The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio- cultural organisation, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for heeding the pleas of Ndigbo and other progressive Nigerians in releasing the detained Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), Maxi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and Secretary, Nnabuike Okwu, in a press statement issued yesterday said the release of Kanu would go a long way in dousing the tension in the polity.
According to the statement, Kanu’s final release from detention will also restore the confidence of Ndigbo in Buhari’s administration.
OYC also said the release of Kanu would end the orgy of protests by Biafra agitators which had enveloped most cities in the defunct Eastern region.
Ohanaeze, therefore, appealed to all pro- Biafra groups to reciprocate the federal government’s gesture by discontinuing with further protests “for the same of peace and in the overall interest of the people.”
OYC also restated its commitment in brokering peace between the federal government and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), and its sister Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) “to address their grievances”.
The council urged Ndigbo to remain calm as efforts were being intensified to “have the federal government address various injustices against Ndigbo which are responsible for the renewed agitation for Biafra.”
OYC, therefore, called on the federal government to quickly address all injustices against Ndigbo which it said were the causes of the renewed agitation for Biafra.
“Kanu’s arrest was not the only reason for protests by MASSOB and IPOB. There are other fundamental issues which must be addressed to finally heal the wounds of Ndigbo such as the poor state of federal roads in the South East, abandonment of the Enugu coal mine over 43 years, non- inclusion of Abia and Imo youths in the Niger Delta Amnesty deal.
Also reacting on Kanu’s release, the spokesman of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Emma Powerful said Biafran independence is non- negotiable, vowing that IPOB and other pro- Biafra groups will sustain the struggle until Biafra is finally realised.
Speaking with the Authority in Umuahia on phone, Powerful declared that “no force can stop Biafra agitation because it is a mass movement supported by the oppressed people of Biafra who are tired of enslavement in Nigeria”.
He said that Biafra had gone beyond Nigerian authorities, adding that by 2016, the United Nations will be conducting a referendum on the final secession of Biafra from “oppressive Nigeria”.
Okechukwu Isiguzoro