AREWA-NDIGBO FACE OFF: ON UNITED NIGERIA – WE STAND
The political tension being regenerated by the long faceoff between the Igbo (Ndigbo) and Hausa (Arewa) has become of serious concern to all patriotic Nigerians and demands a lasting solution for a one, united and prosperous Nigeria. It must be asserted that this situation has caused, to a large extent, the underdevelopment and inequity in governance resulting in the intermittent civil disturbances across the nation.
There is no better option for Nigeria than to remain united and for the citizens to appreciate our unity in diversity because God knows why he allowed all the entho-religious nationalities in Nigeria to be together since the amalgamation in 1914. Except for those who want to query God’s decision and actions, man’s efforts to change destiny are toils in vain.
The recent Kaduna Declaration by a coalition of socio-political groups in northern Nigeria, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (ACYF) declaring the Igbo persona non-grata in the north in the next three months and asking the northerners in the Southeast to return home, is to say the least, unnecessary and uncalled for at this moment of our nationhood when the incumbent administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is exerting all democratic means and the political will to keep Nigeria united and progressive.
The claim by the officials of AYCF led by its National President, Yerima Shettima, that acclaimed successful sit-at-home protest organized by Igbo groups to mark 50th anniversary of Biafra was a threat to the country’s national security could be anything near the truth, but who lost on that day? How did the governors of the states of the Southeast react to that. The governors of the states are the chief security officers and to the best of our knowledge, they did not issue any official statements to the citizens in their states not to go about their legitimate businesses on that day.
Again, it was the best wisdom for the security agencies not to exploit confrontational attitude to control events of that. Our security outfits displayed the highest standards and that was why there was hardly any casualty because assuredly, the diehards who do not even understand the implication of the agitation codenamed Biafra were ready for any consequences. And in that situation, the law-abiding citizens could not have risked their lives going to their workplaces. Ultimately, the business owners of the Southeast lost on that day and not Nigeria as a nation.
However, the response by the umbrella socio-political organisation of Igbos, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, is a testimony that the Igbo believe in one Nigeria. The Deputy Publicity Secretary of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr. Chuks Ibegbu, has called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, to take immediate steps to forestall any plan to launch attacks against the Igbo in the North, calling for an immediate arrest of Mr. Shettima whose statement he said is inciting one section of the country against another section. The country Ibegbu refers to here is not Biafra but our beloved Nigeria.
A socio-political group for all Muslim youths of the South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, South East Muslim Youth Congress (SEMYOC), calls on all the security apparatuses in Nigeria to quickly swoop into action to douse the tension being generated by the northern youth group by immediately inviting the officials of the group for interrogation. Nigerians must be free and guaranteed full protection in anywhere they choose to seek legitimate livelihood within and outside the shores of Nigeria.
South East Muslim Youth Congress (SEMYOC) is a socio-political group for all Muslim youths of the South East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. SEMYOC has been in existence since 2001 and has remained a platform for political, economic and social equity, as well as national integration and religious understanding and tolerance in Nigeria.
Signed by:
Ajah Jr. Muhammad O.
National President
Abdur-Rahman Siddiq Urama
National Secretary