PHIL OKOSE, Onitsha
Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), on Sunday, warned that every 30th May remains Biafra heroes’ day not ‘Igbo day’, as allegedly being speculated in some quarters that it is Igbo day stating that it is a day earmarked to honour Igbo heroes who sacrificed their lives during the Nigerian/Biafran war.
Sounding the note of warning through her spokesperson, comrade Emma Powerful, while reacting to the view of a section of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo that it should be seen as ‘Igbo day,’ the movement reiterated that it is disappointed at the position of a handful of politically compromised charlatans who suggested that the globally recognised ‘Biafra heroes Day’ of 30 May be renamed “Igbo Day.”
“Let it be firmly understood, Biafra is larger than any single ethnic group. Our martyrs hailed from Annang, Ibibio, Efik, Oron, Ijaw, Igbo and other nationalities that stood shoulder-to-shoulder when the world turned its back on us.
To erase their sacrifices by collapsing them into a parochial label is the height of historical illiteracy.
“The name, “Biafra” is non negotiable. From ancient maps in 1425 to the 1967 Proclamation, Biafra predates the United Kingdom itself. It is a sacred trust etched in the blood of over three million souls. No arm-chair mouthpiece, hiding behind the tattered cloak of “Ohanaeze faction communiqués,” possesses either the mandate or the moral stature to tinker with it.
“Heroes Day is not a political jamboree. It is a solemn covenant of remembrance, comparable to Europe’s annual VE-Day observances, during which Biafrans worldwide stand still for the fallen. Anyone intent on staging re-branding stunts should restrict themselves to the corridors of Nigerian politics where sycophancy is the currency of transaction, and leave the stewardship of our collective memory to IPOB and the families of the departed.
“This is the final warning. IPOB will no longer dignify future provocations with extended rebuttals. Those who subsist on government stipends would do well to redirect their energies to the praise-singing that pays their rent and cease desecrating the blood-soaked legacy of our heroes.
“On 30 May 2025, IPOB will, as always, observe a full, peaceful sit-at-home across Biafran territories and in the diaspora. We invite our friends, supporters and men and women of conscience to join us in prayers, lectures and candlelight vigils in honour of all who paid the ultimate price that we might live,” the movement stated.
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