A MUST READ!! ~AN OPEN LETTER TO MY BRETHREN IN THE SOUTH-SOUTH II ~ By Donald Ekpo.

The need for Unity..

My dear brethren, it is with mixed feelings that I write this letter to you. I write, not to appeal to you to do what I believe is right, but rather; I write to stare the truth on your faces of how we have been a willing tool in the hands of our oppressors. We have provided the life to this contraption called a United Nigeria with our environmental hazardous mineral resources. Yet, we have been treated as the greatest vagabonds of our time.

I write to you as my brothers, to take you back to the history of our time past. We have not just been deceived, but we have been short-changed even with our perceived educational enlightenment. Please do allow me to take you elaborately on this.
At some point in time, it will be inevitable for us to realize that this continuous diplomacy of lies and deception will not help us. The earlier we decide to say things and accept it the way they are, the nearer we may get to our destination of determining our political and developmental future; a future that will force us to take our stand in accepting not what we have been given as privileges by the fraud of a Constitution, but taking what we have by rights and inheritance.

But in our struggle, we have all gotten it wrong in our resolution to see our eastern brothers as perceived enemies based on fabricated and told stories. In truth, we were never enemies before the 1966 pogrom, or were we? (Pogrom = Organized persecution or extermination of a particular ethnic group). Like me, every indigene of the so called south-south cannot deny the fact that when our eastern brethren were persecuted, butchered and decimated in 1966, that our fathers and forefathers of the so called south-south were not spared. If this is a fact, then we may need to reconsider our stands on our perception of our south eastern brethren and look this failed contraption in the face, then walk away to our freedom. Maybe we may have to go back to the reasons why the then South Eastern Military Governor, Colonel Ojukwu revolted and decided on the secession. If you may not be aware, let me take us back to the time past of our hidden history in my next paragraph.

After reading several accounts of the events that took place less than a decade before I was born, one thing is certain; the Fulani north with the assistance of the middle belt ‘used as’ willing tools, decided to kill every resemblance of our kind in pretext of extermination of our south eastern brethren, in what they termed as the ripple effects of the reprisal coup. The Yoruba south-western Nigeria, after threatening to secede if the southeast does, turned around to become the home rat that assisted the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy to orchestrate the over 3 million deaths in Biafra land. {We too cannot deny the fact that even from within us, some of our sold-outs we part of the conspiracy to erase our brothers from the face of the earth}.

History reminds us that it was the great and revered Awolowo that did not just design the hunger strategy where the region was staved of food from the coastlines, which led to the deaths of many children, but also advised General Gowon to urgently create the South-Eastern and River State from the Old South Eastern region; to psychologically create a new people from a people; a slaved group from a feared group. A strategy that came to be known as the “DIVIDE AND RULE” tactics. It was easier to rule a divided house than a united one.

It is also on record and also told to me by proxies of my grandfather that there was a carefully orchestrated design to land-lock the region by propagating the ‘hate stories’ that has lasted till today within our south eastern brethren and us.

It was speculated and made to be believed that during the war, our south-eastern brothers planned to kill us all by poisons and physical genocides. Hence the stories of how Biafran soldiers moved into villages in today’s so-called south-south to sporadically kill the indigenes; our people. These stories spread throughout our regions in those days and even still believed by some to this day. It succeeded in making us pledge our allegiances to the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy rather than our neighbors that we had lived-with for centuries without an attempt by them to do a quarter of what the Fulani herdsmen have done to their neighboring villages.

Revelations have it that it was actually the Nigerian (Federal troops) saddled with the responsibilities of protecting the supposedly recaptured territories, that would dress with the half-moon emblem of the Biafran uniform; lay siege of our villages at night to do what they are best known for; BUTCHERING, leave when they are done, then come back in the morning with Federal uniform to say they are coming to rescue our people from the Biafran devils thereby, painfully embedding the seed of hatred that has lasted to this day, between our people and our south-eastern brethren.
My grouse was momentarily aroused after my realization that my hometown Ikot Ekpene was razed down by the Nigerian Airforce in 1968 even after we surrendered to these murderers. A Wing Commander then, now a Senator, confirmed this to me in Kaduna in 2014 during the run-up to the 2015 elections, where I served as his campaign strategist in Kaduna. He was one of the Alpha-Jet pilots that razed down my hometown. He took me into his inner parlour where he, after apologizing, told me the true, but sad story of 1968. He told me how they had orders to raze down my hometown and its environs even when there was no presence of Biafran soldiers there. So what prompted the order to raze down an area not occupied by thesupposed enemy if we were perceived as different from the Biafrans? You can imagine how I may feel when I see some of our brethren that still believe in this contraption of deception who seem not to understand the true nature of the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy towards our people in generality.

