A lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, who is the lead counsel to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has told governors in the South-East region to declare May 30 as a public holiday.
He said the date should be declared a public holiday in the southeast in honour of over five million South Easterners, who were killed during the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970.
Ejiofor made the call in a statement on Thursday in which he reacted to the May 30 sit-at-home declared by IPOB in the region.
According to him, making the date a public holiday would call the federal government’s attention to one of the region’s peculiar issues, just as those in the Southwest did when they set aside June 12 as a public holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the annulled 1993 Presidential election, adjudged to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.
He added that the move would also go a long way in healing the wounds of the civil war.
Ejiofor said, “It is a time of introspection, a moment to consider the position of Biafrans in modern-day Nigeria and their relevance in the broader national context. Unfortunately, the issues that ultimately led to the Biafran war are still present within the policies and decisions of the government.
Further, we must remember the massacre of over 6,000 men, mainly residents of Asaba, who were gruesomely killed at Obosowe Asaba in present-day Delta State between October 4 and 7, 1967. Nigeria is under a moral obligation to acknowledge this tragedy, as it was not the making of Asaba.
It is important to note that no matter how long history is hidden, it will always reveal itself on true platforms. Unfortunately, the story of post-war reconstruction, reintegration, and reconciliation has remained a ruse. These three Rs must go hand in hand for a full healing process, but the reverse has been the case.
I use this moment of sober reflection to call on all South East governors to dedicate May 30 as a public holiday, as a mark of respect and honour for Biafran fallen heroes. It is not asking too much to remember and commemorate Biafran heroes and heroines by declaring this date a public holiday across Biafraland.
It is worth noting that long before 2019, the entire South West states had set aside June 12 as a public holiday to commemorate the anniversary of the annulled 1993 Presidential election, adjudged to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.
Heaven did not fall when the South West governors made this declaration in unison. Rather, the Federal Government was later compelled by the strong resolve of these leaders to consequently declare June 12, a national public holiday starting from 2019 to date.
Only the truth can set us free from the bondage of war and propaganda. I also wish to use this solemn opportunity to call on the government, particularly the Federal Government, to unconditionally release genuine Biafran agitators who are being held in various detention facilities.
As we continue to pray for the repose of our fallen heroes and heroines massacred during the civil war and subsequently, may we remember the cause for which they died.
They did not die for the cause of relentless perpetration of heinous crimes, not for the cause of kidnapping, not for the cause of rampant rape of their descendants, not for the cause of killing our innocent brothers and sisters by those who have sold their souls to evil.”
