BIAFRA: Why we’re against Ohanaeze summit on restructuring —IPOB
The Media and Publicity Secretary of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Emma Powerful, in this interview with TONY OKAFOR, explains why his group is against the Ohanaeze summit on restructuring and other issues
Why is your group kicking against the Ohanaeze summit on restructuring?
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has outlived its usefulness. An organisation that claims to represent the interest of the people but is actively engaged in undermining the collective aspiration of the same people it claims to be working for should not exist. Ohanaeze Ndigbo is an organisation that has soiled its hands in the blood of the innocent. Nnia Nwodo (Ohanaeze President-General), Gov. Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State) and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State) are the brains behind Operation Python Dance II.
Is it conceivable that Pa Ayo Adebanjo or the Afenifere leadership will take the pains of travelling to Abuja to beg the Fulani rulers of Nigeria to use the Nigerian military to invade South-West to kill Yoruba sons and daughters agitating for their freedom? Despite the well documented violent tendencies of the OPC (Oodua Peoples Congress), no Yoruba representative ever called for their cold-blooded execution by the military.
Arewa Consultative Forum never condemned a full-blown terrorist outfit like Boko Haram; they are actively working with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Fulani herdsmen), the fourth deadliest terrorist organisation in the world.
Nnia Nwodo and Dave Umahi travelled to Abuja not less than three times to plead with the archenemies of Biafra to launch a deadly military operation to wipe out IPOB leadership in cold blood. Nnia Nwodo and South-East governors cannot initiate the assassination of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and countless other unarmed agitators and hope to benefit from their evil deeds by conducting public meetings as if nothing happened. To allow Ohanaeze Ndigbo to keep operating as normal, given their treachery and murderous mindset, would mean condoning the worst form of abomination in our society. They are responsible for the death of hundreds of victims of Operation Python Dance, including our leader, and if anybody thinks we will easily forget what role Nnia Nwodo and Dave Umahi played in this matter, they are clearly mistaken.
What evidence do you have against some Igbo leaders who you accuse of treachery?
Evidence abounds as to the catalogue of treachery and betrayal by this group of political merchants masquerading as leaders and elite led by Nnia Nwodo’s Ohanaeze Ndigbo. South-East governors, in concert with Nnia Nwodo’s Ohanaeze Ndigbo, proscribed IPOB for no reason other than greed, envy and jealousy. Do not forget that they proscribed IPOB before the army did, which was later followed by the ruling of the Fulani judge, Justice (Abdul) Kafarati. The Attorney General of the Federation cited the proscription of IPOB by South-East governors as the key reason why IPOB should be tagged a terrorist group. Go and check the court papers; it is there. What other crime could be worse than inviting your enemies to invade your land to kill your so-called children or those you claim to be leading? Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Willie Obiano, Rochas Okorocha and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi actively sought military intervention from the Fulani administration of Muhammadu Buhari to come and kill Nnamdi Kanu, his parents and IPOB agitators in Afaraukwu, Ibeku, Abia State on October 14, 2017 under the guise of Operation Python Dance II. Other traitors, such as Kalu Idika Kalu, were busy boasting at a gathering in Lagos that Operation Python Dance was a welcome development.
The meeting of Igbo leaders at Nike Lake Resort, convened by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to give Igbo public approval to the murder of hundreds of IPOB agitators by the Nigerian Army was an abominable act before God, before the spirit of our ancestors and before man. Some traditional rulers were given N500,000 each to purchase their silence on that fateful evening at Nike Lake resort.
Why is it that innocent IPOB agitators are still locked up in prison when Boko Haram terrorists are being released and Fulani herdsmen are quite literally being treated as untouchables and above the law? Why is Ohanaeze Ndigbo not against Fulani herdsmen the same way it has come out against IPOB? The sins of Ohanaeze Ndigbo are too numerous to outline here, but we know that their time has come to an end under the leadership of Nnia Nwodo.
You threatened to disrupt the summit and cause bloodshed. What if soldiers descend on your group since it has been proscribed?
We shall protest and heckle, which is also our democratic right. Our reference to bloodshed is specific. If the Nigerian Army were to open fire on protesters, then Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu and others will feel the wrath of the people. They can’t expect to be killing other people’s children that did them no wrong or harm and expect nothing to happen to their own.
We are used to soldiers descending on us but at the appropriate time, they will all answer for their crimes. It’s not a question of if but when. No commanding officer responsible for the deaths of IPOB agitators will ever go scot-free. At the right time, we shall hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice, even if they run to Niger Republic. This generation of Biafrans is unforgiving; that is one thing our enemies must know.
