The decibel of the sound of secession and dismemberment of Nigeria have just been notched up with the declaration of the Republic of Biafra on Monday in Enugu by one of the pro-Biafran groups, the Biafra Zionist Federation.
Biafra takes off as an independent country on Tuesday (today), August 1, 2017, according to BZM leader, Mr. Benjamin Onwuka, who declared himself the ‘Interim President’ of the new nation at a press briefing at the Enugu secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
He also named some prominent Igbo individuals from different states in the South-East and other parts of Nigeria as ministers, those named include: Eminent economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, as the foreign minister; former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has been appointed as the Governor of the Central Bank of Biafra; former boss of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh, as the the finance minister; the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, was named as the Ambassador of the Republic of Biafra to the United States and the surprise inclusion former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, from Niger State, as the transport minister.
Other appointments named by Onwuka are Prof. Barth Nnaji, a former power minister, as energy minister, Amarachi Ubani, information; Mrs. Mary Okafor, trade and industry; Benny Lar, from Plateau State, Secretary to the Government of the Republic of Biafra; Gabriel Oluwole Osagie, education; former information minister and former deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Mr. Labaran Maku, as the minister of aviation and Philip Effiong Jnr, as the minister of health.
It’s not clear whether any of the individuals named as appointee of the Republic of Biafra were consulted before being named.
You will recall that Onwuka was detained and charged with treason after leading some members of the BZF to invade the studios of the Enugu State Broadcasting Service in a failed bid to announce the secession of Biafra on June 5, 2014.
