Ohaneze Ndigbo and the Muslims
In a show of peace, support and unity, the apex Igbo-socio cultural organization, have paid a visit to their Northern counterparts residing in Enugu community after their Mosque was engulfed by fire.
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo led by the Enugu branch President, Chief Alex Ogbonna, on Wednesday, visited the Muslim Community in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State to commiserate with them over the fire incident which engulfed a mosque in the area.
It was reported that a mosque located at Ogrute, the council headquartres was early morning of Saturday last week engulfed by a mysterious fire, which razed the entire roof down.
Chief Alex who led other members of his exco to the mosque, said he was in the area to re-echo the existing peace and bond existing among all the residents of the State irrespective of their religious and ethnic differences.
He expressed sadness over the inferno, and urged the Muslim faithful to accept the development as an act of God which should not be allowed to affect the existing cordial relationship existing between Christians and Muslims in the State.
“We are here to sympathize with you and to tell you that whatever may be the case, we shall continue to be one. You have been here for several years and there has never been any incident of whatever form. So, our appeal is that you all should continue to live in peace.
“So, the essence of our coming here today is to show solidarity with the Imam and thee Muslim community in this area. We have Christians, traditionalists and Muslims in this State and all of them practice their religion unhindered.
“There is absolute freedom of worship in Enugu State and as such everybody is free to pursue their religion. That’s why we felt touched that this happened to a house of God”, he said.
Ogbonna further stated that “we felt that what happened is quite unusual because this is the most peaceful State. The Governor is a peaceful man and that is why in Enugu, everybody sleeps with two eyes closed.
“Also, from what we have noticed today, almost all the Muslim faithful here, including the Imam are Igbos. So, this is internal; this has nothing to do with ethnic group or religion. Our people should not be afraid at all.
“However, we are sure that God will find a way in distant time to see to the erection of a better mosque here.”
In a remark, the Chief Imam of Enugu-Ezike, Alhaji Ali Osai expressed happiness with the Ohanaeze leadership over the visit, and stressed that they had lived in absolute peace with adherents of other religions, stressing that “the peace will be sustained.”
hairman of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Ambassador Shettima Yarima, has said the quit notice given to Igbo in the northern states stands, pending the outcome of their current consultations across board.
• ‘You can’t live with us and talk Biafra’
• ‘We won’t use force’
The Chairman of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Ambassador Shettima Yarima, has said the quit notice given to Igbo in the northern states stands, pending the outcome of their current consultations across board.
“Our stand on Biafra still stands. But when the period expires, we are not going to expel them by force. We don’t have the constitutional power to do that. So whoever does not believe in Nigeria can leave at his will peacefully. We are not using any force to eject them from the North,” he said.
Yarima spoke at a town hall meeting organised by a coalition of northern youths at Ni’imah Guest Palace Hotel, Kano under the leadership of Nastura Ashir Sharif.
In his keynote address, Sharif said that apart from the quit notice, they had also written to the United Nations on the violent activities of the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, urging them to declare him a terrorist and his agitation illegal.
According to him, the Arewa youths are still expecting a response from the UN which would guide their next move. “That is why we say our quit notice still stands and our resolve that anybody who doesn’t want to stay in Nigeria should vacate our region still stands, but we are not going to use force to actualize that. We will do it through peaceful means, this is because of the fact that one cannot be living with us and talking Biafra,” Sharif stated.
He said it was sad that people focused more on the quit notice issued by the northern youths rather than on a “presented recorded video evidence where Nnamdi Kanu called for genocide like what happened in Rwanda.”
Sharif revealed that “After our Kaduna Declaration, when we issued a quit notice to all Igbo residing in the North to leave the region on or before 1st October, 2017, we received various calls from people both within and outside the country telling us to review our stand and come up with other demands or issues affecting the North.”
He said they were advised to go beyond Biafra issue and come up with strategies to tackle issues bothering on economy, unemployment, security, Almajiri and drug abuse as they affect the North.
“We are indeed heeding the calls, that is why we are here in Kano holding a Town Hall meeting in line with the advice. We would organise similar meetings in North East and North Central after which we will come up with our final stand regarding this issue,” he said.
Prof. Aliyu Jibia, who is the chairman of the Arewa Summit Development Initiative, in his submission, lamented the issue of Almajiri, urging the people to rise against the menace by proffering lasting solution to it.
