A group, Nka Ikemesit Mkparawa Essien Efik Duob-Eba, reportedly domiciled in the palace of the Obong of Calabar, has given the Head of Igbo community in Calabar, 7 days to leave the town or face consequences.

DAILY POST reports that the order addressed to the leader of the Ndibo Community, Eze Ndigbo, was contained in a statement issued on Thursday.

The statement signed by the Chairman, Ekpo Ekeng, Vice Chairman, Adim Ekpenyong Adim, Secretary, Ekpenyong Bassey Ekpenyong and Assistant Secretary, Christy Edem Bassey Edem, was made available to DAILY POST.

The group lamented the insult allegedly meted on the Obong of Calabar by the Eze Ndigbo.

The group accused the Head of Igbo community of claiming to be the Obong of Calabar whereas he is not.

“For insulting the Obong of Calabar, calling yourself or making yourself the Obong of Calabar, when Obong of Calabar is on the throne we give you 7 days to leave the town,” the group fumed

It was learnt that the incident allegedly occurred during the award given to Innoson Motors on the 27th March, 2021, at the University of Calabar.

Yoruba can’t create a problem and run away from its consequence -Zik Gbemre

Zik Gbemre, National Coordinator, Niger Delta Peace Coalition, said, “I don’t support disintegration of Nigeria, be it Oduduwa Republic recently declared for the Yoruba nation. Even if their declaration will not hold water because of the division amongst the Yoruba elites, disintegration is not the solution to address the many problems of Nigeria.

The major problem of Nigeria is Nigerians themselves, including those calling for secession. Until we change our distorted attitude and mindset, especially regarding public service, we will only be making the situation worse when we disintegrate because it will be the same set of people that will become leaders of any separated republic. It will be same politicians that will govern a seceded Yoruba Republic. Thus, leaving Nigeria solves nothing, it only compounds the problems because it will then be spread on a project of smaller areas.

This reality applies to other ethnic groups/regions of the country that may be nursing the idea of exiting Nigeria if Yoruba succeed, which I doubt they will. If their reason for wanting to leave Nigeria is because of the bad leadership of President Buhari APC-led Government, which is evident in the misrule of the last five years and the promotion of Fulani hegemony over the whole nation, then Yoruba must also answer the question of who made Buhari presidency possible?

Who elected Buhari President of Nigeria? Certainly not the Ibos, not the South-South, when we consider the votes from these regions in 2015 and 2019. It was Yoruba votes that contributed to bringing in this government upon us. As noted by a veteran journalist, if Nigeria is becoming a failed state because of Buhari, Yoruba have a hand in it. You cannot cause a problem and then run away from the consequences. That is what asking for Oduduwa Republic now means.

The bottom line is, a united Nigeria is far better than a disintegrated one. All the calls, past and present, for disintegration are provoked by bad leadership. All that is required is good governance, and the people should demand it. Good governance encapsulates everything; accountability, obedience to rule of law, social justice, to prudent use of the nation’s collective wealth for the good of all. Good governance will drastically reduce the evident poverty and lack in the land. And it will also reduce all the unnecessary agitations by the people that are trying to tear the nation apart.”

In his own reaction, Community leader and historian in Sapele, Dr Vincent Ekariko said, “Sunday Igboho, the Yoruba youth activist is an attention seeker and he does not know what he is saying. Secession is something that has become a song for sometime now but all of those who are calling for secession now, do they know the implication of it? The Yoruba should caution Igboho on the comments he is making,does he even know how Nigeria came to be? He should therefore be called to order”.

We need restructuring, not secession

Also reacting to Igboho’s declaration, Edo state based ethnic group; Benin Solidarity Movement (BSM said that though the position of Igboho was borne out of the realities of insecurity in Nigeria, it believes that restructuring and devolution of powers and not secession was the way to go. President and founder of the group; Elder Curtis Ugbo said Nigeria should go back to a regional arrangement on the basis of the six geo-political zones to reduce the over concentration of power at the centre just as he carpeted the kid gloves the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has adopted in tackling insecurity allegedly being perpetrated by killer herdsmen.

He said: “For me, that is not the way to go, what we need now is restructuring, regional government; let us reduce the power at the centre, let every region have their own power to manage their resources themselves and give little to the centre.

Though I will not blame Igboho for making such a declaration because with the insecurity situation and the presidency not doing anything about it, anybody could feel that way and may want to leave the system when few people are engaged in criminal activities across the country and nobody is doing anything about it. We have been coming all the way from 1960 when we had our independence and we have never had it bad like this.

