NNAMDI Kanu
Group slams FG over Kanu’s detention
Traders woo Buhari
Uwazurike hosts Bianca Ojukwu
By Nwabueze Okonkwo & Chimaobi Nwaiwu
Nnewi— The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign
State of Biafra, MASSOB, has said that no amount of
intimidation, harassment and blackmail will ever deter its
leader Chief Ralph Uwazurike from dropping the agitation for
the actualization of Biafran Republic.
This was disclosed by the Regional administrator for
MASSOB, in Isu, Imo State, Prince Ogaraku Venatus in a
statement made available to Vanguard.
“We have absolute confidence, trust, respect, and faith in our
leader and father of the agitation for Biafra actualization Chief
Ralph Uwazuruike’s leadership traits and strong conviction to
actualize Biafra.
“We have also uncovered a planned move by some
disgruntled Igbo politicians to stage anti-Biafra rally in Abuja.
That move will fail and our leader Chief Uwazurike is not
worried about such silly and selfish move by the people we
understand have been paid heavily to do the protest.
“Chief Uwazurike has succeeded in telling the Federal
Government of Nigeria that he does not mince words in his
determination to achieve the Biafran state and equally expose
the injustice done to Ndigbo . So, the politician whose interest
is nothing more than money in their pockets cannot stop
MASSOB or any other pro-Biafra group,”he said.
Prince Ogaraku also prayed that no evil plan intended to
scuttle the Biafra struggle will succeed.
Restoration of Biafra
Similarly, another Igbo political group, Ndigbo United
Assembly, NUA, yesterday, added its own voice in the on-
going agitation for the restoration of Biafran state, saying that
Biafra is on course.
Speaking to newsmen during a peaceful demonstration
embarked upon by members of the Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB, President-General of NUA, Comrade Peter Okala
declared: “My take on the Biafran agitation is positive in the
sense that our colonial masters knew our differences before
making a contract of amalgamation to try if we could
understand ourselves, but the fact remains that till date, the
centre could not hold and the South East is still hated with
passion by our Northern and South West brothers.”
Okala who is also a one-time governorship candidate of the
National Conscience Party, NCP, in Anambra State asked:
“Could you imagine Wole Soyinka using Igbo people to
popularize his seminar topic in far away United States of
America, where he was quoted as saying that Igbo people
can only vote at the direction of their stomach? So, what kind
of a hopeless statement from a so-called prominent citizen is
that?
“In Nigeria today, if one is asked to name 100 most corrupt
people in Nigeria who have emptied our treasury , hardly will
an Igbo man be among them. But we are abused in every
part of Nigeria as people, who could do anything to get
money simply because the West is in control of the media and
the North has partnered with them to marginalize the South-
East.”
Okala also observed that the inabilty of political office holders
in the South -East to join the pro-Biafra movement is not a
crime because it may be a treason in Nigerian laws, but it’s
the right of every person to choose an association or a
country he or she should belong to and there is no law that
will empower anyone or institution to stop it.”
Quenching agitations
Uwazurike
Meantime, a coalition of civil society organizations based in
the South-East geo-political zone has advised the Federal
Government to stop chasing shadows by deploying huge state
resources that should be put for good public use, into
influencing and compromising some individuals and groups,
in an attempt to quench the on-going agitations.
The group advised the federal government to rather look
inwards critically so as to study and identify those issues that
have remained unaddressed till date that resulted to the
earth-shaking agitations in the South-East and the South-
South zones.
The group said that trying to influence or compromise some
individuals or groups would rather end up escalating the
issue and possibly blowing same out of proportion and push
agitators to a radical and uncontrollable end, which may lead
to another round of insurgency.
In a press statement, yesterday in Onitsha, Anambra State,
the groups stated that the Federal Government must be told in
a clear terms that those being compromised and influenced to
recant are not in control of the movement and millions of its
supporters and sympathizers.
It added: “These sets of conformist individuals and groups
have long disgraced themselves and lost touch with the
mainstream grassroots of the South-East zone, which is why
in a bid to justify crumbs federally received, they end up on
the pages of newspapers with their faceless and mushroom
groups.”
In the statement jointly signed on their behalf by Comrade
Aloysius Attah, for CLO; Comrade Peter Onyegiri for Centre for
Human Rights & Peace Advocacy; Comrade Samuel Njoku for
Human Rights Club (a project of LRRDC); Comrade Justus
Uche Ijeoma for Forum for Justice, Equity & Defence of
Human Rights; Comrade Chike Umeh for Society Advocacy
Watch Project; Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq. for Anambra Human
Rights Forum; Comrade Emeka Umeagbalasi for Intersociety;
Comrade Alex Olisa for Southeast Good Governance Forum
and Eze Eluchie for: PADDI Foundation, the coalition said the
first critical step is to withdraw all trumped up charges leveled
against Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and to release him
unconditionally with immediate effect from the DSS captivity.
According to the coalition, “A Nigeria of pluralism and
democratic constitutionalism, equality and fairness with no
distinction in theory and practice as to ethnicity, place of birth,
education, sex, class, oligarchic or aristocratic background
and religion is always a preferred option and can be safely
described as a united Nigeria. But a Nigeria of the opposite
remains the worst option, while assertion of right to
independent statehood is its best alternative. This is because
it is better to live free in a land flowing with poverty than to
live buoyantly in a land shackled and manacled by chains of
slavery and enslavement”.
It further added: “To assuage the earth-shaking agitations
and placate the people of the Southeast zone, all the age-long
structural imbalances must be redressed especially the
country’s geopolitical imbalances including lopsidedness in
the number of States, LGAs, Senatorial Districts, Federal
Constituencies, Federal Roads, Fiscal Allocations and
geopolitical compositions of the field formations and
headships of the Army, Police, Air Force, Navy, DSS, NIA,
FRSC, Prisons and Customs”.
