The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has explained why he demanded bullets and guns from a group of US-based Nigerians in the past, saying the aim was not to hurt anyone but for self-defense against the incessant attacks on Igbos by the Fulani herdsmen.
According to him, self-defense was recognized by all known laws at the United Nations (UN).
In his interview with Adrian Kriesch of German TV station – Deustche Welle, Kanu said: “I am sure you have heard of the Fulani herdsmen killing people all over the place. How do you intend to defend yourself against Fulani herdsmen without guns and bullets?
“They have been killing our people, raping our women, destroying crops in the farms and no one does anything about it. Is that how human beings are supposed to live?
“Self-defense is recognized even by all the known laws at the UN.
“We are fighting for independence, not fighting physically with guns and bullets. We are fighting in terms of our agitations; we are fighting in terms of our belief; we are fighting in terms of our consistency to ensure that we free, because we are not free.
“As a free people, we can afford to make life better for our people. Right now, we cannot do that because of how Nigeria is structured and because of the flawed foundation Nigeria rests.”
On the referendum, he said: “if the government does not agree to that, there will be no elections in Biafra land. No more elections here.
“They can put whoever they like in office. They can do whatever they like with their political positions. We will not engage in any political process.”
On his detention, he said: “I was not treated fairly because in Nigeria, people behave like animals; they are not disciplined enough; they are not mentally developed enough to run a transparent civil society.
“They have a fiddle mindset where you have the ruling class and a multitude of poverty-stricken people who never utters any word in rebeliion or to even ask questions about their plight.
“That is one thing we are determined to challenge.”
He concluded by saying: “what we are asking the world to recognize is that we want to live in peace and not in pieces. Allow Biafra to exist. We were existing before the British came. Just allow us to go back to what we were before.
“No African came to Europe to create countries. So, for somebody to just come in here and say ‘you, you, you, and you from today your name is Nigeria’ is simply laughable.”
