The BBC Interview Of Cubana Chief Priest: An Unintelligent Attempt By Imperialists And A Political Jobber To Economically Sabotage Igboland

The history of Ndi Igbo as part of Nigeria holds several records of the BBC using propaganda to set Ndi Igbo up for either economic sabotage or outright genocide. The January 1966 broadcast by the BBC calling the January 15 coup an Igbo Coup, is one such example of the British propaganda machine setting Ndi Igbo up for both genocide and economic sabotage. This template by the BBC has been used by them and other Nigerian media houses, to date.

So, it is no surprise that the BBC interview of Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief priest, was released some days after an alleged false flag operation in Aba, where men of the Nigerian army of Igbo extraction were killed on the 30th of May (Biafran Remembrance Day).

This attack on the military checkpoint by masked unknown gunmen led to the military invasion of Aba almost immediately – a move that seemed scripted, with many Ndi Igbo suspecting the end goal was to destabilize Abia State and discourage local and foreign investors from coming to the state. Without investigations, within 24-48hours hours thousands of military personnel and war equipment were moved into Aba, which led to the harassment and abduction of young people by officers of the Nigerian army.

The reactions by well-meaning Ndi Igbo, who have studied the Nigerian Policy in Igbo land, immediately pointed out that the attack on military men in Aba had the hand of opposition politicians all over it, and that it intended to cause unrest and chaos in Abia State, frustrate the achievements and good governance of Governor Alex Otti, and in turn scare away foreign and local investors, who were moving to Abia State.

The immediate statement from the Governor of Imo State, an APC stooge in Igbo land, confirmed what many had called a coordinated attack on progress and good governance in Abia state.

In the past few years, the Igbo “Aku Ruo Uno” campaign by Ndi Igbo has gained momentum, as a direct result of the maltreatment of Ndi Igbo and the burning of our properties in Lagos, especially during the 2023 Presidential campaigns. However, it was a private affair for Igbo businessmen both in and out of Nigeria. That would however change with the emergence of Governor Alex Otti, of the Labor party, who within one year of being in office gave a government-backed approach to the “Aku ruo Uno” campaign.

Abia State, in the 3rd quarter (Q3) of 2023 attracted $150.1 million in Foreign Direct Investment, which was just a few months after Alex Otti took office as Governor of the State. Alex Otti, in September 2023, during the inauguration of Emelogu Road in Aba South Local Government, said that his administration was determined to improve infrastructure in the state, especially Aba, to attract fresh investments, create jobs, and shore up the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR). And he has been doing just that from day one in office.

John Chukwu, the group chief executive officer of Cowry Asset Management Company, in a statement about Abia state and Alex Otti, said “The state has a leader that understands the needs of investors and is ready to meet those needs. It has a leadership that has clearly specific opportunities for investment within the state.”

This achievement just a few months in office, coupled with the proposed Modular Refinery, which is to be located within the Abia Industrial Innovation Park, and also the commissioning of the $800 million geometric powerplant, which is the first autonomous power project in Nigeria. The Geometric Integrated Power Project is a 141 Megawatts, expandable to 188 Megawatts, power transmission and generation, distribution facility. It was built to supply uninterrupted electricity to homes and businesses across nine local government areas in Abia State within the Aba ring-fenced area. The other notable achievements of the Abia state governor are the immediate construction and flagging off of major roads around the state, with 15 Major roads in Aba within one year.

As part of his drive to make Abia State an internationally acclaimed economic hub, Alex Otti, on the 30th of September 2023, announced a proposed seaport project to be located at Owazza, Ukwa East LGA of Abia State. This seaport and other chains of enterprise would take advantage of the oil and gas deposits in Ukwa’s proximity to Aba and Port Harcourt. 

It is believed that the speed at which Governor Alex Otti is transforming Abia state and delivering outstanding governance reminds the British and the Northern/Western region of Nigeria of the growth of the Eastern region before the Civil War. The Eastern Region of Nigeria was recorded to have had the fastest-growing economy in the world from 1958 to 1957. The economy was growing at 9.2% yearly and was estimated to overtake Western Nigeria by 1978.

