Is it possible that foreign powers may be scheming behind the scene to carve Nigeria into bits for their own interests?
It is looking possible as news which indicates that separatists in Nigeria who are fighting to dismember the country are receiving support from foreign powers.
Already, Britain, a former colonial power which took responsibility for Nigeria after the 1885 conference that partitioned Africa has entered the spotlight as a major global power which might be aiding the destabilization of an African country,
Incidentally, Nigeria which is part of the Commonwealth led by Her Majesty the Queen of England is at the receiving end of a British decision that might further worsen the situation in the South East where Nnamdi Kanu and other leaders of IPOB are engaged in what they see as a war of liberation.
Britain, reports say, has agreed in principle to grant political asylum to campaigners for the creation of a State of Biafra out of Nigeria.
The Dailypost.ng, an internet based publication first broke the news that members of IPOB and MASSOB wanted in Nigeria would henceforth be granted asylum in the United Kingdom.
The action which is being seen in diplomatic circles as a paradigm shift in British foreign policy in relation to Nigeria has come as a great shock to the Federal Government.
Although not much is known about the reason for the British action, Nigerian officials are seeing Britain’s move as an endorsement of internal rebellion against their country.
Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed has described the step taken by the UK as an act of sabotage, saying the British did not show due regard for the security of the country and its ongoing fight against terrorism.
Mohammed said IPOB operatives have been indicted in connection with the current wave of violence in the South East, involving the loss of human lives, destruction of Police stations and the release of prison inmates from a correctional centre in Imo State.
He however expressed confidence in the ability of the Foreign Affairs Ministry to respond appropriately to the situation.
Recall that Britain was one of the countries in the sixties which opposed the Biafran revolt led by Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
Since after the Civil War which was fought between 1967 and 1970, there has been a resurgence of the Biafra demand in the South East, and what is gradually turning into a fight for the control of the soul of the North.
A growing suspicion exists that Arab countries and their ideological differences which have roots in religion might be responsible for the escalating bloodshed in the North East and the North West that is pioneered by Boko Haram and other deadly Islamic groups.
Fingered as part of the Nigerian problem are Saudi Arabia, Iran and of Late, the United Arab Emirate, UAE.
American lawmakers have commenced a heated debate on Capitol Hill over the growing nuisance of the Fulani who appear to have turned their greed for land and the domination of other ethnic groups in Africa into a fashionable pastime in Nigeria.
Growing Fulani expansionism has turned life in Nigeria’s North Central zone into a complete nightmare, with Governor Ortom of Benue State narrowly escaping death.
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB has referred to the situation in the North as an outbreak of war.
He said what was happening in the north has gone beyond insurgency, warning that unless the South seizes control of its destiny, it may be treated as a mere pun on the chessboard.
The British turn around is leading to fears in some circles that former colonial powers and champions of slavery in Africa whose interests in Nigeria may be dwindling might have come up with a plan that would put them in control of the rich oil and gas fields that the Biafrans are fighting to have.
Britain’s foreign policy objectives in the past have suffered huge setbacks in Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa.
Sensing Nigeria has its back to the Wall, this may well be time by the British to give the Nigerians a taste of their own medicine.
Under the Buhari regime, Nigeria appears to be faced with all kinds of problems, with most people in the world, including the Nigerian people describing their country as a failed state.
In the South East, self acclaimed Biafrans thrilled by the British position are celebrating what is seen as a diplomatic breakthrough.
Relations between Nigeria and Britain may not be publicly strained, but their diplomatic ties, given what has happened between them, are not certainly the best at this time.
London has since been dismayed with Nigeria over sundry issues like the recognition of gay rights and Abuja’s growing trade relations with China, which many European experts fear, would take away the evolving market of Africa’s most populous nation away from the grasp of the West.