Can Bianca Ojukwu silence Biafra secessionists in the South East?

In this report, our correspondent takes a look at the ministerial appointment of Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, and its implication on the ceaseless violence as well as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances in the South East in 2027.  ‘Strategic’: That’s the word on the lips of many […]

In this report, our correspondent takes a look at the ministerial appointment of Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of the late Biafran leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, and its implication on the ceaseless violence as well as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances in the South East in 2027. 

‘Strategic’: That’s the word on the lips of many commentators on President Tinubu’s recruitment of Bianca Ojukwu, as designated Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.  

Dr Dipo Awojide, a strategic manager and personal developer, while reacting to Bianca’s appointment on his X handle, @OgbeniDipo, puts it succinctly: “President @officialABAT used one stone to kill three birds with the appointment of Bianca Ojukwu. She has held a similar role previously and did a decent job.  

“Second, this should further unite the country. Third, it might win some folks to his side from her zone. I wish her luck.” 

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Bianca’s political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), where she serves as a member of the Board of Trustees, equally welcomed the appointment as a “wise decision” and one that “transcends partisan considerations and based strictly on merit.” 

If confirmed by the Senate, Bianca, a prominent politician, lawyer and diplomat, will be manning a familiar terrain having served at different times as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ghana, and the Kingdom of Spain. 

In 2011, she was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Diaspora Affairs by former President Goodluck Jonathan. 

As a beauty queen, Bianca is a multiple international pageant titleholder, having won Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Miss Africa and Miss Intercontinental. She represented Nigeria at the Miss World in Hong Kong and Miss Universe in Mexico following her win. 

Born on August 5, 1968, to the former Anambra State Governor Christian Onoh and his wife Carol, Bianca, the sixth child of seven children married the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in 1994. Their union was blessed with three children; Chineme, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu. 

Biafra agitation and violence in the South East

As the widow of the Biafran warlord, the late Ojukwu, who led the war for secession between 1967 and 1970, many analysts say Bianca’s entrance into the federal cabinet is part of the moves to douse tension in the restive South East. The agitation for Biafra has continued 57 years after the Civil War in the region.  

The South East has turned into a theatre of war of sorts with ceaseless killings and attacks carried out allegedly by the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the armed wing of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by Nnamdi Kanu currently incarcerated. 

In 2021 alone, no fewer than 255 people, including security agents, were reportedly killed, while property worth billions of naira destroyed. The killings took place in 72 attacks by hoodlums across the five states in the region – Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi and Abia. 

In the build-up to the 2023 elections, the violence saw killings and unbridled arson on INEC offices escalating in the region. Gunmen abducted, killed and beheaded several people, mainly government officials and security operatives in the region.

At some point, governors of the South East, after an emergency security meeting at the Imo State Government House, announced the setting up of a regional security outfit codenamed ‘Ebube Agu’ (tiger’s glory) in the wake of violent attacks in the region, but to no avail. 

In June 2022, after three months in office as governor of Anambra, Charles Soludo, set up the Anambra Truth, Peace and Justice Commission, to investigate the remote and immediate causes of insecurity in the state and by extension, the South East region. 

The commission, chaired Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, with Bianca as one of the members, submitted its report in May this year. 

While presenting the report, Odinkalu, a former Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, noted that the biggest structural factor in the region’s violence is the political economy of land, not IPOB/ESN. 

“The commission surveyed 66 communities in the state, documenting cases of traditional rulers, security agents, presidents-general and community members who have disappeared and remain missing.” 

Odinkalu emphasised the need to develop a 25-year security strategy to reform community governance and establish an agency for the protection of victims and accountability for violence. 

Despite efforts by government and stakeholders, there are no indications that the attacks will end soon. These killings and attacks have been mounting pressure on the government to find a lasting solution. 

Some leaders of the Igbo have suggested an unconditional release of Kanu to douse tension in the region. The Southeast Council of traditional rulers re-echoed this during a visit to Tinubu recently.

Kanu has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his extradition from Kenya in 2021 over alleged treason.  

How far can Bianca go?  

Although the Tinubu government has been silent on the calls to free Kanu, many argued that Bianca’s appointment might be one of the moves to douse tension in the region. 

But how far can Bianca go in helping the government to restore relative peace in the troubled South East? Does Bianca command the respect of her late husband in the South East?

“Ojukwu has a larger-than-life image, and I think Bianca is working under the shadow of Ojukwu,” a political scientist, Prof Sylvester Odion, told Daily Trust.

Odion, a professor of Political Science at the Lagos State University (LASU), noted that Bianca’s appointment depicted broad national representation and inclusiveness. 

“But in terms of its implications for the Biafra agitation led by Nnamdi Kanu’s group, I don’t think it’s going to have a fundamental impact because even within southeastern Nigeria, you have different opinions as to what they want; not everyone wants a Biafra Republic,” Odion submitted. 

To resolve the regional crisis, the academic said, “…beyond the appointment of Bianca, Nnamdi Kanu should be released from detention and dialogue should take the front burner to resolve the crisis in the East.”                  

Mike Ejiofor, Public Affairs Analyst, told Daily Trust that the appointment was made for strategic reasons, saying Bianca can prevail on the government to release Kanu unconditionally.  

“Do not also forget that the current leader of IPOB has high regard for Ojukwu, who was the first secessionist leader and when she is being appointed now, she might likely use that position to leverage on government to appeal for calm in South East, possibly, you never can tell, she can use her position to appeal to the president to release Kanu unconditionally. 

“These are things that are neither here nor there, but I think it is a political appointment that is strategically made by the president. He has the prerogative,” Ejiofor, a former Director of DSS, said. 

Also speaking with Daily Trust, the Vice President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, described Bianca’s appointment as well-deserved, expressing confidence that she will not compromise the interest of the South East. 

“It’s good to have your people inside. She is well knowledgeable about what we are passing through, she may be in a better position to present it for them (government) to understand. She is a very articulate person. And I strongly believe she is not one of those (people) who can compromise the interests of the South East,” Okeke-Ogene said.

 He also insisted that Kanu must be freed unconditionally as a way of addressing the insecurity crisis in the region.   

“Even if you give the entire South East honey, not sugar, honey; in their mouth, it will taste like bitter leaf. What we need is to release Nnamdi Kanu unconditionally now.

“You can’t say because of one man we are sacrificing the blood of many Nigerians including soldiers, police, innocent children. If Nnamdi Kanu is released today, some of these anomalies can be corrected,” he said. 

Beyond the South East crisis, Tinubu might have appointed Bianca to boost his chances and acceptance in the region, some analysts said.   

Tinubu garnered 5.8 per cent of the votes in the Igbo-dominated region during the last election, while Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) swept the majority of the votes in the region like a hurricane. Obi who hails from Anambra like Bianca polled 89.6 per cent of the votes cast in the South East.

Ahead of the 2027 election, analysts believe Tinubu pulled the strings with Bianca in order to undermine Obi’s influence in the South East. 

But Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and activist, said Bianca’s appointment will not boost Tinubu’s chances in the region come 2027. 

“Even if Tinubu wakes up Ojukwu from the grave and appoints him minister, Igbos won’t vote for him…,” Adeyanju said in a facebook post.