The songs of protesters calling for an independent state of Biafra are growing louder by the day in southeastern Nigeria. As the volume increases, so do the tensions within the region.
Agitation for the Biafra region to become an independent state has been growing. In the late 1960s, an attempt by the region to secede from Nigeria to form an independent state led to the Nigerian civil war which lasted for 30 months.
Some estimates put the death toll at two million. People fear that the renewed Biafran agitation could potentially lead to yet another crisis.
Residents of the region, like Ima Umoh, now see themselves as Biafran and not Nigerian.
“I cannot belong to Nigeria. I am a real Biafran woman. I am a Biafran person, come sun, come rain, even if they point a gun to me,” she said.