Ibo leaders have come forward to state that the ‘Kaduna declaration’ by the Northern youths was expected and that they are only helping to accelerate the imminent actualization of Biafra.
MASSOB leader, Comrade Uche Madu, the quit notice did not come as a “surprise, describing it as a certain step in the actualization of the Biafran Republic.
“MASSOB is aware that such rascality will happen. As a matter of fact, this is the only rascality exhibited by sponsored Arewa youths to forcefully exit the people of Biafra residing in Arewa land that MASSOB will 100 per cent support. Their Boko Haram tactics didn’t work as planned. We pledge our total support towards this divinely approved quit notice.
“MASSOB congratulates the Arewa political, religious, traditional and opinion leaders who sponsored their youths wing by using Arewa House in Kaduna for this greatest meeting of a coalition of Islamic fundamentalist.
“As there is no other alternative to stop Biafra freedom, the northern leaders have resorted to using their youths wing to start terrorising the people of Biafra living in the northern region.
What they saw during the sit-at-home exercise to mark the 50th anniversary celebration of Biafra declaration by General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu marvelled them irrespective of the promises made to them by their stooges in Biafra land. “MASSOB urge our people to start returning home now. Don’t wait till the three months for quit notice to expire. MASSOB is begging our people to re-invest their investments back to Biafra land.”
Founder, Igbo Youth Movement (IYM), Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko said Ndigbo were not scared by the quit order, citing it as attempted intimidation of the Ibo ethnic group without regard for future of Nigeria.
“The statement from a hitherto unknown northern group is primed to deliver a message to the whole world that some people prefer bloodshed to peaceful restructuring of Nigeria.
“The non-existent group merely represents an attempt by the sectional security apparatchiks to intimidate the struggle to reconstruct Nigeria, in their blind and unintelligent attempt to sustain the clearly unworkable status quo.
“If they were serious, they would have addressed the FG to grant Biafra freedom to secede, but they are childishly targeting Igbo property in the North, without advancing total complete split of the country.
“Ibo property in the North have always been used to blackmailing our people, while the mindless oppression continues. We therefore plead with this unknown group to write to the National Assembly, northern leaders and the United Nations, to as a matter of urgency, grant a referendum on the future of Nigeria. That way, everybody will take them serious.
“Targeting our properties in the North do not frighten anybody, we are used to that. We beg them to amend their childish statement to demand for an early referendum. That would make more sense. Our people are living in hell already. We are not scared of war mongering, Referendum is the way to go.”
National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Okey Nwosu, described the ultimatum as a threat to the unity of the country.
Nwosu in a telephone interview said President Muhammadu Buhari through his actions and inactions orchestrated such ultimatum.
“When some elders led by President Buhari were doing certain things, some of us cautioned. Let the APC and Buhari deal with what they have caused, “ he stated
However, former vice president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Fidelis Edeh flayed the ultimatum, which he said was a violation of the nation’s constitution and should be stopped before innocent lives are lost.
For Onitsha-based rights activist, Emeka Umeagbala, it is a pointer that Nigeria was still a mere geographical expression.
The legal practitioner, who noted that Ndigbo had suffered numerous pogroms in Nigeria, starting from 1945 called for the restructuring of the country in a peaceful manner, before it goes the way of Rwanda.