In essence, all but us have in ways that have been difficult to explain, decided not to be blind towards the truth about our history and heritage. How long can we do this to ourselves? Let’s look at this from not “the politically right” perspective.

About a couple of days ago in my residence, I overheard a dry-cleaner from somewhere in the Igbo speaking Delta State, publicly lambasting Igbos as a terrible set of people in a long and confusing conversation, in effect, he was mocking the Biafran struggle. And in all these, most of the conversation was done in Igbo language. I was forced to speak out from my personal room window on the first floor asking him to explain to me what language he was communicating with. Off course, he realized my irritation and what I was driving at; and quickly told me it was a joke. Yet he was attacking my Igbo neighbor in alliance with a Yoruba co-worker. What was he trying to prove? An indigene of Anioma in Delta state making jest of the IPOB’s want for self-determination? I was forced to tell him he had no justification to see the Igbo brethren and cause as a stranger when in essence he was communicating with this supposed ethnic stranger in the same language that neither me nor his Yoruba compatriot could understand. How long will we continue in this character as this dry-cleaner; and he is not alone in this act of sell-outs amongst us? As a matter of fact, the dry-cleaner visitor probably would feel so accomplished in-front of my Hausa/Fulani/Niger gate-man after ridiculing his Igbo brethren for wanting Biafra. Who do us this thing; you would be forced to ask? Can we see how we have helped the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy in executing their orchestrated divide and rule strategy?

I write to you my dear brethren especially the Igbo speaking part of the so called South-South or Niger delta. I can assure you that after ridiculing your heritage in the name of not wanting to be identified as Igbo or the Biafra identity, the members of this Hausa/Fulani oligarchy or even the Yorubas eventually will not just perceive you as a betrayer, but one that could easily ridicule a cause, and such people are usually not trusted in foreign lands. Have we ever heard the Yoruba from Kwara or Kogi state claim he is not Yoruba when he bears Babatunde or OluwaKemi? Have we ever heard the Fulani man from Taraba or Adamawa, Christian dominated states claim he is not Hausa even with all the stigmatization? How comfortable do you feel when I, and Akwa Ibomite or my brethren from Cross River or Ijaw or Ogoni and other non-speaking Igbo tribes feel more comfortable with the Biafra struggle even though we prefer to term the struggle as the Lower Niger Congress’s in an attempt for an all-inclusive struggle; while you that bears Okechukwu, Emeka or Nnamdi would deny the need for the struggle because you do not wish to be identified as Igbo; is that not a form of complex infringed upon yourself by you? Do you think members of the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy respects your right to life by not being Igbo any better than the South Easterner Igbo? In your sincere moments, do you perceive you are more Nigerian than the average Igbo from Ebonyi, Imo, Abia, Enugu or Anambra State? This is a tactics that was designed in 1967 when the South Eastern State and River States were created from the Old Eastern region where we all belonged. Some Igbos were even cut off to today’s Benue and Kogi state and not just Rivers, Delta Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. How can you sit there and be doing ‘don’t dirty’ when our brethren from the Old Mid-western State understand the need to have our rights to self-determination? I admonish us to take a review of our directions of thoughts.

I like to write to those of our brethren that have found it more pleasing, even to the detriment of our collective unity to be seen and perceived as liberals; in their efforts to show more love and tolerance towards the same people that would kill them either as dogs or baboon at the slightest religious provocation. These are the ones that are quick to refer to us as being bigoted even when there is no such logical confirmation. I write to remind you that even-though the baby snake and baby lizards may innocently play together as kids; mother Lizard is certainly aware that both her and her kids are food to mother Snake and her kids. But if baby lizard decides to be a liberal due to civilization and keep playing with baby snake; one day, mother snake will have him as food to his amazement while being swallowed. I write to inform you that sometimes, application of wisdom in the phrase “Love thy Enemy” can come in handy. I have seen several of you reject your brother and prefer the killer stranger at all times. A few words is enough on this aspect my brethren.

I write to you with all honesty, having supposedly ball-crushed us enough, wish to reveal the designed mystery that has hindered our progressiveness.
Even though we have the capacity to generate electricity for ourselves; the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy has not permitted us to do so, except we first power the Federal grid that will first supply electricity to Kano and other part of the backward sharia north-belt. Even if our mineral resources could have sufficiently provided for us; we are first constrained by the fraudulent constitution that binds us to first provide for the 44 local governments in Kano and its environs before sharing the left over to the 8 local governments of Bayelsa and our other vagabonated environs. Even when our Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road could have been made an express-way from the proceeds of crude oil from Akwa Ibom and Abia states; but we are constrained to first fix the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano express-way to satisfaction before considering ours to be politically correct. Even when the tax generated from the alcohol consumed in Port Harcourt or Awka would have assisted in providing pipe-borne water in the entire Lower Niger Region; the fraudulent constitution has constrained us to first build mosques in Jigawa, Zamfara and Kebbi and its environs where the same alcohol products are destroyed in the name of sharia laws, that seems to supersede the Nigerian laws up there. While we love and protect our Hausa/Fulani fellow citizens of this contraption called a United Nigeria that are residence in the Lower Niger Region; our brethren living in the sharia north are butchered at any religious provocations be it in faraway Norway, France or even Turkey. These; my brethren, I had to write to you for the purpose of readjusting your perception of your place in the United Nigeria contraption.