What we really need as a people right now is regional government. Let every region take care of their needs with their resources, then a little percentage goes to centre not the way it is now where all the powers lie in the central government, it is wrong. For the regional government we are proposing, the states will exist but the geo-political zones would have their prime ministers that would liaise with the presidency on issues like defence, economy, foreign affairs and other critical areas while the National Assembly and the Senate would now be meeting at their regional levels to administer the regions. We desire a system that would decentralise the current structure we have that is over centralised. That means we will have six prime ministers meeting with the presidency on behalf of the zones.”

In the South East, while some Igbo stakeholders supported the declaration, others differed on the approach, while yet others preferred restructuring and regional autonomy to outright secession.

We need to discuss peaceful dissolution of the country

Reacting to the development, the traditional ruler of Abriba Ancient kingdom in Abia State, HRM Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu ( Enachioken Abriba), backed the declaration, saying he himself was “a strong believer in self determination”. The monarch said that Nigeria as a country, had lost direction hence the rising agitations for self rule by various regions in the country.

His words: “We don’t have anything left as a country, so, let’s sit down and discuss the peaceful dissolution of the country. We need to sit at a round table and discuss this union whether or not to continue together as one entity. For now, there is no nation. However, it’s not the best for any region to just get up and walk away. That’s why we need to come together and renegotiate the basis of our union”.

Only implementation of Aburi Accord will bring peace to Nigeria

Another prominent Abia monarch, HRM, Eze Godson Ezekwesiri (Ochi1 of Isuochi), commended the Yoruba group for the bold step. He argued that self determination was an inalienable right of man which should not be suppressed.

The monarch said Nigeria’s leaders should stop pretending but listen to the genuine yearnings of the masses and for once address the root cause of instability in the country. According to him, the only solution to Nigeria’s myriad of woes is the implementation of Aburi Accord entered into by former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon, and the late Biafra Warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

His words: “Aburi Accord is the only thing that will bring peace to Nigeria. Yoruba have the right to declare their sovereignty. I wish them success. Let them go ahead! There was an agreement between us before the civil war but they sabotaged Biafra. But what they have done now is good. In fact, their action will make Biafran agitation stronger. Biafra is already gone, what remains is just the baptism. But I’m disappointed by the lack of unity among Igbo leaders. They should support the demand of our youths.

Regional autonomy preferable to fragmentation of the country

But former Speaker, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa rather preferred restructuring or regional autonomy with weak centre to fragmentation of the country. Ohuabunwa however noted that the declaration and the growing clamour for self autonomy by other groups were indications that the people were disenchanted with the Government of the day.

According to him, “it shows people are disenchanted and have lost hope in Government. They feel they will be better secured if they stand on their own. It shows that people are disappointed and restructuring is the only answer. People are angry, and you can’t beat a child and ask him not to cry. But I advise that we don’t disintegrate. I rather support restructuring or devolution of power and not disintegration. This is an opportunity for Government to call the various self determination agitators together for a dialogue. If we come to a round table first, then from there anything can happen. First we need to agree to disagree, and not to disagree without agreeing first.”

No other option but to restructure

In the same vein, the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL shared Ohuabunwa’s view, arguing that a restructured Nigeria was preferable to fragmented Nigeria. COSEYL President, Goodluck Egwu Ibem, contended that Nigeria could still work if restructured. He said, “For now we are still talking of restructuring and not secession. We want Nigeria to be restructured and they have no option but to restructure this country for the good of all”.

National dialogue better than unilateral declaration for self determination

The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Abia State, Apostle Agomuo, also spoke in favour of national dialogue than unilateral declaration by various self determination groups. He advised various groups agitating for independence to carry the critical stakeholders in their region along to avoid hasty mistakes. “The necessary stakeholders should be involved. They should allow the leaders to come on board. It’s not what you achieve with gun but negotiations. There should be no bloodshed”, he said.

Vanguard News Nigeria

ON MARCH 27, 2021

…Say it’s a plot to negotiate 2023 presidency

…They can’t create problem and run away from its consequence

…Actualizing self determination must follow due process

…Whoever thinks Nigeria will disintegrate is dreaming

…We need restructuring, not secession

…It’s time to renegotiate our union

…We can’t ignore Yoruba agenda of self determination

By Samuel Oyadongha, Yenagoa; Festus Ahon, Asaba; Egufe Yafugborhi, Port Harcourt; Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo; Ozioruva Aliu, Benin City; Chinonso Alozie, Owerri; Steve Oko, Aba and Paul Olayemi, Sapele

Yoruba activist and promoter of self determination for Yoruba ethnic group, Mr Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho declared last week Wednesday that Yoruba were no longer part of Nigeria and announced the birth of a new nation, Oodua Republic.

