Not long ago, former President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, delivered a lecture in Texas, United States of America, on why Niger-Deltans do not want to be part of Biafra. Attached to that lecture was a map showing parts of Southern Nigeria marked out as making up an envisaged “Biafra” as a nation to be created from Nigeria, after some referendum. Serious-minded Nigerians who have not read the Goodluck Jonathan’s lecture are strongly advised to look for a copy and read it. For the information of Nigerians who may not be aware of it yet, in the eyes of the international community, Nigeria is currently wearing a tag of a sick nation. Especially the reaction of the Federal Government to the report of the European Union on the last 2023 elections, there has been some rising anxiety about Nigeria in various quarters. Powerful nations do intervene in the affairs of weak nations, but such interventions usually follow security reports indicating possible dangers ahead.
The Goodluck Jonathan’s Texas lecture was surely one material which the international community will use as basis for a possible intervention in the situations in Nigeria. Coming from a former President of Nigeria and touching on the issue of Biafra and the possibility of a referendum in the future, any intelligent Nigerian would easily figure out what the result of such referendum would be. Theme of the lecture was “Why Remaining Indivisible With Nigeria Than Joining Forces With Biafrans In Splitting The country Will Pay Niger Deltans More”. It was an advocacy material not only for Niger Delta people, but also for other minority ethnic groups, over the issue of marginalisation. The National Question has been a serious issue of academic debates in Nigerian universities for a long time, getting to a boiling point when Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni people were hanged for agitating for a fair deal in the country. M. A. Kayode observed that inequality in the access to resources is the basis of the national question. Thus rivalries and competitions for the control of resources in Nigeria have been common features of the ruling class in Nigeria, whose chief goal is the accumulation of wealth, with little value added to the conditions of the masses. Oppressors and Predators!
Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s Texas lecture contained ten key items, of which item I states: “Biafra may not be better for Niger Deltans because Niger Deltans may end up living one form of subjugation or another. The argument Igbos have made for their freedom is the desire to be free from Hausa-Yoruba domination. That argument also applies to the average Niger Deltan…” With regard to the annexation of unwilling minority groups in the map of proposed Biafra, Jonathan said: “many of these non-Igbo regions have disowned the map and pledged allegiance to Nigeria”. Apart from his argument that Niger Delta groups may never be allowed to rule Biafra if it is actualised, Jonathan added that “no Niger Deltan will allow his ‘oil’ to be used to develop Enugu like what happened with Abuja and is still happening today. Niger Deltans are getting wiser and when the new nation is formed, matters that border on oil, wealth distribution and infrastructural development will be raised”. Sum total of the Texas lecture is that Niger Deltans will NOT subscribe to the Biafran movement or agitation.
The national question has nothing to do with any bitterness or enmity between the people of Niger Delta and the Igbo ethnic group; rather, it is a question about the Nigerian Political economy. Three dominant and major ethnic groups since 1960, have been the Hausa, Yoruba and the Igbo, with several ethnic minority groups being marginalised, with regard to access to a proverbial “national cake”. Sadly, the “national cake” consisted of mineral oil and gas coming largely from the Niger Delta minority zone. While the dominant and powerful groups could afford to checkmate themselves, the minority ethnic groups have all along been at the mercy of their powerful neighbours. Sadly the foundation of current Nigeria’s political economy was laid by military administrations, with the Civil War (1967-1970) providing unhindered opportunities for some lopsided policies and edicts which placed the Niger Delta zone in serious disadvantages. The truth must not be denied that some penalty was placed on participants in the original Biafra struggle.
Now, all the flaws and factors which gave rise to the 1966 military intervention in Nigeria’s politics, as well as additional injustices occasioned by the war, combine in issues that place Nigeria now as a sick nation. Not only corruption is fingered as accounting for Nigeria’s sad situation, but more, the integrity to address the root causes. National virus has now taken the position of the national question, which seeks to destroy and devour who would insist on resolving the national question, by way of restructuring. It is safer and more expedient to join the predators and parasites rather than fight them. Can you beat them? When exclusiveness joins hands with predatory and parasitic political economy, the result is usually a mafia system of governance under the cloak of a democracy. Gangsterism, terrorism, religious extremism and division among various ethnic groups would be brought into political and economic issues, solely for the purpose of diverting attention away from a devouring virus which seeks to maintain the status quo. Sadly, external influences under various guises, but seeking for selfish gains, would join hands to make an unstable nation a sick one.
The Biafra dream will not become a reality, not with the whistle blown by Dr Goodluck Jonathan in his lecture in Texas, USA. Similarly the Igbo ethnic group is not helping its case or creating an image that would bring empathy or support for its project. Obviously there are internal moles stoking the fire of division and belligerence, whereas the situation calls for a different strategy. The international community would not want Nigeria to become another Sudan or Afghanistan. Neither are religious hawks and extremists aware of what is playing out in Nigeria.
Oil politics is a deadly affair, neither is the culture of colonialism a historical tale of the past. In the past, the strong would prey on the weak and claim tributes in spite of acts of brigandage. Now, internal colonialism is a phenomenon deserving a serious study. With external partners and support, a resource-rich country can become a haven for poachers, where gold and power can do and undo anything. Insecurity and instability are symptoms of a predatory and parasitic political economy. Will Biafra not prey on minorities?

By: Bright Amirize
Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.