The founder of Igbo Youth Movement (IYM) and secretary, Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA), Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, has warned that using military force to suppress those agitating for secession would only strengthen their resolve, and compound the Country’s already volatile situation.
Uko insisted that the only way to stave off impending crisis in the Country, is to return Nigeria to a true Federal State, as according to him, the 1999 unitary constitution cannot unite the Country.
“At a time like this, I believe it is very important, to remind us all, that the truth has been in the public domain for long, just that men in power chose to ignore the truth,” Uko said in a statement on Saturday, July 3, 2021
Uko who spoke in the light of Thursday’s invasion of the home of Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho, by the Department of State Services (DSS), and the recent arrest of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, argued that the only way to stop the quest for secession is to address the root causes; the injustices driving it, not military repression.
“Engaging the agitators, collating their grievances and presenting same to the Central Government. This has remained my point of disagreement with Igbo leaders. A position I have maintained for years.
“Building synergy with other progressive regions in the Country and strongly presenting the truth: That the 1999 unitary constitution, just cannot unite, sustain, let alone grow Nigeria. (gladly, something the Southern Governors Forum woke up to recently)
“That the murderous herdsmen, who have so much terrorized and traumatised the nation and dislocated citizens all over the land, as if they are above the law, must be reined in, effectively contained and dealt with.”
“There’s no magic, power or strategy that will stop the agitation for secession, if the 1999 constitution remains the ground norm, States still dependent on monthly Federal allocation and unemployment continues to grow in leaps and bounds. The suffocating unitary structure, hinders economic growth, stifling development.
“The brigandage of the ruthless herdsmen in the last five years, and the shocking advice from the presidency that their victims should choose between their lives and their ancestral lands, the claim by the well armed herdsmen that every inch of Nigerian soil belongs to them, plus the inability of the security agencies to contain them, led to and enhanced the loss of faith, that drives the agitation.
“Nepotism, sectionalism, insecurity and maladministration only blew the lid off the boiling cauldron, granting the agitators more confidence.
“There will be no need for military operations that only deepens the fear and anger in the land. There also won’t be any need for extraordinary renditions and trials of any kind, if we address the problem from the root.
“What fuels the agitation? What drives it? Why are millions of citizens agitating for a new Country. Why have our strategy to contain the agitation failed.
“Will military operations, renditions and trials alone resolve the problem. Why are the agitators so bitter and resolute in spite of the casualties they have suffered? How come the agitators effectively cripples their region every 30th May? What is responsible for the huge sympathy they enjoy?
“The current strategy will not resolve the problem. We are only addressing the symptoms and ignoring the real cause of the disease. When will we address the cause of the problem from the roots? When?