We recognise the right of people to peaceful assembly but Ohanaeze Ndigbo never accorded IPOB the same right because, if they did, they would not have asked the military to attack IPOB whose sole crime is to assemble, associate and exercise their right to free speech.
Why are you insisting that the Ohanaeze should support your referendum agenda?
Referendum is the will of the people. No right-thinking, intelligent being would subscribe to the ludicrous notion of one Nigeria unless that person is a thief, suffering from identity crisis or lacking in self-confidence that can only hide by belonging to a wider Nigeria. If Ohanaeze Ndigbo is in doubt as to what our people truly desire, they should conduct a plebiscite.
Restructuring is not a panacea for the ills bedevilling Nigeria. The only solution is outright dissolution. Restructuring is a product of a flawed intellectual argument devoid of common sense and rational thinking. You cannot fuse together divergent, competing and often irreconcilable value systems into one monolithic geopolitical space.
What is your group doing to produce Nnamdi Kanu in court so that Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and others won’t lose their N300m bail bond?
There is a video footage shot during the army invasion which the GOC, 82 Division Enugu admitted to have also watched via live army feed to the headquarters. In the video clips, it was ascertained that our leader was in his bedroom during the invasion.
Who, in the opinion of any right-thinking person, should produce Nnamdi Kanu? Are they those that carried out the invasion with the intention to kill or the 28 dead IPOB members slain at the scene?
The idea of asking IPOB to produce him is implying that IPOB family members dressed up in army uniform and stormed Kanu’s residence, killing 28 people in the process. Any keen observer of the proceedings at Binta Nyako’s court will tell you that the nonsense being reported about the sureties going to jail or forfeiting their bond is patently false. Justice Binta Nyako never made such pronouncements as reported in certain sections of the media.
The fact of the matter remains that the sureties have never had an opportunity in court to present their case before now because the prosecution has been following the wrong legal process. Eyinnaya Abaribe’s lawyer corrected this anomaly during the last sitting which the court agreed with. The court compelled the AGF to follow the right process of service which they are now doing. How can a surety go to jail or forfeit his bond when a court hasn’t ruled on it yet? This media trial must stop. At the end of this whole legal process, the world will understand precisely what happened at Nnamdi Kanu’s home because Buratai and his men will be cross-examined in a court of law under oath. One outcome is certain at the end of this case — the army will produce our leader.
The Media and Publicity Secretary of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Emma Powerful, in this interview with TONY OKAFOR, explains why his group is against the Ohanaeze summit on restructuring and other issues
Why is your group kicking against the Ohanaeze summit on restructuring?
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has outlived its usefulness. An organisation that claims to represent the interest of the people but is actively engaged in undermining the collective aspiration of the same people it claims to be working for should not exist. Ohanaeze Ndigbo is an organisation that has soiled its hands in the blood of the innocent. Nnia Nwodo (Ohanaeze President-General), Gov. Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State) and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia State) are the brains behind Operation Python Dance II.
Is it conceivable that Pa Ayo Adebanjo or the Afenifere leadership will take the pains of travelling to Abuja to beg the Fulani rulers of Nigeria to use the Nigerian military to invade South-West to kill Yoruba sons and daughters agitating for their freedom? Despite the well documented violent tendencies of the OPC (Oodua Peoples Congress), no Yoruba representative ever called for their cold-blooded execution by the military.
Arewa Consultative Forum never condemned a full-blown terrorist outfit like Boko Haram; they are actively working with the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (Fulani herdsmen), the fourth deadliest terrorist organisation in the world.
Nnia Nwodo and Dave Umahi travelled to Abuja not less than three times to plead with the archenemies of Biafra to launch a deadly military operation to wipe out IPOB leadership in cold blood. Nnia Nwodo and South-East governors cannot initiate the assassination of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and countless other unarmed agitators and hope to benefit from their evil deeds by conducting public meetings as if nothing happened. To allow Ohanaeze Ndigbo to keep operating as normal, given their treachery and murderous mindset, would mean condoning the worst form of abomination in our society. They are responsible for the death of hundreds of victims of Operation Python Dance, including our leader, and if anybody thinks we will easily forget what role Nnia Nwodo and Dave Umahi played in this matter, they are clearly mistaken.
What evidence do you have against some Igbo leaders who you accuse of treachery?
