Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council agrees to drop Biafran agitation for Igbo president come 2019

MEMBERS of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council (OYC) have agreed to shelve their calls for the creation of the sovereign state of Biafra if Igbos are allowed to produce Nigeria's next president in 2019.

Over the last two years, calls have grown for the recreation of the sovereign state of Biafra which existed briefly between July 1967 and January 1970. Following the arrest of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) leader Nnamdi Kanu, these calls became more strident with huge demonstrations called across the southeast demanding secession.

Although Mr Kanu has subsequently been released on bail, on May 30, Ipob called for a sit-at-home protest across Igboland to make the 30th anniversary of the declaration of Biafra. This successful protest prompted a coalition of youth groups from across northern Nigeria to respond with a threat of retribution and an ultimatum that all Igbos living in the region should leave by October 1.

Over the last two weeks, the Nigerian polity has been charged as the series of threats and counter threats heated up the political space. In response to the situation, the OYC met in Enugu and pledged to end calls for secession but warned that it would no longer allow its people to continue to play a second fiddle, noting that it’s either the presidency in 2019 or Biafra by 2020.

Among other things, the OYC maintained that anything short of either the presidency or Biafra would be unacceptable to them. It said it had activated all its machineries towards the actualisation of the project.

In a communique issued after the meeting, which was signed by the OYC general secretary Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, the group said Ndigbo would no longer play second fiddle in Nigerian politics. It described as a sheer injustice and hatred a situation where no Igbo has been allowed close to the seat of power for decades, whereas other geo-political zones have been taking turns either as military or civilian presidents.

Mazi Nnabuike said: “More annoying is the fact that the north, a major beneficiary in this direction has bluntly refused to heed the call for restructuring, which has been identified as the panacea to the many socio-political problems plaguing the nation. Besides, they have also not only continued to express disdain over the demand for Biafra by Ipob and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra but has also ordered Ndigbo out of the north based on these agitations.

"Remember that former President Olusegun Obasanjo had urged Nigerians to beg Biafra agitators and only a president of Igbo extraction will appease Igbo or Biafra agitation will be inevitable and if there’s any conspiracy against an Igbo president, it will bring Biafra into existence. It does appear from the above that Ndigbo have perpetually remained the sacrificial lamb to keep this forced marriage together and they have remained victims of an abusive marriage, often beaten and cheated by the husband."