Ezenwanyi Eberechukwu Anigbogu, a former aide of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu,has listed "methods" Igbos can use to actualize Biafra.
Addressing journalists in Awka, Anambra State, Anigbogu said governors who are sympathetic to the Biafra cause must be voted into office.
She noted that rather than allowing Nigerian government fix a date for referendum, which may never happen, Kanu should ensure that Igbos prepare for the process.
The Director General of the Movement of Biafrans in Nigeria (MOBIN) also noted that Igbos need to adopt a singular political party which will champion their cause should referendum take place.
She said: "We are sure a core Biafran will win the elections come November 2017, that is the starting point. As soon as we have a pro Biafran or a Biafran activist as the governor of Anambra state, that automatically means that we have gotten one state out of core Igbo states for Biafra. From here, we will begin to spread our tentacle.
"Come 2019, we hope to have core Biafrans as governors of Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, Imo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa and Rivers states. Anigbogu, who was also the first female leader of the IPOB Worldwide argued that the call for referendum by Kanu was too premature, since the area she describes as Biafraland is very politically weak.
"You see, once you rush into referendum, it is sure to be hijacked by the same elements who describe we Biafran activists as riffraff. You have to get them out of power and replace them with politicians who are Biafra-conscious. Of course you know that referendum is a political process, you cannot just come out and you are singing referendum, without any plans, maybe setting out a process of achieving it. Referendum is politics and politics is referendum.
"One thing you have to know is that we are Biafrans who are still living in Nigeria. As long as we are living in Nigeria, and we want to go, there are methods to use. One is that we have to prepare for referendum. We have a Biafran national political party, and we will have to register and have our voters card, because it's this voters card that we will use to register during referendum.
"The United Nations will not just come into Biafraland and bring people together. There must be a process. If you look at Scotland, who are also calling for sovereignty from Britain, there is a Scottish national party who involve in, and win political positions. If we have adopted the United Progressive Party(UPP) as the Biafran national party, when the time of referendum comes, it's through that process.
"Nigeria cannot even call for referendum because it's not they who want freedom. Biafrans must build their own political space, Biafrans must design a coherent political environment that is acceptable in the comity of nations.
"It's only when there is such a political climate that the same Biafrans will constitute a political process for referendum, supervised by the United Nations, ECOWAS, AU, and other such organisations. Of course, Nigeria will play a role, but they will only be campaigning and lobbying for people not to vote for exit.
"Biafrans are more focused, resolute, determined and united in our quest for freedom, so, we have absolute faith that in no distant time, the fruits of today's efforts will bring smiles to the faces of all Biafrans."
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