Against the (Neo)Colonial State: IPOB and the Radical Potential of Secession

Can secessionist movements in Africa be conceptualized as forms of anti-(neo)colonial resistance? This article studies this question in relation to the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) movement in Nigeria. It adds nuance to the dominant interpretation by African secessionism and conflict scholars that characterize IPOB as ethnonationalist and destabilizing. While these are components of the movement, this article theorizes that IPOB’s secessionist project also strategically deploys a critique of the (neo)colonial Nigerian state. This critique is emancipatory in orientation but simultaneously deployed alongside polarizing and exclusionary politics. Through a content analysis that uses structural topic modeling (STM) alongside qualitative readings, this study analyzes changes in the topical themes of over 250 speeches given by movement leader Nnamdi Kanu on his Radio Biafra broadcast from 2013 to 2019. It finds that Kanu’s discursive strategies include anti-(neo)colonial narratives and recurring themes of liberation from the Nigerian state and its international allies. The findings provide a nuanced view of IPOB as a movement that uses several and, at times, contradictory rhetorical instruments in pursuit of its broader secessionist objectives. Notwithstanding, its adoption of anti-(neo)colonial resistance should not be overlooked.