From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The apex Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has described the recent statement by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, media aide to President Bola Tinubu against Peter Obi as a plot to incite Nigerians against Igbo.
It appealed to the President to caution some of his aides, adding that the South East would not partake in the planned protest by some people in August.
The Vice President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Damian Okeke-Ogene, told newsmen that Onanuga’s utterances were capable of undermining the country’s democracy.
While calling on Igbo people not to join the planned protest, he urged them to protect their property wherever they reside because they might be the targets of attack during the protest.
“Onanuga did it to give Igbo bad name. He specifically wants to incite other tribes to loot the property of Igbo people across the country if there is any protest.
“I am, therefore, calling on our people to be vigilant because they are victims of hatred. And it is high time the President spoke to his aides to be cautious about their utterances because tension is very high in the country. We don’t want what is happening in Kenya to happen in Nigeria.”
The apex Igbo sociocultural organisation also pleaded with President Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) as tension heightens in the South East.
He said insecurity being witnessed in the region was as a result of Kanu’s incarceration, adding that Igbo leaders had been appealing for his release.
He also spoke on the level of insecurity in the country, lamenting a situation where people, including security operatives, were being killed, with the government not doing much to stop it.
“Many Nigerians are dying because of insecurity, which is not limited to any part of the country, and if the government is not doing enough to end it, the impression people have is that the government is sponsoring it.”
“Imagine situations where soldiers and policemen are being killed and nothing is being done,” Okeke-Ogene said
He urged President Tinubu to order the immediate release of the leader of IPOB, arguing that doing so would help reduce insecurity in the South East.