Ahead of the 2027 general election, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dismissed another round of balloting as incapable of resolving what it described as Nigeria’s fundamental political crisis, insisting that the country needs a referendum rather than another change of political leadership.
The separatist group said the question confronting Nigeria goes beyond who emerges president in 2027, arguing that Nigerians should first be given an opportunity to determine whether they want to continue under the existing political arrangement or negotiate a different constitutional future.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, yesterday, IPOB said the debate should not be reduced to a choice among President Bola Tinubu and opposition figures, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.
It maintained that repeatedly electing different leaders without addressing what it called Nigeria’s foundational problems amounted to “doing same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
According to the group, its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, has consistently placed referendum and self-determination at the centre of the agitation. “The peoples trapped in this colonial construction named Nigeria should determine, peacefully and democratically, the future they want.”
IPOB argued that while an election determines who exercises political power for a specified period, a referendum could enable citizens to decide the constitutional framework under which they want to be governed.
IPOB said such a process should not predetermine Nigeria’s break-up, but should give the people an opportunity to choose among remaining together under a new constitution, adopting another federal arrangement or pursuing self-determination.
It drew comparisons with the United Kingdom, citing constitutional votes held in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The group referred particularly to Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum, the 1997 devolution referendums in Scotland and Wales and the 1998 Northern Ireland vote on the Belfast Agreement.
It also cited the September 14, 2026 memorandum signed in Cardiff by leaders of Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party and Sinn Féin, in which the parties asserted the right of their respective peoples to determine their constitutional futures through democratic means. The Cardiff agreement and its self-determination language have been independently reported.
“If referendum can settle constitutional questions in Britain, why should the peoples of Nigeria be permanently denied the same opportunity?” IPOB asked.
The group also cited a recent symbolic vote in Piddington, Oxfordshire, as further evidence of the use of voting to express views on constitutional or territorial questions.
IPOB sought to reinforce its argument with recent comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Africa’s democratic system.
At the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi on August 11, Obasanjo criticised the Western liberal democratic model inherited by African countries, arguing that it lacked sufficient African context and content. His remarks were made at a forum themed, “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”
The pro-Biafra group also cited former President Goodluck Jonathan’s previous comments on Nigeria’s historical struggle to achieve national integration following the 1914 amalgamation.
It maintained that the approach to the 2027 election presents another opportunity for the country to confront what it considers the more fundamental question of political consent rather than concentrate solely on the personalities seeking the presidency.
For IPOB, the group said, “the issue is not who governs Nigeria, but what political arrangement the people freely consent to live under.”
