Ohanaeze Ndigbo has tackled the Arewa Consultative Forum over the travel advisory it issued to northerners, urging them to avoid South East region following the gruesome murder of Ahmed Gulak.
National Chairman of the ACF, Audu Ogbeh, had in a statement on Monday advised northerners to avoid travelling to the southeast unless such trips are “absolutely necessary” for their own safety
“Yesterday, Sunday 30th May 2021, one of the leaders in the north was brutally murdered on the streets of Owerri Imo State by gunmen, most likely of IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN), who have been waging a public campaign of killings and other forms of brutalities, to realise their dream country of Biafra.
“The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) hereby issues a very strong advisory to all northerners who may wish to travel to the South East to weigh the importance and necessity of such travels.
“Unless such trips are absolutely necessary and of compelling nature, like matters of life and death, they should NOT be made. And where the trip must be undertaken, the traveller should take every security precaution in his or her movements while there, including linking with the security agencies at the place/places to be visited.
“The need to issue this travel advisory has become necessary against the backdrop of history, wherein events such as the killings of northern leaders in 1966 triggered the events that led to a civil war that cost the country thousands of lives, and untold suffering to millions of innocent people. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, and a stitch in time saves nine!”
But reacting to the advisory, Alex Ogbonnia, the National Publicity Secretary, said ACF’s advisory is capable of causing chaos between the regions.
Ogbonnia condemned the narrative that the South East has been taken over by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and unknown gunmen.
He stressed that the gruesome assassination of Gulak is painful and has been condemned in strong terms by Governor Hope Uzodinma, Imo people and groups including Ohanaeze.
Ohanaeze hailed the Northern Governors Forum for demanding that the murder be treated as a criminal act and warning that the politicization of issues surrounding the death could lead to further violence in Nigeria.
Recalling the recent abduction of over 200 school children in Niger State, killings in the Northern States, Ohanaeze said it wondered why the ACF singled out the South East as a no-go-area for the Northerners.
“The reference by Chief Ogbe to the killings of northern leaders in 1966 that triggered the events that led to a civil war that cost the country thousands of lives, and untold suffering to millions of innocent people is, to say the least very inflammatory, incendiary, unreflective and unguarded.
“It should be noted that Igbos have suffered immeasurably in the current Nigerian dilemma. In Nimbo community of Enugu State, at about 5.15 am on April 25, 2016, the armed herdsmen numbering over 500 struck, killing 54 people.
“The Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi pleaded with the indigenes to accept the incident as an act of God. On March 30, 2021, Egedege community in Ebonyi State witnessed a horrendous sight of 18 persons slaughtered by the Fulani herdsmen.
“Governor Dave Umahi could not withhold his tears as he saw the 18 corpses of Ebonyi State indigenes killed spread like fish in the cold room. On Monday, the Commissioner for Capital City Development announced armed herdsmen invaded Ndiobashi in Izzi land and killed so many of our people.”
Ohanaeze reminded Ogbe and the ACF that it is the federating capacity of the Igbo, their fortitude and readiness to adapt to every part of the country, that have served as the salt without which the concept of Nigeria becomes tasteless.
It further rated the statement by Chief Ogbe as baleful and urged the Nigerian government and patriots to hold Ogbe responsible because his remarks are capable of rocking the already precarious boat.
“It is strange that the leaders that have gained everything from Nigeria are always the first to set it on fire”, the statement added
