Founder of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has renewed his call for the restructuring of Nigeria into six independent countries, arguing that the country’s existing political arrangement has failed to resolve its long-standing challenges.
Uwazuruike made the call in a statement issued on his behalf by MASSOB’s National Director of Information and Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Biafra Independence Movement (BIM), Mazi Chris Mocha, as Nigeria marked its 66th Independence Anniversary.
He proposed that the country’s six geopolitical zones — South-East, South-West, South-South, North-Central, North-East and North-West — should become separate independent republics.
According to Uwazuruike, the arrangement would enable each region to manage its affairs while relations between the new countries would be governed by international law and bilateral agreements.
The MASSOB founder also argued that the challenges confronting Nigeria could not be adequately addressed through a national conference, which he said would not resolve what he described as deep-rooted tensions among the country’s ethnic groups.
He maintained that the concerns previously raised by the late Biafran leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, about Nigeria’s political structure remain relevant decades after independence.
Uwazuruike further blamed what he described as “Abuja politicians and contractors” for allegedly exploiting the concept of one Nigeria to perpetuate corruption, inequality and impunity.
He said persistent insecurity, loss of lives and other socio-economic difficulties should compel Nigerians to reconsider the country’s political structure.
Uwazuruike reiterated that MASSOB would continue to pursue the creation of an independent Biafra and advocate what he described as a non-violent restructuring of Nigeria.
He urged Nigerians to reflect on the country’s challenges and the loss of lives as they commemorated the 66th anniversary of independence.