He cited grave injustice done to the South West region by the central government and wondered if Yoruba have now become slaves in Nigeria.

He dared Yoruba politicians to campaign publicly for any elective post under the present arrangement. The new leader of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo had stated in an interview that the elders in the region were finding it difficult to restrain their youths from expressing their frustrations in the way they were being governed while restating his stand on restructuring of the country.

Other stakeholders in the Nigerian project from the South South and the South East regions however welcomed the birth of Oodua Republic with mixed reactions. While some described it as a joke carried too far, others argued that it should serve as a wakeup call for the political leaders at the centre to do the needful and restructure the country.

It’s sponsored smokescreen to negotiate 2023 Presidency -NDRA Darlington Nwauju, Spokesman, Niger Delta Rights Advocates said, “Igboho’s declaration crystallizes the greed of the Yoruba political elite who are creating a smokescreen situation in order to negotiate the 2023 Presidency. This was nearly same method applied pre-1999, although it came via different circumstances that drew national and international sympathy. For me, Igboho is serving the interest of some Yoruba elites who are simply engaging in a power game. How come this Igboho suddenly became a Yoruba champion after the End-SARS protests and has gained so much media prominence? Whose interest is he actually serving? The Yoruba are going nowhere. Igboho is a creation by the Yoruba elite to negotiate for power.”

Oodua Republic: Plot to bargain for 2023 presidency

In his own reaction, the National President of Ignoring National Council, INC, Chilos Godsent, described the declaration of Oodua Republic by Sunday Igboho, as a plot by the Yoruba to negotiate themselves into power. The INC president said that there was nothing to show the seriousness in the declaration as it was not possible to declare a nation without forming a government.

According to Godsent, “The position of Sunday Igboho in the declaration of Oodua Republic, from our own perspective, looking at the historic antecedents of the Yoruba, we see it as a political bargain for 2023 presidency. One, there are formalities for the declaration of a sovereign nation, but those formalities have not been followed.

You don’t declare a nation just by coming to the news media to announce it. He has declared a new nation but still using the currency of the old nation and living in that same nation, he is still obeying the laws of that nation. Why has he not constituted his own government. No president, no cabinet members. This is just a child’s play, these are some of the antics some of these self determination groups deploy to negotiate themselves into the mainstream politics.”

It’s time to renegotiate our union

Iniruo Wills, President, Ijaw Professionals Association (Homeland Chapter) said: “Nigeria as it is, is the creation and hand-down of a colonial force. It is in the urgent interest of all parts of this colonially contrived entity to start a process of negotiating freely amongst themselves on the basis of their continued coexistence or interrelations.

Nigeria is currently a failed project. It is time to renegotiate the country into a successful and prosperous nation. Sadly, only the leaders and political authorities of the South South and South East regions are sleeping on this looming reality, as they have failed till date to instigate internal consultations that can throw up a strategy for positively reinventing Nigeria. If you are sleeping, you can’t blame your neighbour for being awake.”

We should ignore all these anti-democratic forces

Joseph Ambakederemo, Convener, South South Reawakening Group, said: “We should ignore all these people whom I will refer to as self seekers. This has become a recurring decimal in our body polity because they rear their ugly head whenever we approach a critical election year.. We should remind these anti democratic forces for what they are.

Sunday Adeyemo is another scam just like Nnamdi Kanu and Asari Dokubo who are out to scam the gullible amongst us. We shouldn’t dignify them with any response. Sunday Igboho is not the one to speak for the Yoruba nation as we know it neither is the like of Kanu or Dokubo to speak for their respective ethnic races. We, in the South South region have passed through this path before and what did we achieve even when our own son in the person of Goodluck Jonathan became President? What did he do differently to benefit the region? We can recall that Goodluck said then that he would not be the one to balkanize Nigeria in the heat of the same agitation that has reared its ugly head again. Nigerians should not be hoodwinked by the actions of these alarmists.

The Ekiti State Governor while reacting to the quest for the creation of the so called Oduduwa Republic asked rhetorically if the Ekiti man would cohabit with the Egba man and same for others in the South East and other regions. If one may ask how much of accountability have these proponents of breakaway held their various governors to account. Our position in the South South Reawakening Group is for a peaceful coexistence and oneness. Respect for each other, love for one another. One indivisible Nigeria is what we must promote at all times.”

