TheNewsGuru

Tag: Igbos

  • My Igbos brothers,sisters are not happy with me- Charly Boy

    My Igbos brothers,sisters are not happy with me- Charly Boy

    Nigerian entertainer and activist, Charly Boy in a new letter tagged Letter to my people has declared that his Igbo brothers and sisters are not happy with him.

    He added that those who truly know and have followed him, will easily deduce that he follows the path least traveled.

     

    Read his letter below

     

    Fellow Biafrans,

     

    I know some of my Igbo brothers and sisters are not happy with me simply because I have not used My Brand as Charly Boy to advocate for the clamor of The Biafran state.

     

    However, like I always say, there is more than one way to achieve a purpose. Though I may disagree with my Igbo brothers and sisters on the choice of rhetorics and methodology, our objectives are to a large extent identical because we all want to bring an end to the marginalisation of the common peoples, by the evil cabals who are holding Nigeria to a ransom and getting away with their obnoxious impunity and criminality.

     

    Those who truly know and have followed me know that I am not a Group soul and I have always dared to follow the path least traveled in the continuous struggle to add value to my environment.

     

    It is indeed laughable that despite being a native chicken, Nwa afo, son of Biafran soil with a full-blown Igbotic blood, I have been persistently labeled a wannabe Yoruba, Hausa, Tiv and an Ijaw man simply because I have consistently maintained that I believe in the unity of Nigeria.

     

    To start with, I go like tell una sey you may not be totally wrong if you call me the man from all tribes in Nigeria. This is because I believe in the oneness of all Nigerian peoples. I believe that we have gotten to a point in our national history where a Yoruba man cannot live in isolation of an Igbo man. Likewise, an Ijaw man cannot live in isolation of a Hausa/Fulani man. All tribes in Nigeria today have become a mat of interwoven fibers that cannot be segregated.

     

    There have so far been inter-tribal marriages, intertribal business ownership, and intertribal partnership; and countless other inter-tribal collaborations and relationships in Nigeria. For this reason, my question to those agitating for secession would be that if each tribe decide to secede from Nigeria today, what then will happen? Who will lead the new nations? Will the people be happy? Will injustice be defeated in the new societies? Will criminality end in leadership positions? Will there be happiness in the new nations? Will the people finally have a country to call their own? These are important questions we must ask ourselves and provide answers to before we even start to beat the drums of secession.

     

    Having said that, I must state that whereas I am a Biafran at heart, what should engage our minds is not a sectional Biafra but a national Biafra. The fight for nationalists who will drive the discourse and the engagement necessary in answering the Nigeria national questions must not be bogged down by petty sentiments, tribal colorations and religious propaganda. The failure of the Igbo nation and all Nigerian tribes and peoples is the fault of influence peddlers and directionless decision makers.

     

    The crux of the Biafran agitation is that my people are tired of a system that has perpetually failed them. My Igbo kinsmen are tired of a system that enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor. My people are tired of a system that glorifies impunity and criminality. My people are tired of decades of oppression and marginalization. However, the deeply rooted disgruntlement in Biafra land is not peculiar to my Igbo brothers and sisters only; all the common peoples in the 500 tribes in Nigeria are victims of a failed system and persistent oppression. And this is essentially where I disagree with my brother Nnamdi Kanu that though Biafra is right, it should be a national cause and not a sectional one.

     

  • ‘Igbos who choose to live in North, chose to be sacrificial lambs,’ Says Kanu

    ‘Igbos who choose to live in North, chose to be sacrificial lambs,’ Says Kanu

    Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu yesterday said Igbos vacating the North was not a condition for the actualisation of Biafra.

    Kanu spoke in an interview with journalists in Enugu, where he received awards from a number of pan-Igbo groups, including the Igbo Women Assembly, the Eastern Consultative Assembly and the Igbo Students Union.

    While reacting to the quit notice issued to Igbos in the North, Kanu said secession does not imply that Igbo must leave any part of Nigeria.

    He said, “You are aware that Scotland is seeking to leave the United Kingdom? Are you remotely implying that every person from Scotland, who lives in England, should now return to Scotland?

