man started enjoying popularity; enjoying a following and they could not control him again. Immediately he (Nnamdi Kanu) started announcing from London, they invited him; I was here and I heard it. The DSS (Department of State Services) was inviting him to Abuja. At a point, the entire thing intoxicated him; then they could not control him and they started fighting him. Let people not be deceived; Boko Haram, killings by herdsmen are all organised. Okay, have you ever seen cattle herders before carrying AK-47? How many cows can you sell to buy AK-47? But these guys are carrying them. Who bought the guns for them? When Fulani herdsmen kill people, instead of arresting them, they start blaming the farmers. They have the courage to go to somebody’s farm and burn it down. If they don’t have sponsors, would they have the courage to go and burn people’s farms? We are watching the trend of the so-called herdsmen and we have realised that it is a Federal Government–sponsored programme to Islamise Nigeria by force. We have done our own investigation. On this, maybe the President wants to be the second Usman Dan Fodio by using his own men, Fulani men, who are not up to three million people, to conquer Nigeria. We are watching him. At a point, we shall take them head-on. When we do that, the entire world will see it because nobody has the monopoly of violence.

What is MASSOB’s view on the issue of restructuring?

What are we restructuring? We are not interested; we want Nigeria to be divided into six geopolitical zones. Let each zone be a republic. If they (zones) want restructuring, let them restructure. In the North before, they used to say ‘One North, one destiny’. But does the man in the Middle Belt believe in one North? No! If you ask the man in the Middle Belt, he will say he wants his own republic, freedom and security of life and property. The one Nigeria that is being talked about now is because of the oil. The moment there is no more oil, the Hausa man will be the first that will say we should go our separate ways.

Do you think MASSOB can realise Biafra through its non-violence stance?

Yes, I can point out many areas where non-violence has realised independence, but you cannot give me one area where violence has achieved it. It will only take time. Now, the ball is playing out itself. Look at where Nigeria is heading towards. For instance, if by 2023, an Igbo man is not the President, what else would you tell an Igbo man for him to believe you? That is when it will dawn on him that one Nigeria is a mirage. They are using the Yoruba in the APC now. After some time, the Yoruba will realise that the Hausa are using them and they will begin to ask themselves questions. Take a look at the Fulani herdsmen. Immediately Buhari emerged as the President, all of a sudden, they came into prominence. Where were they all these years? It is because they saw their own person at the helms. They felt that it was time for them to Islamise Nigeria. They see themselves as conquerors.

But do you think it is possible to Islamise Nigeria?

Are you asking me? You should ask them. Let them try it; we are watching. What they are thinking is that since President Buhari is the Commander-in-Chief, all Fulani are now commanders-in-chief. Then they have the control of the army, air force, navy, police and all that, but Buhari and his Fulani people can never succeed. We understand their subterranean moves.

What is your view about cattle colony?

That is what I am talking about. Now, cattle rearing has now become a Federal Government concern. But this is private business. If you are giving cattle herders colonies, then you should give piggery farmers colonies too in Nigeria. There are ranches all over the world. You don’t want to establish ranches, but you are saying people should give them land for colonies. This is a subtle way of colonising Nigeria so that anywhere they (Fulani) go, they become a republic in that place. Before you know it, in the next 100 years, the entire country will be colonised by them. It can never work.

How would you assess President Muhammadu Buhari’s government?

It is a nonsensical government.

That is harsh.

Yes, look at when he was (head of) the military government, it was hardship. Today, the same thing is repeating itself. Look at when he started, what he did with the exchange rate. The economy slumped. A government that lacks knowledge and did not surround itself with intelligent people, the economy crashed within two days. Up till now, the dollar is sold for over N360. Does that show intelligence or knowledge? But they say ruling is their right; that they were born to rule. Rule now; and they don’t know how to rule. Ruling is not by mouth, but by intelligence. The currency of a country is the photograph of that country. The government has no agenda and he wants to come back in 2019. But he will win because he has his brother as INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) chairman. Then they will continue because they say they were born to rule when they have no knowledge about how to rule.

http://www.akelicious.com/2018/02/ipob-brought-falsehood-into-biafran.html

Hmmmm

What of you that extorted people with Biafra. Anuohia

Both massob and Igbos are all distraction

Power must return down south

Uwazurike wan by force by fire recognition by igbos...

