Let's Talk Afro-Geopolitics II: The Future of the Nigerian State

Will Nigeria Make it 2060 (Its 100 Anniversary of Independance)?

  • Yes

    Votes: 27 47.4%

  • No

    Votes: 30 52.6%
  • Total voters
    57
The Odum of Ala Igbo

The Odum of Ala Igbo

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Biafra shutdown cripples Nigerian cities
  • 30 May 2018

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Image copyrightEMMANUEL IZUCHWU / BBC IGBO
Image captionPeople have been able to play football in deserted streets in Ariaria in south-eastern Abia state
A stay-at-home protest by Biafran separatists in Nigeria has crippled cities and towns in the south-east.

Streets are empty and markets, banks and schools are closed to mark the abortive attempt in 1967 to gain independence for the region.

It led to a bitter three-year civil war in which more than one million people were killed.

The authorities have warned the secessionists against street protests and security forces are on patrol.

South-eastern Nigeria is mainly inhabited by the ethnic Igbo community, who often complain of marginalisation - accusing successive governments of failing to develop their areas.

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Image captionAreas which pro-secessionist groups want as their own homeland
In the last few years, there have been a resurgence of support for a breakaway state of Biafra led by the banned group Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob).

The BBC Igbo service says there has been a total shutdown in the Igbo heartland of Enugu and Anambra states.

_101814130_fd340426-caa6-40fc-a5f4-cb77f1702984.jpg
Image copyrightEZE NDU / BBC IGBO
Image captionThis timber market in the oil hub of Port Harcourt was among the many businesses that observed the stay-away call
The southern oil city of Port Harcourt as well as parts of Abia state have also been affected by the stay-away.

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People have been sending in photos to BBC Igbo of deserted streets, including one of the iconic Niger River Bridge in Onitsha, known as the gateway to the east, which is usually congested with traffic.

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Image copyrightTONIE IWOBA / BBC IGBO
Image captionOnitsha's Niger River Bridge would usually be heaving with traffic
Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu is currently facing treason-related charges.

He has not been seen in public since last September when his house was raided by the Nigerian military. The army denies arresting him and his whereabouts are unknown.

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Biafra at a glance:

Media captionNigeria's Biafra leader in 1969 urges on his 'brave boys'
  • First republic of Biafra was declared by Nigerian military officer Odumegwu-Ojukwu in 1967
  • He led his mainly ethnic Igbo forces into a deadly three-year civil war that ended in 1970
  • More than one million people lost their lives, mostly because of hunger
  • Decades after Biafra uprising was quelled by the military, secessionist groups have attracted the support of many young people
  • They feel Nigeria's central government is not investing in the region
  • The government says their complaints are not particular to the south-east.
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Surprising headline given the BBC's hatred of Biafra
 
The Odum of Ala Igbo

The Odum of Ala Igbo

Hail Biafra!
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ELECTION SEASON
Niger Delta Militants Threaten Nigerian Oil Facilities | OilPrice.com
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TSVETANA PARASKOVA

Tsvetana is a writer for the U.S.-based Divergente LLC consulting firm with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and…

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Niger Delta Militants Threaten Nigerian Oil Facilities
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jun 20, 2018, 6:00 PM CDT
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A relatively unknown group in the Niger Delta is threatening to stop production at oil facilities of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) in the area, saying that a so-called ‘Operation Zero Barrels’ would begin at “any time from 00hrs on Wednesday, June 20.”

The group, Niger Delta Activists Forum (NDAF), says that it represents communities in the areas where NAOC—the Nigerian unit of Italy’s oil major Eni—operates, after the company had ignored a 14-day ultimatum to include community residents in its staff, according to the news outlet Sahara Reporters.

Nearly two weeks ago, the group NDAF threatened to shut down the oil flow installations of NAOC, accusing the company of sidelining the local youth in their recruitment programs. The local community group gave NAOC 14 days to induct and integrate the successful applicants, or it would shut down oil flows in the facilities located in the community.


NAOC operates in the land and swamp areas of the Niger Delta under joint venture agreements, with concessions in the Baylesa, Delta, Imo, and Rivers States. NAOC is the operator of two onshore exploration leases and is also a partner with a 5-percent stake in the SPDC joint venture operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

Related: Goldman: Expect Another Bull Run In Oil

Although Nigeria has managed to restore its oil production to around 1.8 million bpd, following major militant attacks on oil infrastructure in 2016—mostly by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA)—sabotages in parts of the oil-rich Niger Delta continue to plague its oil production and the oil majors operating there, a Shell executive said earlier this month.

Next month, Nigeria’s oil exports are expected to drop to their 2018 low—to just 1.43 million bpd in July, from 1.796 million bpd in June, partly due to a force majeure on Bonny Light cargoes, according to loading schedules seen by Reuters.
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