Nnamdi Kanu
Igbo leaders and traders in Lagos have expressed disgust at the
reported plan by the leader of the separatist group, Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to storm Lagos soon in continuation
of his visits to states of Nigeria, warning him to desist from making
such an adventure, because he won’t be welcome in the city.
Most of the Igbo leaders and traders in Lagos who spoke to Sunday
Telegraph in separate interviews, warned Mazi Kanu and his followers
that by what they profess, “taking their Biafra outside the East amounts to warmongering.”
They further charged them to desisting from heating up the polity
by crisscrossing Nigeria in contravention of his bail conditions.
Chief Chiemeka Ibeh of Alaba Amalgamated Traders Association,
warned the IPOB leader to stay away from Lagos, urging him to leave
Igbos in Lagos alone because his visit to the commercial nerve centre of
the country it will create the impression that Igbos in Lagos are
supporting Kanu and IPOB activities.
“He should keep his Biafra in the East where our unemployed
youths are following him all over the place, not knowing what they are
dabbling into. Most of these youth do not understand what Biafra is
about and what it has cost Igbo people.
“Since his actions led to the quit notice by the Arewa youths, I
expected Kanu to have paid upfront all transport companies on the
northern route to be conveying Igbo people who might be interested in
coming back to the East, but he has not paid a kobo to anybody. Is he
bothered about the economic wellbeing of the people whom his actions
could dislocate?”
Also speaking to Sunday Telegraph, High Chief Egbogu Udemba,
electronics dealer and a member of the executives of the Alaba
International Market Electronic Dealers Association said Biafra is
bigger than Kanu and cannot be a project for a young man like him and
the youths he controls.
“We appreciate the fact that the agitation is the product of
years of neglect and marginalisation of the zone by successive
administrations in Nigeria, as you can see that agitations are coming up
from different zones of the country now. These issues are things that
should be well articulated as Ohanaeze has done and an informed demand
made.
“The tension Kanu is creating will not do us any good; it might
further drag us back. As you can see our Niger-Delta brothers are
concentrating on economic agitations and government is answering them.
Nobody is looking in our direction because we are assumed to be asking
for Biafra, which unfortunately nobody will give us,” Udemba said.
He further asked, “The two modular oil refineries the Acting
President promised the oil producing states, where is Abia’s and Imo’s
own or are they not key oil producing states in Nigeria?”
According to him, what the country needs now is restructuring “and
the issue is bigger than IPOB, MASSOB and Arewa Youths. Igbo leaders,
Igbo intelligentsia, traders associations and our professionals should
come together and pursue the cause with one voice.
Udemba said: “Ohanaeze has taken the lead by making the demand
for restructuring so that we can have a true federal system of
government. I think Kanu should rather mobilise the youths who are
listening to him to support the demand, than going from state to state
and threatening the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra. He
should use the followership he commands to drum support for true
federalism.”
This development came as a prominent auto spare-parts dealer at the
Lagos International Trade Fair Complex and a leader in the Auto Spare
Parts & Machinery Dealers Association (ASPAMDA), Chief Alex Ejiofor
has warned Nnamdi Kanu to desist from distracting struggling Igbo people
from concentrating on finding their daily bread.
He wondered if Kanu had not asked his father what happened to Igbos during and after the civil war. “If
his father did not tell him my father told me that we were reduced to
the biblical ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ in Nigeria at the end
of the war in 1970.
It is true that we are still suffering from the effects of that
war till today, but Igbos in all parts of Nigeria have made a lot of
progress and cannot afford to return to that stage where an Igbo who
left over a million British Pounds in his account and ran home for
safety at the outbreak of the war, was given 20 Pounds in 1970 after the
no victor, no vanquished declaration.”
According to him, Igbos’ investments outside the core Igbo states are in trillions of naira.
“What is Kanu thinking about that? And if I may ask, what is the volume
of Kanu’s investment either in the South-East or in other parts of the
country? Does he not know that he is putting those investments at risk
and endangering the source of livelihood of other people? He should
perish the thought of coming to Lagos, and if I may advise, he should
change strategy or join forces with Ohanaeze.
“He has done well by bringing the marginalisation of the
South-East to the front burner again, but should sustain the discussion
without causing his people harm,” he said.
The youths who are either apprentice traders or labourers at the
Alaba International Market and Trade Fair, however, expressed excitement
over of the IPOB leader, stating that they are waiting for him.
“I read it on Facebook on Saturday, we are waiting for him. We
will close the market to receive him; he is the leader of our time. He
will take Biafra to the Promised Land; we are happy that he is visiting.
We heard that he has visited Port Harcourt, Ebonyi, Owerri and other
places.
We are also expecting him here. All hail Biafra!” Chigbo Ebuka who said that he works with an electrical parts dealers at Alaba International Market, said.
Kamsiyochukwu Udoaku, an apprentice to a machine parts dealer in
ASPANDA said without the knowledge of his boss, he has bought his
Biafran flag, cap and vest to be used on that day when Kanu would visit
Lagos.
Asked why he is going without his oga’s knowledge, he said, “He
is an old man, he is afraid. He further asked, but what has Kanu done
wrong? Did he commit any crime? Is he a member of Boko Haram or Fulani
herdsmen? Did he carry any arm? All he is asking for is our own country
where nobody will treat us as second class citizens. If the only reason
why they want to kill him is for asking for our freedom, we will follow
him,” he said.
It would be recalled that following the success of their rally at
Owerri, Imo State capital, last week, the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu took
to Facebook to reveal his intention to visit Lagos soon, probably to
gather all IPOB members and then align with them on the way to achieve
Biafra soon.
The post shared on its twitter handle penultimate Saturday, Radio Biafra revealed that IPOB and its leadership …“shall shut down Lagos, expect Nnamdi Kanu soon.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment