The Declaration Of Biafra Speech
1428 WordsJan 10, 20176 Pages
This Declaration of Biafra Speech as retrieved on 15 August 2008 raises the issue of ‘Self-Determination’. Self-determination is the principle in international law that allows nations the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international status without external interference. The right of nations to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law, binding, as such, on the United Nations as an authoritative interpretation of the Charter’s norms. It states that nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and fair equity of opportunity have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference which can be traced back to the…show more content… Further feelings of injustice were caused by Nigeria, changing its currency so that Biafra supplies of pre-war Nigerian currency were no longer honoured, at the end of the war; only £20 was given to any easterner despite whatever amount of money he or she had in the bank. This was applied irrespective of their banking in pre-war Nigerian currency or Biafra currency. This was seen as a deliberate policy to hold back the Igbo middle class, leaving them with little wealth to expand their business interests. The total dead on the Biafra side is estimated to be between 1-3 million dead with hundreds of thousands injured and millions more refugees. While the Nigeria "oil boom" of the 1970 's went some way to ameliorating the pains brought about by the war, the ethnic tensions that caused the war still haunt Nigerian politics till today. The question is, ‘Why was Biafra denied their right to self-determination, bearing in mind that genocide existed then’?
From 1999 to the present day, the indigenous people of Biafra have been agitating for independence to revive their country. They have registered a human rights organisation known as Bilie Human Rights Initiative both in Nigeria and in the United Nations to advocate for their right to self-determination and achieve independence by the rule of law.
The United Nations respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live, and they