Evidence abounds as to the catalogue of treachery and betrayal by this group of political merchants masquerading as leaders and elite led by Nnia Nwodo’s Ohanaeze Ndigbo. South-East governors, in concert with Nnia Nwodo’s Ohanaeze Ndigbo, proscribed IPOB for no reason other than greed, envy and jealousy. Do not forget that they proscribed IPOB before the army did, which was later followed by the ruling of the Fulani judge, Justice (Abdul) Kafarati. The Attorney General of the Federation cited the proscription of IPOB by South-East governors as the key reason why IPOB should be tagged a terrorist group. Go and check the court papers; it is there. What other crime could be worse than inviting your enemies to invade your land to kill your so-called children or those you claim to be leading? Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu, Willie Obiano, Rochas Okorocha and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi actively sought military intervention from the Fulani administration of Muhammadu Buhari to come and kill Nnamdi Kanu, his parents and IPOB agitators in Afaraukwu, Ibeku, Abia State on October 14, 2017 under the guise of Operation Python Dance II. Other traitors, such as Kalu Idika Kalu, were busy boasting at a gathering in Lagos that Operation Python Dance was a welcome development.
The meeting of Igbo leaders at Nike Lake Resort, convened by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to give Igbo public approval to the murder of hundreds of IPOB agitators by the Nigerian Army was an abominable act before God, before the spirit of our ancestors and before man. Some traditional rulers were given N500,000 each to purchase their silence on that fateful evening at Nike Lake resort.
Why is it that innocent IPOB agitators are still locked up in prison when Boko Haram terrorists are being released and Fulani herdsmen are quite literally being treated as untouchables and above the law? Why is Ohanaeze Ndigbo not against Fulani herdsmen the same way it has come out against IPOB? The sins of Ohanaeze Ndigbo are too numerous to outline here, but we know that their time has come to an end under the leadership of Nnia Nwodo.
You threatened to disrupt the summit and cause bloodshed. What if soldiers descend on your group since it has been proscribed?
We shall protest and heckle, which is also our democratic right. Our reference to bloodshed is specific. If the Nigerian Army were to open fire on protesters, then Nnia Nwodo, Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu and others will feel the wrath of the people. They can’t expect to be killing other people’s children that did them no wrong or harm and expect nothing to happen to their own.
We are used to soldiers descending on us but at the appropriate time, they will all answer for their crimes. It’s not a question of if but when. No commanding officer responsible for the deaths of IPOB agitators will ever go scot-free. At the right time, we shall hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice, even if they run to Niger Republic. This generation of Biafrans is unforgiving; that is one thing our enemies must know.
We recognise the right of people to peaceful assembly but Ohanaeze Ndigbo never accorded IPOB the same right because, if they did, they would not have asked the military to attack IPOB whose sole crime is to assemble, associate and exercise their right to free speech.
Why are you insisting that the Ohanaeze should support your referendum agenda?
Referendum is the will of the people. No right-thinking, intelligent being would subscribe to the ludicrous notion of one Nigeria unless that person is a thief, suffering from identity crisis or lacking in self-confidence that can only hide by belonging to a wider Nigeria. If Ohanaeze Ndigbo is in doubt as to what our people truly desire, they should conduct a plebiscite.
Restructuring is not a panacea for the ills bedevilling Nigeria. The only solution is outright dissolution. Restructuring is a product of a flawed intellectual argument devoid of common sense and rational thinking. You cannot fuse together divergent, competing and often irreconcilable value systems into one monolithic geopolitical space.
What is your group doing to produce Nnamdi Kanu in court so that Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe and others won’t lose their N300m bail bond?
There is a video footage shot during the army invasion which the GOC, 82 Division Enugu admitted to have also watched via live army feed to the headquarters. In the video clips, it was ascertained that our leader was in his bedroom during the invasion.
Who, in the opinion of any right-thinking person, should produce Nnamdi Kanu? Are they those that carried out the invasion with the intention to kill or the 28 dead IPOB members slain at the scene?
The idea of asking IPOB to produce him is implying that IPOB family members dressed up in army uniform and stormed Kanu’s residence, killing 28 people in the process. Any keen observer of the proceedings at Binta Nyako’s court will tell you that the nonsense being reported about the sureties going to jail or forfeiting their bond is patently false. Justice Binta Nyako never made such pronouncements as reported in certain sections of the media.
The fact of the matter remains that the sureties have never had an opportunity in court to present their case before now because the prosecution has been following the wrong legal process. Eyinnaya Abaribe’s lawyer corrected this anomaly during the last sitting which the court agreed with. The court compelled the AGF to follow the right process of service which they are now doing. How can a surety go to jail or forfeit his bond when a court hasn’t ruled on it yet? This media trial must stop. At the end of this whole legal process, the world will understand precisely what happened at Nnamdi Kanu’s home because Buratai and his men will be cross-examined in a court of law under oath. One outcome is certain at the end of this case — the army will produce our leader.
I'm always fulfilled after reading any article from IPOB,God bless Biafrans
ReplyDelete