By Jennifer John
Founder of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Biafra Independent Movement (BIM), Chief Ralph Uwazurike has accused the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu of brainwashing Igbo youths into taking arms against the federal government.
He called on the South-east governors to retrieve Eastern Security Network (ESN) from IPOB. The MASSOB leader used the opportunity to congratulate governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for rescuing the situation in Obigbo.
“I am also congratulating Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state for his approach in handling the situation in Orlu. I am not part of the Nigerian system, but when anybody does well, I will commend and if anybody does bad, I will also talk ill against the person”, he said.
He called on other governors to emulate Wike and Uzodimma, saying “we cannot allow anarchy to prevail”. Uwazuruike called on the IPOB leader to return home to continue his agitation if he is not driven by selfishness. He said, “Kanu couldn’t have encouraged the ESN operatives to take up arms against the federal government if he was living in Nigeria.
“I started this struggle over 20 years ago. I recruited everybody who is part of this struggle today. We started before politicians came in. Politicians started sponsoring people among us and we started having divisions among us. After that, they started taking arms against the government and this is now a problem to Ndigbo and Nigeria.
“Over 20 years ago when we started this Biafran Independence struggle, we premised the struggle on non-violence. Unfortunately, politicians came in and took away some of my members and started using them as thugs.
“Today so many people are being killed not by herdsmen but ourselves. The other time, it was Enugu and Obigbo, now it is Orlu. If you attract the military into Igboland and they kill Igbos, you are the cause of their death. The future is bleak for all of us because IPOB is inciting genocide here.
“I’m worried because I started this exercise and recruited Nnamdi Kanu. So, the accusing fingers are on me. At no point will Ndigbo go to war with other ethnic groups or Nigeria again. That’s not what we want as a people. “Kanu, who is not in Nigeria, is recruiting and brainwashing our youths into fighting soldiers. Those doing this know that there is no way they can defeat Nigeria. They are doing this for personal aggrandizement”, Uwazuruike said.