The Biafran Genocide of 1966-1970 destroyed all the economic achievements of the Eastern region, majorly that of Ndi Igbo, and set us back to start from scratch. However, 54 years after reducing our region to rubble and killing 5 million of us, we have climbed back up the economic ladder, despite the continuous economic attacks we face, and are now champions of commerce in various industries. But our detractors still have their evil eyes on our region, forever scouting and implementing new strategies that will suppress our political, social, and economic emancipation as a region.

The destruction of the Igbo economy was developed by some of the best brains of that era, happened in the space of three years, and the vehicles with which the blow was delivered were: “Media Propaganda Against The Igbo” and “Military Invasion of The Land And Genocide.” Anyone with a keen sense of socio-political observation will agree that these same mechanisms are at play today, with both local and foreign parties having a direct hand in the insecurity in Igbo land – all to keep the region economically suppressed.

The interview of Cubana Chief Priest by the BBC also comes days and weeks after there was a trending campaign for Ndi Igbo to stop investing in Lagos, and look towards Abia State. The campaign, just like many before it, was a result of the demolition of the $200 million Landmark Beach Resort owned by an Igbo man, Paul Onwuanibe. It would seem the reactions from Nigerians and Ndi Igbo against the demolition of the Landmark Beach Resort created negative PR for Lagos State, while Abia State was receiving good PR as the next best investment hub.

Everything Alex Otti is doing in Abia State is a model of what the Biafran Agitators want for an independent Biafran Nation (or Igbo Nation). He came and gave hope to a people who had lost every ounce of hope in the Nigerian leaders, both at the State and Federal Government levels.

I suppose that this is enough reason for detractors of Ndi Igbo to put together a plan to forestall the progress and investment in Igbo land, which Abia State was marketing. So the BBC, an anti-Igbo imperialist media house, in cahoots with corrupt politicians, and socialites (political jobbers) prepared an interview, to use insecurity to de-market Igbo land – this coming some days after supposed “Unknown Gunmen” killed soldiers in Aba.

The handwriting is there on the wall, for anyone with a genuine sense of history and political analysis, to read. Igboland is currently being attacked economically, with foreign and local politicians using stage-managed insecurity and media propaganda as the major tools of warfare.

Many others have insisted that the interview by Cubana Chief Priest was likely part of a deal he made with the APC government to avoid being sent to prison by the EFCC for his Naira defamation case. This is relatable and believable because the courts dropped the charges against him, just around the same time he granted the interview on BBC.

So, the onus is now on us Ndi Igbo, to be awake to the realities of Nigeria’s Local Policy towards Ndi Igbo. Scrutinize every news coming from the Media Outlets, because most of them are under the payroll of politicians in government, and from observed history, the Nigerian Media is always ready to paint Igbo land in bad light. 

A Detailed Analysis Of The insecurity in the Igboland

The interview of Pascal Chibuike Okechukwu, popularly known as Cubana Chief priest, by the BBC was hailed by many Nigerians as the truth, and he was right to say that Igboland was not secure for businesses and investments. However, many Ndi Igbo disagreed with his opinions, citing his views as a planned attack on the economy of the region, which despite the coordinated insecurity it has suffered, is safer for business than many other parts of Nigeria.

We do not deny that the East has had its fair share of security challenges for almost a decade now. However, Igbo billionaires are still in the East doing their businesses and expanding their investments, with Innoson Chukwuma (Founder of Innoson Motors) as a credible example. And a host of others, mainly importers, whose business empires are domiciled in Nnewi, Onicha, Aba, and other towns of Igboland. 

Now to the truth about the insecurity in Igbo land.

The last few months and years have seen a phenomenal increase in insecurity in Igbo Land. To our greatest shock, the once peaceful cities of ani Igbo are now shadows of themselves, due to the incessant kidnappings, robberies, and attacks on government institutions and private businesses, among other crimes that have filled the news in recent times. 

