Gov. Soludo sends powerful message to IPOB, MASSOB, others

The newly-inaugurated Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo has sent a powerful message to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB),  and other “disparate armed groups in the forests”, urging them to sheath their swords and come to the drawing table for the sake of peace.

In a statement credited to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Soludo asked the agitators to re-assess both the purpose and means of their campaigns.

He also warned politicians playing politics with the insecurity of the South East region, saying they are riding a tiger.

He further challenged any of the disparate groups that claim that it is not part of the senseless killings and kidnappings to step out and show leadership by joining hands with his government to do something about the peace of the region.

In an essay made available to News Band, he wrote:

“To IPOB/ESN, the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), as well as the disparate armed groups in the forests, it is time to interrogate both the purpose and means of your campaign. To the politicians playing politics with the insecurity, you are riding a tiger.

“The current trajectory is a desolation road. Let us get around the table and talk. Let the elite in the closet come out, and let’s debate our future and forge a consensus. The conspiracy of silence by the elite and some community leaders must end. If you see something, say or do something!

“Securing Igboland and Nigeria must be our collective responsibility. Let those in the forests come out, surrender their guns and let’s work together to rehabilitate and empower you to contribute positively to the peace and prosperity of our homeland

“A significant part of our state economy is powered by artisans, Keke drivers, vulcanizers, hairdressers, cart pushers, petty traders, bricklayers, women frying Akara, and all those who depend upon daily toil and sweat to feed their families.

“Every day, there is a “sit at home”, these poor masses lose an estimated N19.6 billion in Anambra alone. Due to the protracted breakdown of law and order, businesses are relocating outside Igboland, with growing unemployment, and traders who used to come to shop in Onitsha, Aba, etc. are going elsewhere. Who is losing?

“By forcing our children—the future of Igboland—to stay at home instead of being in school, while even the critically sick people (including pregnant women) cannot go to the hospital, we harm our future.

“I hereby challenge any of the disparate groups that claim that it is not part of the senseless killings and kidnappings to step out and show leadership by joining hands with us to DO something about it. If you love our homeland, there is no place for bloodshed.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ admonished in Matthew 26: 52: “Put your sword back in its sheath, for all who live by the sword will die by the sword”. In the traditional religion, the land places a curse upon those who spill the blood of the innocent.

“For me, this issue is personal and emotional. My mother died during the civil war; our last born, Chukwuemeka died during the war; my father bore a bullet inside him for years; my elder brother – at 16, was in the ‘Boys Company’.

“At 8, I became the “man of the house”, with all the men at the war front. My uncles, cousins, etc., died during the war. This is 2022, and there are certainly far better ways to protest than shedding the blood of the innocent or resorting to criminality.

“That is why I call on all of us today to join hands with me to execute the real agenda—a livable and prosperous homeland of opportunities and jobs for our youth while maximizing the benefits of a united Nigeria/ Africa.

“With Ohanaeze’s estimate that some 11.6 million Igbos living in the North and over 7 million in Lagos state and over 70% of our non-land assets scattered all over Nigeria and the world, we need Nigeria and Nigeria needs us. We need Africa and the world and they need us.

“Yes, we have heard every genuine agitation for fairness, justice, equity and equality in the Nigerian Federation. No, we refuse to turn our homeland into a crime scene and all manners of criminality. No group has ever succeeded in any struggle in history by turning the sword against themselves.

“I promise to work hard with other governors and leaders in the South East and others to take your agitations to the table of all Nigeria, and we hope to bargain for a win-win solution for all Nigeria.

“I will engage all parties to the breakdown of peace and order in Anambra from a point of determination to solve problems and resolve disagreements with openness, integrity, equity and justice.

“I will invest my political capital within our State, our South East and with the Presidency, Federal Government and its establishments as a matter of topmost priority.

“With good faith and hard work by all parties, I am convinced that justice, peace and order will return to Anambra and the South East within the shortest possible horizon.”

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