Biafra: The War That Never Ended

Chapter 4

I have seen a lot of paperwork done by my grandpa where he mapped his dream nation, but I could remember I wrote my first book "The New Nation."

I looked at him and said

"Yes"

I have written a book about the new nation which I don't know where exactly the book is.

But what I like about my grandpa is his love for reading and writing and he is also a good storyteller.

Maduka continues

"Do you know what I am about to tell you?".

I was wondering what he wanted to tell me so I responded

"No!"

He then look at me and smiled

"In my next life, I will prefer to be in a country where people are respected in respect of their gender, culture, religion. What I see in Biafra in the next 20 year you won't be able to experience such development in a small country your enemy would say".

What came to my mind was the book I wrote about the new nation which I believe would be the best fit for a country like Biafra.

Then I look at him and said

"I would love to be a Biafra citizen."

I decided to ask him this question

"But why did you keep talking about Biafra?.."

He was silent for some moments and then responded.

"What does freedom mean to you?"" He asked

I replied

"To me, freedom means equal opportunities, equal rewards for all kinds of potentialities as well as anybody elsewhere, freedom to speak without favor and fear, regardless of where I was born or where I came from, the color of my skin or my religious status..."

Maduka continues

"As you see Nigeria today is freedom equal to all kinds of potentialities to the Igbo speaking tribe and other minority tribes".

He was right because I can relate to everything he said. Because of what I experienced when coming back home the military checkpoint and how we were treated and I believe others would relate to that so I responded.

"No!.."

Maduka continues

"Did you know Igbo people existed around 6,000 years before the amalgamation of the contraption called Nigeria? The British company".

"Frederick Lugard introduced the Eze system of "warrant chiefs"".

"The Igbo people were unaffected by the Fulani War and the resulting spread of Islam in Nigeria in the 19th century they became overwhelmingly Christian under colonization".

"I don't understand what you mean by the Igbo people were Unaffected by the Fulani war ?" I asked

"The Fulani War of 1804–1808 was led by an Islamic scholars and teachers who assembled an Islamic army to lead a jihad against the Hausa Kingdoms of north Nigeria. The forces of Usman Danfodiyo slowly took over more and more of the Hausa kingdoms, capturing Gobir in 1808 and executing Yunfa. The war resulted in the creation of the Sokoto Caliphate, headed by Usman Dan Fodio, which became one of the largest states in Africa in the 19th century". He replied

"When the Hausa Kingdom was conquered Islam was spread across Northern Nigeria during Usman Danfodiyo reign".

"While the Igbo people were Christian under European colonialism".