People are suffocating in different areas of national life

Eric Omare, immediate past President, (IYC) worldwide, in his reaction said: “I think what the declaration or whatever it is called translates into is that all is not well with Nigeria and Nigerians. People are suffocating in different areas of our national life from security to economy, social interactions etc, but the authorities have not provided the opportunity to express the frustrations; hence the declaration by different groups.

The frustration is not limited to the Yoruba people alone but all over Nigeria including northern part of the country. So my view is that it is a clarion call on the present Federal Government to take the appropriate steps to engage Nigerians with a view to addressing the issues that have given rise to the declarations. But I have serious doubts if this government would listen because they seem not to care about public opinion.”

Actualizing self determination must follow due process of laws

A constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Dr Akpor Mudiaga-Odje, said: “Indeed, our constitution provides for freedom of expression which includes the right to self determination and which also is in sync with resolutions of the United Nations. A declaration by Igboho in principle is acceptable within that context. However, taking steps to actualize that self determination and declaration must follow the due process of our laws.

To that extent, I condemn any violent move to enthrone such a declaration. What is expected of the regions seeking such, is to sensitize their people and constructively engage the Federal Government within the context of our Constitution to realize their aspirations. I am an unrepentant advocate and proponent of restructuring and/or regionalism. Niger Delta has been in the front burner of this justified agitation. So I am in support of the legal agitation for regionalism or ethnic self determination of the different peoples of the Nigerian State.

“The inequalities and inequities in Nigeria is too much and too much. We the microscopic minorities who produce the resources of this nation are being oppressed ceaselessly by the mammoth majority who produce nothing to our coffers. In that light, I strongly support the struggle for resource control and management, including regionalism and fiscal federalism within the four walls of our Constitution”.

We can’t ignore Yoruba agenda of self determination

Also, a former Governorship aspirant in Delta State, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, said: “As for me, with the way the country is going, we are over due for a true and defined federalism. The simple truth is there’s a simple and calculated national conspiracy by a certain group and ethnic stock that has concluded an agenda dominating other ethnic groups in this country. As for the Yoruba, there’s nothing wrong to declare their republic as a nation.

The United Nations Charter of belonging together as a country is there for everyone to decide. You can’t ignore the Yoruba agenda of self determination. Like I keep saying and will like to stand for, what we need today without minding the slightest intention to be patronizing is 100% true form of federalism like the America standard. As for me, I will not subscribe to total breaking of the nation but I will support total true federalism without any intention attached”.

Whoever thinks Nigeria will disintegrate is dreaming

A former Presidential aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Mumakai Unagha, said: “I have been following the developmental trend in the face of self determination proclamation by Sunday Igboho of Oduduwa republic and the statement credited to Alhaji Asari Dokubo for which his people denied him. There are more to the proclamation as it goes beyond that. The proclamation of the Independent state of Oduduwa cannot hold when the vast majority are not in support.

An individual cannot wake up from his slumber declaring a self sovereign state. It goes beyond that for any part to break away, there must be round table talk where it would be agreed that such part is desirous of going its way. Mr. Sunday Igboho’s proclamation is a mere registration of his presence in the national scene.

When Ojukwu wanted to break away, which led to the 1966 civil war, it received the blessing of the entire Igbo nation both at home and in the diaspora, I don’t know if the declaration by Igboho enjoyed the support of the entire Yoruba nation including traditional rulers. Igboho will be arrested and the same Yoruba will be sent to do the job.

The various components clamouring for independent state or republic should have a second thought. To me, I think what should preoccupy our mental thinking is restructuring which we are pushing for as the only solution. Anybody who thinks Nigeria will disintegrate is dreaming, we should synergise our efforts on restructuring. It is the same Yoruba leaders that will betray Igboho and in fact hand him over to the Nigeria government for prosecution.

If the country wants to break, there should be a round table agreement. As for me we need one another, unity is strength of the nation. No section can go it alone, we need one another with a caveat that there must be equity, justice and fairness”.

Igboho’s agitation for Oodua Republic a mere distraction

Critical stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State described Sunday Igboho’s declaration of Oodua Republic for the Yoruba nation as a mere distraction, saying that there were more important issues requiring attention of the country presently including the issue of insecurity.

