Group urges FG to Declare Biafran War Victims National Heroes, release Kanu
By John Okezie
The National President of Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU), Chief Emeka Diwe has urged the Federal Government to commence a true National reconciliation by recognising all ex-Biafran war victims as National heroes.
Diwe urged the FG to accord them befitting national burial and a declaration of public holiday as a national day of remembrance, following the revelation by Former President Ibrahim Babangida that the 1966 coup was never an ‘Igbo coup’.
He also called for the unconditional
release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other pro – Biafra Agitators who are being detained.
He noted that Ndigbo have suffered for decades for an orchestrated campaign of falsehood against them that they are responsible for the woes of the country.
In a statement signed by Chief Diwe and made available to Journalists in Owerri, Imo state capital on Thursday, he urged the federal government to honour the ex-Biafra victims with a befitting memorial by declaring a public holiday as a pathway for a true national reconciliation.
The statement which read in part said:
“For decades, the Igbo have been made to bear the brunt of a narrative deliberately skewed to portray them as architects of Nigeria’s woes. To be clear, that tragic distortion of facts gave rise to the 30-month genocidal civil war, from July 1967 to January 1970, which visited unquantifiable carnage and ravages upon our land, and left in its wake broken families, orphaned children, scorched communities, and a people struggling to rise from the ashes of national betrayal.
AbeyaNews reports that the war led to the death of an estimated three million Igbo civilians, mostly women and children, who perished from starvation and preventable diseases due to the economic blockade imposed by the Nigerian government. “Towns like Asaba were sites of genocidal massacres, with the infamous 1967 Asaba Massacre claiming over 1,000 innocent lives in a single operation.
“The unjust labelling of Ndigbo as rebels fed the machinery of marginalization and underdevelopment and served as justification for our political and economic exclusion in the decades that followed.
“The healing we seek must begin on the altar of truth, justice and symbolic acts of national contrition.”
ASITU called on the Federal Government to immediately recognize all those who died during the Nigeria-Biafra War as national heroes. These, they said were citizens who perished not because they hated Nigeria, but because the nation failed to protect them. “Their souls deserve honour, their sacrifices deserve remembrance, and their memory must be enshrined in the moral conscience of the country.
“Nations that have emerged from conflict and civil strife have healed by facing history squarely. Rwanda after the genocide of 1994 declared a National Mourning Week and built memorials across the country. “South Africa under Nelson Mandela embraced the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Nigeria cannot pretend that the war never happened nor continue to hide from its consequences.
“To this end, we demand that a national day of remembrance be declared and observed annually as a public holiday across the country. On this day, the Federal Government should organize a symbolic national burial for all the victims of the war. “This act will offer long overdue closure to the families of the dead and send a clear message that the Nigerian state has finally acknowledged the injustice and is ready to right the wrongs of the past. There is still no national monument commemorating the war dead in Igboland nor a federally-backed war archive to preserve their stories. These are minimum steps needed in a serious nation striving for unity”, the statement added.
The group said the healing process must also address the structural injustices that have kept the South East perpetually behind.
ASITU also demanded the creation of additional states in the South East to bring the region at par with others.
ASITU also called for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and all other pro-Biafra agitators currently detained in various parts of the country.
The group urged the Federal Government to initiate a comprehensive amnesty programme for those who took up arms out of frustration and neglect saying, the young people are not enemies of the state but products of a system that failed them.
ASITU also called on the immediate restructuring of Nigeria to devolve powers to the regions, saying true federalism will empower all regions to harness their resources, develop at their pace, and build a nation that works for everyone.
