Before we fantasize about separation, restructuring or dissolution of Nigeria, let us ask a painful but necessary question: are the Igbos themselves ready
Not emotionally. Not rhetorically. Not nostalgically. But structurally
A people must be united in purpose before they can dream of exit. A nation that cannot move as one cannot break as one. This is where the Igbo dilemma sits painfully untouched. We are loud about marginalisation but quiet about preparation. We shout about Biafra but whisper about Biafra of the mind. We yearn for territory but we have not built cohesion. We speak of liberation while refusing to build the state that a liberated people require.
Our problem is not that Nigeria refuses to let us go. Our problem is that we have not yet agreed on where we are going or how we intend to get there
Let us be honest. Since the war ended in 1970, the psychological casualty has been worse than the infrastructure casualty. A post-war mentality of defeatism and survivalism replaced patriotism and collective project. Individual brilliance replaced communal nationhood. We produced billionaires, traders, professionals and global adventurers, but not state builders. We built every economy except ours. We developed every city except our own homeland. We pay taxes everywhere except Ala-Igbo. We are scattered across continents and capitals. We are at home everywhere and citizens nowhere. This is post-war political psychology, not destiny.
People who are truly prepared for separation do not outsource their prosperity. They do not export their capital. They do not build their future in someone elses territory. They do not leave their homeland empty and their diaspora full. Before the world ever witnessed a Biafra of territory, there must be a Biafra of the mind. That requires reverse migration, reverse capital flow and conscious reorientation. Think East. Build East. Protect East. Invest East.
Nigeria today is undeniably sick. But its sickness is not fundamentally theological. It is criminal. It is economic. It is post-colonial mismanagement weaponised by corrupt civilian and military elite networks. The insecurity ravaging the country is not a clash between Islam and Christianity as lazy analysts suggest. Bandits kidnap both Muslims and Christians. Boko Haram burns mosques and churches. ISWAP taxes communities for revenue, not conversions. The violence across Nigeria is driven by criminal enterprises, not crusaders. Religion is the wrapper. Crime is the commodity.
The true cancer is the post-1970 political culture that replaced civic responsibility with extractive opportunism. Politics became the fastest route to personal wealth. Public office became a market stall. Patriotism died. Selfishness became ideology. Myopic power drunkenness elevated nobodies into overlords. Corruption became a rite of passage and the state became a feeding trough. In this context, separation is not a magic wand. If we carry this mentality into a new state, we only create a smaller Nigeria with more flags.
Yes, Nigeria needs restructuring. Nigeria needs decentralisation. Nigeria needs true federalism. Nigeria needs resource control. Nigeria needs constitutional honesty. Nigeria is overripe for a new political arrangement. But the Igbo nation must be honest about its own readiness. We are not yet politically unified, economically consolidated, psychologically prepared or elite-coordinated for any serious exit.
The Soviet Union broke up because the republics already had borders, bureaucracies, economic clusters and political elites who could run states the next morning. We do not even have a unified political voice. We cannot dissolve a federation with WhatsApp audio messages and diaspora outrage. Separation is not achieved by hashtags. Separation is achieved by institutions. Separation is achieved by power. Separation is achieved by control of territory, control of security, control of capital and control of production.
If breakup ever comes, it will not reward those with grievances. It will reward those with preparedness. For now, we are not ready. But we can be, if we choose to be. That requires dropping the post-war survivalist mindset and embracing the nation-building mindset. It requires Igbo billionaires to look East. It requires diaspora to look home. It requires youth to replace angst with strategy. It requires elites to replace ego with responsibility. It requires us to stop being tenants in other peoples futures and become landlords in our own destiny.
Nigeria may one day restructure or dissolve. But the Igbo nation must not be caught unprepared. It is irresponsible to plan an exit when we have not built a home. The intelligent way forward is simple:
Restructuring first. Preparedness second. Separation only if necessary.
Hon. Chima Nnadi-Oforgu
Duruebube Ndukaku III of Ihiagwa
OBLONG MEDIA UNLIMITED 
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