“In the area of federal public office holders in Nigeria drawn
from the six geopolitical zones, the Southeast zone is
abysmally represented. For instance, no senior police officer
from the zone is among the current heads of the country’s 12
Police Zonal Commands and the few serving AIGs from the
zone have since gone on statutory retirement leaving the zone
no known serving AIGs out of the country’s current Police
AIGs of at least 22″.
“All these are owing to age-long deliberate policy designed to
stunt their promotions and posting till in the twilight of their
statutory retirements when they are given retirement
promotions. The composition of CPs and AIGs’ cadres of the
Nigeria Police Force is also grossly lopsided in fragrant
breach of Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution. The same
gross lopsided composition is the case in the Nigerian
Custom, Nigerian Immigration Service, the Nigerian Prisons
Service, the DSS, the NIA, Army, Navy and the Air Force.
“In the headships of SPUs, ATSs, SARS, Federal Highway
Police, the Mobile Police and Border Police composition and
headship in the Nigeria Police Force; same is the case;
likewise the country’s federal Appeal and Federal High Court
and Appeal and Supreme Court Judges and Justices in which
the zone is acutely represented. The same gross lopsidedness
and exclusion are the order of the day in federal ministers,
directors, headships of federal executive bodies as well as
Service Chiefs and other top non ministerial federal
appointments”.
Drumming support for Buhari
However, a group of traders under the aegis of South East
Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, SEAMATA, has
disowned the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign
State of Biafra, MASSOB and the Indigenous People of Biafra,
IPOB, and their agitation and activities for the actualization of
Sovereign State of Biafra.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Onitsha, the traders
through a statement signed by Chief Okwudili Ezenwanko and
Honourable Temple Udeh, President General and Secretary
General respectively, of SEAMATA, said they are constrained
to react to the continuous calls for the closure of business in
South east in protest and solidarity for actualization of Biafra
agitators.
The news conference by the traders was attended by Chief
Christian Nwabuani, Vice President, Abia state, Peter Obah,
Financial Secretary, Ebonyi state, Elder Martin Inuozor,
Treasurer, Imo State, Austin Onyia assistant Public Relations
Officer, from Enugu State, including other officials from the five
South East states of the zone.
SEAMATA said “the difficulties and hardship which the traders
in particular and residents in general suffer during these
protests has made the traders to direct that we react to the
situation and development which is adversely affecting them”.
Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, sandwiched between
security operaives, leaving the court in Abuja.
“The traders in the zone are therefore, disassociating
themselves jointly and severally from the activities of these
agitators, the invasion of markets and other business outfits
and the destruction of private property of individuals like
shops and vehicles in the name of pro Biafra protest is not
only condemnable but also unacceptable.
“We are yet to understand the wisdom in the protest where
the properties and other valuables belonging to Igbos are
either vandalized or destroyed by the fellow Igbos in the name
of Pro Biafra protest, when the hardship which the Igbos that
relocated from North East in the wake of Boko Haram
insurgency are passing through is still staring on our faces,
and the agitators are calling on other doing their normal
business in other parts of Nigeria to come back to South
East.”
MASSOB reacts
But reacting to the allegation of destruction of properties,
shops and personal belonging of fellow Igbos, MASSOB
factional National Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna
challenged SEAMATA and their leadership to name and show
evidence of anybody whether or not whose property has been
destroyed since the protest started.
“Even the Police Divisions in Onitsha and Onitsha Area
Command and their boss has confirmed that all the protest by
Biafran agitators has been peaceful and it was reported by
different media organization in and outside South East states
including the ones at Abuja.
“Chief Ezenwankwo is not SEAMATA President General
because at no time was he elected by South East traders,
neither is he elected by Anambra traders as AMATAS
President General, he and his groups he claim to head both in
South East and Anambra State do not represent the Igbo or
Anambra traders, but their pay masters, South East Governors
and Anamnbra State Governor, who appointed them to collect
revenues from traders for government of the respective states,
with their own share included in the levies they collect.
“Those people who call themselves SEAMATA are South East
Governors stooges, used in siphoning the traders, they are
used to milk the traders dry in the name of revenue collection,
most of them do not have shops in the markets.
“Most of the people that are demonstrating are traders who
out of their love for Biafra willingly closed their shops to join
in the agitation of Biafra and release of Nnamdi Kanu, Igbo
traders for your information are not complaining about the
closure of market which MASSOB or IPOB did not even
direct.”
Also reacting, one of IPOB’s spokesmen, Mr. Emma Powerful,
dismissed SEAMATA claim of destruction, saying that they are
not recognized in Igbo land, adding that “we have been doing
this protest in different parts of the world and the international
community knows that we have been peaceful and civil in all
we are doing,”.
Uwazuruike hosts Bianca
In another development, the Leader of the Movement for the
Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief
Ralph Uwazuruike yesterday revealed that the movement has
concluded arrangements to host important dignitaries at this
year’s fourth annual ceremony marking the memorial
anniversary of the late Biafra’s Head of State and Ikemba
Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
In a press statement issued to newsmen in Onitsha, Anambra
state on behalf of Uwazuruike, MASSOB’s Deputy National
Director of Information, Chris Mocha, confirmed that already,
wife of the late Ojukwu, Bianca; former Chief Security Adviser
to late General Sani Abacha, former military Head of state,
Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Leader of Movement for the
Emancipation of Niger-Delta, MEND, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari
Dokubo have indicated their interest to attend the occasion.
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