FG must listen to Biafra agitators – OPC
Femi Makinde, Osogbo
The National President of the Oodua People’s
Congress, Chief Gani Adams, has said the
Federal Government must hold talks with the
Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign
State of Biafra and others agitating for Biafra.
According to Adams, it is only through
dialogue that the agitators can be made to
drop the idea of a Biafra state; as the use of
force is incapable of guaranteeing the unity of
the country.
The OPC leader spoke about the agitation and
the clash between the Nigerian Army and the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Osogbo after
he was honoured as a culture ambassador by
the Nigeria Union of Journalists
Correspondents Chapel, Osun State.
He said, “I will just say that they (Biafra
agitators) are entitled to their own self-
determination. Look, there is a law in Africa
that recognises right to self-determination.
Also, there is a law in United Nations that
recognises right to self-determination. There
is a country in the United Nations that has a
population of not up to 50,000 and their flag
is at the United Nations.
“You can’t use force to co-opt people for the
unity of Nigeria; you have to listen to their
agitation. If we cannot give you secession,
should we give you statism or regionalism?
That is a process of negotiating. The British
did not use force against Scotland when it
seceded from Britain, and there is Catalona in
Spain that wants to pull out, they didn’t use
force against them.”
He warned that the killing of five supporters of
Biafra, who were celebrating the Federal High
Court ruling ordering the unconditional release
of Radio Biafra Director, Nnamdi Kanu, was a
very serious problem and uncalled for.
Adams condemned the killing of members of
the Islamic Movement of Nigeria by soldiers in
Zaria.
He said it was wrong for soldiers to have
opened fire on the defenceless members of
the sect for allegedly blocking the road and
attacking the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.
Tukur Buratai.
“What happened in Kaduna is not what
Nigerians are expecting right now, especially
with the crisis of Boko Haram, the agitation of
the MASSOB. I will appeal to the military and
other security agencies to be calm when they
have provocation from different citizens of
this country,” he said.
“In civilised country, you don’t kill your
citizens like that, even when they provoke you,
you should pamper them in order to avoid
such ugly situation. Even though they
embarrassed the Chief of Army Staff, they (the
army) should have disarmed them and arrest
the leader for questioning and not using
weapon to kill people like that. International
community will not overlook such a thing.
“Killing armless and innocent people like fowl
should not be accepted in any sane
democracy. The president have to be very
careful, he should not play into the hands of
some people.”
Femi Makinde, Osogbo
The National President of the Oodua People’s
Congress, Chief Gani Adams, has said the
Federal Government must hold talks with the
Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign
State of Biafra and others agitating for Biafra.
According to Adams, it is only through
dialogue that the agitators can be made to
drop the idea of a Biafra state; as the use of
force is incapable of guaranteeing the unity of
the country.
The OPC leader spoke about the agitation and
the clash between the Nigerian Army and the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Osogbo after
he was honoured as a culture ambassador by
the Nigeria Union of Journalists
Correspondents Chapel, Osun State.
He said, “I will just say that they (Biafra
agitators) are entitled to their own self-
determination. Look, there is a law in Africa
that recognises right to self-determination.
Also, there is a law in United Nations that
recognises right to self-determination. There
is a country in the United Nations that has a
population of not up to 50,000 and their flag
is at the United Nations.
“You can’t use force to co-opt people for the
unity of Nigeria; you have to listen to their
agitation. If we cannot give you secession,
should we give you statism or regionalism?
That is a process of negotiating. The British
did not use force against Scotland when it
seceded from Britain, and there is Catalona in
Spain that wants to pull out, they didn’t use
force against them.”
He warned that the killing of five supporters of
Biafra, who were celebrating the Federal High
Court ruling ordering the unconditional release
of Radio Biafra Director, Nnamdi Kanu, was a
very serious problem and uncalled for.
Adams condemned the killing of members of
the Islamic Movement of Nigeria by soldiers in
Zaria.
He said it was wrong for soldiers to have
opened fire on the defenceless members of
the sect for allegedly blocking the road and
attacking the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.
Tukur Buratai.
“What happened in Kaduna is not what
Nigerians are expecting right now, especially
with the crisis of Boko Haram, the agitation of
the MASSOB. I will appeal to the military and
other security agencies to be calm when they
have provocation from different citizens of
this country,” he said.
“In civilised country, you don’t kill your
citizens like that, even when they provoke you,
you should pamper them in order to avoid
such ugly situation. Even though they
embarrassed the Chief of Army Staff, they (the
army) should have disarmed them and arrest
the leader for questioning and not using
weapon to kill people like that. International
community will not overlook such a thing.
“Killing armless and innocent people like fowl
should not be accepted in any sane
democracy. The president have to be very
careful, he should not play into the hands of
some people.”
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