Reacting to the development, a former member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Eseme Eyiboh said he would not want to give credence to what Igboho was doing because Yoruba have more matured, more experienced and reasonable people. Eyiboh pointed out that since Nnamdi Kanu said he was going to have Biafra Republic where has that struggle taken him to even after putting in place Biafra currency and Radio Biafra.

His words, “I don’t know what makes Igboho an activist. We should not allow things like that to distract us from issues of insecurity in parts of the country. We should not even give attention to issues like that because, there are a lot of things we should give attention to. What this country requires now is how to provide opportunity for everybody. This country requires available employment. We should not give the declaration attention because it does not deserve it”

Similarly, a public commentator and activist, Mr Mfon Peters expressed concern that Nigerian youths only embark on such struggle for monetary gains and attention and recalled that after Uwazurike and Asari Dokubo got attention they pulled out of their secession struggles. “I am tired of all these distractions in Nigeria. My position is that such struggles in Nigeria are pursued from a very selfish point of view. Igboho is only seeking attention and when government gives him that attention he will dump the struggle like others have done”, he stressed

..........

‘We’ve invested so much in Nigeria’ — Yoruba elders disown Igboho over secession bid

March 24, 2021

by Olufemi Atoyebi

Kunle Olajide, secretary-general of Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), says Sunday Adeyemo, a Yoruba youth leader popularly known as Sunday Igboho, does not represent the Yoruba people in his call for secession.

Igboho had recently said Yoruba is no longer part of Nigeria, calling on people of the ethnic group residing in the north to go back home.

Speaking with TheCable on Wednesday, Olajide said Nigeria would be stronger if it remained as a unit.

He said the Yoruba people had invested so much in Nigeria’s formation and unity, and it would be unwise for them to seek secession.

Olajide said: “It is his (Igboho’s) personal desire but the present circumstances in our nation do not favour and will not make it achievable, and the fact that Yorubas have invested so much in the unity of this country and in the making of Nigeria. The tribe cannot choose to opt out without any adequate plans.

“I am not aware that the Yoruba nation or citizenship has given a mandate to anybody to desire their extinction from this country. So it is not a decision that can be taken by an individual or a group of individuals.

“Anybody who is familiar with the history of Nigeria will know that we have been together for over 100 years, even before the British came and we have Yorubas all over the country just as we have other Nigerians everywhere.

“It is not something that you can declare by fiat. In any case, our diversity in this country and our population are our strengths. Fragmentation and dismemberment of this country cannot be in the best interest of anybody.”

‘YORUBA ARE ANGRY’

Olajide said the Yoruba people are angry over the “ethnocentric nature” of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

He, however, noted that the ethnic group remains part of the country.

“Yes, all of us, especially the Yoruba nation, are angry about the ethnocentric nature of the present administration that appears grossly insensitive to the cries of maginalisation from all parts of this country. Whatever the hidden agenda it is, the agenda is bound to fail,” he said.

“But we are still part of this federal government that we are so much against because of the way it is being run. The vice-president is a Yoruba man, we have ministers and governors so I don’t think anybody can ignore those Yoruba leaders and go ahead to make a pronouncement that is not in the interest of Yoruba nation and Nigeria in general.”

Olajide urged Igboho “and some of those who believe in him to exercise patience”.

‘IGBOHO CAN’T SPEAK FOR YORUBA’

Igboho had also said Yoruba monarchs and elders were behind him in his quest for secession.

But the YCE secretary-general said there was no platform where the traditional rulers met with Igboho.

Olajide maintained that while Igboho has a right to pursue whatever objective he desires as a “full grown adult”, he cannot speak for the entire Yoruba people.

“Igboho is a full grown adult, he is not a teenager so it will be wrong to believe that he does not know the country he is in,” he said.

“I have spoken to him once or twice on the telephone but he is completely free to make his decision. But to make it on behalf of the entire Yoruba is what I seriously fault, it is not in order.

“I read his stories in the media and saw him on the television and social media but I am not aware that any such meeting has been held.”

The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Thursday met the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as part of ongoing efforts to further pacify members of the Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers in Nigeria who called off their strike on Wednesday.

While the strike lasted, members of AUFCDN had blocked the movement of cattle and foodstuffs from the Northern part of the country to the South.

But they called off the strike on Wednesday following the intervention of the governor and a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode.

Their President, Muhammad Tahir, had said the strike was called off following the Federal Government’s promise to pay N4.75bn compensation, stop multiple taxes and ensure protection of their members, among others.

Emerging from the meeting where he briefed the President on the development at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday, Bello said the traders were not asking for too much.

