Following the attack on some prominent Igbo leaders by Biafra agitators at an event in Enugu last week, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said the agitators lack inexperience. Notable Igbo personalities, including a foremost lawyer, Prof. Ben Nwabueze; and a First Republic minister , Chief Mbazuluike Amechi, were in attendance at the event organised by the Eastern Consultative Assembly when pro -Biafran activists went on the rampage and manhandled some of the dignitaries.
Reacting on Saturday, the spokesman for Ohanaeze, Uche Achi- Okpaga, advised the Indigenous People of Biafra to avoid playing into the hands of those who intended to hold Igbo down. The Ohanaeze spokesman said the group was not in support of the attack on the Igbo elders. He noted that the Enugu incident was caused by frustration on the part of the aggrieved youths, a situation he blamed on the harsh conditions in the country.
Achi- Okpaga said, “The youth would always behave as such. Now, some sections of the country feel that the Igbo should not be allowed to rule the country. Instead of distrust and disrespect, the youth should see beyond their noses that there is a deliberate and well orchestrated ploy to downgrade Ndigbo. “However, our youths remain our children. No matter the degree of the attacks, they are our children.
We are training them informally. They will soon become leaders or elders and would, as well, learn to bear with the youthful displays of their own children”But IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the majority of Igbo leaders were afraid of the North and did not want to take any action that would offend their alleged northern benefactors.