He revealed that on the 1st of October, the group would hold a one- million-man march to sensitize the people on the menace of Almajiri that has been affecting the region for many years.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on Wednesday knocked the Acting President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, for allegedly equating the IPOB group with the “faceless and uninformed” northern youths coalition, which issued a quit notice to the Igbo living in the North.
Kanu, who spoke in Abuja through his team of defence counsel led by Ifeanyi Ejiofor at a briefing, also accused the Federal Government of disrespecting court orders.
Kanu demanded that other detained IPOB leaders — Chidiebere Onwudiwe, Benjamin Madubugwu, David Nwawuisi and Bright Chimezie, be freed immediately.
He said, “With due reverence to the Acting President, and his rank as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, we deem it obligatory to state the correct position of the law as it relates to his faulty position.
“We observed most respectfully that the learned silk made this remark in direct response to the quit notice threats and ultimatum handed down to Igbo living in the northern part of the country, by a faceless and uninformed northern group.
“But it must be noted that it is a mistake to equate the lawful and legitimate aspirations and agitations for Biafra with the unlawful, illegal and illegitimate quit notice, and threat given to the Igbo people to leave the North by this group.
“We submit that the right to self-determination, recognisable under various instruments which Nigeria is a signatory to is clearly provided for under Article 20(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) ( Act Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990.”
The lead counsel said the five counts preferred against the IPOB leaders must also be “immediately withdrawn.”
“Section 35(1)(4) (a)(b) of the 1999 Constitution is explicit on the maximum length of time that a citizen can be detained in custody either with order of court or without trial. This period is two months and Bright Chimezie has spent well over nine months in detention of the state without trial, more so when a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered the Department of State Services to release Chimezie.
“On the strength of the foregoing, we demand that the five counts preferred against our clients — Kanu, Onwudiwe, Madubugwu. Nwawuisi and Chimezie — be immediately withdrawn and the defendants freed without further ado.
“We demand that Chimezie, who was ordered to be released by the order made on May 24 by His Lordship, Hon. Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu, be released immediately without further ado and in compliance with the positive orders of court.”
Over the ultimatum give to the Igbos to quit the North, the former Abia State governor, has just received the leaders of the Coalition of Arewa Youths in his office in Abuja.
Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Kalu, on Tuesday afternoon, received the leaders of the Coalition of Arewa Youths led by its chairman, Alhaji Shettima Yerima in his office in Abuja.
Here's what he posted on his Facebook page over the meeting on the Northern group;
"This afternoon, I received the leaders of the Coalition of Arewa Youths led by its Chairman, Alhaji Shettima Yerima . It is the same group that made the Kaduna declaration in which three months quit notice was given to the Igbo people living in the North. The quit notice have actually been a source of worry to me because I knew the commitments of our people around the world not to talk more of being economic migrants in nature.
"The unnecessary uprising caused by the quit notice inundated me to call them to order as nothing is too much to be sacrificed for peace. I believe the actions of these youth were borne out of frustration and I am happy that they have promised me today that they will further consult to sheath their swords and denounce their declaration.
"Today, they have given me their word of embracing peace and maintaining that no harm shall befall any of our people in the North. I believe in a united Nigeria where fairness, equity and justice are instituted. I also believe that our lives are sacrosanct and no Igbo blood should be spilled at any slightest provocation again."
Before the visitors left, they had group photographs with their host as proof of their commitment to the promise and rethink.
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on Monday, said Igbo must not vacate the North, or any other part of the country, as a condition for the actualization of the agitation for Biafra.
The IPOB leader spoke in an interview with some journalists in Enugu, where he received awards from a number of pan-Igbo groups, including the Igbo Women Assembly, the Eastern Consultative Assembly and the Igbo Students Union.
Reacting to the ‘quit notice’ issued to Igbo in the North by a coalition of Arewa youths, Kanu noted that secession from Nigeria did not imply that Igbo must leave the North, or other part of the country as suggested by the ultimatum issued by the northern youths.
He said, “You are aware that Scotland is seeking to leave the United Kingdom? Are you remotely implying that every person from Scotland, who lives in England, should now return to Scotland?
“Britain just left the EU. Are you now implying that every British citizen in the EU should come back to Britain in order to finalize that process of extraction of Britain from the EU?”
Kanu noted that what he described as “poor education” was responsible for the impression that Igbo must leave other parts of Nigeria in the event of the actualization of Biafra.
