The apex Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has described as "false, mendacious, and devilish," the claim by a group called the Northern Consensus Forum that not less than 100 northerners were killed in the Southeast in the past week.
The Coordinator of the Northern Consensus Forum, Dr. Auwal Abdullahi Aliyu declared a 3-day warning strike and was quoted in some media reports to have “directed commodity traders and truck drivers to shun the South-East of Nigeria," because of the alleged incessant killing of their members by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
However, in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Dr. Alex Ogbonna, the group said the publication is politically motivated to create mistrust between the North and South.
While calling on Aliyu to locate the corpses of the said 100 persons, Ohaneze noted that "such false alarm is a security threat capable of causing pandemonium across the country."
The statement read in part, “Apart from the negative image of Nigeria, such an unverified front-page report is a breach of the duties and civic responsibilities expected of a national daily such as the Daily Trust.
“Investigative journalism suggests that both the number of persons killed and the locations where they were killed should have been indicated in the report by the Daily Trust.
“Unfortunately, Aliyu has inadvertently reduced the worth of a Nigerian to that of a chicken that could be slaughtered in hundreds within a week. The onus lies on Aliyu to locate the corpses of the said 100 persons.
“A false alarm is a security threat capable of causing pandemonium across the country.
“Going further, is there any other group, among the diverse groups in Nigeria that have come up with a claim of killings by the IPOB? And many more questions that ordinarily will compel the security agents to interrogate the said Coordinator of the Northern Consensus Forum, Dr. Auwal Abdullahi Aliyu, and adequate measures taken to serve as a deterrent to other alarmists.
“There is no gainsaying the relentless efforts of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the clergy, traditional rulers, and indeed all the well-meaning Igbo about the adverse consequences of youth restiveness in the South East.
“We have in that trepidation repeatedly called on the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to come to our aid by adopting a political solution to the agitations by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
“We note with sadness, that various forms of insecurity such as banditry, kidnapping, herders-farmers clash, etc. have come to define our daily lives. We hold the view that while some aspects of the insecurity in Nigeria are amorphous, the IPOB is a known group that can be negotiated out of the present socio-economic quagmire.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the alarmist publication in question is politically motivated to create mistrust between the North and the South. It is important to inform the “new-breed” chauvinists that Igbo friendliness, hospitality, and cosmopolitanism have often found profound expressions in diverse inter-ethnic relations in Nigeria.
“For instance, a Fulani man from Sokoto Caliphate – Mallam Umaru Altine, was in 1952 elected as the first Mayor of the City of Enugu, the heartbeat of the Igbo Nation. He contested for a second term and won and remained in office till 1958.
“Also in 1959, the Igbo, led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, supported Alhaji Tafawa Balewa to become the Prime Minister of Nigeria. Furthermore, the Igbo led by Dr. Alex Ekwueme supported Alhaji Shehu Shagari to become the President of Nigeria in 1979; also to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, 2007 and in 2015, a group of Igbo led by Dr. Chris Ngige, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, among others, supported the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari."
Ohanaeze further said that the said Dr. Aliyu is not in any position to speak on the relationship between Northerners and the people of the South East as he is not among the Northern leaders resident in the South East.
Politics and Opinion
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