The leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has stated that Israel has a responsibility to ensure that Biafra stands as an independent nation in Africa.
He said this in an interview moderated by one Adam Rotbard on an Israeli television station and shared on the interviewer’s Facebook page.
He said, “Israel has to live up to their obligation to defend Judaism and Jewish faith all over the world. We are being persecuted. We are suffering as a people and I believe it is the responsibility of Israel to make sure that Biafra stands as an independent entity in Africa.”
Kanu claims that over 50 million Igbo people practice Judaism. He said, “Biafra has over 70 million people scattered all over the world. They have called us the wandering Jews of Africa. Those that identify themselves with their Jewish heritage are about 50 million people.”
When asked if this number of people practised Judaism, he said, “Yes, in terms of their prayers, in terms of the Torah that they read. A significant number of the population practise Judaism as we do in IPOB.
“When Christianity came with colonialism, a lot of our Jewish practices were suppressed. We were made to feel ashamed of our Jewishness.
“We want to go back to the way we were before the British came. Most of our problems were basically made by the British.
“We want an independent Jewish State, a Biafra that is absolutely independent of anything that has to do with Nigeria, for the simple reason that we were independent before the British came.
“There is a paranoia that, should Biafra get closer to Israel, 70 million people would somehow flock to the land of Israel, but that is not the case. We are seeking Biafra, so we can get and return to Biafra.
Kanu also alleged that the Nigerian Army tried to kill him. He said, “Nigerian Army came to my house to kill me. They killed 28 people in the process.”
When asked why he wasn’t killed, he said, “My people evacuated me before they could get to me. And they smuggled me out of Nigeria.
“I would say, I’m relieved that I managed to make it to the only place that I feel safe in the whole world (Israel). I could have gone back to England, but I still don’t feel safe enough to go back to England.”