The Biafran agitator added that he would not take issue with the Arewa youths, who he described as “inconsequential.”
Kanu, nonetheless, warned that Igbo, who resided in the North, were doing so at their own peril.
According to him, Igbo resident in the North are “sacrificial lambs” who could be killed at any moment.
Asked if Igbo in the North should ignore the notice to quit, the IPOB leader stated, “It is up to them. They have been in the North, and they (northerners) have been killing us (Igbo) since 1945.
“If you choose to live in the North, you choose to be a sacrificial lamb because one day, they will kill you. It is a choice they have made and they will have to live with it.”
Kanu insisted that the governorship poll in Anambra State, scheduled to hold on November 18, 2017, would not hold unless the Federal Government acceded to pro-Biafran agitators’ demand for a referendum.
Asked if he was not bothered that Ohanaeze Ndigbo had overruled his call for the boycott of the poll, Kanu said he was in charge of the people “100 per cent.”
He added, “No, I’m not (bothered) because the people are with us. We control the people 100 per cent and come Anambra, on the 18th of November, 2017, the whole world will be amazed.”
Although he said he was certain that the people of Anambra would boycott the election, Kanu said IPOB did not intend to stop anybody who decided to vote.
“We are entirely peaceful. We are not stopping anyone from voting. If you want to vote, you can go and vote. We are democrats,” he said.
Kanu added that the planned referendum would, once and for all, settle the debate between Biafra and restructuring.
The IPOB leader said, “We are calling for a referendum so that the people can actually decide, once and for all, what they want, for themselves; not anybody deciding for them.
“I have not argued Biafra from the standpoint of absolutism. I am not saying you must vote for Biafra. I am asking the powers that be in Nigeria to allow the people to determine for themselves.”
Reacting to his bail conditions, the IPOB leader said the court, which barred him from granting interviews, could not stop him from speaking.
He said, “I am not giving an interview, I am responding to the question you asked me. The judge is a very learned fellow. She cannot stop me from speaking.”
Earlier, Kanu had assured a delegation of the Igbo Women Assembly, led by Mrs. Maria Okwor, that the menace posed by Fulani herdsmen in parts of the South-East “would come to an end before the end of the year.”
He equally told members of the Igbo Students Union, who honoured him with the title of ‘Light of the People’, to join IPOB and propagate the struggle for Biafra on the social media.
Meanwhile, IPOB, on Monday, alleged that some top politicians were plotting to kill Kanu, its leader, and other principal officers of the group.
It said huge amount of money and political patronages had been offered to certain people to execute the plot.
In a statement by the group’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, IPOB said any attack on Kanu would radicalize the Biafra struggle in a manner nobody could stop.
The group named certain governors, an elder statesman, a socio-cultural organisation, a security chief and a religious head as some of those masterminding the plot.
The statement added, “But we promise them that any attack on Nnamdi Kanu or assassination attempt will radicalize the struggle for Biafran independence to the point which no one can contain.
“We are reminding those evil plotters that if anything happens to our leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who has been using non-violent methods for Biafran liberation since the inception of IPOB, that they will experience what they have not seen before since the creation of the contraption called Nigeria by the British.”
In the course of achieving the Great Igbo Nation, the strategy below has been tested and trusted via the #ObianoEffect in Anambra State.
1. Provide adequate Security like in Anambra that's now the Safest State in Nigeria;
2. Commission Committees and Policies to aid investment like the Anambra Land Acquisition Committee & C of O Promo, etc;
3. Set up a one stop shop for Investment like the ANSIPPA in Anambra State;
4. Establish an agency to provide loans to micro, small and medium scale enterprises just like the ASBA in Anambra;
5. Commence rapid development of every community and the capital cities like the Anambra Community Infrastructure program and ACTDA initiative;
6. Start a massive "Aku Lue Uno" Campaign to urge ndi Igbo world over to bring their investments home.
ANAMBRA, nay Igbos, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria. Yes, some of us want Biafra.
Yes some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or injust. Our approach to reforms of our laws even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring must be lawful.
The above statement was made by the President of the igbo socio-cultural group, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia John Nwodo, during a session with the Anambra State House of Assembly, to clear the air regarding the Anambra November 18th Guber Election that Nnamdi kanu has called his IPOB followers to boycott.
