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Pro-Biafra protesters

Igbo monarch urges Ohaneze chieftains, elites to lead agitation for Biafra

Pro-Biafra protesters

CHINEDU WOSU, YENAGOA

Chairman of Igwe in Council, the apex body of  Ohaneze Ndigbo, Bayelsa state Chapter, Chief Ernest Ezefuna, has challenged the elites in Igbo land to speak up and  openly lead the agitation for the actualization of a sovereign state of Biafra.

Ezefuna said the present agitation championed mainly by youths, traders and women would not command the followership expected from  such agitation, stressing that it is only when the elites openly identify with the agitation that it will send a strong message to the rest of the country and the International Community that “we are serious with what we are doing”.

He said, “If our people from the head, our senators, Rep members, governors, etc, if they want this Biafra to be an issue that will come to pass, they are the first people to be in front of this very agitation not the common men.
Ezefuna spoke in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital over the weekend during an exclusive interview.

According to him,“It is these big men that will stand in front then we now follow them. That is how we can make it a reality as I see it”

He, however, lamented that the consciousness of Biafra is poor among the Igbos in Bayelsa, saying that it is only in places like Onitsha, Aba and Port Harcourt that the agitation for Biafra is gaining wider publicity.

“We do not talk about Biafra here in Bayelsa state. It is in Onitsha, Aba and Port Harcourt, all those areas we hear of Biafra. Here we do not demonstrate, we only hear of it. The consciousness is very low here in Bayelsa”,

Nevertheless, he said a sovereign Biafra would bring great opportunities to the people of Eastern Region. “If it (Biafra) comes, we stand a better chance to be where we ought to be and get what we are supposed to get because that should be part of development.
“For instance, when they create a new local government, they start building new secretariat, new roads, health centers, etc. if we get it we will have a new capital and from there development will come, and even new states will be created from the new republic”, he added.

Ezefuna who doubles as  the President of Enugu State Development Union in the state said Igbos in Bayelsa are enjoying a good relationship with the indigenes of the host state, Bayelsa. “Our relationship with them is cordial.

“We are relating well with the indigenes, even the government. We are relating with them well because the sitting government now, the first time they came, they gave us the opportunity to produce the Special Assistant (SA) on Non Indigenes Affairs and Senior Special Assistant on Non Indigenes too.

“This second time, they have given us the position again. So two Igbo sons are in the cabinet of Seriake Dickson, the Executive Governor of Bayelsa state now”, he disclosed.

At the national level, the monarch said the Muhammadu Buhari administration has not treated Igbos very badly. “We have Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of Science and Technology, you see Chris Ngige, minister of Labour and Productivity, among others.

“So I can’t say we are marginalized because giving you these ministers I can say he has tried, though it may not be actually what we want because we Igbos in any government that comes, we normally know our position”, he argued.

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