–Igwekani, spiritual Director of the movemnt
From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The Spiritual Director of Biafran Movement, Evangelist Ndubuisi Igwekani a.k.a Agu Biafra (Lion of Biafra) has said that God has endorsed the actualization of the Biafran State.
He, therefore, said that no amount of killings, intimidation, and incarceration the Biafran agitators would stop the realisation of the dream.
He insisted that the Biafran State has been ordained in the spiritual realm and must come to pass whether the Nigerian government likes it or not, saying that it has been revealed to him and many other clergymen that in no distant time the new republic would be declared.
Igwekani who spoke with Daily Sun in Onitsha, Anambra State condemned the May 30 killings of members of IPOB by security agents in Anambra and other states, urging the elders of Igboland to call President Muhammadu Buhari to order if the youths of the movement would not resists to defending themselves.
Igwekani also stated that the Biafran Day anniversary has been celebrated over the years and no casualty has been recorded and wondered why this year’s celebration turned blood, saying that “some enemies infiltrated into the Biafran youths to cause the mayhem”.
He stated that the herdsmen who slaughtered the people of Nimbo in Uzo-Uwani and Agwu in Enugu State and other places have not been arrested and prosecuted up till today even as he wondered why the security agents opened fire on the none-violent group, killing many of them for no just reason.
The former leader of youths mobilization of MASSOB worldwide stated that since the struggle started no Biafran man has carried any weapon as they have maintained peaceful conduct in all they do, saying “but the security agents are pushing us to the wall to defend ourselves if they continue to slaughter us like cows”.
Biafra Day anniversary:
“For some time now I have been traveling around to meet with our elders, talking to the people that matter in Igbo land to tell them that it is high time they called the security agencies to order because we believe that we have the right for freedom of association, freedom of worship and freedom of assembly. The anniversary is what our fathers have been doing over the years, so these children who are on the streets under the umbrella of IPOB were not on the street to harm anybody, they were trying to observe the day Biafra was declared by the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.
“There is no original Igbo man that doesn’t remember the day our grand-fathers, our fathers, our mothers, our brothers and sisters were slaughtered in the name of civil war without any stick or weapon, but surprisingly we heard that out children were killed and slaughtered like cows for no just cause, so I want to ask what provoked the police and army to attack our youths on the streets.
Army killings:
“The Army should tell us or give picture of where they were attacked by the IPOB members before they opened fire on them. What we are saying now is that we are calling on the elders to assemble themselves and make their position known to the whole world. We have not been carrying gun, our agitation has been peaceful and we will continue to agitate for freedom and nobody can stop us even the killings and harassment will not stop it, we have right to self determination and right to say we don’t like to be in Nigeria anymore.
“The world should come to our aid because the government wants to wipe out the entire Igbo people and these young boys may be pushed to the wall to defend themselves. If somebody woke up in the morning and carries gun to slaughter me will I continue to be watching him to kill me, so I have to defend myself. I was born and brought up in the North and I ran to my place, I lost all I had in the North and ran to my father land, if not by God’s grace I would have been a dead man today, but thank God I’m alive and somebody will still come to my land to slaughter my people. They should not push us to the wall because we are going to defend ourselves”.
Release of Nnamdi Kanu:
“We are using this opportunity to appeal to our elders to meet with the Federal Government to immediately release the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafrans arrested and detained by the government without any reason. No amount of arrest and harassment will stop the struggle. The courts have granted Kanu bail but the government refused to release him and has been looking for excuses to detain him the more. They should not kill Kanu because he never committed any offense.
“So, I don’t see any reason the Federal Government should send the army to come and kill us because we are Biafrans. If that is a crime, I am proud to be a Biafran and I’m ready to die as a Biafran. The name my father gave me is Biafra Lion and I will continue to bear that name. If Yoruba people said that they are Oduduwa and an Hausa man said they are Arewa what stops me from saying that I am a Biafran.
“Our elders should wake up, they have been calling us to hold these youths over the years and we have been holding them, for how long should we continue to hold the youths? And they are being slaughtered like a cow on a daily basis. I suspect that the people that are killing our people are Boko Haram in Army uniform, if not how can a sensible person open fire on armless youths? What I expected the security agents to do was to be by the road side to monitor the activities, it is only when it turned violent that they will disperse the people and not even shooting them. The president is ready is dialogue with the Boko Haram sect, but he did not deem it necessary to invite the leaders of Biafran groups to a round table dialogue.
Advice to the IPOB and MASSOB youths:
“I advise them to remain non-violent or unarmed and they should continue to maintain law and order in whatever thing they do. But there is a limit to that when you are being pushed to the wall, you would be forced to defend yourself. We are not ready to destabilize any government because we are not politicians, but warned politicians to steer clear from Biafran struggle because it is a spiritual struggle. It is a struggle that has come to stay”.
Splinter groups:
“We are using this opportunity to caution those that are claiming to be leading one Biafra group or the order to obey the next instruction we are going to give them very soon. Everybody is claiming to be Biafran leader and it has been causing a lot of confusion in the family, so that when when enemy infiltrates into our group we lose. We are calling on every group that has interest in the Biafra struggle to be in on umbrella which would be communicated to them very soon. We warn the government that they should stop killing the future leaders, the youths whom they used during the election and who they will still be used during the forthcoming elections”.
Fulani herdsmen and grazing land
“We also reject the grazing of cattle in this zone. They can do it in their land not in Biafraland. It is one man business, not Federal Government’s establishment, so every Igbo man in the North does his business without any disturbance. Why should Hausa/Fulani come to our land to destroy our farm, kill us, rape our women with AK 47 and nothing happens? Our women cannot go to farm, we cannot farm any longer. We will not accept that any longer. No job, when you mention your name as Igbo man you will be intimidated and every of your rights are being denied by the so-called Nigerians.