Ben Ezechime, Enugu
A coalition of pro-Biafra groups on Sunday threw its weight behind the order by the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, to end sit-at-home in the South-East region and urged government to go after the enforcers, whom it described as criminals.
The spokesperson of the coalition, Comrade Rita Anigbogu, who was former Chief of Staff to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, and ex-Nigerian Coordinator, African IPOB, has also affirmed that the letter ordering a self-styled Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, to end sit-at-home with immediate effect was authored by the the IPOB Leader.
Flanked by Leader, Salvation People Biafra, Comrade Osita Chukwuagbanarinam; Director of Education, De Biafra Mobilizers Initiative, Comrade, Stella Chukwuma; and the Founding Secretary General, Eastern Peoples Congress, Mazi Ikechukwu Oji, Comrade Anigbogu, who doubles as the Director-General of De Biafra Moblisers Initiative and Deputy Chairman of De Facto Customary Government of Biafra, said Mazi Kanu was deliberate and sound in judgment in ordering an end to syndrome destroying the South-East and its economy.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu understands and rightly pointed out in that letter that Sit-at-Home has been counterproductive, a waste of time, resources and energy, and indeed a self-enslavement that inflicts unnecessary hardships on our people, and will continue to be so. We can’t continue to drink poison and expect the enemies of our motherland to die.
“Sit-at-Home will only help to pillage our place; will make us kill one another, and destroy our economy to the benefit of our neighbours and pleasure of our traducers.
“When Scotland talks about Brexit, the world listens and Britain quakes because Scotland has built herself into a formidable economic power. When Catalonia sneezes, the world listens and Spain catches cold because Catalonia is an economic superpower in that European country.
“The political leaders, even governors with the best intention cannot do anything, our GDP will continue to be decimated if we continue to throw away our Mondays to sit-at-home. You can imagine a group of people that throw away their Mondays. What about our brothers and sisters who are business people?
“We have our parents, who depend on daily proceeds to feed their children. What about pregnant women that will go into labour on Mondays? They cannot be attended to in the hospitals because we are sitting at home. What about our brothers and sisters that may have health emergencies maybe on Sunday night or on Monday and they cannot access hospitals? What if you have a life and death need for money, and you cannot go to the bank? What about our children, who may be writing examinations?
“It beats our imagination that anyone with Biafra blood running in his veins would contemplate a continuation of the Monday Sit-at-home and worse still asking a region to Sit-at-home for two full weeks. Who is that person really working for?
“So, we, the pro—Biafra groups of Enugu State extraction stand with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as we collectively reject the Sit-at-Home. Let it end now”
She said sit-at-home enforcers were anti-Igbo elements, and urged “government to go after such criminals with every might and every resource at its disposal.”
On the authenticity of Kanu’s letter, she said: “I am here to confirm that the letter made public by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor actually emanated from Nnamdi Kanu. And I do so with every sense of honour and responsibility and in the name of Chukwu Okike Abiama (God).
“As most of you already know, I worked with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu for a very long time, for several years. I left my businesses in Lagos and moved to Enugu to join him when he was running Radio Biafra from Enugu here.
“I was the one, who appointed Simon Ekpa the Finland Coordinator of IPOB, back then.
“So, having known Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and having worked closely with him for several years, I know his style of writing. I know his handwriting, I know his language and command of English. The letter that Barrister Ejimakor presented to the press is very authentic and is from Nnamdi Kanu. Anyone claiming otherwise is doing so for ulterior motives, which time and God will ultimately expose,” she concluded.
