The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has faulted elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark over his comment that the Niger Delta would not be a part of Biafra if created.
Clark had made the comment in a recent interview, noting that IPOB was dreaming if it felt the Niger Delta would agree to become part of Biafra.
The Ijaw leader said that while the agitation for Biafra was legitimate, the agitators were going about it the wrong way.
Asked if Niger Delta was part of Biafra, the 94-year-old said: “How can Delta be part of Biafra? In what way? Is Biafra older or bigger than Delta?
“How can Rivers State or Akwa Ibom become part of Biafra? They are dreaming for still thinking about the Eastern Region of those days.”
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But in its reaction, the separatist group said that Clark was not speaking “for millions of Niger Delta youths, men and women earnestly yearning for their liberation from the Nigerian bondage.”
Speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB described Clark as a spent force that lacks the mandate to speak for the people of Niger Delta.
“It’s too appalling that Edwin Clark doesn’t know that those who own Biafra are those he referred to as South-South or Niger Delta as the Case may be. How suddenly Edwin Clark has forgotten that it was an Izon man who brought the name ‘Biafra’ to the table for approval which Ojukwu and his Eastern Consultative Assembly approved without hesitation or debate!” the group said.
“Edwin Clark should know that IPOB led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu did not force any clan to join Biafra. But if his community, clan and tribe refuse to join Biafra through referendum at the right time, they should not blame anybody for their fate in Nigeria. By the time Biafra will exit Nigeria through a referendum, any clan in the so-called Niger Delta that refuses to be liberated from the Nigerian bondage should get ready to serve the Fulani as slaves forever
“We, however, know that Edwin Clark is not speaking for millions of Niger Delta youths, men and women earnestly yearning for their liberation from the Nigerian bondage. He is only speaking for his Fulani slave masters, but very soon he will discover that he is a General without foot soldiers,” the statement read in part.