    “Britain just left the EU. Are you now implying that every British citizen in the EU should come back to Britain in order to finalise that process of extraction of Britain from the EU?”

    He described the Arewa Youth who have the ultimatum as ‘inconsequential’.

    Kanu, nonetheless, warned that Igbo, who resided in the North, were doing so at their own peril.

    He stated, “It is up to them. They have been in the North, and they (northerners) have been killing us (Igbo) since 1945.

    “If you choose to live in the North, you choose to be a sacrificial lamb because one day, they will kill you. It is a choice they have made and they will have to live with it.”

    He further insisted that the governorship poll in Anambra State, scheduled to hold on November 18, 2017, would not hold.

    He added, “No, I’m not (bothered) because the people are with us. We control the people 100 per cent and come Anambra, on the 18th of November, 2017, the whole world will be amazed.”

    Kanu said IPOB did not intend to stop anybody who decided to vote.

    “We are entirely peaceful. We are not stopping anyone from voting. If you want to vote, you can go and vote. We are democrats,” he said.

    The IPOB leader added, “We are calling for a referendum so that the people can actually decide, once and for all, what they want, for themselves; not anybody deciding for them.

    “I have not argued Biafra from the standpoint of absolutism. I am not saying you must vote for Biafra. I am asking the powers that be in Nigeria to allow the people to determine for themselves.”

  • Quit notice: MASSOB declares August for ‘repatriation’ of Igbos

    In compliance with October 1 Arewa youth quit notice deadline, the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State Biafra (MASSOB) has declared August a month of mass return for Igbo living in the northern parts of the country.

    The group said the choice of August was informed by its significance in Igbo calendar as the period for new yam festival and women’s August meeting.

    In a statement issued yesterday by MASSOB’s National Information Officer, Samuel Edesonu, and made available to our correspondent in Awka, the group said the decision was taken at its national executive meeting presided over by MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu.

    The group charged the Igbo, especially women, to persuade their loved ones, including their husbands and children to take advantage of the period to come back home, assuring that Biafra Intelligence Agency had been deployed to the northern Nigeria for monitoring of the situation.

    It called on the Eze Ndigbo in the 19 Northern States to commence the compilation of names, residential addresses and villages/towns of all Igbo living in their respective northern cities, adding that such data collation of the people should end on 10th of September 2017.

    The statement reads in part,” The Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB) after our National Executive meeting that was presided by our leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu resolved as follows: “That in continuation of our earlier stand and position on the quit notice order to the people of Biafra by Arewa people which will elapse on Oct 1st, MASSOB insists and beckons on Biafrans living in Arewa land to intensify efforts in relocating their families back home.

    “That MASSOB have resolved that the month of August being a significant month of special festivals of Iri ji (New yam) and Women August meeting in Igbo land, MASSOB have declared this the month of August 2017, a special month of mass return for all Igbos living in Northern Nigeria.

    “That MASSOB also mandated all married Igbo women living in Northern Nigeria to start intimating their husbands about the dangers of staying in Arewa land which no longer guaranteed their safeties. They should also intensify their pressure on their husbands concerning the Mass return in this next month.

    “That after the September 10th deadline for this compilation, MASSOB will embark on investigation of all the Eze Ndigbo in northern cities to ascertain their levels of participation in this ancestral order.

    “That MASSOB urge the Eze Ndigbo in northern cities to carry out this compilation of our kinsmen data as a native and ancestry exercise. We appeal to them not to betray this acts of nobility because of their individual’s interest or favor from Hausa Fulani.

    “That MASSOB under the leadership of Comrade Uchenna Madu will continue undeterred in nonviolence pursuant of Biafra actualization and restoration”.

  • Quit Notice on Igbos: I’ll turn myself in when declared wanted – Yerima

    Sequel to the quit notice issued to Igbos in the north and the subsequent controversies this has generated, the leader of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, Shettima Yerima, who was among those that issued the threat said he would submit himself for questioning if declared wanted.

