From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Igbos residing in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja have said that they will not join the protest against bad governance scheduled to begin on August 1st.
Chief Kenneth Okeugo, President General of the Igbo Delegates Assembly (IDA), the umbrella body of all Igbos in the 19 northern states and the FCT, made this known in an interview with journalists in Gombe.
Okeugo, who was elected at the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 16 and 17 September 2023 at the Royal Park Hotel in Sabon Gari, Kano State, expressed regret that Igbos had historically been victims of such protests in northern Nigeria.
He lamented that property worth millions of naira and precious Igbo lives had been lost in past protests and riots in the region, particularly during the post-election violence of 2011.
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The president explained that, instead of joining the protest, all Igbos in the region would remain at home or their places of business to protect themselves from becoming victims, as has happened before.
“We are not interested in the protest,” the president said. “Igbos in the north should mind their business because, at the end of the day, we are the ones who will be affected,” he warned.
“They will come and loot our property, but this time we intend to watch over our properties. We are letting the world know that we are not going to participate in the protest.”
He urged the federal and state governments and leaders at all levels to focus on policies that would positively impact ordinary Nigerians.
“Nobody should destroy our properties,” he warned. “We develop anywhere we find ourselves, and we don’t destroy. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should work harder to change the lives of poor Nigerians for good.”