Spread the Message of Self-Determination

World history is replete with instances of human enslavement during which the self-determination rights of the enslaved were stripped by their masters as a necessary step in perpetuating the subsisting master-servant relationship.  Brutal and costly wars have been fought, especially in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North Africa, within the past century by powerful empires and nations in order to retain or expend their capacities to suppress and deny the self-determination rights of indigenous peoples.

At the conclusion of World War I (WWI), the geopolitical map of Europe and the Middle East was redrawn in order to reflect the emergence of new nations who regained their rights to self-determination after the collapse of Austro-Hungarian, German and Ottoman Empires whose armies were defeated in that costly and bloody war. After World War II (WWII), many more new nations emerged out of the ruins of collapsing imperial powers of Europe that had colonized other indigenous peoples in Asia, Africa etc.  Self-determination has become a universal principle in the modern era as a prevalent doctrine of the post-colonial era.  The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted by the UN General Assembly during its 61st session in its Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007, and subsequently published in March 2008.  The UN describes the Declaration as an important standard for the treatment of indigenous peoples that will undoubtedly be a significant tool towards eliminating human rights violations against the planet’s hundreds of millions of indigenous peoples and assisting them in combating discrimination and marginalization.

The UNDRIP is a culmination of longstanding efforts made by indigenous peoples inhabiting all parts of the world to get much-needed attention to their grievances and aspirations as well as to generate popular support for their political agendas on a global scale.  As one would expect, the UN Declaration resonates powerfully with indigenous peoples worldwide while some national governments, particularly those with track records of malfeasance to the their vulnerable minority elements, opt to remain oblivious or indifferent to its intended impact.

LNC-USA, as the Diaspora extension of the Lower Niger Congress (LNC), is the veritable engine that drives the self-determination movement of the indigenous peoples of the Lower Niger who see themselves as currently engaged in a master-servant relationship with the Nigerian state. Our mission is to promote and foster self-determination of the indigenous peoples of the target area, in particular and among ethnic nationalities which inhabit other parts of the colonial creation that metamorphosed to become the Nigerian state of today.