The
Biafran legacy has been a defining factor in the life of the Igbo
nation. The Republic of Biafra was declared on May 30, 1967 as a
last-ditch effort to stem the wanton massacres of Ndigbo and other
Easterners who resided in other parts of Nigeria. This act of self-determination
to found our own safe haven in our ancestral homeland in Biafra
was seen by those who dominated the Nigerian government as a call
to war. A vicious 30-month war was waged against Biafra from multiple
fronts by the Nigerian military junta which deployed a scorched-earth
policy and mass starvation to force the breakaway nation to capitulate
on January 10, 1970.
Since the military defeat of Biafra, there have been many policies
and practices which the Nigerian Federal Government has utilized
to perpetuate the misery of Ndigbo who are the majority inhabitants
of the territory that was Biafra. The ultimate injustice that Ndigbo
endured since the Civil War was manifest in a tacit agreement amongst
their rivals in the North and West to utilize prolonged military
dictatorship to marginalize them for more than 3 decades knowing
that Igbos were purged from the top echelons of the army and government
bureaucracy since the war.
The Biafra Memorial Project (BMP) is not a movement to renew secessionist
threat to the Nigerian nation but rather it is a strong desire to
bring all the outstanding issues that surround Biafra to a satisfactory
resolution so as to enable Ndigbo to resume the leadership role
which they have played in nation building since the colonial era.
For Ndigbo, the BMP is like 'osondu' (a life struggle) because life
must continue for millions of our kith and kin in spite of the cataclysmic
experiences of Biafra. The Biafra Memorial Project is the harbinger
that will herald the dawn of an era of Igbo renaissance.
Osondu Newsletter and Osondu web site are the publication arms of
the BMP. We invite you to review our publications and frequent this
site because we promise to go the extra mile to satiate your curiosity
and ensure that it will be worth your time and effort to visit with
us. |
