| An order has been
given for my assassination, says Ralph Uwazuruike, MASSOB
leader
By Chidi Obineche
Monday, November 8, 2004
|
Chief Ralph
Uwazuruike
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
| |
Wanted dead, not alive. That is the order Chief Ralph Uwazuruike,
leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign
State of Biafra (MASSOB) says has been given to the security
agencies.
Speaking with Daily Sun in Okigwe, Imo State, Uwazuruike says
if the eventuality happens, "I have no regrets. Rather,
I’ll be happier because I believe that I have died through
a cause I believe in, and died while serving the people."
The MASSOB chieftain says security reports at his disposal
indicate that an express order has actually been given for
his killing.
"I’m in my village. I’ve stayed here for
some time now. I’m even learning how to administer snuff
here like the villagers. But there are security reports that
some people have been dispatched to kill me wherever they
see me. And it is real because we have verified it. The thing
in security is that no one can say that he has effective and
final control of everything, God is in charge of everything.
And even if one is not in a struggle like this, there is still
the tendency that one could die whenever God wants one to
die. I leave my own security in the hands of God, and I believe
that any time God says I will die, I will die whether I’m
in a struggle or not."
What really is Uwazuruike’s grouse with President Olusegun
Obasanjo, whom he campaigned actively for in 1999? His response:
"When Obasanjo came in 1999, it was thought that somebody
who had been in jail on trumped up charges would show better
understanding for the suffering of the people. A lot of people
supported him, including myself. We thought having been in
prison, he would be humane, and that if given power, there
must be some change. But my people who voted en masse for
him were relegated to the background, to the extent that he
even said that a people who have been defeated in a war should
not have a say for 200 years."
On the recent face-off between Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu
and the State Security Services (SSS), Uwazuruike says the
latter was right not to have heeded the call to report in
Abuja. And he added that if Ojukwu was molested in any way,
MASSOB would not take it kindly.
"I don’t like being boastful. But in all sincerity,
I will ask the government to leave Ojukwu alone. Because if
you do anything mischievous to him, we must do something because
he’s our father. It’s just like when you stay
in your house with your father, and another person comes to
slap your father in your presence. Even if you are a weakling,
even if you’re a coward, you must do something. So if
anything is done to Ojukwu, MASSOB will do something, and
it will be all over the federation and they won’t like
it."
Lest he be accused of agitating for Biafra for selfish reasons,
Uwazuruike says once the state comes into existence, he would
not play any active part in it.
"My role is like that of Mahatma Gandhi. He was still
alive when India became independent, but he did not aspire
for any office. Rather, he supported Jawarhalal Nehru. I have
said several times that I do not intend to be part of the
government. I do not also want to be in politics. Immediately
Biafra is actualised, that is the end of my activity, that
is the end of my participation in the struggle. So, the rest
depends on the people, who will determine the type of government
they want, what type of thing they want to do. I don’t
want to be part of it. I will be a statesman, a Biafran statesman."
He claims MASSOB members are in detention in droves today,
but not even that is enough to stop the wheel of the struggle
from moving fluidly.
"No, no, it cannot. They cannot succeed. My men being
detained in hundreds cannot stop the activities of MASSOB.
We are moving on, forging ahead, doing more things. It is
the thing that gives us strength. Mandela stayed in prison
for 27 years, I am ready to stay more than that. So, if anybody
finds himself in such situation, he should bear with us, he
should bear with the struggle. It’s the handiwork of
our oppressors."
But does he have a military training camp as has been alleged?
"You see, I leave all things to God. What do you want
me to say? You want me to say yes or no. I will not say yes
and I will not say no. If you think I have military camps,
go there and catch them when they are training or doing other
things. If I tell you no, you won’t believe me. If I
tell you yes, it might not be true. If I’m professing
non-violence, than what do I need a military camp for? If
you talk about military, then I have to give them guns, and
I have no intention of giving guns to anybody, even if I have
the money to buy it. So I challenge them. If you know the
places I have military formations, go there and arrest the
people and bring the guns."
Uwazuruike says he enjoys the support of other self-determination
groups, especially the faction of the Oodua Peoples Congress
(OPC) led by Gani Adams.
"There are two Yoruba people I respect. Gani Adams and
Pa Abraham Adesanya. I like dealing with Gani Adams. Anywhere
you have freedom fighting organisations in Nigeria, we interact.
But I always tell them look, as far as MASSOB is concerned,
if you want to work with us, you must be non-violent. But
if I know you carry arms and kill people, I cannot talk with
you."
The MASSOB leader comes down hard on the average Igbo elite,
whom he calls coward.
"They want Biafra, but they cannot open their mouths
and say they want it because they are afraid. Because they
know that if they say it, the Federal Government will drive
them away and not give them contracts or appointments. But
the Yorubas don’t do that. Because of the unity of the
Yorubas, others team up with them. On June 12, you found people
like Ebitu Ukiwe, Ndubuisi Kanu, the late Mbakwe, and many
others supporting them. But the Igbo elite, they are cowards."
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