Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)
IPOB are the original inhabitants and owners of the Lands and Communities of Biafra and Biafraland spanning centuries of tradition and historical ancient cultural ties.They are presently located in the areas called South East, some parts of South South and Middle Belt of Nigeria. They are simply under occupation, servitude and modern day slavery under the Hausa-Fulani controlled Nigerian establishment.
Brief History
On May 30, 1967, a new nation was born. Fourteen million people had taken their destiny into their own hands and embarked on the task of building a nation free from fear, bitterness and hate. Their sole aim is to develop their innate capabilities and rear their children in an atmosphere of peace and security. They stretch their hands of fellowship to all nations and appeal for understanding, friendship and co-operation.
The Country
The country, Biafra, is an almost rhomboid shaped territory which is demarcated to the west by the lower reaches of the River Niger and its Delta, to the East by the Obudu plateau and the Highlands of Oban and Ikom, to the south by the Bight of Biafra and to the North by an administrative boundary following, approximately, the 7 deg. N. latitude. The total area is over 29,400 square miles. Thus Biafra, almost as big as Gambia and Sierra Leone put together, is bigger than Togo or Rwanda and Burundi combined, and is four times the size of the Republic of Israel.
The People
According to the census conducted in November 1963, the population of the Republic of Biafra was 12 .4 million. The figure rose to over 14 million due to the return of Biafrans following the crisis of 1966 in the former Federation of Nigeria. The present population of Biafra, therefore, equals the total number of people inhabiting the West African states of Togo, Dahomey, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia put together. In the whole of Africa, Biafra is now the fourth largest in population, exceeded only by Nigeria, the C.A.R. and Ethiopia, and equalling Congo Kinshasa. However, her population density of about 500 persons per square mile is the highest in the whole of Africa. The significance of this factor in terms of economic development and potentialities is obvious.
A tradition that has become generally accepted divides the population of Biafra into four main tribes; a division which accounts for ninety-eight per cent of the total population inhabiting the country, namely, the Ibos, the Ibibio-Efiks, the Ijaws and the Ogojas. But, in fact this is an oversimplification introduced by people foreign to Biafra. Until the above classification, the people of the territory did not live or regard themselves as homogenous “tribes” differing one from another; rather, they lived in towns and villages each of which regarded itself as distinct although in many cases linked to its neighbours by a mythical or real ancestor. Thus, the people now known as Ibos thought of themselves as Awka, Bende, Aro, Ngwa, etc.; the Ibibio-Efiks as Uyo, Itu, etc.; the Ijaw as Okrika, Ibani, Kalahari, Nembe etc.; and the Ogojas as Ekoi, Akunakuna, Boki, etc.
