The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, on Monday, told former President Olusegun Obasanjo that “Biafra is not dead and will never die”.
Obasanjo, while presenting a paper entitled: “Resurgent Biafra Agitation: Born in Error, Ignorance and Frustration,” at a public discussion on Biafra, organised by Nextier Advisory in Abuja, on January 15, had said Biafra was a dead issue.
The former president dismissed the current agitation for the resurrection of the Biafra secessionist agenda as a hopeless and futile exercise.
Advising Nigerians, especially the people of the South-East, not to take the pro-Biafra agitators seriously, Obasanjo said, “No right-thinking person who has experienced the horror of war will ever agitate for more war.
“Nigeria cannot afford to go from Boko Haram insurgency to any other insurgency under any guise.
“And on no account should we wittingly or unwittingly allow this to happen again.”
However, reacting to Obasanjo’s comments, MASSOB, through its Director of Information, Comrade Samuel Edeson, said Biafra was not dead, and would never die.
In a statement made available to our correspondent in Enugu, the MASSOB spokesman noted that Obasanjo had tried to destroy the pro-Biafra group in the past, during his time as the country’s president.
Edeson boasted that the struggle for the actualization of Biafra survived, despite persecution masterminded by Obasanjo’s administration, including the killing of about 1000 MASSOB members at Umulolo, Okigwe, in Imo State, on March 29, 2003.
According to Edeson, several MASSOB members lost their lives when Obasanjo ordered a clampdown on the group, then led by Ralph Uwazuruike, who was eventually incarcerated, and released after a long period in prison custody.
He said the pro-Biafra group would drag Obasanjo to the International Criminal Court for the alleged killings.
Edeson said, “MASSOB wishes to reply Obasanjo that Biafra is not dead and will never die.
“Obasanjo should have known that after killing over 1000 MASSOB members at Umulolo, Okigwe, in Imo State on March 29, 2003, which he masterminded through Achike Udenwa, then governor of Imo State.
“The killing of MASSOB members in Onitsha, Anambra State in 2006/2007, and detention of MASSOB members in various prisons in Nigeria has not stopped our agitation.”
Edeson alleged that Obasanjo attempted to bribe MASSOB leaders with ‘bag of money’ to forget the struggle for the resurrection of Biafra.
He said the MASSOB leaders, at an alleged meeting with Obasanjo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, rejected the said bribe, which he said was cash in Ghana-must-go bag.
“In 2006 while Uwazuruike was in Keffi prison, Obasanjo invited us to Aso Rock where he promised us millions of naira and to send us out of the country.
“Ghana-must-go bag of money just for us to forget Uwazuruike to die in prison.
“But we rejected the offer,” Edeson said.
Obasanjo had expressed sadness that the Biafra agitation has also become an industry for those looking for money by hook or by crook, particularly from sympathisers abroad.
He equally described the commercialisation and exploitation of the Biafra agitation as obscene and criminal.
But Edeson noted that Uwazuruike, the former leader of MASSOB, was expelled from the group for “commercialising” the struggle.
Accusing Obasanjo of genocide and corruption, Edeson said the former president does not understand ‘Biafra’.
He said, “Yes it is true that Uwazuruike has commercialised the struggle and that is why we expelled him from MASSOB.
“Obasanjo is ignorant of Biafra.”
Meanwhile, MASSOB, and another pro-Biafra group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, have threatened to resume protests in cities and towns in the South-East and South-South, over the continued detention of IPOB leader, and Radio Biafra director, Nnamdi Kanu.
The threat, which was frowned at by state governments in the South-East, prompted police commands in the zone to beef up security around sensitive government facilities on Monday. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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ignominous remarks from an ignominous fellow.
ReplyDeleteSeun, I think u need to understand the gravity of an issue b4 u open your mouth to talk. No doubt some people are selfish about it but d truth remains that this is an ideology that won't die. I for one wants it to be done in line wit d UN conventions as is being done already, eventhough the Nigerian Lawyers ran away from the court 2 days ago but they sure will leave to fight another day. Cheers
ReplyDeleteWhat a lamentation! ....
