happening? I decided to get in touch with Henrik
Angerbrandt, a political scientist at the
Stockhollm university who is an expert on Nigeria. The
following questions with answers is my
own translation of our conversation via e-mail.
When did this new Biafra movement start and why?
There has been a movement (MASSOB) that started after the
transition from military government
in 1999. The movement that has mobilized lately was spurred
by the 2015 elections when a
president was elected, who was in the civil war and that many in
southeastern Nigeria view as
part of the power elite who they mean have marginalized the area in
the national politics. Atrigger
for the current movement was also when one of the leaders for
IPOB (a new separatist group)
who ran a pro-Biafra radio station in the UK was arrested. The
authorities said the leader has
encouraged violence against the state, which is said to be the reason
for the arrest
How strong is the movement that want Biafra as a state
separated from Nigeria?
Even if the movement has succeded in mobilizing big
protests in the street, I think the general
support is relatively weak, although many agree that the
Igbo group has been marginalized.
Central political actors dont support this movement which
is a difference from the 1960s. Many
people live in other parts of the country have their
family spread out throughout the country. Most
people prefer more influence in Nigeria over having an
own nation.
Can you tell us a little bit about Nnamdi Kanu, a leader
of this movement?
The arrest of Kanu was the trigger for the recent
mobilization. He was relatively unknown before
that and the movement has now centereda round him as a
person. But he is cotroversial even in
Biafra because of his dual citizenship (also British) and not everyone
view him as rooted in the
area. He has been lost for a few months and IPOB mean that he has been
taken by security forces,
which is denied by the authorities. Recent pictures say that he is in
Israel now, but the Israeli
authorities denies this claim. But this seems to undermine his position, because
some mean that
he has fled instead of fighting for the cause.
Biafra failed to form a state 50 years ago. What meaning
does this have for the current
movement,do they see this as a revenge or is the movement
weakend by the attempt 50 years ago?
The recent movement is living off the legacy of the
movement in the 1960s. But it is a new
generation who is running this agenda. They use the same
symbols, so in some way you can call
it a rebirth of the same struggle, so you could also call
it an attempt at revenge. But in this area
people are also familiar with that war means suffering. That
makes people look for other
solutions, such as more inclusion into the Nigerian state.