Oga go sit down your worthless..you sold your name for a piece of porridge .. you and Asari.
Now you're jealous of Kanu because he kept his.

With all this your gabbage to please your masters that you enter into agreement with to discredit IPOB. Sequence to Lai Mohammed rant to international community,

The truth is that both the international community,the Nigerian government and the igbos in general know that you're an Hausa Fulani bitch.. no one takes you serious.

Maybe the gworo children will do or those lazy afons .. because na the kain story wey dey massage dia belle..
but they came late , it too late for ipob and igbos to fail.
They can only wish ..

Bet no one will ever take uwazurike serious,
Not even Nigeria politicians , wey know the importance of numbers.. and pvc..

Uwazurike gats nothing to offer to anyone except this kain of trash to stay relevant .. Bleep!

Heard he was paid for this interview..
Man is dead.

sarrki:
Both massob and Igbos are all distraction
Power must return down south

south-west

QuotaSystem:
Pure truth.

We warned them that lies, propaganda, blackmail, insults, and playing victim would NEVER succeed in getting them Biafra, but they kept fooling themselves until the Python forced the fraudster Cownu to take off like a Formula 1 car.

Now they are "Atikulating" themselves to further irrelevance....issokay .

. is that the only part that got ur attention Mr quota?

product of quota system

Ipob or not, massob or not. What I know is that buhari must not remain on that seat come 2019

Uwazuruike sharrap!!! You're a big clown!!!

Himmler:
Uwazuruike sharrap!!! You're a big clown!!!

Just like ur master, Nnamdi kanu

Fixed.

sarrki:
Both massob and Igbos are all distraction

Power must return down south west or South south only.

No more Biafra or death

Chidexter:
Ipob or not, massob or not. What I know is that buhari must not remain on that seat come 2019

madridguy:
Fixed.

Someone should tell me the location of Mazi Kanu's tomb. I want to go there with some flower

Yes, someone from that region will never rule over us again. Nigeria belongs to the North, South West and South south. Let them trace back their cradle and return.

sarrki:

That is why we call it Biafraudians

madridguy:
Yes, someone from that region will never rule over us again. Nigeria belongs to the North, South West and South south. Let them trace back their cradle and return.

Is there anything honorable about ruling over this shithole??

Nigeria belongs to who you said?? Tell that to the Igbo man building the biggest mall in West Africa at Port Harcourt, or Zinox computers who just closed a landmark crushing deal with konga.

The illusion of of control is truly a bîtch.

Igbo youth discuss Biafran heritage


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRZWXvT7Xd4

Yoruba bloggers and lies. Are like bread and butter

madridguy:
No more Biafra or death

Name a single post where I said biafra or death. You know nothing about me, so don't take me fore a regular biafra agitator

[s]

madridguy:
Yes, someone from that region will never rule over us again. Nigeria belongs to the North, South West and South south. Let them trace back their cradle and return.

[/s]

Oil thief...See how you lumped north together but separated the south...

Una divide and rule never do una?

Uwazuruike the money doubler

Words on marble


"No, no, no; I wish I could use a stronger word. The Igbo tribe is the most foolish tribe I have ever seen in the world. While the Yoruba embraced unity, the Igbo man was the person speaking Hausa in Jos; the Igbo man was the one donating money against his own brother in Jos to another candidate. Is that a wise tribe? "

-Uwazurike

Nah why we dey call them LIEPOB nah

Balkan:
Yoruba bloggers and lies. Are like bread and butter

Keep playing the ostrich OSU

.

Uwazurike has collected bribe to defame Mazi Kanu and ipob. His plans will fail.

d pigs cannot comment on dis

Who is he