- Afenifere, IYM warn against bloodshed
The Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has swiftly agreed with the Coalition of Northern Youths (CNY), which in its Kaduna Declaration, order the Igbo to vacate the North within three months. MASSOB stated that the Ndigbo should not wait for the three-month before leaving the region.
Comrade Uche Madu, MASSOB leader, was of the view that the eviction threat did not come as a “surprise.
“MASSOB is aware that such rascality will happen. As a matter of fact, this is the only rascality exhibited by sponsored Arewa youths to forcefully exit the people of Biafra residing in Arewa land,” Madu declared, adding that “MASSOB will 100 per cent support the decision.”
Comrade Madu stated that their Boko Haram tactics didn’t work as planned, declaring: “We pledge our total support towards this divinely approved quit notice.”
“MASSOB congratulates the Arewa political, religious, traditional and opinion leaders who sponsored their youths’ wing by using Arewa House in Kaduna for this greatest meeting of a coalition of Islamic fundamentalist.
“As there is no other alternative to stop Biafra freedom, the northern leaders have resorted to using their youths’ wing to start terrorizing the people of Biafra living in the northern region. What they saw during the sit-at-home exercise to mark the 50th anniversary celebration of Biafra declaration by General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu marveled them irrespective of the promises made to them by their stooges in Biafra land,” Comrade Madu said.
“MASSOB urge our people to start returning home now. Don’t wait till the three months for quit notice to expire. MASSOB is begging our people to re-invest their investments back to Biafra land,” he said.
The Coalition of Northern Youths (CNY), had further declared that from the 1st October, 2017, they shall commence the implementation of visible actions to prove to the whole world that they are no longer part of any federal union that should do with the Igbos.
“From that date, effective, peaceful and safe mop-up of all the remnants of the stubborn Igbos that neglect to heed this quit notice shall commence to finally eject them from every part of the North,” the northern youths coalition had declared.
Perceiving the inherent danger of bloodbath in the eviction order, the Afenifere described the action of the northern youths as tragic.
Yinka Odumakin, Spokesperson of the Pan Yoruba cultural group, had remarked:
“Carrying out their threats would be a prelude to another pogrom. These elements have over the years showed their propensity to attack people, but like the Chinua Achebe said, they are holding a knife to the tiny rope that still holds the country together. I hope that if they still have elders, their elders should call them to order, otherwise, it may be the beginning of the end of Nigeria, as we know it.”
Odumakin was said to have cautioned: “They should know that in 1967, they had a coalition to fight the Igbo but that coalition is no more there, today. We know the people that fought the last war and won it. I can boldly speak for the Yoruba nation, that if the North thinks they can declare another war against the Igbo, it would not work. If they see any Yoruba man joining them to fight the Igbo, then, that person must be a mercenary.
“The Igbo were not fighting, neither were they causing any crisis, but were just trying to make their grievances known in a peaceful manner. Why should they be threatened? For northerners to tell them to leave the North is sad for the polity.”
More so, Founder, Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, had reaffirmed that Ndigbo were not scared by the quit order
Ugochukwu-Uko was aid to have declared: “The statement from a hitherto unknown northern group is primed to deliver a message to the whole world that some people prefer bloodshed to peaceful restructuring of Nigeria.
“The non-existent group merely represents an attempt by the sectional security apparatchiks to intimidate the struggle to reconstruct Nigeria, in their blind and unintelligent attempt to sustain the clearly unworkable status quo.
“If they were serious, they would have addressed the Federal Government to grant Biafra freedom to secede, but they are childishly targeting Igbo property in the North, without advancing total complete split of the country.
“Igbo property in the North have always been used to blackmailing our people, while the mindless oppression continues. We therefore plead with this unknown group to write to the National Assembly, northern leaders and the United Nations, to as a matter of urgency, grant a referendum on the future of Nigeria. That way, everybody will take them serious.
He insisted that, “Targeting our properties in the North do not frighten anybody, we are used to that. We beg them to amend their childish statement to demand for an early referendum.
That would make more sense. Our people are living in hell already. We are not scared of war mongering, Referendum is the way to go.”