The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, warned the South East governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to stop any meeting they were planning to hold with Federal Government in the name of representing and speaking for them as they did not represent IPOB
This came as the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, appealed to the Federal Government to unconditionally release the detained Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.
Unconditional release
One of IPOB’s spokesmen, Emma Powerful said “if the South East governors and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo are serious, they should be talking about getting unconditional release of the Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is still incacerated for the past one month, that should be the starting point.
How can the South East governors, whom we elected but stabbed us at the back, calling us all sorts of unprintable names with the enemies of Biafra and South East in general, and the people who call themselvesOhanaeze Ndigbo, a group that is in shambles, that has not taken Ndigboforward after the leadership of Eze Ozobu and Nwabueze, be talking for us?
“The governors and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo that is in disarray and some disgruntled traditional rulers, whom we know for working for any government in power, and soliciting for and receiving contracts from governments, joined the enemies of Ndigbo,who betrayed us during the Nigerian Biafran Civil War, to call us name.
“And now they claim they want to go and negotiate for us, to collect money and contracts as usual, to sell us out like they have always done, when they have not even called us to a meeting to find out our grievances.
“We are rejecting the South East governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo and whatever proposals they are making with Nigerian Federal Government. They are not representing us, but themselves.
We, the IPOB members warn them to stop discussing IPOB because they are not representing us, they have roundly and consistently disappointed us, Ndigbo and Biafrans as a whole.
“We can only listen and support them if they are talking about unconditional release for Mr. Kanu and not to stop worldwide Biafra actualization agitation and peaceful protests, we will not stop until our leader is released unconditionally.”
Anniversary
Meanwhile, leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has appealed to the Federal Government to unconditionally release the detained Director of Radio Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.
Uwazuruike made the appeal, yesterday, while addressing loyalists and friends of MASSOB, who stormed Owerri for the third anniversary of the exit of Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu.
Some dignitaries that honoured the event included, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, who was the Special Guest of Honour. He was also accompanied to the event by more than 70 persons.
Others included Alhaji Yerima Shetima, President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum; Prof. Alu Danladi, Ambassador John Fashanu, Alhaji Abdullahi Zaria, Alhaji Sale Hassan, Alhaji Abubakar Shehu, Alhaji Zallari Bello and Alhaji Aminu Gwaru.
Continuing, the MASSOB leader sai: “We are not operating from any foreign country. The so called Radio Biafra, London, was opened by MASSOB in London and Nnamdi Kanu appointed as the Director, after MASSOB had operated Voice of Biafra International in Washington DC for three years. The purpose of Radio Biafra London was to showcase the marginalization of Ndigbo,” Uwazuruike said.
He said his group knew the desires of Ndigbo, and how to achieve them, noting that those who were threatening fire and brimstone today, were once members of MASSOB before they were expelled due to violent related behaviours.
Blackmail
He was not particularly happy at the way Ndigbo “castigate, vilify and blackmail their leaders to impress other tribes,” pointing out that “Ndigbotakes delight in killing their leaders to emerge as the new champions.
“Ndigbo are now second class citizens in Nigeria. They will soon be relegated to the third class. Ndigbo blames the Hausa and the Yoruba for their misadventure. Unfortunately, Ndigbo do not see any reason to blame themselves.
“Today, Ndigbo in their usual character, want to decimate MASSOB. They believe that since MASSOB has not achieved Biafra through non-violence for 16 years that they would achieve it through violence.”
Fire and brimstone
Uwazuruike said that the those claiming to be champions in their little knowledge, forget that “Igboland is landlocked and that the five states of the South East contribute less than eight per cent of the economy of Nigeria.
“In their little knowledge, they do not know that Ndigbo need deep sea ports to bring in their arms and ammunition to be used to fight an established government of Nigeria.
There is no Sambisa forest connecting Igboland to other neighbouring countries, through which small arms could be smuggled in.”