“I don’t think they are asking for too much. If those demands are met, or at least, attempts have been made to meet those demands, and if they can graciously respect Mr President, respect us and sympathise with Nigerians and call off their strike and begin the supply of food and other items to all parts of this country, I think it behoves on us to also meet them midway so that there will be no such occurrence again,” the governor said.

Justifying the demands, Bello noted that while they were carrying out their legitimate business, criminals hijacked the process, killed them “in their hundreds” and destroyed property worth billions of naira.

He added, “Those that were killed, their families, the properties that were lost, where are they going to start from?

“They are demanding that the Federal Government should do something and remember they have gone round the country, met various authorities and you know, they never received any attention. Hence, they embarked on that particular strike.”

Bello said the President had already directed law enforcement agencies to ensure that traders were no longer extorted.

He recalled that before the strike was called off, the crisis was already degenerating into what he called “a major national catastrophe” where some other parts of the country were gearing up for reprisals.

The governor added, “We cannot afford to allow this country to snowball into civil war again, not this time around.

“We are so much interwoven that we are inseparable, again. By marriage, business investments, politics, and every other form of development, Nigeria is so much interwoven that we shouldn’t allow few bad elements, however, lowly placed or highly placed, come and divide us again.

“So, I think that if the Federal Government or the authorities take responsibility and do or attend to it (the demand), I think such a strike will not repeat itself again.”

The governor also denied insinuations that his intervention was because of his 2023 presidential ambition.

He said some people had been calling on him to contest the presidential election in 2023, saying such calls were within their rights.

He, however, said he currently had an assignment to govern his state well.

Niwdog:
Has Ipob owned up to the attacks
Useless Igbo group

Attacks On Police Station: IPOB Taking Separatist Struggle To Extreme – Igbo Group

Some respected Igbo elders who operate under the aegis of Conference of Concerned Igbo Elders for Peace and National Unity, has criticized the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for recent attacks on police station in Abia State, which resulted in the death of two officers and burning of the station.

According to the Igbo Group, IPOB is gradually over stretching its luck by taking its struggle too far, engaging in indiscriminate destruction of lives and property.

They called on relevant authorities to deal decisively with the separatist group, insisting that the current level of force being deployed may not be enough to curb their violent excesses.

According to the elders, decisive force was required at this time, considering recent events, which suggest that IPOB was determined to undermine security and peace in the South East, which is an integral part of the country.

To buttress their point, the Igbo elders drew attention to the attack on security operatives within the Orlu council of Imo State, warning that the proscribed group may likely carry out more daring attacks, unless urgent action was taken to deter them.

Recall that accusing fingers have pointed to IPOB as being behind Tuesday’s attack on Abayi police station in Aba, Osisioma Ngwa local council of Abia State, which resulted in the death of two police officers and burning of the station.

While condemning the violent campaigns of members of the separatist group, the elders called on Igbo sons and daughters at home and in the diaspora,to dissociate themselves from the group, with a view to sending a strong message across, that IPOB does not represent the views of Ndigbo.

They reminded the public that the IPOB remained a “terrorist organisation”, having regard to an order of a federal high court in Abuja, which proscribed its activities, at the instance of a request by the federal government.

In a statement on Friday, which was jointly signed by its National President, Mazi Prof William Okocha,and National Secretary, Barr Miss Irene Chizoba, the group threw its weight behind the call by Ohanaeze Ndigbo for a review of the recent appointment of Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari.

While harping on the application of federal character principle in making sensitive appointments, the concerned Igbo elders decried what they considered was growing exclusion of the South East in national affairs.

The statement reads in part: “We use this opportunity to call on the military and other concerned authorities to bring the full weight of the law to bear on the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, in a manner that will ensure the restoration of permanent peace and order to the South East region.

“As respected elders committed to national unity, peace and cohesion, we rise in condemnation of the violent activities of IPOB, which we hasten to note, are not a representation of the Igbo.

“Ndigbo are peace-loving and peace-building people, whose commitment to the national cause is irrevocable, regardless of the negative tendencies of a few deviants, who have constituted themselves into cogs in the wheel of progress.

“Now is, therefore, the time for all well-meaning Igbo sons and daughters, to condemn the wicked activities of IPOB, to drive home the point that they do not have our endorsement – tacit or open.

“How long shall we allow IPOB to lead this campaign of destruction against our collective will, before we rise against them with all our might and strength?

“While the dust raised by their attack on security operatives within Orlu and its environs was yet to settle, we woke up on Tuesday to witness the mindless attack on Abayi police station in Aba, Osisioma Ngwa local council of Abia State, which claimed the lives of two officers.

