Abah Joshua
The pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has challenged the APC-led government under President Muhammadu Buhari, the pan-Northern socio-political, Arewa Consultative Forum and Northern Elders Forum(NEF) on the kidnap and massacre of Southerners across the North.
A statement signed by Ohanaeze’s Secretary-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, made available to journalists, said Northern political and cultural organizations had always paid deaf ears and turned blind eyes to the killing of Southerners in the North.
According to him, Ohanaeze had undertaken the responsibility to denounce the killing of Northerners in the Southeast as an imported choas in the southeast.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has accepted the burden and responsibilities on behalf of the political, community, and religious leaders of Southeast extraction to denounce the slayings of Northerners and Southeasterners, who were casualties of the carnages and imported chaos witnessed in the southeast”
“Ndigbo will continue to work in partnership with the Southeast Governors to ensure that normalcy returns to the southeast, but compel the federal government to first remove the pieces of dust in her eyes before helping Ndigbo to remove the log of woods in our eyes”.
“APC-led federal government has been reluctant to rescue her abducted citizens who are currently in the hands of terrorists for only a crime they committed by using the Abuja/ Kaduna Passengers Train.
“We are stunned over the blackmail from ACF and NEF against the Southeast politicians over the killing of Northerners in the Southeast, when the Northern political leadership and cultural organizations always turn blind eyes to the kidnapping and massacres of christians, mainly southerners across the North, especially in Kaduna.
“It is on record that since the inception of President Buhari’s Administration since 2015, Igbos have been worst hit by Boko Haram and bandits activities in the North, and over 2355 Igbos had sacrificed their lives under the present government without any form of FG’s compensation for the bereaved families”.
“We are fully aware of the fact that there are attempts by Northern Groups and APC to use the insecurity challenges in the southeast to blackmail the southeast presidential candidate in 2023.
“We want to ask President Buhari, ACF, and NEF, what efforts have they deployed to thwart and halt the spread of Northern banditry and vicious activities of killer herdsmen from the North to the South.
“Why did FG and Northern cultural organizations ignored the US and UK alarms about the imminent spread of Northern Insurgency to the South by middle of the Year 2021, especially towards the East.
“We have taken the lead in condemning the killing of Northerners in the East and charges President Buhari, ACF, NEF and Northern Groups to follow suit”, he said.
