Chief Chekwas Okorie, founder of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Convener of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue, has called for the reassessment of the geopolitical or regional makeups of Nigeria, noting that the agitation in the South-east region can be achieved through peaceful means.
In a statement on Wednesday, tittled “Special Appeal to Biafran Agitators” the elder statesman stated that as recently as 14th September 2026, the leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Welsh met to formulate a joint initiative to exit from the United Kingdom.
He said in the same token, the geopolitical or regional zones in Nigeria may take similar initiatives to redraw the political map of Nigeria or seek outright exit without violence.
He described the situation of the people of the South-east region as ” painful and unbearable” insisting that the demand for self-determination is within their inalienable rights ” I wish to state unequivocally that all our people who are pushed by our painful and unbearable situation in Nigeria to embark on, and demand for our self-determination in Nigeria or outright exit for a separate state of Biafra are within their inalienable rights to do so.”
Mr Okorie however advised the Biafra agitators to review their strategy in seeking self-determination, point out that there are over 100 active groups accross the world seeking to separate from the country they belong.
“Our leader, the General of the Peoples Army, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led the Biafran Armed Forces to successfully resist the war of annihilation mounted on the people of Biafra (1967-1970) was granted presidential pardon in 1982 by President Shehu Shagari. He returned to Nigeria from self exile and lived out the rest of his life with his people until 2011 when he joined our ancestors.
“The resumed struggle for a separate state of Biafra has been prosecuted in several different ways by multiple groups since 1999 when MASSOB first emerged to 2012 when IPOB took the center stage under the leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“There are many other groups that sprang up along the line with similar objectives for approximately 27 years. I only wish to point out that the time to review the strategy, tactics, and methodology in seeking our quest for self-determination, freedom, and place of pride in Nigeria has come.”
He called on prominent Igbo leaders and well-meaning Nigerian to appeal to the Nigerian authorities to apply political solutions and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Igbo political prisoners to foster national reconciliation.
“I appeal to our people in the name of God to deploy the advantage Almighty God has so graciously granted us and make a resounding political statement and secure the unconditional release of our son Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his colleagues without having to kow-tow to anybody that will ridicule and insult us in the process.” He said.
READ FULL STATEMENT
Special Appeal to Biafran Agitators
As recently as 14th September 2026, the leaders of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Welsh met to formulate a joint initiative to exit from the United Kingdom. In the same token, some geopolitical or regional zones in Nigeria may take similar concerted initiatives to redraw the political map of Nigeria at the fullness of time without violence.
I wish to state unequivocally that all our people who are pushed by our painful and unbearable situation in Nigeria to embark on, and demand for our self-determination in Nigeria or outright exit for a separate state of Biafra are within their inalienable rights to do so.
It is on record that the president of Nigeria Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, in the past, stated boldly and publicly that he did not believe in one Nigeria. He made this statement, which was widely published in Nigerian newspapers when he lost faith in the unity and oneness of Nigeria. Some years later, he became the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without being restrained as a result of disowning Nigeria in the past.
Our leader, the General of the Peoples Army, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who led the Biafran Armed Forces to successfully resist the war of annihilation mounted on the people of Biafra (1967-1970) was granted presidential pardon in 1982 by President Shehu Shagari. He returned to Nigeria from self exile and lived out the rest of his life with his people until 2011 when he joined our ancestors.
The resumed struggle for a separate state of Biafra has been prosecuted in several different ways by multiple groups since 1999 when MASSOB first emerged to 2012 when IPOB took the center stage under the leadership of Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
There are many other groups that sprang up along the line with similar objectives for approximately 27 years. I only wish to point out that the time to review the strategy, tactics, and methodology in seeking our quest for self-determination, freedom, and place of pride in Nigeria has come.
There are over 100 active groups struggling for separation from the country they belong to in the world today, and only a few have the chances of referendum.
On June 19, 2021, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, was abducted at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi and flown to Nigerian on June 27, 2021.
The extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya and his unending efforts to obtain justice from the Nigerian courts have been infuriating and provocative to a cross section of the Igbo people in Nigeria and abroad.
Prominent Igbo leaders and my humble self as well as well-meaning Nigerian statesmen have appealed to the Nigerian authorities to apply political solutions and release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Igbo political prisoners to foster national reconciliation.
These appeals have been treated with contempt and ignominy. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains the symbol of Igbo dilemma in Nigeria. The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Senator John Azuta-Mbata, on two separate occasions, spoke the minds of the entire Igbo Nation when he stated that it is the Igbo people that are in prison for as long as Mazi Nnamdi Kanu remains in prison.
All efforts made by the late Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to pay a courtesy visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with a delegation of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to seek a political resolution of this matter was rebuffed without the minimum respect of replying to Chief Iwuanyanwu’s letters.
The Senator Azuta-Mbata led Ohanaeze Ndigbo has also not been received by the President on this matter that is of great concern to Ndigbo.
In about four months, Nigerians will be going to the polls to elect a new set of leaders and representatives at all levels in a general election. This democratic exercise happens once in four years in Nigeria.
God has given us a large population and an outstanding geographical spread in Nigeria. There is no state in Nigeria that the Igbo people can not muster at least twenty-five percent of the voting population.
Similarly, Igbo people constitute the second largest population by ethnicity in thirty-one states, and the FCT and ninety-nine percent of the population in the Southeast geopolitical zone. Population and spread are the most potent force for political power and relevance. When effectively deployed, we will regain our respect in Nigeria and secure what is due to us without firing a shot.
I appeal to our people in the name of God to deploy the advantage Almighty God has so graciously granted us and make a resounding political statement and secure the unconditional release of our son Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his colleagues without having to kow-tow to anybody that will ridicule and insult us in the process.
God bless Ndigbo.
By Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie.
