Nigeria: 59 years after Biafra: Igbo leaders renew calls for justice
By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria
Fifty-nine years after Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu declared the sovereign state of Biafra on May 30, 1967, Igbo women, youths, monarchs, and stakeholders say the grievances that fueled the civil war remain largely unresolved.
At commemorative events, speakers argued that political betrayal, ethnic persecution, and the rejection of Ojukwu’s restructuring proposal in 1967 set Nigeria on a path of conflict that still shapes national politics today.
Lolo Nneka Chimezie, National President of the Igbo Women Assembly, said the conflict could have been prevented.
“We engaged in a war that ought not to have been. Ojukwu offered restructuring to save lives and preserve peace, but it was rejected. Today, the same restructuring they dismissed has become the loudest conversation in Nigeria,” she said.
Chimezie linked the persistence of pro-Biafra agitation — from MASSOB to IPOB to what she described as ongoing exclusion and marginalization of the Igbo. She criticized the government’s approach, saying violent groups receive amnesty while pro-Biafra agitators face repression.
She called for official recognition of May 30 as Biafra Remembrance Day, release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, and national atonement for wartime atrocities, including the starvation policy and the Asaba massacres.
“If June 12 can be recognized nationally, why should the remembrance of millions who died during the civil war be treated like a crime?” she asked.
The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders echoed the call for justice and restructuring, citing political exclusion, economic neglect, and the South-East’s smaller number of states compared to other zones.
“Genuine unity is built on justice, fairness and mutual respect, not suppression or intimidation,” said COSEYL President-General Goodluck Ibem.
Paramount ruler of Abiriba, HRM Eze Kalu Kalu IV, urged a shift from emotional attachment to the name “Biafra” toward building a united and economically strong Igbo nation. He called for voter registration and strategic political participation to advance Igbo interests.
Former Aka Ikenga President Goddy Uwazurike and APGA BOT Chairman Chekwas Okorie said successive governments failed to address the root causes of the war. Both cited the non-implementation of the 1967 Aburi Accord and post-war policies, including the £20 limit on Igbo bank accounts, as evidence of incomplete reconciliation.
Okorie advised younger agitators to pursue political engagement over confrontation, arguing that the Igbo’s spread across Nigeria gives them significant electoral influence if mobilized.
