Politics
Ohanaeze to MASSOB: Forget agitation for Biafra
The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio- cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has advised the leadership of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra to desist from its campaign of secession, as it is not in the interest of Ndigbo.
National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro who stated this in Umuahia, the Abia State capital during a media briefing to unveil plans for this year’s Igbo Youths Day slated for Monday in Umuahia, said seceding from Nigeria, as being agitated MASSOB, would not be in the interest of the Igbo.
He explained, that it is better for Igbo race to remain in Nigeria and struggle for their fair share of the ‘national cake’ than fight for self-determination of a separate state of Biafra, with its attendant consequences.
According to him, “It is better we remain in Nigeria and fight for our rights than secede. We have been patient enough and in 2019, it will be our turn to produce a Nigerian President. It will take a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction to heal the wounds of Biafra.”
He called on the Federal Government to unconditionally release all members of MASSOB and other Biafran activists detained in various prisons across the country.
Read also: Marginalization: Ndigbo seek divine intervention
Isiguzoro also appealed to the Federal Government to address what he described as injustices against Ndigbo in the country, which he said were the major reason for the agitation for self-rule by MASSOB and other pro- Biafran groups.
He further argued that it defied logic for members of MASSOB who are non-violent to continue to be held illegally for years in detention, ‘‘while the same government is busy releasing captured members of violent groups like Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants who have taken up arms against the state.”
“Since the Federal Government is secretly negotiating with Boko Haram terrorists, why can’t it also negotiate with MASSOB, which is non-violent? Since it is releasing some Boko Haram fighters, it should also consider MASSOB members detained illegally in prisons.”
RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...