“Apart from IPOB, we also want to raise serious concerns over the continued exclusion of our zone from national issues, the latest being the non-consideration of any military officer of Igbo extraction for appointment as Service Chief.

“The Conference of Concerned Igbo Elders for Peace and National Unity observes that this trend has been amplified under the current administration in the country”.

Residents say the attack on the Anambra community was carried out by suspected members of IPOB.

By Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo February 19, 2021

Six children have been killed in an attack on a community in Anambra State.

The children, all under 10 years old, were killed during an attack on a Fulani community in Oba, Idemili Local Government Area.

Residents said the attack was carried out by suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), amid escalating ethnic tensions in Nigeria.

Members of the community told PREMIUM TIMES they would not retaliate as they are trusting the security authorities to deliver justice to them, with the host community and state assuring of solidarity and assistance.

The attack happened on Tuesday evening but the facts were slow to emerge and PREMIUM TIMES just confirmed on Thursday evening.

Horrific photographs obtained by PREMIUM TIMES show the deceased children savagely macheted and one said to be just one-year-old, burnt.

Also, the background of the photographs shows razed homes. The impact of the attack suggests children were targeted or that they were only killed because elderly members of the community were absent at the time attack was carried out.

PREMIUM TIMES also obtained a short video showing the remains of the children wrapped in white cloths ready after they were washed and before internment according to Islamic tradition.

Following the attack, the community is now displaced.

Surviving victims are now taking refuge inside the army barrack in Onitsha, the patriarch of the community, Dogo Isa, army sources, and Mahmud Imam, who has seen the displaced persons, told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday.

All the six children were buried inside the barrack, Mr Isa said, a claim corroborated by other sources. Mr Isa said the oldest of the slain children was six-year-old.

The police spokesperson for the state, Haruna Mohammed, said he was not aware of the attack.

An IPOB lawyer and spokesperson, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, said, “I am not aware of this one” when contacted on Thursday.

Names of the slain children as disclosed by Mr Isa are:

1. Nasiru Laminu, two years old;

2. Sirajo Ali, two years old;

3. Zainabu Mutmeru, four years old;


4. Aminu, two years old;

5. Mairo, six years old; and

6. Maryam, one year old.

Mr Isa said nothing happened to their cattle because it was in the evening when the animals had been herded to the stream.

He said he has been in Anambra State for 43 years but, on Monday, he was called by a person, who asked him and his extended family to leave the community.

“The person told me I should take my family to the north because the Fulani are no longer wanted in Igboland,” Mr Isa said. “They said they gave me one day to leave. But around 5 p.m., on Tuesday, I was called that I should come home. Then, I met six of our children dead and my house razed. All of us had to leave to stay in the barrack here.

“I have begged the soldiers to help me get the man that called me to take him to the police.”

IPOB

Led by a fugitive, Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB is agitating for the secession of the Igbo from Nigeria, decades after late Odumegwu Ojukwu first mobilised the nationalist aspirations of the ethnic group to break away, resulting in a 30-month civil war (1967-1970) that led to the death of millions.

With years of bad governance and the government’s failure to address the challenge of national integration, secessionist agitations were reawakened by IPOB, leveraging people’s anger against the state.

In 2017, Nigeria proscribed IPOB and declared it a terrorist organisation amid a major standoff with the army in Abia, the home state of Mr Kanu.


The group has rejected being labelled a terrorist organisation saying its actions and demand for secession are peaceful. But it recently established a formation called Eastern Security Network, which it said would protect the Igboland “against Fulani herders.”

Criminal herders have been involved for a long time in deadly conflicts with farmers across the country – and recently in cases of abductions for ransom.

But communities in southern Nigeria have recently declared readiness to resort to self-help against the Fulani herders, bringing even the innocent among them at risk of indiscriminate violence.

The IPOB-linked Eastern Security Network is currently the target of a “not-so full military operation” in Orlu axis of Imo State.

In Oba area, fear of a Fulani reprisal has risen, a local police source said.

Mr Isa said the host community leaders had been calling to sympathise with him and assure him of solidarity. He said he should let security authorities handle the matter instead of resorting to self-help.

PREMIUM TIMES could not speak with any of the local leaders but a soldier corroborated Mr Isa’s account.

“They said they heard that some Fulani were coming to attack but I have told them that it is not true and no Fulani will attack them in retaliation but they should help us find the person that called me and those that attacked us,” Mr Isa said.

