The separatist Indigenous People of Biafra have asked residents of the South-East not to participate in the ongoing demonstrations organized by Nigerians against the country’s current economic woes under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The separatist group cautioned that because the Igbo people had long since lost interest in Nigeria and were simply waiting for an opportunity to depart, such rallies should not take place in the southeast states.
The group made the assertion in a statement released on Tuesday by Emma Powerful, a spokesman.
Strong warned that Ndigbo would be in danger if anyone planned a rally against the dire economic conditions in the South-East.
The nation has recently seen a rise in unrest and demonstrations due to the soaring cost of living and soaring food costs.
But on Monday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the premier sociocultural Igbo organization, urged the Igbo people not to participate in any rallies of this kind against the Federal Government, which is led by Tinubu.
Ohanaeze asked the people of Nigeria to be patient with Tinubu.
A representative for IPOB “cautions the people of Biafra not to join any protest against hunger in Nigeria in any South-East territory,” according to a statement released on Tuesday.
“Nigerians should be concerned about the current hardship in Nigeria, not Biafrans,” declared Powerful. Nigerian politics no longer pique the interest of Biafrans. During the election of this current government, Biafrans suffered from abuse, intimidation, beatings, deaths, and denials of their right to vote.
It was told to the Ndigbo people to wait as it was not their time to govern. Biafrans will be in risk if anyone plans a protest against the dire economic conditions in Biafraland.
The Federal Government charged Ndigbo with trying to violently overthrow Nigeria at the #EndSARS demonstration. We do not want Ndigbo’s involvement in any large protest in Nigeria to serve as justification for more profiling and targeting.
“Ndigbo should let Nigerians deal with the current economic hardship in their country, as this is what God Almighty has in store for Nigeria as retribution for the crimes Nigeria has committed against the Biafran people from 1967 to 1970 and beyond.”
God is still guiding the Biafran people through their economic struggle, even though we recognize that Ndigbo are equally impacted by the government’s careless and dangerous economic policies.
Although we are concerned about other tribes’ suffering, there is little we can do. For this reason, Biafrans are fighting for their independence. However, we have to use common sense.”
The group added that anybody or any group wishing to plan a protest in support of Nigeria’s plight should please travel to the country’s northwest or north and hold such a demonstration there.
“State-sponsored insecurity, kidnappings, and murders by federal government agencies and agents—including terrorists—are being faced in our region. We have a lot of work ahead of us.
It stated, “We will not permit any individual or organization to utilize the protest planning as a means of bringing additional agents of instability into our country.