As Nigerians, we are bound to obey the Nigerian law. It is expedient to emphasis on the reasons for the establishment of the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra which is the De Facto government of the Biafrans until they gain their independence. The Rule of Law abhors anarchy, breach of peace, breach of public order and propensity to lawlessness. For this reason and in obedience to the Nigerian Customary Law the Elders of Biafraland rose up to gather their children together and guide them in their struggle for independence to avoid anarchy, lawlessness and bloodshed. By our Customary Law, it is the duty of the Elders of the land to gather their children together and guide them appropriately. The Biafrans are no longer like sheep without a shepherd. If Nigeria breaks up today as predicted by the American experts, it is the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra headed by the Supreme Council of Elders that will gather the people together.
By the jurisprudence of Section 315 of the Nigerian Constitution which recognises the validity of the Sharia law and Customary law as existing laws in force before Nigeria and its Constitution were created, if the country should disintegrate by an act of God, there would not be any more legislative houses to make laws but only the Sharia laws and Customary laws of the people would survive. The Northerners are wiser to have elevated their Sharia Government into statutory government by passing the Sharia Bill into law in the Northern States’ Houses of Assembly. The legal implication is that the Sharia Government in the North, having been given statutory existence by the State law, has become a State organ that should be financed by the State. They have therefore established their Sharia Police and other Sharia Government organs to enforce the Sharia law in the North. This is a wonderful legislative engineering performed by the Northern politicians and I commend them for their foresight.
The Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra is not fortunate to have intelligent politicians to pass their Bills into law in their States’ Houses of Assembly. It appears that their politicians are afraid to talk about their indigenous identity as Biafrans. At the moment therefore, the Indigenous People of Biafra under the Supreme Council of Elders are pursuing their organizational goals by self-help efforts. We advise all the Indigenous People of Biafra to support and obey the Supreme Council of Elders. It is unfortunate that Nnamdi Kanu, who was in charge of their Radio Station called Radio Biafra, instead of promoting the Supreme Council of Elders, suddenly became stubborn, disrespectful, incorrigible, recalcitrant and abusive to the Elders and Dignitaries of the land for which reasons the Elders ostracised him after several efforts to correct him had failed. The Elders rightly invoked their powers under Customary Law and disciplined their erring child to instil discipline in him.
- The Structure to hold the Biafrans Together in times of Crisis- The Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra.
8.1 There is palpable fear that anything may happen at any time to cause the disintegration of Nigeria without the fault of anybody. In such a situation, we call it an act of God. The prediction by the American experts that Nigeria would disintegrate within 15 years from 2005 has not yet failed. Many people thought that the Americans gave the year 2015 in their prediction but that is a wrong interpretation. In their Report in 2005 they predicted the fall of Nigeria in 15 years’ time. As an expert in the science of estimation, I know that there is always an acceptable margin of error in forecasting. Sometimes, it can be plus or minus 5%; or plus or minus 10%; the lower the margin of error the higher the accuracy of the estimation and closer to the line of best fit if measured by the use of standard deviation. In effect, the American experts’ prediction of the fall of Nigeria has not yet failed.
8.2 It is our duty to prepare the people for anything that may happen in the future. I have said it in my previous statements that our mission is to set the Biafrans free from Nigeria but not to destroy Nigeria. I gave examples of many nations that gained independence in the past without destroying their host countries. From Biblical history, Israel came out from Egypt without destroying Egypt. In modern times, Eritrea came out from Ethiopia without destroying Ethiopia. Bangladesh and Pakistan came out from India without destroying India. South Sudan came out from Sudan in 2011 without destroying Sudan. Why do people think that Nigeria would not survive if the Biafrans should go and establish their own country?
8.3 I want to allay the fears of the owners of Nigeria that their country would survive if they let us go and build our own country as the Egyptians allowed the Israelites to go. The foreigners who have invested in Biafraland will remain the owners of their investments. We shall remain friendly neighbours as the Israelis and the Egyptians are today, as the Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indians are today. The Nigerians will not need visas to come to Biafra and the Biafrans will not need visas to go to Nigeria because both nations are under the ECOWAS Treaty. Moreover, any Nigerian who wants to maintain dual citizenship is free to apply to become a Biafran citizen if he meets the requirements under the Immigration Law. Also any Biafran who wants to maintain dual citizenship can retain his Nigerian citizenship just as many Nigerians today are British and American citizens. Why are the people afraid? They are afraid because they lack knowledge of the law. The Bible says that the people perish for lack of knowledge, Hosea 4:6. 8.4 It is in preparation for the unknown that the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra has been established as a de facto government structure that can hold the people together in times of crisis. It is not Ohaneze Ndigbo. Its jurisdiction covers all the Indigenous People of Biafra living in the three contiguous regions of the South East, parts of the South-South and parts of the Middle Belt of Nigeria. Ohaneze Ndigbo is only for the Igbo Nation but the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra headed by the Supreme Council of Elders is for the entire Biafraland. The composition of the Supreme Council of Elders must therefore be representative of the entire Biafraland. It is not an Igbo affair. All the officers of the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra are hereby advised to commence effective mobilization and communication to gather the people together under the Supreme Council of Elders. It is the duty of the elders of the land to put their house in order. Let us do it now before it is too late. I hereby authorise the Media Department of the Customary Government of Indigenous People of Biafra to publish this message in booklets and distribute it to the whole world where the Biafrans are found.
Signed: Emeka Emekesri, Esq. Solicitor for Indigenous People of Biafra