ReplyDeleteI really want to sleep but I'm tempted to write this stinker to all who had been saying rubbish concerning the ongoing Dasuki gate of $2.1bilion.
I think many don't know how much 2 billion dollars worth and what it could achieve. So they euphemise the gravity of the offence..
as at the time of sharing that money last year..
A dollar was about 220 naira..
So if you calculate the worth of 2.1bilion in naira..
That's a whooping 525 billion naira..
Ahhhhhhh.. Half a trillion naira..
In a country where the whole of Lagos state get between 9 to 10bilion naira as monthly allocation even at the height of oil boom.. I'm not sure it's up to that..
This is to cater for the needs of over 25 million people in Lagos..
So in a year, Lagos alone at the height of oil boom Could only access 120 billion naira in a year.. And if paid regularly the amount Dasuki squandered could take care of lagosian comfortably for 5years..
Oyo State allocation is around 4. 5 billion in to cater for about estimated 10milion people in Oyo State.. They could be wrong but census had about 5milion as the Last time so in a year oyo State could only access About 50bilion!
And it will take the whole oyo State 10 years at least to finish 500bilion plus..
Ahhhhhhh and you people out there are so audacious to be clamouring for the release of this kind of animals who care less about the lives of fellow human beings.
For God's sake there are 1000 pieces of 1milion in a billion.. I mean 1milion naira in 1000 places..
If you wake up in the morning and you spend 1milion naira daily, you will only manage to spend 365 to 366milion naira in a year and it may take you like 4years to squander 1bilion naira if you live moderately on 1milion naira per day as allowance so 500bilion would take how many years to finish.. Only a Mad man could do that.. That's why psychiatric test should be done for these people..
Dasuki is just over 60 years old and at worst he will have 30 more years to live in this sinful world, tell me.. Can he ever spent that much before he died..
Why are we so wicked in this country..???
So far these are the list recovered
Peter Odili N100m
Rasheed Ladoja. N100m
Attahiru Bafarawa. N100m
Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi. N100m
Jim Nwobodo. N500m
Tony Anenih. N260m
Bode Goerge. N100m/$30,000
Yerima Abdullahi. N100m
Olu Falae. N100m
Tanko Yakassai. N63m
Gen Bello Sarkin Yaki. N200m
Raymond Dokpesi. N2.1b
Iyorchia Ayu. N345m
BAM Properties. N300m
Dalhatu Investment. N1.56b
Mohammed Bello Haliru and son
N300m
Bello Matawalle. N300m
ACACIA Holdings. N60m
Bashir Yuguda. N1,950,000
Olisa Metuh. N400m
Nduka Obaigbena. N670m
Guild of Editors. N50m
Isa Jafaru. N160m
I'm not a good mathematician but if you sum this up Buhari hasn't recovered 25 billion from the misappropriated arms fund alone yet you want him to give Zuzuki or what is name is a bail just because of democracy..
Democracy my foot.. For God sake.. We are not talking about the yearly allocation for security oo.. Just the one we call extra budgetary funds.. What if Buhari needs to look at how the annual security votes were been spent in the last 6 years, we will weep for these country, yet they still misappropriated a whooping 2.1bilion dollar!!!
We are yet to talk of various funds under Deziani, not what Tukur did at Railway, not what Fani Kayode did at Aviation despite innocent death from air crashes...
Why Nigerians.. This isn't APC fight.. Fight for your right, fight for your lives, fight for you immediate children.. Fight for your grand children..
Instead you are foolishly crying for Biafra forgetting to fight those who destroyed Nigeria. Fight those people first before you ask for your country Biafra because when you leave those destroyers would live with you and eventually destroy your new country if you ever get it..
Boko haramist are senseless.. Let me leave you alone for I'm sad and broken hearted for now..
Nigeria think before u talk or behave