Amidst a renewed agitation by pro-Biafra protesters across
the South east and South south parts of the country with
the subsequent clamp down on them by the Federal
Government, a former governor of Zamfara State, Ahmad
Sani Yerima, has said that the Biafra agitators were on a
legitimate struggle for self determination DAILYTIMES
reports.
The former governor, now a Senator, told newsmen that
consequently, the federal government and the security
agencies must allow them to exercise their fundamental
human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.
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BUHARI
Yerima, a politician known for his radical views on
national issues, cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari
and the Nigeria Armed Forces against the use of force
on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the
Movement for the Survival of the Sovereign State of
Biafra ( MASSOB), saying the groups were on a
legitimate struggle for self-determination and should be
allowed to exercise their fundamental rights.
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He disagreed with President Buhari and the top echelon
of the Nigeria Armed Forces on the handling of the
renewed agitation by the groups to revive the defunct
Republic of Biafra saying they should be more matured
and accommodating in a democracy.
Yarima, who was speaking in Abuja said it was wrong for
people to classify the agitators who have been campaigning
for the revival of the defunct Republic of Biafra as
secessionist because they have legitimate rights under the
Nigerian Constitution to express their views on any issue.
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He said that rather than treat the agitators as rebels who
must be forced to either remain in Nigeria or be crushed,
the Federal Government should find out why the
agitation has been growing by the day.
In recent weeks, there have been a series of public
demonstrations across the five states of the South-East
geo- political zone as well as spreading into Delta and Rivers
states in the South- South geo- political zone. In the wake of
the mass rallies, President Buhari had warned the groups
that he would not tolerate actions that could lead to the
dismemberment of the country.
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On the strength of that pronouncement, the Nigeria Armed
Forces has also issued warnings to the agitators to bury their
dreams of having a separate country or be prepared to face
the full weight of the military. But Yarima argued that
though he believed in the unity of Nigeria, the agitators
should be allowed to express their views freely.
According to him, there should be no compulsion in a
democracy and the Indigenous People of Biafra must not
be compelled to belong to Nigeria. He said that rather
than use force to subdue the agitators, the Federal
Government could hold a referendum in the region to
ascertain if it is the wish of the majority of the people to
pull out of Nigeria and form a new country.
“These are people that want self determination. They
believe that they are homogeneous in terms of tribe,
language and culture and they want to live together and
have their own community.
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“In the end, you see, this is politics. I don’t believe in using
force to make them succumb, submit or follow Nigeria and to
stay in Nigeria”, he stressed.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Army relying on the
military Rule of Engagement for internal security operations,
recently warned the pro- Biafra agitators to desist from
holding rallies in different towns and cities as the military
had powers under the constitution to suppress any act
insurrection or civil disobedience.
Following allegations of killings of Igbo in some parts of the
north, Nigeria went to war in 1967 when the then Military
Governor of the defunct Eastern Region, Col. Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the birth of Republic of Biafra
from Nigeria. The war raged for 30 months leaving deaths
and destruction in its wake before the secessionists
surrendered.
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