Over recent weeks, thousands of Igbo youths have been holding demonstrations calling for the recreation of the breakaway republic that existed briefly between July 1967 and January 1970. Following the resolution of the conflict, Igbos were reintegrated into Nigeria and former rebel leader Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu returned from exile and pledged his commitment to a united Nigeria.
Prior to the last elections, Chief Apugo, left the PDP and he has now called on Igbos to forget about breaking away from Nigeria and focus on how to make their region better. He added that before Chief Ojukwu died in 2012, he made it clear that there was no need for another secessionist attempt as it would imply Ndigbo have not learnt from past mistakes.
Chief Apugo said: "The civil war ended a long ago time and we are all Nigerians, so no reasonable human being should come out today to talk about Biafra. Our people have to speak up and make our children understand the situation of things.
"Those things they should be protesting for are employment, roads, water, airports and other amenities that are lacking in the zone. If they are agitating for these things, they should not block roads and they should talk to the government of the states in the southeast, not the federal government."
In a bid to address some of the concerns, Ohanaeze Ndigbo officials have met with the two main pro-Biafra groups, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (Massob) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob). Other groups which attended the meeting included the Igbo Youth Cultural Movement, the Bilea Human Right Initiative, United Eastern Congress and the Lower Niger Congress.
"They should avoid this protest because it will not yield any fruit. Their leaders will not fight more than Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Phillip Effiong, who despite their efforts, Biafra failed at the end," Chief Apugi added.
So far, a blueprint is yet to be drafted to address concerns within the southeast but the region's five governors intend meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari over the matter soon. According to Chief Apugi, many of the youths calling for war today are too young to appreciate its horrors.
He added: "These people you are talking about are small boys whose mothers were not even born during the civil war, so, what I am saying is that the governors of the southeast should enlighten the youths and make them know that there is nothing like Biafra today. People should not be using Biafra as a tool for causing confusion and defrauding uninformed people.
"Buhari did not create any problem in the southeast. All the while, former President Goodluck Jonathan was there, they should have gone to demonstrate about Biafra."
According to Chief Apugo, President Buhari will tackle all the problems the region is facing which came about because the former governors did not perform. He added that they did not create avenues for employment or empowerment.
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