By Favour Goodness
Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike has hinted that there would be no peace in Nigeria until Biafran nation is actualised.
He gave this hint during a virtual conference organized by Harvard law
students under the auspices of Unrepresented Nations and People’s
Organizations, United Nations and others on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which was to determine the Land Use /
Border Rights and Extra- Territorial Obligations of Nations in the quest
for self-determination.
In a statement signed by his Personal Assistant on Media Matters, Elder Chris Mocha on Sunday, he said the conference was aimed at gathering members’ experience with challenges to their lands as well as to share general perspectives, recommendations and good or bad practices regarding land rights.
Mocha in Onitsha, Anambra after monitoring the conference quoted Uwazuruike as saying, “as usual I represent the State of Biafra. In Nigeria right from time immemorial belonged to
individuals and families”.
“But in 1976, immediately after the Biafra-Nigeria civil war, the military
government of Nigeria promulgated the Decree of 1976 which invested all
lands in Nigeria to the state governors.
There are 36 states in Nigeria and the federal capital territory, Abuja. So
all the 36 governors are owners of the lands in Nigeria and the federal
government owns the capital territory Abuja.”
“But the Federal Government did not respect this Decree of 1976. Just
recently, the 17 southern governors came together and banned open grazing
in the entire southern region, the President Muhammadu Buhari
nullified it and said that there was a
grazing route that must be established to enable the armed fulani herdsmen
to come to our lands in the south to graze their cattle”
“This grazing route is against the provisions of the Constitution of
Nigeria because it is not contained in the 1999 Constitution as amended. But because of his position as the Nigeria president and a Hausa/Fulani man he wants to enforce it against our will.”
“Because Biafra is blessed with crude oil deposits the fulanis forced themselves into our lands to graze their cattles. Not only that, they came with their Ak-47 riffles and killed our people, raped our women and the federal government because it promotes these people turned the other side”.
“As a matter of fact, the atrocities we are having today in Nigeria emanate
from the Land Use Act of 1976. Because these people came to our land and
commit all these atrocities because they have the protection of the federal government of Nigeria”.
“In Nigeria all the proceeds that came out from mineral resources, take for
instance, in Biafra land that is rich in crude oil deposits, all the resources garnered belongs to the federal government of Nigeria.
“In Zamfara state that is in the northern part of Nigeria where Gold Reserves are discovered belonged to Zamfara state government. Do you see the rate of injustices in Nigeria?
“The crude oil in Biafra territory belongs to the Federal government of
Nigeria but the Gold Reserves in Zamfara state in the north belongs to the
Zamfara state government.
“And the first war we fought against Nigeria emanated from all these
injustices. Because of the presence of oil in Nigeria, the fulanis who migrated into Nigeria came to colonize all of us and use force to dehumanize us, to take our resources and try to fulanize us, kill us
because of land”
“And that is why it is very essential that Biafra must be given recognition
by the United Nations and if Biafra is not given recognition as a sovereign state, these atrocities must not stop because our land is rich with mineral resources as against the north that is a desert area” .
“So the Fulanis that came into Nigeria want to use force because they are
always homogenous in their action. They migrated and have the support of their Islamic brothers in the north like Chad, Niger, Libya, Sudan and other places. That is why the issues of Biafra should be given a priority. Without recognizing Biafra, there will be no peace in Nigeria,” Uwazuruike said.