I write to remind us that the treatment meted to our brethren in the south east when their son attempted to rule this contraption by mere providence in 1966 was same that was meted to our son in his attempt to lead this contraption in 2011 – 2015. General Aguiyi Ironsi by providence, a fine soldier from a village not quite 30 miles from my village, was saddled with the responsibility of taking control of this contraption when some junior officers failed in their ill planed coup, eventually tagged as that which was orchestrated by the conglomerate of village heads from the South Eastern region. What happened? 3 months after; the fine young General and his host, was tied to a Land-Rover truck and driven on a tarred road till he died. 45 years later, by providence; our own son Dr. Goodluck Jonathan also found himself in a position where he had to assume leadership of this contraption after the death of his boss, late President Yaradua. How did it go? We all know that he was rejected before he assumed power. The blood of several southern youths in the north, as at the time had to be spilled to register their rejection of our son. The oligarchy had to declare their intention to make his government ungovernable. He was discredited from day one, conspired against, and called several degrading names. But to God’s glory, President Jonathan was lucky not to have faced the fate of General Ironsi 45 years later. We all know what would have happened if the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy did not get back their supposed inherited power in 2015.

I write to you my brethren that as long as the present composition of a United Nigeria is concerned; we are not good for anything else apart from laying the golden egg that has been feeding the Oligarchy and its allies. Until we accept this fact as the true situation, we cannot take steps to reject it, redefine it and restructure our future. The Hausa/Fulani oligarchy has succeeded in keeping us divided for over 50 years now. While we may assume that they possibly only divided us from our south eastern brothers, we fail to understand that they have strategically even divided us amongst ourselves. Look at what they have turned us to my brethren. Our so called South-South elders have been made to turn out to be objects of ridicule in their attempt to negotiate a few demands of our own mineral resources. While the one led by Edwin Clark said to be called PANDEF, Pan Niger Delta Forum; made a list of demands to the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy, a different faction possibly instigated to cause the required division that would send everybody home, visited the Pastor turn politician VP with a list of demands that were in total contrast to the earlier demands. And that is how we will continue to disgrace ourselves in this slave/Master’s relationship fostered on us by the British. How could we allow ourselves to be ridiculed these far? The list of people going to beg for crumps of our own produce from the Oligarchy range from; NIGER DELTA SECURITY WATCH, TRADITIONAL RULERS OF OIL COMMUNITIES (TROMPCOM), HOST OIL PRODUCING COMMUNITY OF NIGERIA (HOSTCOM) and several others I feel embarrassed to keep listing. See how far we have been divided? A division of purpose amongst a people amounts to total susceptibility to the antics of the enemy.

I write this letter to you in my attempt to expose the hopeless situation we have found ourselves. My brethren, I write to you to inform us that, until we break the chains of deception that has separated us for over 5 decades, work with a unity of purpose with our south-eastern brethren that are almost there; the shames of ridiculing our youths and elders will continue. As long as this Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy is concerned, they intend to milk us until there is none left to milk again. They succeeded in making us hate our brothers and as a result, we technically declared our allegiance to them, even-though we are regarded as restless warriors (like our Middle-Belt Christian brothers) that must be caged and used, we have adamantly refuse to let go of the false propaganda that was and is still embedded in our hearts. We have chosen to be slaves to the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy and preferred to term our neighbours that have in no way harmed us as ‘the dangerous one’. How did we allow ourselves these evil. Until we are ready to determine our political and cultural future by ourselves, we will continue in this enslavement.

