President Muhammadu Buhari
Abia appeals to IPOB, MASSOB to end protests
The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the calls to use military force to crush the growing agitation for Biafra rebirth being championed by members of the pro-Biafra movements.
The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the calls to use military force to crush the growing agitation for Biafra rebirth being championed by members of the pro-Biafra movements.
The call is coming just as the Abia State Government on Tuesday called on pro-Biafra groups to bring an end to their agitations as their message has been “well communicated and their voices heard nationally and internationally.”
In a statement issued by Ohanaeze Youth Council and signed by its National President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Secretary, Okwu Nnabuike, said any use of force would be counterproductive.
The Nigeria Army has been engaged in saber-rattling and waiting to receive order to “crush” the pro-Biafra protesters while some elements in the North have even called on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the South-east and South-south zones in order to deal with the Biafran agitators.
In a statement issued by Ohanaeze Youth Council and signed by its National President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Secretary, Okwu Nnabuike, said any use of force would be counterproductive.
The Nigeria Army has been engaged in saber-rattling and waiting to receive order to “crush” the pro-Biafra protesters while some elements in the North have even called on President Buhari to declare a state of emergency in the South-east and South-south zones in order to deal with the Biafran agitators.
But the OYC asked Mr. President “to ignore all those pushing him to declare state of emergency in South-east because of Biafran agitation” noting that the issue of Biafra agitation could still be resolved without recourse to force.
The group therefore advised the president “to see wisdom in positively engaging the protesters through dialogue with a view to finding a permanent solution to their agitation.
The group therefore advised the president “to see wisdom in positively engaging the protesters through dialogue with a view to finding a permanent solution to their agitation.
“Proponents of state of emergency in South-east do not wish Nigeria well because Nigeria may not survive Boko Haram insurgency in the North and another military engagement in the South; dialogue remains the best option,” the OYC said
The group insisted that any military option would only lead to the loss of innocent lives of Nigerians, noting that such action would be “portraying the president as a military dictator, which he is not.
“We believe that Mr. President has all it takes to cement the unity of Nigeria by carrying along all the federating units and sorting out all the knotty issues on the table of dialogue as a democrat.”
While appealing for calm among the restive Ndigbo youths OYC reiterated its hope Buhari would give Ndigbo their rightful place in the political equation of the country, and appealed for calm among the agitators.
Meanwhile, the OYC has said it would on Tuesday next week convene a meeting of Igbo youths stakeholders in Enugu to discuss and find solution to the wave of pro-Biafra protests in South-east and parts of South-south.
The OYC leader said the meeting has become necessary in view of the ominous signs in the polity hence the need to arrest the situation before it grows into a conflagration.
According to him, “youth leaders of all communities in Igbo land including Igbo – speaking communities in Delta and Rivers States, all youth wings of town union executives, and youth leaders of all political parties in South-east. Others include leadership of all student unions in tertiary institutions in South-east, all traders associations in all markets in Igbo land, representatives of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and its sister Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as well as Diaspora coordinators of Ohanaeze youths.
However, the Abia State Government in a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Godwin Adindu, said it was high time the pro-Biafra groups, namely the IPOB and MASSOB
“They should give peace a chance and wait for the reaction of government,” he said.
“Government observed that though the protest has been largely peaceful in Abia state without any incident of violence, it actually disturbed the socio-economic life of the state, hence the need for the pro-Biafra groups to change strategy from street marches to peaceful negotiation with the federal government,” the CPS said in the statement.
The Abia government also stated that “the entire South-east cannot afford another militancy” and therefore urged the agitators to discontinue their street marches to avoid a situation where “it would be hijacked by troublemakers and detractors of government.”