A human rights lawyer and counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor has called for a sober reflection among the Ndigbo, saying it is time for Ndigbo to reckon, rethink, and reawaken as the country attained 25 years of democratic rule and two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Ejiofor emphasized that democracy must not only be about slogans or elections alone, but it must also answer the cries of the marginalised, the oppressed and not just the ambitions of the elite.
He made the assertion in a statement titled, “25 years of civil rule, two years into a new dispensation: A time to reckon, rethink, and reawaken – From a Biafran Lens”, made available to journalistsin Awka, Anambra Stateon Monday.
The lawyer lamented that in today’s democracy, the people elected to protect the people have become objects of suppression and oppression and the people do not feel protected or secured, adding that, Nigeria cannot rise while it keeps some of its most vibrant people on their knees.
He pointedout that, this is not the time for the people to fold our arms, but a time to think, to organise, and to reclaim their dignity – peacefully, lawfully, and resolutely.
According to him, “As Nigeria marks 25 years of uninterrupted civil rule and two years under the current administration, we must look beyond official ceremonies and scripted rhetoric.”
“For the Biafran people – especially the Igbo nation – this is not a time for celebration, but for sober reflection. We must confront the painful contradictions of a democracy that has too often excluded, oppressed, and vilified the very voices that cry out for justice, fairness, and self-determination.”
“We need to ask: Have the fruits of democracy truly reached Alaigbo? In the present democracy, do our people feel protected or persecuted? Are our communities in the South-East being empowered, or are they targeted with military raids, economic strangulation, and political marginalisation?”
“Is the average Biafran better off today? With every fuel hike, currency crash, and failed promise, are our traders, artisans, and youth thriving – or simply struggling to survive in a federation that seems designed to frustrate them?”
“Is the economy liberating or suppressing our potential? Despite our industry and innovation, Biafran businesses face policy hostility, limited infrastructure, and deliberate exclusion.”
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“Where is the economic policy that empowers Ndigbo, not punishes them for daring to succeed? Are we safer – or under siege?”
According to him, from Orlu to Aba, from Enugu to Nnewi, the South-East people live under the shadow of state-sponsored violence, unchecked brutality, and rising insecurity, adding that peace has become a privilege, not a right.
He lamented that those sworn to protect the people have become the object of fear, insisting that democracy must recognise the right of all the people.
“Is Nigeria truly a union of equal nations – or a forced marriage where one region dominates, while others are told to keep quiet and conform? Can there be unity without justice? Can there be peace without truth?
“Democracy, if it is to mean anything to us, must not be about slogans or elections alone. It must answer to the cries of the marginalized, not just the ambitions of the elite. It must recognise the right of all peoples – including the Biafrans – to exist, to speak, to be heard, and if need be, to chart their own course.
“Let us raise not only our voices, but our values. Let us demand a system that respects the dignity of every region, tribe, and tongue.”
Let us insist that our children must not inherit the silence of the oppressed. Because democracy, like freedom, dies in fear – and thrives in truth.”
“Nigeria cannot rise while it keeps some of its most vibrant people on their knees. This is not the time to fold our arms. This is the time to think, to organise, and to reclaim our dignity – peacefully, lawfully, and resolutely.”
“To remember June 12 is to remember the price of silence. To honour it is to demand a federation built on fairness – or the freedom to build our own. May the voice of Biafra never be silenced. The journey continues – not by chance, but by choice,” he added.