Chief Nwodo argued that Anambra people should not by any means be be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader. And speaking about Nnamdi temerity, questioned why he should descend to the arena, when he is not even from Anambra and dictate for Anambra People when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for.
Chief Nwodo who was veracious in his vituperation Nnamdi Kanu's approach, stated, "Our approach to reforms of our laws even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring must be lawful. We must convine other Nigerians of our points of views, we must strive to make others share our concoctions. Our language must be civil, respectful and leads to consensus building. We must resist any attempt to turn division amongst us, as to which way we must go, becoming a source of altercafion between us".
Ohaneze Ndigbo also bemoans the inability of the Inspector General police to arrest the Arewa Youth group that issued the quit notice, stating that ndigbo living in northern Nigeria are in complete awe and consternation regarding how safe they will be after October 1st.
Notable stakeholders present at the meeting where, Chief Damian Okeke Ogene (Ohaneze Ndigbo, Anambra State Chairman); Hon. Bar. Rita Mmaduagwu(Speaker, Anambra State House of Assembly); Chief Sir Victor Umeh(Fmr. Apga National Chairman); and members, Anambra State Assembly.
Chief Sir. Victor Umeh while speaking, reiterated that the glamour for war is not the right way to go. He called on various agitators to follow the proper legal process as means of actualizing their project.
Chief Nna Nwodo assures that the session with Anambra State House of Asssembly is the first of its kind and will be replicated across other South Eastern States.
Col. Joe Achuzia (rtd), a Biafra War veteran, has described the eviction notice issued to the Igbo by the Coalition of Arewa Youths as real, saying that the targets are not only Igbo but every other ethnic nationality except the Fulani.
According to The Sun News, while so many have elected to take the ultimatum for granted, Achuzia cautioned against it on the ground that the youths meant business as the ultimatum is the first step in trying to execute a resolution reached in 1989.
Achuzia said there was an Islam in Africa conference held in London precisely November 28, 1989 when it was agreed to Islamise the African continent with Nigeria as the hub.
To achieve this agenda which has a time frame, Achuzia said the then Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida committed $21b of the nation’s resources into the project.
He told Daily Sun in an exclusive interview in Asaba that the Fulani Muslims in Nigeria are now running out of time, hence, the youths backed by their elders have initiated the process of the Islamic agenda, starting with the Igbo who they consider as serious threats.
“It is now clear why the Igbo are targeted because they are primarily pan-Africans. They wanted an Africa that exposes the concept of democracy and leadership within the African continent.
“The Fulani being sojourners from across the Golan Heights into Africa through Egypt to Libya, Tunisia, Morocco and all the way to the various countries in West Africa had been on a non-stop Jihad.
“The idea is to colonize Africa and make it an Islamic continent, not nation, with Nigeria the largest country in size and population to lead the crusade of turning Africa into an Islamic continent.
“To do this, there was a meeting held on November 28, 1989 in London setting up an Islamic council to Islamic organisation to make Nigeria a hub of Islamisation in Africa and they were given a time frame.
“The time now is up, according to what I can read, the youths are playing their roles which is giving notice to the only group they thought is responsible for making it difficult for them to Islamise Africa.
“After all, the Igbo want Africa as a democracy whereby we can live and let’s live but Islam wants to eliminate Christianity, Amadiya and so on,” Achuzia stated.
He warned that if the threat by Arewa youths is treated with kid gloves, no region, not even the Middle Belt and Amadiya Islam of South-West region would survive the consequence, adding that the only way out is to restructure the country.
“The only way to douse the fire is to reconstruct Nigeria. If you don’t restructure, the country will either go up in smoke or even if it goes up in smoke, there will be nothing left for Islam, and nothing left for Christianity and other religions.
“If Fulani Islam cannot accept Amadiya as part of the Islamic organisation, how do you expect them to accept Christianity? But restructuring will bring about live and let’s live.
“Maybe gradually as time goes on we will learn to love one another but for now, that conference they held in London in 1989 is what is creating the problem that we face now. The ultimatum has been given as a means of calling the Igbo to get out before we force you, this we will not accept,” he insisted.
He opined that there is a demarcation line separating “the Fulani from Hausa of the middle belt; demarcating them from the Maiduguri people who are Kanuri; separating them from the Yoruba who adopted Islam but called it the Amadiya Islam which the Fulani refused that as far as they are concerned they don’t call it Islam.
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