Alhaji Yerima Shettima, National President of the Arewa Youth
Consultative Forum (AYCF), has revealed the reasons why he joined other
Northern youths in the struggle to eject Igbo people out of the North.
Recall that the group in its meeting called “Kaduna Declaration” gave
Igbo people in the North an Ultimatum to vacate the region before
October 1.
Since the declaration, the media has run agog with condemnations and
calls for Igbos to vacate the region with the fear of unknown what might
happen after the ultimatum expired.
However, Shettima, in an interview with The Sun, thrown more light on
the declaration, as National President of the Northern groups, he has
the following to say;
I was drawn into this latest issue of Biafra and we decided to take
the stand that we communicated to Nigerians through our communiqués and
press conferences because of the way Nnamdi Kanu and his members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) are dragging the matter lately.
We are not comfortable with the way Kanu and co are taking this
issue, which may snowball into violence. So, basically, our position was
just an intervention to save this country from plunging into chaos or
another civil war.
Nnamdi Kanu’s version of Biafra struggle, which is different from
what Uwazurike-led MASSOB was known for; has put everybody on the edge.
Kanu’s rude and arrogant approach to the Biafra struggle is what many of
us are uncomfortable with. We believe that the conduct of IPOB leaders,
if left unchecked could cause trouble for this country. That is why we
came out with a clear proposal that would save the country from trouble.
And our position is simple: We want those who want Biafra to be
allowed to go and fulfill their wish. Since Nnamdi Kanu-led IPOB is
threatening that it is either that they are not allowed to secede from
Nigeria or they rain down fire, we don’t want that to happen. We don’t
want Biafra struggle to breed violence or civil war. We want peaceful
solution to the issue.
That’s the simple and summary of our position. But, many took our
position on the matter out of context, to mean that we were planning to
sack or eject Igbos from the North. That’s not the truth. There is
nowhere in that declaration that says we are forcefully going to remove
the Igbo from the North. People misinterpreted our position.
Unfortunately, many people will always find ways to misinterpret
whatever anybody with genuine intention of this country says or does for
the betterment of everybody because of the usual mutual suspicion. Our
position is that since the Igbo led by IPOB say they want to secede
from Nigeria, let them be allowed to go without any violence. I believe
in self-determination and so, see no reason the Igbo should be stopped
from pursuing that dream.
Our position is also geared towards sensitising a lot of Igbo on the
dangers of what these guys are preaching. We believe that such could
serve to bring Kanu and his followers to their senses and influence the
opinions of other Igbo leaders because from what we have learnt, they
actually enjoy backing of a lot of them. There is urgent need to compel
Kanu to apply caution on this Biafra struggle and to educate most Igbo
that IPOB’s violent stance on this matter is not even in their best
interest. They need to know that we are not the enemy in this issue. We
are simply trying to avert crisis.
