Arewa youth groups plans asking National Assembly to allow referendum on Biafran secession

AREWA youth groups have indicated that they may pressurise the National Assembly to pass legislation calling for a referendum on allowing the southeast to remain part of Nigeria as a way of addressing the ongoing political imbroglio in the country.

Over the last two years, ethnic tension has been on the rise across Nigeria with groups in the southeast led by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (Ipob) calling for secession. Ipob have been calling for a referendum allowing southeast Nigeria to secede from the country, which has in turn led to Arewa youth groups giving Igbos living in northern Nigeria an October 1 ultimatum to leave the region.

There are now strong indications that the coalition of northern youths will soon start lobbying members of the National Assembly to include referendum in the ongoing constitution amendments. Arewa Youths Consultative Forum president, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, who gave this indication said the coalition would not use force to effect the quit notice it gave to Ndigbo.

Alhaji Shettima expressed confidence that the referendum would not favour the Ipob leader Nnamdi Kanu and other secessionists, saying the people of the zone would reject secession. However, in Kano on Thursday, the Arewa forum said there was no going back on the quit notice it had given to Igbos living in northern Nigeria.

According to Alhaji Shettima, northern youths would not use force but constitutional means to achieve their goal. He said the forum had written the United Nations to prevail on the federal government to opt for a referendum, which he said would enable those who were desirous of leaving the federation to do so without force.

Alhaji Shettima added: “We are looking at having a referendum and it is part of our prayers to the United Nations. Our second prayer is for the UN and the international community to prevail on the Nigerian government through the National Assembly to create an exit for those who want to leave.

“We are also planning to lobby members of the National Assembly to formally agree to a referendum on Biafra as we want the Igbo to have the opportunity of voting on this issue. We are saying Nigeria cannot sign international treaties and not implement them, so we want a constitutional amendment for referendum because it is not currently part of our constitution.”

He pointed out that Mr Kanu could not speak for Igbo leaders such as Chief Emeka Anyaoku and other intellectuals, noting that the Ipob leader was merely engaging in survival antics. Alhaji Shettima alleged that Mr Kanu was being sponsored by disgruntled Nigerians in foreign countries seeking political relevance, adding that such people were being deceived.

“The truth is that Biafra cannot succeed even through a referendum. The truth of the matter is that an average Igbo man does not believe in Biafra but rather some few individuals are clamouring for it just to survive," Alhaji Shettima added.

Ipob spokesperson, Emma Powerful, said: “My leadership told me not to respond to any statement credited to the Arewa youths but their fathers, that is, the Arewa Elders Forum. But you know very well that if they call for a referendum today, we will win.

“We are praying, let them venture to call for a referendum in Biafraland, then you will know that God Almighty has done it for us. They don’t know what we are doing and what we are planning to do.”

Northern Elder Forum spokesman Professor Ango Abdullahi, said if the federal government invited both northern and southern agitating youths and elders to a roundtable, some common grounds in the interest of the country could be gained. Also, Second Republic lawmaker Dr Junaid Mohammed, added that we have to be sincere with ourselves and see whether the Nigerian project is an implementable project, asking whether any country can survive with this level of continuous agitation.