IMO State governor Rochas Okorocha has said that Igbo leaders will have nothing to do with the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) and other separatist groups looking to break away from Nigeria.
Condemning those currently agitating for Biafra, Governor Okorocha said the governors and leaders of the southeast geo-political zone did not need an armed struggle associated with militia groups to attract economic and infrastructural development. He added that the zone’s setbacks could not be addressed by antagonising the north and west but by mutual cooperation and support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) federal government.
Governor Okorocha said: “The Igbo will not use the agitation for Biafra as a platform to negotiate the place of Ndigbo but will support the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to attract the dividends of democracy that eluded us in the past. We should try to jettison religious sentiments and support President Buhari and we condemn those agitating for Biafra because that is not Ndigbo’s need.”
Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central, added that the agitation for Biafra is a plan B action promoted by pro-Jonathan forces to undermine President Buhari’s administration. He pointed out that the new agitation for Biafra is a misguided, ill-conceived and ill-fated course.
“The Biafra agitation is a new attempt to destroy the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, to ignite a national conflict and cause chaos, pandemonium and confusion. It is not reflective of the interest and generality of the Igbo people,” Senator Sani added.
He added that Ndigbo had made progress since the civil war, pointing out that their future was better guaranteed and sustained within a united Nigeria. According to senator Sani, the people of the southeast had the right within the ambit of the constitution to demand to be recognised and respected as equal partners in the Nigerian project but cautioned that their agitation must be within the ambit of respect for the indivisibility of Nigeria and the constitution.
Senator Sani added: “Those attempting to wake up the Biafran course are of three categories. The first are young men with no knowledge of the tragedy, suffering and hardship Nigerians endured during the Civil War. The second category are desperate forces hiding behind the Biafran agitation to undermine our national unity and destroy Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“And the third group are simply warmongers, who want crisis in an era of peace and progress. So, I will say this in clear terms, Nigeria is an indivisible entity and we have since gone beyond the civil war.”
He pointed out that as long as we realise the change agenda, entrench good governance and run an all-inclusive government, the Biafran agitation will fizzle out. Senator Sani said Nigerians must be patient with the President Buhari’s administration as it is wrong for people to accuse him of not performing, taking cognisance of the rot of the last 16 years.
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