The President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Professor George Obiozor has advised the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu to bear in mind that the Igbo race is not fighting a war with anyone.
Prof Obiozor, who said this during a World Press Conference, tagged “Ohanaeze Ndigbo: The Dawn of a New Era” at Ohaneze Ndigbo Secretariat in Enugu on Wednesday, appealed to the IPOB leader to drop his ambition of calling for a separate state.
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He cautioned that the agitation for Biafra Nation is beyond Kanu to decide alone and advised that all utterances and actions that could raise anti-Igbo sentiment or put Ndigbo in danger must be avoided as diplomacy is the best way to go, urging Kanu to, henceforth “toe the part of honour, listen to the voice of wisdom and drop his agitation for a separate state.”
According to him, “The Igbo nation is not at war with Nigeria and has nothing pending before any authority that demands a separate existence from Nigeria.
“Nnamdi Kanu is one of us and he must listen to some of us for several reasons. The fact and reality are that the issues of Biafra are above and beyond his capacity to decide.
“He must listen because he is one of us and we are all in this dilemma together. And our mutual and collective responsibilities are sacred and must be respected.”
While debunking the insinuations in certain quarters that he would act as a puppet in the hands of the authorities and champion anti-Igbo interest, Obiozor said that what the late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Ojukwu meant by ‘the bones shall rise’ didn’t mean conflict, violence and war, emphasizing that, “Definitely the bones have arisen, re-incarnated or resurrected but in Ojukwu’s idea the mission is creative and constructive. Ndigbo are builders and not nation wreckers/destroyers.”
The former Nigerian Ambassador to the USA, however, declared that it is a new dawn in Ohanaeze, stressing that “it is time for reality.”
He said: “The game is over for pretenders, imposters. We must be assertive, free and positive. Igbos don’t want beggarly leadership. Enough of the nonsense; the dilemma has finally come to an end”
He said that Ohanaeze Ndigbo under his leadership has the capacity to build enough consensus among the Igbos to engage Nigerians.
