VINCENT KALU
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) has accused Ohanaeze Ndigbo of giving a misleading impression that it (IPOB) is a militant organisation.
In a statement made available to Saturday Sun yesterday, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Emma Powerful expressed shock and disappointment over the utterances of Chief Nwodo that IPOB is an organisation involved in fighting other interest groups within Igboland.
He said Nwodo’s statement is clearly in furtherance of a well rehearsed line designed by enemies of Biafra to convey an erroneous impression about the activities of IPOB.
Comrade Powerful clarified that the organisation has never attacked any one except its well established acts of civil disobedience during public gatherings.
He said: “The only public meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has ever called in nearly two years of his stewardship was at Nike Lake Resort Enugu to endorse the proscription of IPOB and less than 24 hours, the army invaded the home of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and killed 28 people in September, 2017.
“If not for the objectivity of a few senior clergy men, the resolution calling for the public condemnation of Nnamdi Kanu, barely 24 hours after his home was stormed by soldiers, could have been carried.”
Speaking on Wednesday at a lecture series organised by the Students Affairs Department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) College of Medicine, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu State, the President-General of Ohanaeze, Chief John Nnia Nwodo had called on those agitating for the restoration of Biafra as a sovereign nation to refrain from name calling, fighting, quarrelling or insulting others, saying such disposition cannot lead to the actualisation of Biafra.
Chief Nwodo had said the restoration of Biafra can only come through political diplomacy.
The Ohanaeze boss who was the chairman of the first excellence lecture series delivered by an erudite scholar cum politician, Prof Pat Utomi said things can be changed through the ballot box.
“We cannot get Biafra by fighting and insulting people. We cannot get restructuring by shouting, we can get it by political diplomacy. I must tell you the truth”, he said.
Displeased by Nwodo’s words of advice, IPOB said: “Nnia Nwodo is the person always attacking IPOB at every given opportunity. He did so at Anambra State House of Assembly; he later gave a press conference on why he parted ways with us claiming we want to start a war. Now he is going about giving lectures, saying we are fighters. The entire world stands as witness between us and Nnia Nwodo as he is consistently twisting the tiger’s tail in an attempt to wake it up from sleep.
“His collaboration with Abuja has cost us over three thousand lives with countless still in detention. He is working very hard with DSS to manufacture a non-existent factional group. He is attacking us at every gathering in order to impress his caliphate masters whom he has served diligently from the Shagari regime (where he was Junior Minister on aviation), to the Abdusalami government where he was information minister. His last political party was ANPP which metamorphosed into APC. He did not resign from the party. His dedicated assault on our noble group is designed to please his masters and reinforce his loyalty to the caliphate.”