If I Lose My Life in This Struggle, So Be It - APM Oge Nkere

On August 8, 2025, Acting Prime Minister Oge Nkere of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) delivered a powerful and impassioned speech on X Spaces, igniting a renewed fervor in the struggle for Biafran independence.

His words, steeped in conviction and defiance, echoed the unyielding spirit of a people who have endured decades of marginalization, oppression, and state-sponsored violence at the hands of the Nigerian government.

Nkere’s speech was not just a rallying cry but a profound challenge to the international community—particularly the United States—to confront Nigeria’s transnational repression and support the Biafran cause. His declaration, “If I lose my life in this struggle, so be it,” encapsulates the ultimate sacrifice he and countless others are willing to make for the dream of a sovereign Biafra.

If I Lose My Life in This Struggle, So Be It: APM Oge Nkere’s Call to Action for Biafran Liberation

Nkere’s speech centered on the ongoing plight of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, whose kidnapping in Kenya in June 2021 and extraordinary rendition to Abuja stands as a glaring example of Nigeria’s flagrant disregard for international law.

The Kenyan High Court’s ruling on June 24, 2025, declaring Kanu’s abduction and rendition illegal and unconstitutional, vindicated what Biafrans have long asserted: that Kanu’s detention is not a legal process but a politically motivated act of state-sponsored terrorism.

Nkere rightly praised Kanu’s courage, noting that his leadership has galvanized millions to demand self-determination. Kanu’s broadcasts, which Nigeria has used to justify charges of terrorism, were calls to protect Biafrans from systemic violence and Fulani incursions, not incitements to chaos. Yet, Nigeria’s government continues to hold him in solitary confinement, defying court orders for his release, including the Nigerian Court of Appeal’s ruling in October 2022.

Nkere also highlighted the targeting of BRGIE’s Prime Minister, Simon Ekpa, who faced “questioning” in Finland—an act widely perceived as another attempt to silence Biafran advocates through international collusion.

Ekpa’s detention during BRGIE’s historic Declaration of Biafran Independence in Finland in November 2024 underscores the lengths to which Nigeria and its allies will go to suppress the Biafran movement.

Nkere’s promise that BRGIE will ensure these sacrifices are not in vain is a testament to the resilience of a movement that refuses to be cowed by intimidation or betrayal. His warning to “saboteurs” within and outside the Biafran community is a reminder that unity is paramount in this existential fight

At the heart of Nkere’s speech was a profound question: “What people were we 100 years ago?” This rhetorical challenge cuts to the core of Biafran identity. Before the British amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914, the Igbo and related tribes of the Southeast—collectively Biafrans—existed as distinct peoples with rich cultural, economic, and political systems. The forced integration into a colonial construct called Nigeria stripped them of autonomy, setting the stage for decades of marginalization, culminating in the genocidal Biafran War (1967–1970), where over five million lives were lost.

Nkere’s assertion, “We are Biafrans, we will live as Biafrans, and we will die as Biafrans,” is not mere rhetoric but a reclamation of an identity that predates Nigeria’s artificial borders. His declaration that “nobody born of a woman can stop Biafra” reflects a deep-seated belief that the Biafran spirit is indomitable.

Nkere’s call to “invest in your freedom, invest in your country” likens the struggle for Biafra to a business venture where sacrifice yields liberation.

This metaphor resonates deeply in a region rich in human and natural resources yet plundered by Nigeria’s oil exploitation and neglected by a government that prioritizes Fulani hegemony over equitable development.

The Biafran struggle is not a call for war, as Nkere emphasized, but a response to the war Nigeria has waged through economic deprivation, military raids, and political suppression. The formation of the Eastern Security Network by Kanu was a defensive measure against Fulani herdsmen’s violence, not an act of aggression, despite Nigeria’s attempts to paint it as terrorism.

The United States, as a global advocate for democracy and human rights, must heed Nkere’s urgent plea. The silence of the U.S. government in the face of Kanu’s illegal rendition and ongoing detention raises questions about its commitment to justice.

Nkere’s testimony to the U.S. Congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in July 2025 detailed Nigeria’s transnational repression and called for sanctions, visa bans, and the cessation of bilateral aid until Kanu is released and granted safe passage. His February 2025 engagements with U.S. lawmakers further pressed for recognition of Biafra’s independence, following BRGIE’s self-referendum and declaration in 2024.

The U.S. cannot claim ignorance, as its embassy in Abuja is well aware of the atrocities against Biafrans

The Biafran struggle is a litmus test for the international community’s resolve to uphold self-determination and human rights. Nigeria’s actions—abducting Kanu, targeting Ekpa, and ignoring court rulings—expose a regime that operates with impunity.

Nkere’s willingness to die for this cause should awaken the world to the urgency of Biafra’s plight. The U.S. must act decisively: impose sanctions on Nigerian and Kenyan officials complicit in Kanu’s rendition and recognize Biafra’s right to exist.

To ignore this call is to enable Nigeria’s ongoing genocide and betray the principles of freedom and justice.

Biafrans are not asking for charity but demanding their inherent right to self-governance.

As Nkere declared, the cost of freedom may be high, but the cost of inaction is far greater. The world must stand with Biafra, or history will judge it complicit in the silencing of a nation’s cry for liberation.