Former president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife has described as day-dream, the thinking by anybody including President Muhammadu Buhari, that Ndigbo would forget Biafra or jettison the self determination struggle.
Consequently, he has called on President Buhari, who at the just concluded United Nations (UN) General Assembly said he would not allow referendum on Biafra, to discard the thought that Igbo would be in a hurry to forget Biafra.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Nnewi Anambra state, Ikedife, who is the deputy chairman of the Supreme Council of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), restated that nothing would make Ndigbo forget the 30- month civil war experience and what they suffered in the hands of the Nigerian government.
“How can we forget Biafra when the life of every Igbo man was reduced to worth only 20 pounds, and some of us refused to collect our own till date?
“How can we forget Biafra when the reconciliation, rehabilitation and reintegration were declared after the war and the first step was to go to Lagos and rebuild the Third Mainland Bridge?
“How can we forget Biafra when up till this day, the second Niger Bridge has not been constructed?
“How can we forget Biafra when for 30 months our territory was landlocked and we watched our children die of starvation? Tell us how we can forget Biafra? Tell President Buhari that we will never forget Biafra. Never!”
Ikedife insisted that Biafra would never be forgotten even if all the people that experienced the war died, stressing that the story would continue to be told from generation to generation.
He described last Saturday’s sit-at-home declared by IPOB as a huge success.
Ikedife said people obeyed the order, “not for fear of being molested, but to express their genuine quest and demand for self determination.”
Meanwhile, IPOB has said President Buhari was afraid of a Republic of Biafra.
IPOB, in a statement signed by Victoria. O. C. Agangan, said the president, by his comment that he would not allow referendum on Biafra, exposed his fears and insisted that it was no longer a fable, but a reality, that ‘Biafra is not far-fetched’.
“How can Buhari not see that, even in chains and cell, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu controls the oars? He (Kanu) clearly has the people’s mandate and there is nothing you can do about it.
“He has led by example and has won over the heart of millions all over the world, including non Biafrans.
“This was evident in the way and manner the Free Nnamdi Kanu campaign was launched all over the world, with Biafrans at home obeying the sit-at-home order.
“The trigger-happy soldiers were disappointed as they were denied blood to spill away as usual on September 23, 2016,” the statement said.
The group said: “There was a time it was a taboo to mention the name ‘Biafra’, but, today, the president of Nigeria cannot desist from mentioning it, the media/television stations are discussing it and newspapers are incomplete without mentioning Biafra.
“Who can dispute that Biafra is here already? As Crimea left Ukraine for Russia, and they could not be stopped, so Biafra will eject from Nigeria in due course. No union is formed by force or under duress. Two cannot walk together except they agree.
“We are demanding, and not begging, for our legal rights as laid down by the United Nations, in which Nigeria is a signatory to. We hope to achieve this without options, there are many entrances and ways to the market.
“Well, the Avengers have made it clear, no more oil to steal, go and develop your own lands and let us be. Stop stealing from us, we do not need hookworms and tapeworms in our systems sucking up our wealth. Biafra is here to stay.”
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