TheCable

Uchenna Madu, a leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), says President Muhammadu Buhari should not have singled out Igbo youth corp members for his warning against secession.

Addressing members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who paid him a Sallah visit in his hometown of Daura in Katsina state, Buhari asked those clamouring for a sovereign state to forget it.

“Tell your colleagues who want Biafra to forget about it. If leaderships at various levels failed, it is not the fault of the rest of Nigerians who have no quarrel with one another,” he had said.

“So, please tell your colleagues that we must be together to build this country. It is big enough for us and potentially big enough in terms of resources.”

But Madu alleged that the president’s utterances show he is jittery about the actualisation of Biafra.

“Telling the Igbo youth corps members to inform their fellow Igbo youths in MASSOB to stop Biafran agitation, shows that he (Buhari) directly recognises the corps members as Biafrans,” Madu said.

“Buhari still erroneously thinks that with his kinsmen in vital positions in the military, he will easily crush Biafra. MASSOB views Buhari’s constant negative comments on Biafra as a way of reawakening consciousness among Biafrans, even as he is jittery and unsteady about our doggedness towards actualising our lofty dream.”

“We want President Buhari to continue to make similar statements that aptly express his frustration. No man can crush Biafra because God, history and humanity are on our side.”

Madu said the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, Lotachukwu Okoli and other actions against agitators for a secessionist Biafran state will not discourage the movement.