By Bola BOLAWOLE
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise” – Victor Hugo (in “Le Hus Miserables”).
Is Biafra an idea whose time has come? Victor Hugo (26 February, 1802 – 22 May, 1885) says “Nothing else in the world… not all the armies… is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”.
Another variant of the same quotation says: “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come” (Hugo in “The Future of Man”).
How does this work? An idea whose time has come is a “historical moment where the idea or concept (which takes on a spirit of its own) is perfectly received by a cultural movement that surrenders to its utility as dictated by historical necessity.”
Note that a cultural movement is more powerful, more encompassing and more demanding than a political movement, although it encompasses the latter. An example is Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China.
When Hugo made his statement, he did not have Biafra in mind. In fact, he was talking of Literature and not even of politics, nationalism or war.
He said the time had come to abandon the conventional approach to literature, which he reasoned left it mangled and mutilated. But, today, that statement is more famous with those trying to upturn the existing social order in pursuit of nationalist goals.
Is the resurgence of a sovereign State of Biafra such an idea? I got sufficiently puzzled to ask this question because of recent developments.
Everyone who thought the arrest and detention of Simon Ekpa in Finland signalled the end of resurgent Biafra’s deadly activities must have a re-think.
The same way it was thought that the rendition of Nnamdi Kanu and his incarceration would silence Biafra – but it did not. Instead, a more vicious Simon Ekpa filled the void.
Now, one lady has come forward to claim to fill the void created by Ekpa. I watched her blab and blurt out gibberish – and they said she was a Dr.!
Is it a medical doctorate, an academic PhD. or honoris causa? That, however, is a topic for another day but whichever, she did not demonstrate intelligence. She seemed more intent on displaying masculinity or macho than intelligence; and more brawn than brain. But that is not even my worry here today.
My worries include: Who are those behind the push or agitation for the sovereign state of Biafra? Assuming they get Biafra today, will they be willing to leave their investments in Nigeria behind and retreat to what former President Muhammadu Buhari once derogatively described as a tiny dot in the middle of nowhere?
Have they counted the cost (Luke 14:28)? Or they think they will still be allowed to roam about and loom large all over Nigeria they would have exited?
They should ask Britain after BREXIT! When they draw the map of their imaginary Biafra Republic, they include people who have been vociferous in denouncing them and their Biafra project. How do they intend to handle that?
A clearly defined boundary is one of the indispensable criteria for statehood.
It is necessary to begin to cross the t’s and dot the i’s of the likelihood of an independent Republic of Biafra if they are not to cause monumental havoc to themselves and their immediate neighbours.
How will a sovereign State of Biafra respond to neighbours not willing to submit to their authority?
Apply diplomacy? Or pacify them by levying war? Which of these two do you think is in Biafra’s DNA?
Bola BOLAWOLE, former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, was also Managing Director/ Editor-in-Chief of The Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in the New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television. turnpot@gmail.com 0807 552 5533
