From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has kicked against the Waterways Bill sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari, vowing that it would thwart its introduction.
IPOB in a statement by its Spokesman, Emma Powerful, also described the bill as a RUGA in disguise.
According to Powerful, the introduction of the bill is aimed at converting part of the lands in the Southeast and South-south by the Fulani.
He said: “We wish to unequivocally state our stand once again to Buhari, the National Assembly, Fulani and entire world that Buhari cannot use crooked means to hand over our waterways in Biafraland to Fulani from Fouta Djallon, having passed through mighty expanse of empty land in the North.
“We never for once in our lifetime ventured into encroachment nor occupation of any inch or parcel of land not belonging to us despite our limited land space.
“The National Assembly must save Fulani because this bill sent by Buhari will consume so many of them if they venture into any river or waterway situated in Biafraland.
“The National Assembly must stop that bill because it will only end up in the dustbin of history as one of the useless non-implementable acts of the Nigerian National Assembly.
“This deliberate attempt to steal our ancestral land and waterways by trick and through the back door is dead on arrival because it will be resisted with everything that we have at our disposal. Such impunity and selfishness considering the vast expanse of land available to Fulani in Northern Nigeria.
“Biafrans would not shy away from protecting our heritage. We are waiting for them and they would learn an unforgettable lessons the hard way.
“This old strategy that Buhari and his kinsmen are adopting to re-introduce RUGA is not lost on us Biafrans or lost on any other nation imprisoned in the hell of a country that is worth its name. Why must Fulanis’ terrorists and their cows be forced on us, to cohabit with us in our communities, those with whom we never shared a single value system.
“Let us tell you, Ruga can never sail through for the sake of God and no amount of their efforts would succeed in bringing RUGA evil project to fruition in our land.”