Nnamdi Kanu is leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Director of Radio Biafra. In this interview with ASST. POLITICS EDITOR, EMMA MADUABUCHI, he speaks on the ultimatum given to Southerners to vacate the North by a Northern youth group, and argues that Biafrans have no reason remaining in Nigeria. Excerpts… A Northern youth group, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, few days ago gave Southerners ultimatum to vacate their land. What would be your reaction to that? I welcome it wholeheartedly. It is a true manifestation of what we have been telling our people for some time now. At least that will teach our people a lesson that there is no place like home. The same thing happening now has been happening since 1945, the selective and wholesale killing of our people is about to start again. The only regret we have is that our state of preparedness right now is not at the utmost level. It is not where we would like it to be. And this statement by the Hausa/Fulani youths; these people that form the bedrock of the recruits of Boko Haram and their supporters within the echelons of power within Biafraland in general and Igboland in particular should cover their collective one-Nigerian faces in shame. This is an indictment of their policy of appeasement; this is an indictment of the fact that we have been developing other peoples’ areas while ignoring our own land; this is a slap on our faces. In fact, it will knock some common sense back into the average Biafran, to remember that there is no place like Biafra, and also drive home the point that we need Biafra more than Biafra needs us. We are never regarded as part of this people. They hate us, they don’t like us, they feed from our oil and everything they do is designed to put themselves at the helm of affairs while we remain mere servants. Yet they are ready to kill us at every slight opportunity. It has now come home starkly for everybody to observe that they do not like us, will never like us, and can never like us. But some people think that this group is just seeking attention, that they are not serious? That was exactly what happened in Hitler’s Europe. People said he was joking, not serious; eventually, millions of people died. This same thing has happened before. Boko Haram wrote letters to Igbo groups in the Northern part of Nigeria, asking them to leave their land that they would attack them, it was ignored and they have gone ahead and have been doing so. When somebody from the so-called South-East or South-South is talking, they won’t take them seriously because they don’t have the mettle, or they don’t have the resources to carry it out. These are the bedrock of the recruits for Boko Haram, anything they say they are going to do, they will do it. When Boko Haram wrote letters people said forget them they are not serious and today we are being slaughtered in our thousands all over the Northern parts of Nigeria. So, they are serious and should be taken seriously. But the reason given by those who say we should not take them seriously is that they did not say anything about asset-sharing. That you do not just ask people to exit a country without talking of assets? What is asset? Asset is nothing. Biafran people have lost properties before in the North. We have lost properties before, both in the West and in the North. So what they are doing is a well-rehearsed line. It has happened before and it is bound to happen again. People were deported from Lagos, from the same country. We spoke about it for three weeks and some people said it was a mistake that we should let it go. They have done it before and they know that they can do it again. The little help they have given us this time is that they, at least, have warned us in advance. That is how lucky we are this time around. So, we should take the ultimatum seriously? Yes, we have lost properties before in the North and the same thing is about to happen again, and unfortunately, the arch-supporter of Hausa/Fulani oligarchy, the British, are lurking and not saying anything about it. Mind you, the ominousness of this very statement should not be lost on our people. This very statement was read in front of the new Emir of Kano. This statement was made to all in front of the Emirs palace, it is not a statement they smuggled out or announced somewhere anonymously. They came out openly in public to say what they are going to do, and I am afraid they are going to do it. Now everything we have been saying on Radio Biafra since 2009 is about to come to pass. What do you think Nigerian government should do now? Tell everybody to go home or what? Nigerian government should ask everybody to go back to where they come from. Jonathan should leave where he is and start heading back to Biafraland because this is an announcement that even Jonathan’s life is at stake. They will kill him. Unless Jonathan divides the country, I am afraid he will pay dearly with his own life. Ask Aguiyi Ironsi, you will know what I mean. Do you have any other thing to add? What we want to add to that is that the reason why we lost the war between 1967 and 1970 was because we lacked preparedness. There was no forward planning; we only reacted after the event and we just defended ourselves. But thanks to the indigenous people of Biafra, we are planning ahead to ensure that the same defensive formation we operated between 1967 and 70, we will be more offensive this time around, and everybody is advised to key into what the Indigenous People of Biafra are doing and also to listen to Radio Biafra. dailyindependentnig/2014/07/threat-arewa-youths-real-kanu/
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 10:09:13 +0000
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