I'm the Supreme Leader of IPOB, While Ojukwu is... - Nnamdi Kanu Talks on Biafra, Why Ojukwu Went to Exile

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu has confirmed that he is the Supreme leader of the group and not for Biafra.

Nnamdi Kanu

 

Speaking while reacting to reports that he has become the supreme leader for the whole Biafra, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, confirmed that he is the Supreme leader of the group and not for Biafra.

 

According to reports, the IPOB leader said the leader of the defunct Republic of Biafra, late Odumegwu Ojukwu, remains the Supreme leader of Biafra.

“I am the Supreme leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ojukwu is (still) the Supreme leader of the whole of Biafra,” Kanu said.

 

Kanu said the late Ojukwu inspired him in the renewed agitation for the freedom of Biafra and the call for a referendum.

 

He said: “Of course, he started it. Ojukwu was the one who stood up to pronounce the modern Biafra. In that respect, in that regard, he (Ojukwu) is a very huge inspiration and remains our supreme leader anytime, any day.”

 

He further debunked claims by the former military head of state, Yakubu Gowon that the late Ojukwu ran away and abandoned his people during the Nigeria-Biafra civil war which took place between 1967 and 1970.

 

“Ojukwu did not run away, he went on exile, it was a carefully thought out and calculated move designed to save the situation because, Christian countries had abandoned Biafra,” Kanu said.

“Most of our allies did not want to come to our aid for the simple reason that nobody wanted Biafra to emerge not because of any other reason other than the fact that they did not want Africa to be set free.

"Biafra represented freedom not just for Biafra but for the entire Africa, the sub Saharan continent and also the entirety of black race all over the world.

"So it was a grand conspiracy and when the conspirators overwhelmed us; Ojukwu had no other choice other than to try and leave the country," Kanu added.

 

Recall that in January 1967, Ojukwu had declared the Eastern region of Nigeria together with her continental shelf and territorial waters as an independent sovereign state with the title of The Republic of Biafra.

 

Ojukwu's declaration was followed by an attack from the federal troops led by Yakubu Gowon on Biafra.

 

The war which lasted for 30 months ended with Ojukwu handing over power to his second in command and the then chief of general staff Philip Effiong, a major general and went on an exile in Ivory Coast.