The Supreme Council of
Elders of Indigenous People Of Biafra on Wednesday disowned the Niger Delta
Avengers and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of
Biafra.
“Preachers of violence
might be infants or non-existent during the 30-month Nigerian Civil War,” the
group said.
The Deputy Chairman
of IPOB’s Supreme Council, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, stated this at a
press conference in Nnewi, Anambra State on Wednesday.
Ikedife was reacting
based on the claims by some IPOB and MASSOB members that the groups were
aligning with the Niger Delta militants as well as other militants in the
country.
The IPOB chief
said there was no such a thing, adding that he witnessed the
Civil War and saw how millions of people, especially
from the South-East, were slaughtered and properties destroyed.
He insisted that he
would certainly not support any war because any life lost would not be
replaced, but properties could be replaced.
The ex-Ohanaeze
President said, “The IPOB group I belong to is governed by the Supreme Council
of Elders. There is a faction led by Nnamdi Kanu that abuses the elders,
preaches violence and ethnic hatred.
“We do not
believe in that. The MASSOB led by Ralph Uwazuruike from its inception
preaches non-violence based on the philosophy of the late Indian leader,
Mahatma Ghandi.
“If the militants have
been blowing up pipelines, I don’t see how my group that has been following
legal and diplomatic process will align with them. We have quite a different
philosophy and modus operandi towards the issue of self-determination.
“The two factions of
the IPOB and the two factions of MASSOB are all talking about
self-determination of the indigenous people of Biafra. But their approach is
not the same.
“The aim may be one but
the method differs. We have not and cannot depart from dialogue, legal and
diplomatic process and of course you know we are in court with the Federal
Government over this issue of self-determination.”
On the prevailing
economic hardship in Nigeria, Ikedife said, “It is a worthy
sacrifice for the citizen to endure the hard living conditions now and enjoin a
better future later.
He added, “I see
the current hardship as darkness before the break of the daylight.
“We have now discovered
that the economy was so badly managed before now that it requires some efforts,
sacrifice and patience to get it right again.”
-Punch
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