Practically, Igbo Are More Palestinians Than They Are Jewish

             

By Vitus Ozoke

If only my Igbo brothers and sisters will stop being religious zealots and bigots; if only they will stop seeing and processing everything through the distorted lens and crucibles of religion, they will come to understand that we are Palestinians.

Palestinians are not engaged in a religious struggle. They are not fighting for an Islamic caliphate. No, Palestinians are engaged in an existential struggle for dignity and survival. They are a sieged and occupied people. Palestinians are a people who have been denied dignity and identity.

You think there are too many police checkpoints in Igbo land? Multiply that by 1000. Palestinians are policed in their own land by heavily armed Israeli forces. Palestinian children, if they are not killed before they grow, have no future when they grow. The world, led by the United States and Israel, have conspired against Palestinians. America continues to give $4 billion in yearly aid to Israel, but only $300 million to Palestine. United States sells weapons to Israel but not to Palestine. Does any of that sound familiar? Does any of that sound like the reason the Igbo in Nigeria are engaged in the Biafran liberation struggle? 

Take away the cloak and subterfuge of religion and you will appreciate Palestinians for whom they are: an oppressed and dehumanized people. For decades, the world has been calling for a two-state solution, a safe and secure State of Israel and a Palestinian State that guarantees freedom and dignity to Palestinians. Why hasn't Israel agreed to that two-state solution? Why has Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (a war criminal) continued to defy that solution by continuing to build more Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands?

Some Igbo brethren will ask: But what about Hamas? And my question response will be: But what about IPOB? Hamas is to the Palestinians and the Palestinian struggle what IPOB is to the Igbo and the Biafran struggle - only better. Hamas is the reason Benjamin Netanyahu has not been successful in exterminating Palestine. Hamas provides water, electricity, medicine and healthcare to the poor people of Palestine.

Again, stop this mono-worldview that sees everything in the world through the lens of religion. There are other analytical frameworks. Survivalism is one of them. In their existential struggle for survival, a people may be united by their religious commonality; they may use religion as a rallying cry; but, religion is neither at the root of, nor the reason for, their struggle. In any case, over 20 percent of the Palestinian population are Christians. Go figure!