FOREIGN minister Geoffrey Onyeama has attacked those calling for the recreation of the defunct state of Biafra saying that they do not speak on behalf of Ndigbo and have no mandate to call for the break-up of Nigeria.
From Enugu State, Mr Onyeama, 60, is the highest ranking Igbo in President Muhammadu Buhari's government and believes in the sanctity of Nigeria. Recently, he was delivering a speech in the Austrian capital Vienna in support of Nigeria but he was interrupted by pro-Biafran youths, who disrupted his presentation.
Hitting back as such secessionists, Mr Onyeama said the situation today is not comparable to what prevailed in July 1967 when Biafra was declared. He challenged those clamouring for the recreation of the break-away republic to reveal who gave them a mandate to claim they are speaking on behalf of Ndigbo.
Mr Onyeama said: "I was in Austria and was addressing Nigerians in Vienna and some young Igbo boys came and disrupted the meeting and even broke some windows at the embassy. I was speaking on the Ahiara Declaration, which gave a mandate for Ojukwu to declare a state of Biafra.
"Okpara was there and Ojukwu was the military head of state at that time, so there was legitimacy but now, they are saying we should create Biafra and there is a grievance that some people have been detained. The question that is being asked by Igbo leaders in Nigeria is where did the mandate for today’s calls for the declaration of Biafra come from? because when you make a demand, it has to be based on some mandate as we are operating a democracy."
He added that in the UK, the Scottish people said they wanted an independent state and they had a mandate because the people had given the Scottish National Party the mandate to demand independence. According to Mr Onyeama, they had a referendum and the people voted on the matter because the elected government under David Cameron agreed to that referendum.
"So what we are saying, and what Mr President said in the case of Biafra is look, that’s okay, the government can decide to hold a referendum and let it be decided democratically. A lot of the present agitators were not born between 1967 and 1970.
"I don’t know who gave them the mandate to speak for the Igbo. People can agitate for what they want but they cannot claim to speak for the Igbo. Who gave them the mandate? In what capacity are they speaking?" Mr Onyeama added.
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