By Chris Nonyelum

The continued existence of the British ill-conceived contraption called Nigeria is under very serious threat. That much is no longer in doubt with the recent ‘Kaduna Declaration’ by prominent Northern Youth Groups on Tuesday,  June 5, that  the Igbo indigenes living  in all parts of the North have been given up till  October 1, 2017 to leave the region or face dire consequences. The group leaders stated unequivocally that they are no longer ‘disposed to coexisting with the Igbo and shall take definite steps to end the partnership by pulling out of the current federal arrangement’.

The group’s major grouse is that, ‘the  persistence for the actualization of Biafra by the unruly Igbo of South-Eastern Nigeria has lately assumed another alarming twist which involved the forceful lockdown of activities and denial of other people’s right to free movement in the South-East by the rebel Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its overt and covert sponsors’.

The Igbo was accused of ‘showing no remorse for the carnage they wrought on the nation in the 1960s’. Instead they ‘are today boldly reliving those sinister intentions connoted by the Biafran agitation that led to the very first bloody insurrection in Nigeria’s history’.

The group also accused the Igbo of being responsible for the violent overthrow of the first democratically elected government in Nigeria which led to several years of inglorious military dictatorship. Referring to the Igbo as ‘ungrateful’ and ‘uncultured’ people, who have ‘exhibited reckless disrespect for the other federating units and stained the integrity of the entire nation with their insatiable criminal obsessions’, the group leaders insisted that they will no longer remain in the same federation with, ‘this pack of acrimonious Igbo partners’.

They stated unmistakably their eagerness and preparedness to take proactive steps to ensure ‘the final dissolution of this hopeless union that has never been convenient to any of the parties’ since the Igbo ‘have thus far proved to be an unnecessary baggage carried too far and for too long’.

Finally the Nigerian government was forewarned to note that, as from 1st October, 2017, ‘the north shall reclaim, assume and assert sole ownership and control of the landed resources currently owned, rented or in any way enjoyed by the ingrate Igbo in any part of Northern Nigeria’ because ‘the Igbo have clearly abused the unreciprocated hospitality that gave  them unrestricted access to and ownership of landed properties all over the north’

Unarguably, these very grievous allegations and vitriolic vituperation on the Igbo will surely go down in the history of Nigeria, nay Africa and elsewhere as the worst hate speech ever delivered against any major tribe in the world. However, the speech must be taken very seriously not because of its acrimonious content but for the compelling seriousness of the issues raised in the declaration.

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The speech calls to mind the pogrom of the sixties in which thousands of Easterners lost their lives after the leaders of government assured non-indigenes in the north of safety of lives and properties.  Whether we like it or not, there is fire on the mountain. My concern is that soon enough government in power will come up with an official statement assuring Nigerian citizens, especially the Igbo people resident in the north to go about their normal business as every necessary effort will be made to guarantee their safety.

I am afraid history is about to repeat itself. For avoidance of doubt, the northern youth leaders stated in unambiguous terms that, ‘ We are hereby placing the Nigerian authorities and the entire nation on notice that as from the 1st, October 2017, we shall commence the implementation of visible actions to prove to the whole world that we are no longer part of any federal union that should do with the Igbos.

From that date, effective, peaceful and safe mop-up of all the remnants of the stubborn Igbos that neglect to heed this quit notice shall commence to finally eject them from every part of the North.

And finally, all authorities, individuals or groups are hereby advised against attempting to undermine this declaration  by insisting on this union with the Igbos who have thus far proved to be an unnecessary baggage carried too far and for too long’.

This warning is pregnant with unfathomable possibilities. I wonder how illegal and forceful eviction and ‘safe mop up’ of all the remnants of stubborn Igbos that neglect to heed this quit notice shall commence’ without violence.

I appeal to Easterners in the North, especially those of them from the Igbo race, to first hearken to this declaration and come back until it is absolutely certain that all is well, if indeed it will be well eventually. Please do not listen to assurances of protection from any quarters. Learn from history.

Nothing can or ever will stop the northern youths from pursuing this sinister agenda. This is not the time to ask questions or to attempt to analyze the root causes of this ugly development but a moment for every Igbo man in the north to understand what the threat  portends for his life.

Nonyelum writes from Lagos