A Lagos homeboy and top member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) politician, Joe Igbokwe, has once again condemned the call for a separate Biafran state. He warned that the agitation, if not stopped, would destroy the South-East region.
Igbokwe made his remarks in a post on his official Facebook page. He described the sit-at-home protests and the demand for Biafra as unwise and harmful.
“I wrote the Book, IGBO: 25 Years After Biafra in 1995 they did not listen. I wrote IGBO: 50 Years After Biafra in 2020 they did not listen,” Igbokwe wrote.
“I have written hundreds of articles that these senseless agitations will destroy SE they did not listen. I am done.”
Sit-at-Home Order Grounds Cities in South-East
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ordered a sit-at-home order on Friday across the South-East to mark Biafra Day 2025. The order was largely obeyed in major cities across the region.
The group did not link the commemoration directly with the agitation for a separate state, but merely to honour the millions dead during the bloody three-year civil war.
In Umuahia, Abia State capital, streets were deserted. Shops were closed, and people remained indoors. Only a few tricycles and private vehicles moved on the roads.
Similar scenes were recorded in parts of Enugu, Owerri, Onitsha, and Aba. Markets, schools, banks, and businesses did not open for the day. Security presence was minimal in many areas.
The IPOB leadership had announced the sit-at-home days earlier, urging residents to remain indoors to honour those who died during the Nigerian Civil War between 1967 and 1970.
Igbokwe Calls for Unity and Progress
Joe Igbokwe, originally from Anambra State, has long been vocal about his opposition to the Biafra movement. He believes the region should focus on development and integration into the Nigerian federation instead of pursuing secession.
He said efforts to revive Biafra would harm the region’s economy and push away investment. Igbokwe urged Igbo leaders and youths to work together to build a stronger future within Nigeria.
Although his comments have attracted both support and criticism over the years, he has remained firm in his position.
“I am done,” he said, showing frustration that his past warnings have been ignored.
Yet, Biafran agitation remains a fringe idea in the South-East. Mainstream Igbo political thought is to forge closer ties with the rest of Nigeria. Even at that, it often complains of systemic political and economic marginalisation of the region by the central government.
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