Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State believes violence is
not the best way to achieve the creation of an independent
Biafra nation, insisting that there are better means of going
about such agitation.
Ikpeazu noted this when he featured as a guest on Channels
Television’s Sunday Politics, recalling his experiences during
the Nigerian Civil War.
“I don’t believe in Biafra through the barrels of the gun
because I saw a little bit of the Civil War and I don’t want that
kind of thing and I don’t see the prospects of that venture
and I don’t want anything that will be suicidal,” the governor
said during the show.
The proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) which is
spearheading recent agitations for the creation of the nation
had issued a sit-at-home order in the southeast but the
governor said he does not recognise the group, and waved
off the move.
“As far as we are concerned in Abia, there is nothing like
IPOB,” Ikpeazu said but admitted that “it is difficult to
proscribe an ideology.”
While advocating for justice and equity in the nation, the Abia
governor argued that some of the agitations from Nigerians
are germane and should be addressed.
“If Biafra is a metaphor for agitation against injustice in any
way, then there is Biafra in the heart of every Nigerian,” he
added, just as he called on the citizens to project things that
unite the nation.
The governor who recalled that the late women’s rights
activist and social mobilizer Margaret Ekpo was a councilor
in Abia State, and that someone from Kano State was once a
mayor in Enugu State, lamented the rising level of disunity in
Nigeria.
“Why are we not taking steps to build bridges? Rather we are
emphasizing things that divide us – ethnicity, religion – all
those things that divide us,” the governor said.
A Nigerian court had in 2017 outlawed IPOB with the Federal
Government designating the group as terrorists.
Clashes between members of the separatist body and the
country’s security agencies have made headlines in recent
months, heightening fears in the region.
The Nigerian Army had on Saturday reiterated its
commitment to crushing Boko Haram terrorists, IPOB, as well
as end all forms of criminality in the country.
Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Major General Farouk
Yahaya who stated this during the passing out parade of the
80 regular recruits intake at the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria in
Kaduna State, admitted that the country is facing severe
security challenges.
“Nigeria is facing numerous security challenges occasioned
by the activities of Boko Haram terrorist group, armed
bandits kidnappers, IPOB and other criminal elements. We
would not rest on our oars until this country is safe for all of
us,” he said at the event where he was represented by the
General Officer Commanding One Mechanized Division of the
Nigerian Army, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi.
