Igbo Not At War With Nigeria, We Don’t Want Biafra – Uzodinma

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has maintained that Ndigbo is not at war with the federal government of Nigeria, stressing that they don’t want a separate country called Biafra.

The Imo governor stated this on Sunday during a meeting of the South-East Governor’s Forum and other stakeholders in the region.

Uzodinma described as erroneous, the insinuation that Ndigbo wants to break away from the federation, adding that Ndigbo has not been fairly treated in the Nigerian federation.

He said, “Following Monday’s attacks in Owerri and the preceding ones in various parts of the South-East, many people have come up with varying degrees of theories concerning the motive of the attackers and its consequences on our people. The most ridiculous of these theories is the one that posits that Igbo no longer want to be part of Nigeria hence their belligerence and predilection for war and violence.

“Nothing can be further from the truth. Perhaps that is the intendment of these merchants of violence across Igboland. But that is a wicked and malicious conspiracy theory, concocted by enemies of Ndigbo. Let us therefore in one voice declare here and now that the South-East is not at war with the federal government. If anything, we are on the same page in not only condemning terrorism anywhere in Nigeria but in fighting the same with all the arsenals at our behest.

“Like I have propounded time after time, Igbos are not at war with anyone neither is anyone at war with Ndigbo. The fact of the matter is that Igbos are the highest stakeholders in Nigeria. In most cities in Nigeria outside Igboland, our people constitute the second-largest in population, after the indigenes of the state. Our people have more stakes in real estate in virtually all the major cities in the country. Our people control the commanding heights of commerce all over the country. So who has more stakes in Nigeria than the Igbo? As I said at a different forum recently, no sane man will urinate into a well he and his family drink from. I know for sure that Igbos are wise enough to know that.

“What Ndigbo wants is justice, equity and fairness. A Nigeria that provides a level playing ground for all citizens. That is what we want, not Biafra. And we believe we can get what we want through constructive and tenacious engagement with fellow Nationals and relevant institutions, not by violence or war. Igbos have seen war, not in storybooks or in movies but real war. No right-thinking Igbo, who experienced the excruciating and devastating effects of the civil war on Igboland and our people, will vote for another war.”