Speaking in an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on 90MinutesAfrica, Effiong, a professor at Michigan State University, linked the current push for Biafra’s revival by groups like the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to the marginalisation of people from the region.
“My father said at the war’s end that if Nigeria doesn’t treat former Biafrans justly, they will rise again to demand their rights. That’s what we’re seeing today,” he said, referring to the civil war that ended in 1970.
He said the rise of new groups advocating for the revival of the Biafra Republic stems from issues of marginalization and exclusion rather than solely a desire for secession.
“They are agitating because they feel they don’t have a place in the country,” Effiong said.
“Even though the word Biafra is included, what these young people are saying is that they are marginalised and need to be included.
Gov. Alex Otti of Abia thanked the commission for the number of projects it had executed in the state, which had contributed to the expansion of infrastructural projects in the state and enhancement of the people wellbeing.
Otti, representated by his Chief of Staff, Caleb Ajagba, expressed the readiness of the State Government to collaborate with the commission and other interventionist agencies for the rapid transformation of the state.
He also expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and NDDC “for their unwavering commitment to the transformation of the Niger Delta region”.
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