According to an article that I wrote in February of 2023 titled ‘The Insecurity In Igbo Land – An Overview Of The Genesis, The Players, And The Solution,’ I clearly stated that “The insecurity in Igbo land today is multidimensional, ranging from the nefarious activities of Fulani terrorists and herders to the proliferation of light and heavy arms used by emboldened criminal gangs in their kidnappings and killing, and also the sponsoring of violence by local and foreign politicians (and state agents) targeted at making the East unsafe, and also pinning the crimes on the Biafran agitation (which IPOB is leading).”  

It all started with ‘The Fulani Herders And Terrorists Attacks and Kidnappings.’ Igbo land seemed invisible to the jihadists and their chaos, till around 2014/2015 when the AK-47-wielding Fulani attackers started to make profound moves into the East. In the years that followed, they became more daring in their attacks. Of course, the silence of their brother, President Muhamadu Buhari emboldened them in the months and years that followed. They invaded various communities with their cattle and destroyed the farms and livelihood of Ndi Igbo, raped our women, killed our young and old, and dared the communities to do their worst. The people cried out, but the security agencies turned a blind eye, with no words coming from the president, Muhamadu Buhari, and his northern-filled National Security Council. 

These Fulani Terrorists continued their Jihad with no one coming to the aid of Ndi Igbo, till 2020 when IPOB launched the ESN (Eastern Security Network) to counter the Fulani terrorism in Igboland. Two weeks after this announcement, the Nigerian government immediately swung into action to locate and destroy the ESN, which they saw as a threat to the Fulani-led government’s authority and interests. The government also believed that the ESN was set up as an armed group to fight for the restoration of Biafra since IPOB (the mother body) is agitating for Biafra.

The search and attack on ESN formations and bases that followed, simply showed that the Federal Government of Nigeria was not ready to fight the Fulani terrorists in Igbo land, and was willing to stop the ESN from defending Ndi Igbo. The attack on ESN bases, led to the Orlu crisis the following month January 2021.

On January 22, 2021, in search of ESN operatives and their camps, Nigerian soldiers invaded Orlu. In their usual reckless manner of handling Igbo civilians, they killed one person and burnt down eight buildings. They would leave to come back three days later and kill five more people, who were alleged to be ESN members. Reports say that the Nigerian army also suffered casualties. The army left, and in the following days, was replaced by the Nigerian Air Force which used planes and helicopters in its operations. The same planes and helicopters they refused to use in combing the forests in search of the murderous Fulani herdsmen were used in the search for ESN – a para-military outfit created to secure Igbo lives. 

The hunting of ESN has continued over the years till this day, with the Nigerian forces arresting and killing many Igbo youths who are believed to be IPB members. This forced many young men to desert their hometowns and sources of livelihood and became gullible to be recruited by armed robbery and kidnapping gangs.

The insecurity in Igboland would be heightened by yet another catastrophic set of events around 2020-2021 when hardened criminals were released from prisons in the East and other nearby states.

The security situation in Igbo land in 2020/2021, around the point of confrontation between the ESN on one side and the Nigerian Military and Fulani terrorists on the side, was already taking dangerous turns. Attacks on Igbo civilians, businesses, and government properties were now commonplace. Many in Nigeria blamed it all on IPOB, while others with a keen observation called them FALSE-FLAG operations by politicians to pin the chaos on IPOB and Ndi Igbo in general.

In October 2020, during the End Sars protests, which rocked Nigeria for about two weeks, there were two successful prison breaks, and multiple police station attacks (in the East). Armed men who took advantage of the chaos from the protests broke into three prisons (Nigerian Correctional Services Centre) – In Edo and Ondo States, while the third attempt in Lagos was foiled. The two successful jailbreaks saw a total of 2,051 inmates escape from prison. 

On the 5th of April 2021, another prison break took place, but this time, in Owerri, Imo State. A well-equipped and trained armed group arrived in pickup trucks and buses carrying machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and rifles. They gained access to the prison yard by using explosives to create an entrance through the administrative block. In this prison break, the armed group released more than 1,884 inmates from the Owerri Correctional Centre (Prison). 

