The Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has said there is Biafra in the heart of every Nigerian.
Ikpeazu, however, said he does not believe that the creation of an independent Biafra can be achieved through violence, as there are better means of going about such agitation.
“If Biafra is a metaphor for agitation against injustice in any way, then there is Biafra in the heart of every Nigerian,” he said, even as he called on the citizens to project things that unite the nation.
Ikpeazu spoke 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,” he said.
However, advocating for justice and equity in the country, Ikpeazu noted that some of the agitations from Nigerians are germane and should be addressed.
The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, which is spearheading recent agitations for Biafra issued a sit-at-home order in the southeast today, (May 31, 2021) but the governor distanced himself from the group, saying he does not recognise IPOB, dismissing the order.
“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.”
The governor who recalled that the late women’s rights activist and social mobilizer, late Margaret Ekpo was a councilor in Abia State, and that someone from Kano State was once a mayor in Enugu State, lamenting 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 queried.
A Nigerian court had in 2017 outlawed IPOB with the Federal Government designating the group as terrorists, even as
clashes between members of IPOB 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 spoke 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.
Yshaya who spoke through the General Officer Commanding One Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi.
“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.