Rapper Illbliss has taken to Twitter to lament over the segregation among Igbos in the country.

Illbliss who advised Igbos to rally around each other and show each other genuine love and support devoid of state of origin, stated that the seed of discord is sown when people segregate.


He tweeted;

DONT You know they call us Wawa people? Keep away from him. He is not to be trusted. Imo and anambra people are dangerous. They almost stole our state. They think they are better than us. >>> Seeds of discord sown in so many. So much for being one igbo

Had a friend growing up in enugu. We were close. He is from enugu state and I from imo although I was born and raised in enugu. One day I overheard his father (a man I had so much respect for) saying to him..." why are you friends with this boy?" Don't you knw they hate us?

Nigerians unite when their national pride and dominance is threatened. Fela has to top that list and we ensure he tops that list. So much for ethnic divides and tribal sentiments. Thats how leadership keeps us distracted. Apply this to everything you do

Everyone can do with a bit of kindness and encouraging sincere and truthful words. Be nice to people. Genuinely!

BOTTOM LINE... lets always see the big picture regarding being IGBO. Rally around each other as much as we can and show each other genuine love and support devoid of our states of origin. also share that love with every one else from other tribes. there is greater love in that.

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) on Wednesday said it was certain that former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode had concluded his defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

MASSOB in a statement made available to DAILY POST, described the move as an act of betrayal on the part of the former minister.

The statement signed by Comrade Uchenna Madu, Leader of MASSOB, said Fani-Kayode took the decision in order to enable him campaign for APC, leader, Bola Tinubu.

Ever since the former minister visited APC leaders, speculations are rife that he is on his way out of the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Reacting, MASSOB said, “he has been romancing with the APC politically since mid last year after Bola Tinubu convinced him to stop criticizing President Muhammadu Buhari’s clueless administration.

“Fani-Kayode’s inroad to APC is primarily to support and campaign for the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu as a fellow Yoruba man. They are working seriously even to convince other top Yoruba leaders, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Wole Soyinka, to support the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu for the sake of Yoruba political interest in Nigeria.”

He added that, “the second reason for Femi Fani-Kayode’s defection to APC is to campaign for the former president Goodluck Jonathan if Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition crashes.

“Goodluck Jonathan will soon declare for APC because of the promise and assurances given to him by the Northern caliphate. These political arrangements and strategies will fail because Nigeria is heavily pregnant, only the people of Southeast will determine if she will live or die because we hold the lifewire of Nigeria.”

He added that, “MASSOB is not against APC, neither does it support PDP. We have respected Igbo leaders in both APC and PDP whom we equally respect. APC and PDP should not push the people of Southeast to the wall because Ndigbo holds the survival and destruction of Nigeria.

The destruction of Nigeria will never affect Ndigbo but it will totally destroy the Fulani and their Hausa collaborators, even the Yoruba will not survive it.

“The Northern caliphate can no longer dictate the political future of Nigeria again. The political reality of 2023 will prove them wrong because Ndigbo will take another political dimension that will determine the next step for Nigeria.”

The pro-Biafra group advised Igbo leaders associating with Fani-Kayode “to exhibit extra care because Fani-Kayode is a core full blooded Yoruba man who always hates everything about Igbo. He is a betrayer. He can never support an Igbo man to be president of Nigeria. He is an unrepentant political sadist against Igbo interest.”

8th February 2021

By Ada Ada

Fani-Kayode identified that he met the President during one of his campaigns to assume the Presidential seat.

According to a video shared by Ex-president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s aide Reno Omokri, the Former Senator and Aviation minister was heard as he shared what President Buhari told him about the Igbo people.

President Buhari was told that Fani Kayode was outspoken and bold and this resulted into further discussions. Fani said that Buhari told him that “Igbos are people we shouldn’t trust”.

Fani-Kayode asked why he didn’t chose any tribe from the Southwest or even South South but the Igbos.

Fani added as he used Nnamdi Kanu’s case for an example, if he was to be appointed as Vice-president, he made it known that after serving his term Nnamdi will still return to square one.

Femi Fani Kayode therefore suggested if the Igbos aren’t given the chance to fight for their rights, then they should breakup.

As regards the statement shared by Fani Kayode, I hereby caution the President because out of every tribe or culture, there are bad people.

#Fani Kayode

kingsavage:
It will end in 2023

johnmartus:
Oga I have never see where igbo kill Yoruba or where igbo kidnapped Yoruba people.

Fulani herdsmen are notorious .