The planned visit by the leader of the separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to Lagos in continuation of his visits to states of Nigeria, may have turned sour even without beginning, as Igbo leaders and traders in Lagos have made it clear to him that he is not wanted in that State.
Most of the Igbo leaders and traders in Lagos who spoke to Sunday Telegraph in separate interviews, warned Mazi Kanu and his followers that by what they profess, “taking their Biafra outside the East amounts to warmongering.”
They further charged them to desisting from heating up the polity by crisscrossing Nigeria in contravention of his bail conditions.
Chief Chiemeka Ibeh of Alaba Amalgamated Traders Association, warned the IPOB leader to stay away from Lagos, urging him to leave Igbos in Lagos alone because his visit to the commercial nerve centre of the country it will create the impression that Igbos in Lagos are supporting Kanu and IPOB activities.
“He should keep his Biafra in the East where our unemployed youths are following him all over the place, not knowing what they are dabbling into. Most of these youth do not understand what Biafra is about and what it has cost Igbo people.
“Since his actions led to the quit notice by the Arewa youths, I expected Kanu to have paid upfront all transport companies on the northern route to be conveying Igbo people who might be interested in coming back to the East, but he has not paid a kobo to anybody. Is he bothered about the economic wellbeing of the people whom his actions could dislocate?”
Also speaking to NewTelegraphOnline, High Chief Egbogu Udemba, electronics dealer and a member of the executives of the Alaba International Market Electronic Dealers Association said Biafra is bigger than Kanu and cannot be a project for a young man like him and the youths he controls.
“We appreciate the fact that the agitation is the product of years of neglect and marginalisation of the zone by successive administrations in Nigeria, as you can see that agitations are coming up from different zones of the country now. These issues are things that should be well articulated as Ohanaeze has done and an informed demand made.
“The tension Kanu is creating will not do us any good; it might further drag us back. As you can see our Niger-Delta brothers are concentrating on economic agitations and government is answering them. Nobody is looking in our direction because we are assumed to be asking for Biafra, which unfortunately nobody will give us,” Udemba said.
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what we need is communication. Nigerians should sit down and discuss this issues like learned and matured men. I myself do not see this biafra coming forth