S’South Group Rejects Biafra …As Activist Flays Arewa Youth’s Quit Notice

A group known as the South-South Patriots (SSP) says the region is not in any way part of the agitation for Biafra.
After a one-day executive meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, yesterday, the group resolved that “the territory of South-South is not part of Igbos’ agitation and self-determination of a country called Biafra”.
A 12-point communique signed by the Leader of the group, Prince Kingsley Ndedu, the Secretary, Mr. Joseph Udoh, Chief Mobilization Officer, Mr. Aigberemhon Moses and three others read in part, “It is on the record that, in the year 1966, the Igbos derailed the first democratically elected government through a coup led by Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu in an attempt to suppress Nigeria and Nigerians.
“The Igbos’ domineering tendencies they attempted on Nigeria in 1966 that could not be achieved are now tilted towards the South-South geo-political zone which is totally not acceptable.
“Self-determination can actually be achieved in two ways mainly; peaceful means through referendum and war, which is the most painful with loss of lives. Eritrea achieved theirs through war. In the case of South Sudan, the country has seen no peace after the peaceful separation from the North, as the country is now in Civil War”, the group added.
Meanwhile, the notice to Igbos to quit the Northern part of the country by a coalition of Arewa youth on or before October 1, 2017, has been described as not only wrong but also a condemnable hate message, which should not be allowed to threaten the unity and peaceful co-existence of the country.
This was the view of a Niger Delta activist and sustainable development advocate, Dr Sokari Soberekon, when he spoke with newsmen, in Port Harcourt, recently, against the backdrop of calls by some disillusioned groups for secession.
He said such call was capable of splitting the country, if appropriate measures were not taken to tame its purveyors.
Soberekon, noted that the best sermon to preach now was that of love and peace as demonstrated by the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
He regretted that the quit notice  has subjected the Igbos in the North to a reasonable level of fear, and emphasised the need for concerned authorities to do the needful to prevent the unexpected from happening.
Defending his position over the Arewa youth’s threat, Soberekon, said the call, if allowed to come to fruition, may likely lead to counter order by the Igbos, thereby, snowballing into a major crisis capable of causing another Civil War.
He insisted that restructuring of the country would go a long way in fixing some of the visible challenges facing the effective functioning of the federation, pointing out that further delay may not go down well with the Niger Deltans.
On whether Rivers State would accept the Igbos should the quit notice stand, he said “both the Igbos and other federating units would be allowed only with the Holy Bible or Koran as passport”, adding that Rivers State was a holy city.
He also stressed that Niger Delta was not part of Biafra as claimed by some Biafran agitators, hinting that the name Biafra was adopted by the British Government for navigational purposes.
The Senior Advocate of the Niger Delta (SAND), as he is fondly called by his associates, further advised the Igbos to consider the need to dwell and develop the 12 cities in the East.
He listed the cities to include, Enugu, Umuahia, Aba, Awka, Nnewi, Abakaliki, Owerri, Okigwe, Onitsha and Nsukka, among others.
Speaking further, Soberekon, called on the Federal Government to provide adequate security for the Igbos in the North even before the deadline to quit expires.