    According to him, he was not on the run and had nothing to fear because he only expressed his views as a Nigerian.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that prominent Northern youth associations after a recent joint meeting tagged ‘Kaduna Declaration’ issued a serious threat to Igbos residing in the region to vacate on or before October 1 (Nigeria’s Independence Day) 2017 or face physical attacks.

    Apart from Yerima, those who endorsed the resolution were Nastura Sharif (Arewa Citizens Action for Change); Aminu Adam (Arewa Youth Development Foundation); Alfred Solomon (Arewa Students Forum); Abdul-Azeez Suleiman (Northern Emancipation Network) as well as Joshua Viashman (Northern Youth Vanguard).

    However, in an interview with The Punch, the AYCF leader said he would voluntarily surrender himself if invited by security agencies.

    In his words: “I did not go into hiding and will never go into hiding. We need to put the record straight. For now, nobody is looking for me and I am ready to submit myself if I am called. I am not a joker. Nobody is looking for me and I am not hiding anywhere from anybody. I am in my village, I am a Nigerian. If anybody looks for me, I will submit myself. I am not above the law. I am not on the run.”

    While insisting that he would not go into hiding, Yerima insisted that the Igbo should leave Nigeria.

    He said, “Why should I go into hiding? I have a name, I have a face. I am not faceless.

    “I am not hiding anywhere. Why should I hide? Where did I go wrong? Somebody wants to go and I said, ‘go, you’re free to go’. What is wrong with it?

    “You cannot be in our country and begin to clamour for another country. Go to your place and declare your own country, not in my zone. It is a simple language. I have not committed any offence.”

  • Buhari’s Finance Minister, Adeosun denies passing derogatory remarks on Igbos

    Buhari’s Finance Minister, Adeosun denies passing derogatory remarks on Igbos

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun has denied passing insulting statements on Igbos.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that one Twitter user @RealMicahDavid had retwitted a statement alleged twitted by the minister suggesting her hatred for the igbos

    David twitted: I will keep poping up this hate speech by @HMKemiAdeosun the Nigeria minister until she defends herself.

    The alleged statement credited to the Minister had claimed she was happy that the Igbos were fading in financial relevance and would completely become financially inconsequential both in their homeland and the country by 2023.

    But she has denied ever insulting the Igbo people as reflected in the tweet which had undergone thousands of retweets:

    The minister also denied making such hateful comments on her Facebook account, she wrote: “It has come to my attention that there’s a fake Twitter post circulating in my name, suggesting that I said something derogatory about Igbos. Kindly disregard it. “It’s nothing but a shoddy attempt to photoshop a hateful statement onto my Twitter handle. I did not say or tweet any such thing. “Every part of Nigeria is important to our financial system and our economy, and as a Government, we will support ALL to achieve their full potential.”

  • Not only Igbos, other tribes are also disgusted with Nigeria – Cardinal Onaiyekan

    …Backs calls for restructuring

    The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan has urged the Federal Government to change the way of doing things in addition to yielding to call by Nigerians to restructure the country.

    Onaiyekan gave this advise at a news conference on the Centenary of the Late Ignatius Cardinal Ekandem, the first Episcopal Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Metropolitan, on Wednesday in Abuja.

    He called on the government to be fair in its dealings so that anger and dissatisfaction would not be the order of the day among the people of the nation.

    “We all know what is causing people to be angry, and if you want to be sincere, there is no part of Nigeria where there is no cause for anger, no part.

    “May be some people are expressing their anger more than the others. But everywhere, people are dissatisfied.

    “It goes in my opinion to the rules of governance. How we governed ourselves, the whole area of justice system and equality before the law,’’ he said.

    He said that whole concept of federal character supposed to be that no part of the country is left behind and called for justice to avoid the issue of favoritism or marginalisation.

    “If the federal character leads to injustice and marginalisation, then, it does not make sense.

    “We must change the way we are doing things, we cannot continue like this. Definitely, if we do, there will be more anger.

    “We don’t know who will be able to mobilise more people to cause more problem,’’ he said.

    Onaiyekan also called on those at the helms of affairs to look at the agitation holistically to correct the imbalance in the land for peace to reign in the nation.

