IPOB Urges South-East Youths to Avoid British Army Recruitment

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has called on youths in the South-East to refrain from participating in the British army recruitment, labeling it as a “deceptive” scheme designed to exploit and abandon them.

IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, emphasized that the warning is crucial due to historical grievances. The group pointed out that many African soldiers who fought for Britain during World War I were neither recognized nor compensated, unlike their British and European counterparts.

In a statement on Saturday, Powerful declared: “The family of IPOB led by its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, warns Biafran youths to shun the deceptive move by the British government to recruit them among the Commonwealth citizens to join their Army to fight their future wars.”

He further explained, “IPOB is calling on Biafran youths to avoid being used as sacrificial lambs by the British government, which has no respect for you or your lives. The British government has commenced the recruitment of Africans to fight their wars as they did decades ago. During WWI, the British and European countries used Africans to fight their wars. By November 1918, the British Army in East Africa was mainly composed of African soldiers.”

“The West African Frontier Force, which included soldiers from Nigeria, especially Igbos and South Easterners, as well as others from Southern Nigeria, the Gold Coast (Ghana), and Sierra Leone, was one such unit. Another was the King’s African Rifles, recruited from Kenya, Uganda, and Nyasaland (Malawi). Over 180,000 Africans served in the British Carrier Corps,” he continued.

Powerful added, “Thousands of these African soldiers who died in defense of Britain were never recognized. At the same time, those who survived the war were sent back to Africa without compensation, whereas their British and other counterparts were adequately compensated and recognized after the war.”

The statement also noted that Britain’s rise to superpower status involved the sacrifice of thousands of Africans. “Similarly, during the 1939–1945 WWII, thousands of Africans were recruited and sacrificed for Britain to become a superpower. The ongoing plan to recruit Africans again, especially Biafrans, to be sacrificed for colonial imperialists will not work.”

The IPOB spokesman criticized the British government’s approach, stating, “The people of Biafra will never be sacrificed for those who don’t recognize us as human beings. We can confidently understand that our fathers fought to save the United Kingdom during the Second World War but were abandoned by the British Government.”

Powerful cautioned against the current recruitment drive, emphasizing: “IPOB is warning Biafrans to shun the ongoing British military recruitment. They don’t mind that they said it’s Commonwealth countries. They are targeting the Biafrans, and we must be very careful. If Britain can have a very strict visa policy for African immigrants, why then do they have a very relaxed and easy application to join the British Army?”

He concluded, “If Africans do not find it easy to migrate to Britain with a work visa, there are no bases to give Africans a flexible visa to join the British Army. Biafrans should not allow themselves to be slaughtered for a nation that doesn’t care about their freedom or existence. The British Government contributed to and spearheaded the Biafran genocide and the continuous subjugation of Biafrans in Nigeria.”

Powerful affirmed that IPOB will not permit its people to be exploited again by Britain for selfish gains: “IPOB will not allow Biafrans to be used again by Britain through the Commonwealth channels to recruit soldiers to war against Russia or any other country. We, therefore, call on the Biafran parents to advise their children against joining the British military recruitment. Also, the Biafran youths should be wise not to join their oppressor’s Army for citizenship or monetary rewards. Do not be a sacrificial lamb for your oppressors.”

The group also urged youths to collaborate with IPOB in the quest for a Biafra they can all be proud of, adding that if the United Kingdom is serious about Biafrans joining them, it must support Biafra’s peaceful and democratic exit from Nigeria and the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who remains in solitary confinement in Abuja.