THE NEED TO SECEDE BY REFERENDUM

I write this letter as an awakening to you my brethren; that as long as we try to help the sinking crocodile from drowning; even with our life saving jackets, we will never leave the stormy lagoon. The crocodile is not a stranger to the river; but we are. The crocodile is designed to spend more time in a stagnant environment; but we are not. If the crocodile’s luxurious life is dependent on our unity with it in the stagnant river, then know that we have just sentenced ourselves to death by drowning. Also know that when we are drowned due to exhaustion; the crocodile will still live by its nature in the lagoon. So must we continue to keep the luxury of the crocodile at the expense of our life?
In as much as corruption has been accused of our backwardness; I disagree in totality with this conception. There is no nation of the world that is not corrupt or more corrupt than the contraption called Nigeria. But our backwardness is by nature of those saddled with the control of our lives. The nature of those that have by providence; been named the kingmakers. The kingmakers control the kings with their fraudulent and unchangeable constitution. The kingmakers have a laid-down systematic nature that involuntarily aligns the king to its structure. When our Son President Goodluck Jonathan was President; even though it is propagated beyond comparison that he and his cabinet was corrupt; did we not see roads constructed? Did we not see Airports renovated to world standards? Even our planes received the ‘A’ Class certifications. Did we not see reforms in the employment sector to change the orientations that Government does not provide jobs in Nigeria? Did we not see a revolution in Agriculture? Did we not see attempts made to industrialize the country with the creating environments that made Nigeria a destination for Foreign Direct Investments? Did we not see gradual changes in our world economic indexes and ratings? Was there anything in our indices that suggested any near-future recession like what we have now? Look at the likes of Ngozi Iweala, Look at the likes and class of Deziani, see how she revolutionized the petroleum sector that was able to manage availability of petroleum products even with the lies of corruptions spewed everywhere. Look carefully at the team put in place by President Jonathan and compare it with what the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchy has put in place for us. Look at the class of our Minister of Communication and compare it to the herdsman’s choice. Can you compare the choice of the Agricultural Minister of President Jonathan to that of the herdsman? Can you compare the choice of the Aviation Minister that revolutionized the Aviation sector to the political payback choice of the herdsman? This is what I am saying; Until we walk away from the drowning crocodile in the dirty sea, we will either remain there till we die. But will never change the nature of the crocodile, neither will we be comfortable spending our lives in it’s habitat. Either which way, we can never be fulfilled there.

RE-INTRODUCING THE LOWER NIGER CONGRESS

I write this letter as an appeal to all of us to seek out ways we can assist the efforts of the Lower Niger Congress to actualize our dream of breaking free from the chains of enslavement; our dreams of being who we want to be; our dreams of controlling our economic future; our dreams of controlling our cultural development; our dreams of controlling our political future. Our dreams of not restructuring a bastardized system, but having the opportunity to build a suitable and sustainable structure based on references and experiences of successful and progressive nations.

I write to you my brethren to know that it will not be an easy journey. Know that the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy and its alliances won’t just let go. They will come in different forms; they will remind you of the bitter experience orchestrated by them in 1966 – 1970. They will tell how different we are in the Lower Niger Region. They will lie to you about a certain imagined oppression by our brothers. They will even tell you our brothers intend to steal our oil. They will tell you unimaginable things that shall even be from the mouth of our own brethren that have sold their souls to the devil. In all these, do not fret about it; remind them that they; The Hausa/Fulani oligarchy and its allies have not been better to us. Remind them that our eastern neighbours already have the oil. Remind them that it is not our brothers that have stolen our oil for the past 50 years or owned 87% of our oil wells. Tell them that at least, we and our eastern brothers worship the same God that does not ask its worshipers to butcher the lives of non-believers. Remind them that we and our brothers have the same cultural heritage that reveres human life as sacrosanct. Tell them that we have learnt enough from our forced marriage with them; the structure of our new nation will take care of their concerns. Please don’t forget to thank them for their deceptive concern about your future with our neighbours. One thing should be certain my brethren; don’t give in to their concerns or deception; it is just their way to keep us in bondage.

The Lower Niger Congress had successfully secured a period for the possible intervention of the United Nation, where they will come in and conduct a Referendum that will allow us to speak and express our demand. All the LOWER NIGER CONGRESS ask of you is UNITY, UNITY OF PURPOSE, UNITY OF BROTHERHOOD, UNITY OF DEMAND and UNITY OF AWARENESS. With Unity, a hurdle would have been crossed. With Unity, the first step to break the spells would have been achieved. With Unity, the light on the other side of the tunnel would have been sighted. With Unity; the sky would be our beginning. Unity is all that we ask for. The Unity between the brethren of the SouthEast and the SouthSouth. The Unity that shall give us a UNITED LOWER NIGER REGION. The Unity that will bring the different Unions of the region as one by way of choice. The same unity that has held not just the European Union together, but even the United States. The same Union that can be disengaged-from by way of a referendum if need be; not a forced marriage that does not permit the expression of our rights to self-determination. A Union that should be glued by choice and not compulsion. A Union that may end up uniting the entire southern Nigeria or by extension; our brethren from the persecuted Middle-belt; by a simple choice and referendum. An expansible Union. But to succeed, all the LOWER NIGER CONGRESS needs is UNITY.
In about 30 days, the Lower Niger Congress shall release and make public the Charter of Association that shall bind all the Units of the Union of the Lower Niger.

I have done my part, let’s make the Union a reality.

Best Regards;

Donald Ekpo