■ Northern youths splinter group sympathises with Igbo
From Desmond Mgboh (Kano), Ali Abare (Gombe), Mohd Nasir (Zamfara), Ahmed Abubakar (Dutse), Abdullahi Hassan and Sola Ojo (Kaduna) and Noah Ebije (Kaduna)
A solitary military van with rifled officers rode casually across the length of Igbo Road on Sabon- Gari Area of Kano State, about 3.30 pm, Thursday afternoon, driving towards Sarkin yaki area. The lone van spurred, in its wake, images of nothing but a city in uncertain times and for a vigilant eye, a reason to worry.
However, on the surface, Kano, especially the metropolitan area, has remained calm and quiet ever since a coalition of Arewa Youths who assembled at Arewa House in Kaduna State for the declarative.
At a glance, several predominantly Igbo residential areas in the state capital, Sabon Gari area, Panisau-Jaba, Dakata and up to Airport Road area and Katsina Road – were very calm as residents chased after their interests without hindrance.
Residents of Igbo extraction in the state were also spotted in their various places of work or trading posts while school children, especially those in private schools went to schools on Wednesday and Thursday, all adding up to the state of normalcy that pervade the surface.
Ironically, many Igbo people in the state were in the dark about the controversial quit order until very lately. Wednesday’s heavenly downpour held back many in their homes until late, denying them a quick glance through the headlines.
It was gathered that many were alerted of the development by their relatives from Lagos and the East, who pestered them with phone calls on the order.
“Interestingly, those outside the North are more worried than we that are resident in the North. There is really no panic here. We are living in peace with our host community” said the traditional ruler of Igbo people in Kano, Igwe Boniface Ibekwe.
Speaking to Sunday Sun on the controversy, he stressed that there was nothing to worry about asking his people to simply ignore the threat while expressing optimism that “Northern leaders are not part of this threat.”
He spoke further: “Besides we have over two million Igbo in Kano State alone and you cannot just wake up one day and say that everybody has to go in three months time.
“Some have been here for more than 50 years and some have been here more than 65 years, with so many investments as a result of their years of hard work in the state. I know that no right thinking co-northerner would want to create problems between the people and the Igbo.”
He expressed displeasure that the target of the crossfire was always the property of Igbo people in the North while stating that the assets of the Igbo people were earned and not a gift from the region where they reside.
”Our people are developing the states where they reside and doing business without any help or empowerment from the government. We acquired all we have by our own efforts. Most of the Igbo you see in the North, struggled to acquire whatever they have,” he stated.
The calm in Kano State is replicated in Gombe State where the people of Igbo race, particularly within the Gombe metropolis, were spotted conducting business unperturbed.
A trip around Gombe metropolis by Sunday Sun indicated that businesses ran by Igbo people remained open all through the day.
“In fact, our people are oblivious of the threat from Arewa Youths,” said Ugochukwu Nwadi, a trader in one of the markets.
President-General of the Ndigbo Cultural and Welfare Association in the state, Chief Kenneth Onyebuchi Okeugo, disclosed via a phone that, “the Igbo people are still consulting and awaiting directives from the national body of the association.”
He dismissed any suggestion to the effect his people in the state were panicking over the ultimatum. “We are not leaving Gombe. We have also invested heavily in the state and as such, we are stakeholders. There is nothing like panic among our people here,” he said.
Okeugo, however, said he would reserve further comment until after consulting with other Igbo leaders in the state and beyond.
The Coordinator, Cross Cultural Mission International, a faith-based organization engaged in evangelism across diversified cultures, Pastor Bulus Bata Daudu, described the ultimatum by some Arewa youths in Kaduna State as laughable.
He said: “God had a divine plan for Nigeria, when in His infinite wisdom, He created Nigeria made up of different languages, cultures and religion.
“We have been living together for over 100 years and for somebody to come out today and say that he is giving a particular group of people ultimatum to leave one part of Nigeria and to return to another part is not only uncalled for but unacceptable.”
He called on members of the society, particularly politicians to desist from using the youths to fragment the country. “It is the responsibility of everybody to see that Nigeria moves forward. But all these issues arising are drawing the country backwards. We totally oppose this call and are not in support of it. As the Kaduna State governor has ordered, that is the right thing to be done. These people should be arrested and prosecuted. This is the kind of thing that causes crisis in this country, irrespective of who these people are or who their sponsors are,” he said.
