- Says Nigeria is big enough for all
Separatists agitating for the
independent state of Biafra in the South-east of Nigeria have been told
in stern terms by President Muhammadu Buhari to perish the thought,
saying the indivisibility of the country under his watch is sacrosanct.
The president spoke tuesday in his
Daura, Katsina State home while receiving members of the National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) serving in the town and told them that in spite of
the failure of leadership that engendered feelings of alienation,
particularly in the South-eastern flank of the country, Nigeria was
still big enough for all its people to live happily together.
Buhari advised NYSC members from the South-east serving in the town to tell their colleagues agitating for Biafra to forget it.
The president also called on the
country’s youths to make Nigeria great again through the pursuit of
knowledge, patriotism and commitment to values that promote national
unity.
“Tell your colleagues who want Biafra to
forget about it,” he told the corps members from the South-east,
adding: “Nigeria is big enough for us and potentially big enough in
terms of resources.”
There have been agitations, particularly
among young people in the South-east, for a separate state of Biafra.
Two groups — the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of
Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) — have been at
the vanguard of these agitations that have led to bloody clashes between
the agitators and security agencies several times.
But Buhari, in a statement by his Senior
Special Assistant on Media, Malam Shehu Garba, said separation was not
the answer to their grievances, telling them that the nation had passed
that route before with dire consequences.
“As a military commander, I walked from Degema, a border town between the North and the East, to the border between Cameroun and Nigeria. I walked on my feet for most of the 30 months that we fought the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, in which at least 2 million Nigerians were killed,” he relived the experience to the about 100 corps members that came to visit him.
“As a military commander, I walked from Degema, a border town between the North and the East, to the border between Cameroun and Nigeria. I walked on my feet for most of the 30 months that we fought the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, in which at least 2 million Nigerians were killed,” he relived the experience to the about 100 corps members that came to visit him.
He added: “We were made by our leaders
to go and fight Biafra not because of money or oil, because oil was not
critical factor then, but because of one Nigeria.
“So if leaderships at various levels failed, it was not the fault of the rest of Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another.
“So if leaderships at various levels failed, it was not the fault of the rest of Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another.
“So please tell your colleagues that we
must be together to build this country. It is big enough for us and
potentially big enough in terms of resources.
“Those who work hard will earn a
respectable living. I have seen this country, I fought for this country
and I will continue to work for the unity of this country.” the
president said.
The president urged them to remain
focused in life, pursue their dreams and reject those fanning the embers
of discord and disintegration of Nigeria.
He specially recognised corps members
from the Niger Delta and South-eastern states serving in Daura and
praised the vision of former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), in
setting up the scheme in 1973.
Buhari said the scheme had promoted national unity and cohesion creditably by exposing young people to the uniqueness and cultural diversity of Nigeria.
Buhari said the scheme had promoted national unity and cohesion creditably by exposing young people to the uniqueness and cultural diversity of Nigeria.
“I asked for those from the other
extreme of Nigeria because I very much appreciate the NYSC scheme and
whenever I see General Gowon, I always thank him for that,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Mr. Egbewumi Adebolu,
the Corps Liaison Officer in Daura, thanked the president for the honour
of receiving them and making their stay in Daura memorable.
He said the youths strongly believed in the programme of the president to reduce unemployment and create jobs for more Nigerians.
He said the youths strongly believed in the programme of the president to reduce unemployment and create jobs for more Nigerians.
Adebolu thanked the president for his
personal gifts of cows, bags of rice and cash to corps members in the
community for Salah celebration.
But the MASSOB, which celebrated its
17th anniversary in Awka, capital of Anambra State, yesterday appeared
oblivious of the presidential charge for unity as it said that it was
sure it would achieve an independent state of Biafra without firing a
shot.
A statement by Mazi Stephen Okonkwo and
Comrade Ugochukwu Onyema, Coordinator and Secretary of the group
respectively in the state, said the group’s members were ready to commit
their lives to the struggle for the restoration of the sovereign state
of Biafra through non-violence.
It dismissed claims of splinter groups
from it, saying that such confusion was orchestrated by its former
leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike, who had been expelled from the body by
members who were disenchanted by his leadership style.
“17 years of our long walk to freedom
can never be jeopardised, compromised or corrupted,” it said, adding
that: “The reformation and rededication of our new leader, Comrade
Uchenna Madu, has brought back our lost confidence and trust on Biafra
actualisation,” it said.
The celebrations reverberated in Ikom,
Cross River State as its members took to the streets of the sleepy town
in commemoration of the founding of the group.
The pro-Biafra agitators, who thronged
Ikom town in the early hours of the morning from Ogoja, Ugep, Obubra,
Obudu, Abi and other parts of the state, gathered close to the Ikom
township stadium before embarking on a peaceful procession through some
major streets of the commercial town.
Scores of the MASSOB members dressed in
uniforms, and waving flags symbolising Biafra, sang pro-Biafran songs
and the Biafran anthem as they marched peacefully during the short
street work which took them through Okomo Layout to 4-Corners, about 400
metres from where they took off.
Cross River State Zonal Leader of
MASSOB, Samuel Okah, who led the street march said the event marked 17
years of peaceful struggle for the actulisation of Biafra as a nation
for the people of the defunct eastern region of Nigeria.
“It has been 17 years of peaceful
agitation by the people of Biafra led by Chief Ralph Uwazurike; and we
are making steady progress for the coming to fruition of our efforts
which is a clear demonstration of the fact that peaceful efforts get
more mileage than violence,” Okah said.
Okah said there was nothing anybody could do to stop the actualisation of the Biafra nation because its time had come.
He said it was high time President
Buhari allowed people agitating for self-rule to go and chart a course
for themselves as new nations.
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