AREWA leaders, under the auspices of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) have expressed concerns over the continued agitation for the actualisation of Biafra State by South-East youths, warning against dragging the country to another civil strife.
The ACF members said that the nation had its bad memories of the civil war some 45 years ago and no section of the country should fan another ember of war through unpatriotic agitation for self-determination.
National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim in a statement he issued shortly after the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, explained that “the meeting deliberated extensively on management matters and issues of national importance.” The Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Liman Musa Kwande, chaired the conference.
According to Ibrahim, ACF has noted “with serious concern the continued spate of protests by the members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in the South-East and South-South states agitating for a Biafra Republic,” saying, “the issue of Biafra was settled in 1970 after the civil war.”
“It is, therefore, sad and unfortunate that 45 years after, when Nigerians are now united in a democratic system of governance, some elements are now busy instigating innocent youths in the southeastern states to an irresponsible protest, which, in most cases, have
degenerated into violence with serious consequences on the lives and property of innocent and law-abiding Nigerians.
Besides, Ibrahim remarked: “ACF also commends the efforts of some governors, traditional rulers and elder statesmen both from the North and South for their intervention to douse the tension created by this
unwarranted protest that could have some ripple effects in other parts of the country.”
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