    According to him, we need to critically and effectively look at, in such that, this sense of dissatisfaction, exclusion and injustice that people are feeling will be reduced to the minimum.

    “Some people think that restructuring is to create more states, as far as am concerned if you create more states and the system remains the same, you will only have more problems.

    “It is not the number of created states that matters. How do I feel at home in this country? How do I expect that I will be treated with justice, respect and dignity?

    “It is not only the Biafrans, who are disgusted with this country; a lot of us are, even though we still are not thinking of that,’’ he said.

    Speaking on the process entailed in the canonization of Archbishop Ekandem, he described him as a real man of the church who lived from 1917 to 1995.

     

     

    NAN

  • Northern quit notice: We did not massacre Igbos leaving North – DSS

    The Department of State Services, DSS, has debunked the news making the rounds that some Igbos fleeing the northern part of the country following the quit notice given to them by the Arewa groups were massacred while on their way to the east.

    The DSS however warned Nigerians against hate speech or threatening members of different ethnic groups. A statement by its Spokesperson, Mr. Tony Opuiyo, said that a video purportedly showing the massacre of Igbos was, in reality, the scene of an accident which occurred along the Owo-Akure Road, Ondo State, on March 3, 2016.

    “Those involved in these misleading and despicable acts have since been warned to desist from anything capable of causing disaffection and stoking nationwide tensions.”

    DSS also condemned the quit notice giving to Igbos in the North by Arewa Youths, saying “Such relocation order is not only illegal, but it is strongly viewed to be against the spirit of our Constitution which allows for freedoms of movement and association among others.”

    The DSS also urged Nigerians to Ignore the “persuasions by these tribal jingoists to make our beloved country a theatre of the absurd and bloodletting,” maintaining that it “…will stop at nothing to deploy all resources at its disposal to identify and deal with all those culpable, as well as maintain peace and order in every length and breadth of the nation”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that prominent Northern youth associations recently issued serious threats to Igbos residing in the region to vacate on or before October 1 (Nigeria’s Independence Day) 2017 or face physical attacks.

  • Pyrates condemn Northern quit notice on Igbos

    Pyrates condemn Northern quit notice on Igbos

    The National Association of Seadogs a.k.a Pyrates Confraternity, on Monday urged the Federal Government to avert impending disaster following the threat of expulsion of the Igbo people from the northern region by a Coalition of Northern Youths.

    Just as it had treated other cases with dispatch by arresting and questioning those behind the threat, the association challenged security agencies to act in the same swiftness with which they have handled similar cases in the past.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that prominent Northern youth associations on Tuesday, June 6 after a joint meeting tagged ‘Kaduna Declaration’ issued a serious threat to Igbos residing in the region to vacate on or before October 1 (Nigeria’s Independence Day) 2017 or face physical attacks.

    But the National President of NAS, Mr. Arthur Boje, in statement made available on Monday, faulted the threat, saying that every Nigerian citizen is guaranteed the right under the Constitution to move freely, and to reside, acquire and own immovable property in any part of the country without molestation.

    While condemning the threat in the strongest terms, the association chided the excesses of separatist groups such as the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra.

    The statement read in part, “The National Association of Seadogs condemns in the strongest possible terms the ultimatum given by the so-called Coalition of Northern Youth Groups and the support that the group appears to have received from otherwise respectable quarters.

    “Without a shadow of a doubt, every Nigerian citizen, regardless of their ethnic background, is guaranteed the right under the Nigerian Constitution to move freely, and to reside, acquire and own immovable property in any part of the country without molestation.

    “The text and tenor of the so-called Kaduna Declaration clearly violate these constitutional rights of the persons and ethnic group at which they are targeted. They are hateful, intemperate and clearly designed to incite violence and create instability and chaos in the Nigerian State.

    “We, therefore, urge the Federal Government, the security agencies and all other relevant authorities to match their words of rebuke with the appropriate action and vigilance to tackle, defuse and hopefully prevent this impending disaster, lest we see a return to the pogroms of the 1960s.

