VOA ASIA
As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his second inauguration on Jan. 20, thousands of miles away in Nigeria his return to power has reignited hope among Biafra secessionists. Some view him as a possible ally in their decades-long battle for autonomy – though at least one analyst thinks they should lower their expectations.
On the morning of Nov. 6, Odinaka Nwankwo, a retired footballer, sat on his porch in southeast Nigeria’s Anambra state listening to the results of the U.S. presidential election on his transistor radio.
After a few hours, the news broke that Republican candidate Donald Trump had defeated opponent Kamala Harris.
Nwankwo, a supporter of the Biafra secessionist movement, said jubilation immediately erupted.
“We know that Trump can go straight to them and tell them – resolve this issue of Biafra, if they want to be free, let them be free,” Nwankwo said. “I think that’s the why the southeast is excited about his coming, not that he will give the southeast Biafra, but at least he [is] blunt about issues because he doesn’t know how to play politics.”
[…] Biafra’s separatist communities are now expressing hope that Trump’s presidency, which begins on Jan. 20, could be a turning point for their movement.
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