The Igbo socio-political organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has insisted that
Arewa youths are determined to drag Nigeria into another civil war.
Ohanaeze made the remark while reacting to a letter written to Acting
President, Yemi Osinbajo by a coalition of Northern youths.
In the letter, the youths had appealed to the Acting President to allow Igbos actualise their struggle for Biafra Republic because they hated Nigeria.
Reacting through its Deputy Publicity Secretary, Chuks Ibegbu, Ohanaeze said the North could not drive Ndigbo out of Nigeria.
The body said Ohanaeze was interested in restructuring and not secession.
Ibegbu said the northern youths had no right to speak for the Igbos.
He said, “In the first place, I want to thank the Acting President for the role he is playing in this situation. He is a peacemaker and he has shown himself to be conversant with the dynamics of leadership.
“The Acting President has told all the parties to allow peace to reign. Igbo are peaceful people; so, we will abide by what he said.
“We are conscious of what the Acting President told the Igbo leaders and the traditional rulers when they visited the Presidential Villa. Therefore, we will not be drawn into taking issue with these northern youths; they are people who have shown themselves to be lawbreakers and warmongers.
“The activities of these Arewa youths have shown that there is more than meets the eye to the ultimatum they gave the Igbo in the North. They simply want to drag the country into another war.”
Ibegbu maintained that the agitation for secession was not peculiar to the Igbo, as claimed by the Arewa youths.
He added, “That some individuals are pushing for self-determination in the South-East does not mean that the Igbo want to secede. The real situation is a protest against marginalisation.
“We should not forget that even now, as we speak, the Boko Haram sect is still canvassing Islamic rule in the North, using violent means – that is a form of agitation for secession.
“So why should the northern youths ignore the log in their eyes to bother about the speck in another person’s eyes; why the venom against the Igbo?”
In the letter, the youths had appealed to the Acting President to allow Igbos actualise their struggle for Biafra Republic because they hated Nigeria.
Reacting through its Deputy Publicity Secretary, Chuks Ibegbu, Ohanaeze said the North could not drive Ndigbo out of Nigeria.
The body said Ohanaeze was interested in restructuring and not secession.
Ibegbu said the northern youths had no right to speak for the Igbos.
He said, “In the first place, I want to thank the Acting President for the role he is playing in this situation. He is a peacemaker and he has shown himself to be conversant with the dynamics of leadership.
“The Acting President has told all the parties to allow peace to reign. Igbo are peaceful people; so, we will abide by what he said.
“We are conscious of what the Acting President told the Igbo leaders and the traditional rulers when they visited the Presidential Villa. Therefore, we will not be drawn into taking issue with these northern youths; they are people who have shown themselves to be lawbreakers and warmongers.
“The activities of these Arewa youths have shown that there is more than meets the eye to the ultimatum they gave the Igbo in the North. They simply want to drag the country into another war.”
Ibegbu maintained that the agitation for secession was not peculiar to the Igbo, as claimed by the Arewa youths.
He added, “That some individuals are pushing for self-determination in the South-East does not mean that the Igbo want to secede. The real situation is a protest against marginalisation.
“We should not forget that even now, as we speak, the Boko Haram sect is still canvassing Islamic rule in the North, using violent means – that is a form of agitation for secession.
“So why should the northern youths ignore the log in their eyes to bother about the speck in another person’s eyes; why the venom against the Igbo?”
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