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Abstract
Against the backdrop of the continued crisis of state legitimacy, precarious balance between ethnic groups, and a predatory and authoritarian political culture, this article examines the ‘Igbo Question’ and manifestations of contemporary Igbo nationalism through the activities of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). It argues that the peculiarity of Igbo/MASSOB quest for self-determination stems from a prior idea of statehood by the Igbo ethnic group between 1967 and 1970, and a function of the failure of the Nigerian state to manage key aspects of the national question. Four decades after the civil war, MASSOB's quest for statehood and independence from Nigeria is still couched in terms of Igbo perceptions of marginalisation and exclusion from the Nigerian nation-state project. Imbued with its own contradictions and structural limitations, the Nigerian state unveils the fragmentation, paradoxes and challenges, which must be resolved in order to accommodate its multi-ethnic constituencies.
Notes
1. This number is based on estimates from the last census exercise in 2006.
2. In the absence of any official tabulation of the size and number of each of Nigeria's ethnic groups, these figures are based on rough estimates derived from various reports on Nigeria's population.
3. These were gleaned from MASSOB publications, newspaper articles, oral interviews and the author's fieldwork.
4. See the Report on the Election Boycott, available at: http://www.biafra.cwis.org/pdf/REPORT%20ON%20ELECTION.pdf [Accessed 27 February 2009].
5. The UNPO is an NGO and not an agency of the United Nations. Its membership comprises indigenous peoples, occupied nations, minorities and independent states or territories; all members are governed by the UNPO Covenant.
6. According to Voice of Biafra International, this shortwave radio broadcast service transmits on 15.28 MHz (on 19-m band) every Friday at 20:00–21:00 Hours UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). This is equivalent to 9–10 pm Biafraland Time.
7. Some of these websites include: www.biafraland.com; www.biafranet.com; http://magazine.biafranigeriaworld.com; www.umuigbousa.org; www.kwenu.com; http://ekwenche.org;; http://biafraforum.biafranet.com; http://www.bianu.net; http://igboforum.igbonet.com; and http://wazobia.biafranigeria.com.
8. Although these figures may not be verifiable, they run through several Nigerian newspapers. For instance, ‘Plight of MASSOB’, Daily Champion (Citation2008e), reports that 1044 members of the movement were gunned down in Okigwe on 29 March 2009, 448 killed in Aba and Owerri and another 198 in Abakiliki, Ebonyi and Enugu.
9. For a report on various encounters with the Nigerian state, see ‘Refueling Biafran Separatism’ in International Crisis Group (Citation2007, p. 11); ‘Nation within a Nation’ in International Crisis Group (Citation2006, p. 16). See also Murray (Citation2007).
10. The groups include: MASSOB International, Biafran Liberation Council (BLC) and an umbrella group, known as the Coalition of Biafra Liberation Groups (COBLIG) comprising seven Igbo liberation groups in Nigeria and two in Diaspora, including the Eastern People's Congress (EPC), Movement for Igbo Defense (MID), Eastern Mandate Union (EMU), Popular Front for the Development of Igbo Land (PFDIL), Biafran Liberation Group (BLG), Ohazurume Ndi Igbo (ONI), Eastern Solidarity Forum (ESF), Biafran Human Right (BHR) in Germany and Ekwe Nche Indi Igbo (ENI) in the USA.
11. Recently, apart from the spate of bombings in Nigeria's capital city (Abuja) and in the North-eastern region, there have been high incidences of kidnappings and armed robbery in the South-eastern region of Nigeria.