The ex-militant and leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Force, (NDPSF), Asari-Dokubo, has claimed that the Igbo people in the South-East region have no right to the name Biafra.
According to the ex-militant, who is an Ijaw man, one Frank Opigo gave the name Biafra, which was adopted by the Eastern region and was used in 1967 when the Republic of Biafra was declared.
Dokubo said no one can dismiss the fact that the geographical area known today as Biafra belonged to the Ijaws, Ibibios and Orons and not the Igbos.
Speaking in an interview during a television programme, he said, “Ijaw is Biafra. We’re the owners of the territorial area of Biafra, along with the Ibibios and Oron. In 1967, Eastern Ijaws were part of the Eastern Region and the Eastern consultative assembly was convoked in Enugu and Francis Opigo, an Ijaw man, suggested the name Biafra be adopted and it was adopted. Biafra has nothing to do with Igbo.
“Nobody can dismiss the geographical fact that the area known as Biafra is Ijaw. And on May 30, the Republic of Biafra was declared which included the eastern region within our territory, so Biafra has nothing with Igbo,” he said.
The ex-militant further said he was so sure of the historical claim and challenged anyone with facts to dispute him.
He said the late Ijaw revolutionary, Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, mentioned it in his book, the 12-day Revolution, that he was Biafra long before the Republic of Biafra was created.
Explaining why he and Nnamdi Kanu don’t get along, Dokubo said Kanu is empty in his head and wants an Igbo Biafra, thereby ursuping the name of the Ijaws and other minorities who do not belong to the Igbos.
“Instead of calling for an all-inclusive Biafra, Kanu wants an Igbo Biafra; so, he will say Chukwuokike Abiama is the God of Igboland, is the god of Biafra. Who is Chukwuokie Abiama? I do know him. It is not an Ijaw word”.