Pastor Daudu called on the Igbo resident in Gombe State as well as any part of the North to ignore the purported ultimatum.
His words: “I want to assure them that they should feel at home. The North is their home; in fact, most of them were born in the North. Now by virtue of the constitution of this country, they are indigenes of the North, citizens of Nigeria. The North is their home and Gombe State is their home.”
He warned that the people of Gombe State would turn out en masse to protect every Igbo person in the state in the event of any threat to their life or property.
In Zamfara State, it was not a different story. Igbo people went about their businesses in peace and had since been encouraged by the position of the state government on the matter.
Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara, said the state government believed in the right of every citizen and would uphold the right of every Nigerian to live safely and develop his or her full potentials within the state
Dosara added: “Zamfara State government wishes to encourage all our people to celebrate the diversity with which the Almighty has blessed us, to continue to shun agents of division, and to stand firm in upholding a common humanity.”
Eze Igbo of Zamfara State, Igwe Egbunna Obijiaku said he was not in a position to comment on the ultimatum, but Mr Emmanuel Okafor, a shop owner in Gusau, Zamfara State capital opined: “I have been living here for the past 20 years. I have investments here in Zamfara and now you want me to vacate and go back to somewhere to start life all over again. Also in the East, there are northerners who have been living there for many decades and you want them to leave the East suddenly.
Where do you want them to go back to?” he queried.
Meanwhile, the Igbo Community in Zaria has directed its people in the town to remain calm, encouraging them not succumb to any form of intimidation by any group, but to be law abiding and peace loving.
Secretary of the community, Prince Innocent Samuel said that much as they were unmoved by the ultimatum, they were also not taking the threat for granted.
He, however, added that they had absolute trust and confidence in the ability of the state government to protect life and property of all Igbo people in the state.
“We were born and bred here in Zaria. We have huge investments here too. We can‘t leave to go anywhere. We’ll remain and die here,” he declared.
And in Kaduna State, from where the northern youth group issued the controversial ultimatum, the Igbo have kept sealed lips as to their line of action over the threat, and in that process kept everybody guessing, even as they commended Kaduna State government for its firm and decisive response.
President General, Igbo Community Welfare Association, Kaduna, commenting on the order by the coalition of northern youths said: “The Igbo in Kaduna are studying the situation because as soon as the Arewa youths’ threat went public, we started receiving calls from home and abroad.
“We have confirmed the declaration by the Arewa youths. However, we will reserve further comments on the issue for now. It is a serious threat, we received calls from every nook and cranny of this country, trying to know the true situation with our people in the north, but we made them to understand that there is no cause for alarm.
We believe in the capacity of government to deal with the situation. We want to appreciate the government of Kaduna State and Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) for rising to the occasion by calling the northern youths to order. The Kaduna State government was very prompt in condemning the ultimatum and directed that the signatories to the statement by the northern youths should be arrested.
“We are calling on our people to remain calm, go about their normal businesses and relate with their neighbours irrespective of religious and ethnic differences as we have been doing. We cannot say for now who are sponsoring or behind the Arewa youths, but one good thing is that northern body like ACF has condemned the threat by the youth.”
In the wake of the ultimatum, a northern youth splinter group, Arewa Youth for Progress and Development, (AYPD), strongly disassociated the group from controversial directive by Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) and vehemently condemn it.
President of AYPD, Danjuma Bello Sarki said, “The call is nothing but the height of exuberant rascality by some publicity seeking fellows, who are out to cause disaffection between the North and the South for their selfish interest. At a time like this, we the youths need to stay united and peaceful for the progress and development of our nation.
“We want to categorically state that the statement by AYCF has caused great embarrassment to us as patriotic northern youths. What they said is not and will never be the position of the northern youths. There was no time the youths in the north sat down to agree on such position.”
He added: “The true northern youths are peaceful, hospitable, accommodating and tolerant, and therefore would not issue such irresponsible vituperation against our dear Igbo brothers or any other tribe who have been contributing immensely to the growth and development of northern Nigeria, economically and otherwise since before independence.
“We call on all Ndigbo to disregard that statement, remain calm and continue to go about their normal activities without fear of being harassed or intimidated, for we cherish our relationship with all other components of our nation.
“More so, we urge our northern brothers who reside in the eastern part of our country to do same. Our belief in one Nigeria is unshakable and firm.”