    “It is critical that in handling this, the government must be even-handed, so as not to create or foster the impression that those responsible for the ultimatum are either untouchable or tacitly supported by the government. This matter must, therefore, be treated with the same swiftness and professionalism that has been applied by the security agencies in other cases.

    “The National Association of Seadogs equally condemns in the strongest possible terms the excesses of separatist groups such as the IPOB and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra.”

    The statement noted that NAS has always supported and will continue to support the unity and continuous existence of the Nigerian State.

     

  • Igbo quit notice a joke taken too far – South-East APC

    The All Progressives Congress, APC, South-East zone, on Sunday strongly condemned the ultimatum given Ndigbo in the North, describing it as a joke pushed too far.

    The party in a statement by the zone national vice chairman Hon. Emma Eneukwu, and made available to DAILY POST by the publicity secretary, Hon. Hycienth Ngwu said it was high time Nigerians rose against hate speeches.

    The APC urged Ndigbo resident in the North to ignore the order and go about their normal businesses.

    The statement read:‎ “The attention of the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) in South East has been drawn to recent outbursts by some youths in the Northern Nigeria under the name “Coalition of Arewa Youths” urging the Igbos to vacate their habitats in the North on or before 1st October 2017.

    “In our opinion, this call is ‘a joke taken too far’. It is an ill wind that blows no good to anyone. And we hereby call on all well-meaning Nigerians to rise and condemn this and other outbursts by some people from other sections of this great country, Nigeria.

    “It is high time we all stood in one accord to put a stop to the growing hate speeches and bickering going on now in our dear country from all quarters. Let us love all and hate none as love is the panacea to peaceful co-existence, economic and social growth. We have faith in the ability of the APC led Federal Government to safeguard lives and property of all Nigerians living within Nigeria.

    “Consequently, we urge all Igbos living in any part of Nigeria to go about their normal businesses without fear, but in loving disposition toward their neighbor and environment.

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    “We hereby thank the Governors of the Northern States of Nigeria for their quick condemnation of this act by the Coalition of Arewa Youths. We particularly, thank the Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal for his love to the Igbos in this trying period.”

  • Northern quit notice to Igbos, an act of treason — Uranta

    Northern quit notice to Igbos, an act of treason — Uranta

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian National Summit Group, NNSG, Mr. Tony Uranta has said the recent threat from the coalition of Northern groups ordering Igbos out of the region is an act of treason and should not be handled flimsily by the Federal Government and relevant security agencies.

    Uranta argued that since Nnamdi Kanu was also treated and charged with treasonable offence by the federal government during his agitation for Biafra Republic, the people behind the threats to the Igbos should also be arrested and made to face same persecution as Nnamdi Kanu. He noted that doing anything shorter than this will amount to taking sides by the federal government.

    Uranta revealed this in a statement he signed and released on Friday.

    The statement reads:

    “Although some of the signatories have been comrades seeking Justice in a Restructured Nigeria, I am shocked by, and outraged at, this brazen and public act of treason, that could, at the very least, trigger a pogrom against all non-Northern Nigerian; and, at worst, throw Nigeria into a Civil War! We must never forget how the 1966 pogrom in the North eventually threw Nigeria into the costly Civil War that lasted for 30months. Nor, can we deny the avoidable calamities it has wrought on our Country since the war ended.

    Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB never created terror on this level, yet he spent so long in detention charged with treason against the nation. These youths and elders who are definitely trying to whip up hate and violence in millions of otherwise peaceful Northerners must be seen in the same light that Kanu was by the Federal Government. This is NOT a case of treason against Kaduna State; it is a case of terrorism expressly promised…a threat to the very survival of Nigeria.

    All leaders that publicly support the “Igbos-must-leave” stand, be they young or old, must be quickly arrested, fully investigated and lawfully prosecuted! Anything less than that will be seen as nepotistic favouritism premised on base ethnic sentiments. Let the courts determine who is culpable of what…but, let Nigerians not have the perception that there are limits to their rights as citizens.

    Remember that not even foreign Fulani Herdsmen terrorists have been denied entry, to date, even into areas where they have butchered and raped thousands of law-abiding innocent Nigerians nationwide,” Uranta said.