MASSOB At 15

By Daniel Onyechukwugoziri Ozalla

Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, on 13 September, 2014 clocked 15 years.

This great non-violent movement was formed by her able and dynamic leader Ijele Dr. Ralph Uwazuruike on 13th September, 1999.

MASSOB is one the world’s most formidable non-violent organization; the world’s largest non-violent organization. It’s one of the world most peaceful organization in this decade.

MASSOB has been a very unique and well organized movement which has maintained her non-violent and non-exodus struggle for the actualization of Biafra Republic for these 15 years.

MASSOB has been able to build an international standard befitting headquarters at Okwe in Onuimo Local Government area in Imo State. Therefore MASSOB is not an organization that is hiding in the forest without an identification and clear purpose.

MASSOB has achieved a great fit by relocating the Biafran War Veterans abandoned at Oji River in Enugu State since after the civil war. They had been at Onitsha-Enugu highway begging for a living until MASSOB decided to rehabilitate them and their families at Okwe.

MASSOB built multi-million naira modern houses for each veteran and his family. Each house was well furnished with all the modern house amenities. Before their final relocation from Oji River to their permanent homes at Okwe,  MASSOB’s leader Uwazuruike and the group had been providing food items and other incentives every month for these veterans and their family members for more than five years.

Since the Biafran war veterans have moved to Okwe their permanent home, MASSOB has been spending millions of naira every month on their feeding and their medication with those of their family members at Okwe.

The MASSOB leader has seen to the training of the children of these War Veterans in all levels of their education free of charge.  This is because MASSOB recognized the noble roles their fathers played against the organized genocide against Ndigbo during the civil war.

MASSOB has gone ahead to build a multi-million naira hospital complex for the veterans which will be completed very soon to ensure that adequate and proper medical treatment is given to the veterans and their family members. This is a great achievement which neither past, present South East governors, government, politicians, Ohaneze Ndigbo, nor any other organization in the South East Zone and Eastern Nigeria have done for these great men who sacrificed a lot in their lives so that we might be alive today.

As if these are not enough, MASSOB under her great and able leader is building a gigantic multi-billion naira Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Memorial Library Complex at the New Owerri in Imo State. This is a unique, wonderful architectural edifice of only its kind in the east of the Niger.

This architectural masterpiece is there for everybody to see and admire at the New Owerri which has already started being a tourist centre in Owerri Imo State capital.

The first of this project was mysteriously pulled down by the enemies when the project was nearly at completion stage but MASSOB was not deterred and went ahead to build this present one which is bigger, better and more  excellent than the first one which the enemies pulled down.

MASSOB has another befitting White House – “Temple of Peace” secretariat in Lagos and maintains the staff there.

MASSOB is building international standard multi-million naira guest house complex at Okwe for her members and other guests whenever they may come to Okwe. This multi-million naira project is already at completion and will be commissioned soon.

MASSOB leader has spent millions of naira to fund the famous Radio Biafra London and the staff and their accommodation in London until the so-called staff turned against Dr. Ralph Uwazuruike and MASSOB.

MASSOB has an international secretariat, the famous “Biafra House” in Washington DC, USA capital. MASSOB maintains the secretariat and the staff there till today.

To give honour to whom honour is due, MASSOB spent multi-million naira building thousands of marble tombs for the fallen heroes at Okwe.

MASSOB leader spent millions of naira to hire over 20 luxury buses to evacuate the Easterners from the trouble spots of the Northern Nigeria during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgence in the North.

MASSOB has been spending millions of naira every month maintaining her millions of non-violent security personnel across the nation. This has not been an easy achievement.

MASSOB has maintained her non-violent quest for the actualization of Biafra Republic for these 15 years, despite the killings of her members by security personnel, such intense provocations, ridicule, molestations, humiliation against MASSOB members and her leader.

MASSOB has survived three major coups against the movement since its inception. This last one led by Uchenna Madu and his group has been the third one. But MASSOB still survived all these major coups and waxing stronger to achieve her goals.

Those security personnel who rebelled against the MASSOB leader and against MASSOB at Okwe headquarters were not contributing any amount of money into the MASSOB purse but rather were being paid and maintained from the MASSOB purse. Their anger was that their impunity and sabotage at the headquarters have been discovered and they were transferred to their various provinces. I am using this medium to say kudos to the great and faithful MASSOB members across the nation and across the globe. The lizard said, “he fell from the Iroko tree without his back touching the ground, and if nobody praises him, he will praise himself”.

Much kudos should go to the founder and the leader of MASSOB, Dr. Ralph Uwazuruike, Ijele Ndigbo, Ezeigbogurugburu 2nd. Our able dynamic, committed, visionary and humble leader.

Ijele, gawa na iru, anyi kwu gi n’azu. We believe in your leadership and we are solidly behind you.

To all lovers of Biafra, we appreciate you a lot. The rising sun has come to stay. To Almighty God, be all the glory and honour for the victories, and His grace and mercy so far.

•Ozalla is MASSOB Chieftain, Region A Lagos