These three major prison breaks, we believe, were what left the South, especially Igbo land, with a high number of hardened criminals. As a result of the already deteriorated security situation in the Eastern States, these criminals found fertile ground to come in and carry out their nefarious activities. More so, the over 1,800 criminals that were released from the Owerri prison are enough to cause crippling damage to the security of the East, in the absence of serious efforts by the police and army to secure the lives and property of Ndi Igbo. 

The ‘Destruction Of Police Stations In Igbo Land During The #Endsars Protests’ also added to the worsening security situation in the region.

In Anambra, it was reported that the angry mob burnt down 11 police stations, killed 4 policemen, and burnt 20 police vehicles. In most of these cases, the mob carted away some police rifles. In Enugwu, the mob attacked 5 police stations and killed two cops. The mob also burnt down multiple police Hilux and other properties. In Imo State, the mob reportedly burnt and destroyed police stations. In Ebonyi, the mob burnt 10 police stations and other police properties. It was reported that over 3 police stations were destroyed in Abia State. 

Then entered the reign of the “Unknown Gunmen.” As the days and months went by, they became bolder and started to attack government facilities and security agencies, in an organized and professional manner. And as they did, many supporters of IPOB clapped for them, thinking that they were the calvary who had come to boot out the Nigerian government, for a smooth coming of Biafra. But they were wrong – they were clapping for the same enemies who were on a mission, and criminals using the chaos to dislodge the security apparatus in the region.

As the supposed “Unknown Gunmen” started to be bold in their attacks, every media outlet in the country pointed their fingers at IPOB. Even in cases where IPOB stated that they were not responsible, the government, without investigations, will blame the attacks on IPOB, almost immediately after the attack. We then entered an era of social media verdicts, devoid of any real investigations. Anything the brown envelope media houses or social media influencers reported was to be accepted as the facts.

This pattern of organized and professional attacks continued all over Igboland, and many people started to sense foul play in the manner and professionalism of the attacks and the almost instant verdict of IPOB as the attackers. So, at this point, many intelligent people started to opine that the attacks were “False flag operations” carried out by the government security apparatus.

One major factor that has played a role in the insecurity in Igboland was/is ‘Political Rivalry, Killings, and Assassinations. ‘ One such example of political rivalry that leads to the death of politicians is the beheading of an Anambra State lawmaker, Okechukwu Okoye, in May of 2022. He was kidnapped and later beheaded, and his head was dumped in Amichi, in Nnewi South. As usual, social media was agog with blame on IPOB, but the governor himself pointed to criminal gangs as the perpetrators of the act. But investigations reveal that the killing might have been politically motivated, given that Soludo had just been sworn in as the Governor, and there were still tensions in the political atmosphere. 

Another case of politically motivated insecurity in Igbo land was the assassination attempt on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, a lawmaker representing Anambra South senatorial zone in the country’s upper legislative chambers, and his aides, as they were returning to Ifeanyi Ubah’s hometown, after attending a function, on the 11th of September 2022. Different stories and speculations around the cause of the attempted assassinations were given by various sources, but the summary of it all points to a politically motivated assassination attempt. 

One recent politically motivated security disaster in Igbo land was the well-coordinated attack on the Akokwa residence of Ikenga Ugochinyere, the PDP candidate for the Ideato Federal Constituency, of Imo State, on the 14th of January 2023. Ikenga Ugochinyere is also the spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP). The assassins came to kill him but did not succeed. They succeeded however in burning his house and numerous vehicles and killing his uncle including other people in the compound. He accused the Imo State Government of the attack on his life. Ikenga’s convoy was also reportedly attacked on December 23, 2022, by men whom he identified to be agents working for the Imo State Government.

The list of these political rivalries that were blamed on IPOB and Igbo civilians is countless. When added to the various factors and players above, makes Igboland a region battling to save itself from foreign within and without. But despite these challenges, the Igbo survival spirit lives on, and Ndi Igbo have continued to do business in these chaotic conditions, investing in their home and working towards a more economically viable Igbo land.

To read the 15-Pages investigative report titled “The Insecurity In Igbo Land – An Overview Of The Genesis, The Players, And The Solution”, CLICK HERE.

This Article Was Written By Chuka Nduneseokwu, Editor-In-Chief, Voice Of The Sun

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