Ohaneze Ndi Igbo has said the threat by Northern Youths Coalition to force Igbos out of Northern Nigeria would not be swept under the carpet.
President General of the apex Igbo social cultural group, John Nwodo cited the different killings of Igbos in the North as reasons why the present threat should not be ignored.
Nwodo who spoke on Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme, said the Igbos living in the North are in danger as a result of the threat. He cited several incident of killings since 2015, which the Federal Government or security agents failed to arrest or prosecute the killers.
He expressed worry if the Northern governors and other prominent Northerners who have condemned the call of the Northern youths would be able to stop them when they strike.
According to him, “We have several reasons to bother about the speech by Northern youths because these are discordant voices. You did not mentioned that Ango Abdullahi speaking on behalf of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, it does appear, that even if he doesn’t have the mandate to speak for the elders, incidents that have happened prior to the outburst of the Northern youths indicate that the governors and those who have spoken to the contrary may not have the capacity to stop the building hate that may precipitate insecurity to lives of non Northerners.
“What do I mean by this, since 2015, five Igbo people have been lynched in Abuja. On the 23rd of September 2015, Arinze Chikwelu, from Enugu State, on an errand to buy rechargeable lantern, and on demand for change, was accused to be a thief and was stabbed 47 times and the police has been unable to do anything about this.
“Another was Maduabuchi Ezenwa from Imo State who was lynched following altercation with Hausa trader. Also Ikechukwu Ugwu from Enugu State, after barbing, entered a “Keke,” paid money and asked for change, change was refused, and instead he was accused of being “barawo” and was lynched to death.
“Ndubuisi Obika from Abia state was beheaded in his farm in Abuja and his head was not found until two weeks later.
“Now in May this year, a young man, pressed to urinate, urinated in a gutter closed to a Mosque in an area in Abuja called Gwagwa, he was lynched to death, nobody has been arrested and prosecuted. In October 2016, Sylvester Oziria from Anambra state was killed in Palado, Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa state.
“In Niger State, Emmanuel Chukwumaije from Enugu state was killed in Pandigori in Rafy Local Government Area after being accused of blasphemy, properties, shops and churches belonging to Igbo were burnt. Even when the local government Chairman said the young man was innocent, no compensation has been paid.
“And just last Thursday, a young man called Ikenna Nwabueze, while all this is going on, was killed in Kano, and police has not arrested any suspect. Of course you know about the case of Bridget in Kano in June of last year.
“I see the recent threat by the Northern youths as a quintessence of a building hate, a building despise for Ndigbo and a seeming acquiesce by the federal government to enact a nation in which some are like the animal farm. Some animals are more equal than others.
“The young men in the north see the country as an empire and see any agitation from any part of the country that they are not fairly treated as threat to deny them of their power. There is a building crescendo all over the country of a disposition that is antithesis to national unity and a domicility of government and law-enforcement agents.
“Even the northern youths have been quoted as saying ‘We dare the police to arrest us.’ What does this mean? It is anarchy. They dare the police to arrest them. The northern youths have declared a new state that excludes the South-east
“They have described measures to actualize this. Everything in their speech showed a concluded crime. You have declared an intention and have consummated it. They have declared to take inventory of property belonging to Ndigbo.”
ADDITIONAL REPORT: DAILY POST
