A renowned security analyst, Ambassador Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has expressed concerns over what he called “uncoordinated utterances” from some Nigerians.
Mumuni, the Ajagungbade of Lagos, also called on the South East elders (Ohaneze Ndigbo), including South East Governor’s Forum to be bold enough to address the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)’s agitation of Biafra Republic and declaration of cessation from Nigeria.
The author of books on Global Terrorism and its Effects on Humanity and Demand by Terror described the developments as very disturbing and unpatriotic, calling on government at all levels to take proactive measures before it gets out of hands.
He faulted the actions of the Arewa Youths Forum.
Mumuni said: “It is unpatriotic for any individual or group to make such cessation request. The Igbos are Nigerians. Agitation for Biafra died long time ago. We are all Nigerians and we’ll continue to work together in the interest of our great country.”
The security analyst chided the eastern leaders for keeping “criminal silence for too long,” stressing that their silence provoked the outburst of the Arewa youths.
“Where were those youths making cessation calls during the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 16 wasted years? Why didn’t they come out during Jonathan’s government? They probably refused to clamour for Biafra then because they were dinning and winning with the government of the day.
“When they surfaced during this administration, renewing their agitation for Biafra, they were not called to order by their elders. If they had been cautioned earlier enough, we wouldn’t have been in this mess,” he said.
The former governorship candidate in Lagos state under the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) said it is high time the eastern leaders and their governors told Nigerians where their loyalty lies.
“You can’t be a Nigerian and still be a supporter of Biafra,” he said.
Mumuni called on government to initiate communication strategies with the agitators to avoid public disturbance.
“If not properly addressed now, the consequences will be unbearable. By then, every household will one way or the other pay dearly for it. We do not want to witness the implications or the consequences of this inaction. We’ve seen the consequence of neglect in Rwanda, we were all alive during the Sierra Leone crisis, we are living witnesses to Sudan’s needless ethnic wars and many more. The civil war was witnessed by our parents, we must not wish that for our own generation. We should not look for trouble where there is none,” he said.
Mumuni enjoined government to extend literacy to all rural communities, saying, lack of good education is playing a negative roles, and that such lapses actually gave room to the emergence of militia groups.
“More so, the implication of poverty and having to feed from the trash plays another role. Our country deserves leaders with visions,” he said.
