Niger Delta youths blast Northern group over eviction notice to Igbos
- Youths of the Niger Delta region have fired the Northern youths for making what they described as unguarded statements
- The youth groups comprising the Ijaws and the Urhobos warn the Northern youths not to throw Nigeria into unimaginable crisis
- They call on security agencies to be proactive and nip the situation in the bud
Youths in the Niger Delta region comprising the Urhobos and Ijaws have reacted strongly against the three months ultimatum given by a section of Northern youths to Igbos resident in the region to quit or face mass eviction.
In separate statements made available to Legit.ng by President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Eric Omare and national press secretary of youth wing of Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Kelly Efemena Umukoro, the youth groups warned the northern youths to be mindful of their actions so as not to throw Nigeria into unimaginable crisis.
Eric Omare, the IYC president, said the demand by the northern youths is baseless and senseless, noting that there is nothing wrong for the Igbo people to demand or agitate for self-determination.
According to him; “The right to self-determination is a universal right recognized even under the UN charter. Therefore, the Igbo agitation for Biafra cannot justify the demand to move Igbos out of northern Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Igbos in the north get 3 months to quit the region as Biafra agitation heats up
“We believe it is criminally minded people who want to hide under the umbrella of speaking for the north to loot properties belonging to Igbos in the north that are making this demand.
“We call on security agencies to as a matter of urgency move against the brains behind the ultimatum to Igbos in the north.
“The security agencies must be proactive and not allow the deed to be done before acting. Furthermore we wish to remind those retrogressive elements that no amount of such empty threats would break the will of the people to have Nigeria renegotiated.
“It is the forces who do not want the factors mitigating against the development of Nigeria that are sponsoring those threats.”
Press secretary of the Urhobo Progress Union (youth wing), Efemena Umukoro, frowned against what he called the rascality taken too far by the northern youths.
He said: “It should be noted that despite the fact that some of them never experienced the civil war, they should learn from the history of the civil war of 1967 to 1970 in Nigeria, how the war devastated Nigeria and the economy of the nation.
“Asking the Igbos to leave is indirectly asking all the Niger Delta people to leave the north, including the Urhobo nation. The action could lead to disintegration of Nigeria.
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“It is also important to note that the Urhobos are not part of Biafra. We want a united Nigeria, where fairness, equality and justice are given pre-eminence.
“The Northern elders’ forum, northern governors should quickly intervene in this matter and arrest every signatory to the statement made. This is to save Nigeria for the future generation.”
He said he had lived in the north, noting that the northerners classify all Niger Delta people, including the Urhobos, as Igbos, hence it is necessary to make Urhobo decision known in this regard.
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Source: Legit.ng
