A coalition of pan-Igbo self determination activists has knocked Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, over his recent claim that the agitation for Biafra is no longer necessary.
Speaking during an inspection tour of ongoing federal
projects across the South-East, Umahi had declared that the agitation for
Biafra is no longer necessary because the South-East has been integrated into
the Nigerian mainstream under President Bola Tinubu.
However, the American Veterans of Igbo Descent, AVID,
Ambassadors for Self-Determination, ASD, and Rising Sun Foundation, RSF, in a
joint statement on Saturday, said the minister has no powers to speak for
Ndigbo.
The statement titled ‘David Umahi lacks the powers to speak
for Ndigbo’ was signed by Sylvester Onyia, AVID, Ben Nwankwo, for Ambassadors
for Self Determination, and Maxwell Dede, Rising Sun Foundation.
Reacting to Umahi ‘s comments, the pan-Igbo rights groups
advised the minister against allocating to himself powers that he does not
have.
“Our attention has been drawn to an unguarded statement by
Senator David Umahi that Ndigbo should forget Biafra agitation because the
Federal Government had addressed all the challenges of Ndigbo. We, therefore,
wish to remind him that he doesn’t not have the mandate to speak for Ndigbo. He
should not allocate to himself the powers he does not have. Since he said he
does not believe in Biafra, Biafrans also do not believe in traitors like him.
Nobody is coercing him to join the struggles but he lacks the powers to either
speak for the people nor stop the movement.
“We have seen serial betrayers like he who are now living in
regrets after being used and dumped by their slave masters. Dave Umahi does not
speak for Ndi Igbo. He does not speak for Alaigbo. He does not speak for
Biafraland. He speaks only for himself — and not even for everyone in Ebonyi
State.”
The activists stated that it is an insult on the sensibility
of Ndigbo for Umahi to claim that Ndigbo are no longer marginalized.
“What has the Federal Government or Tinubu’s Government Done
for Alaigbo?
Since Tinubu became President, what has Alaigbo gained? Why
is Umuahia-Enugu railway still moribund when Lagos-Kano and Katsina-Niger
Republic tracks are functional? Why is the South-East still having only five
?ministers with two of them junior ministers while one state in South-West has
four ministers?
“Is Umahi not aware that there’s no seaport in the
South-East while our people are the highest importers in the country? Do we
have any functional cargo airport in Igbo land? Do we have major federal
industries or maritime projects? Other
regions have these things. Alaigbo does not,” the statement added.
Further condemning the minister’s comments, the pan-Igbo
activists asked: “So when someone like Umahi tries to speak for Ndigbo, we must
ask:what exactly is he defending? Why is Mazi Nnamdi Kanu jailed for life when
the real terrorists and mass motherers are freely roaming around and treated
with levity?”
The activists asserted that Kanu was jailed with the support of the British
government”and a few Nigerian politicians like Umahi” who have chosen personal
comfort over justice.
“That is why people are angry. That is why people feel
betrayed. Anyone who helps to keep Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in detention is working
against the Igbo people. Umahi should realize that saboteurs will always be on
the wrong side of history.”
The statement noted that during persecution in Europe, some
Jews denied being Jews to protect themselves but their action did not stop the
suffering, “and it did not stop the creation of Israel in 1948”.
“So when Umahi denies Biafra today, it is not new. Betrayal
by local people has happened before. It has never stopped history. Biafra Is
Bigger than Umahi.
The Biafra struggle is not about Umahi. It is not about
appointments. It is not about pleasing Abuja. It is about justice, dignity, and
self-respect. People may try to sabotage it. They will fail,” the activists
stressed.
The American Veterans of Igbo Descent, Ambassadors for
Self-Determination and Rising Sun Foundation in the same vein restated their
demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s immediate release.
They also demanded that Umahi should be held accountable for
the violence in the South-East.
“Umahi should not give us reason to suspect he is one of
those frustrating Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s
release. He was among those who created Ebube Agu that brought mayhem to our
people. Those who created Ebube Agu should be held accountable for atrocities
in Igbo land which are often erroneously blamed on IPOB and ESN,” the statement
added.
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