Founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has said the leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is being used by some politicians to cause genocide in the South-East.
Uwazuruike said the idea behind the agitation for an independent state of Biafra was to use non-violent means, lamenting however that the idea had been hijacked by those he recruited into the movement.
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Speaking at a press briefing in his house in Owerri on Monday, Uwazuruike, who also leads the Biafran Independent Movement (BIM), said he feels disturbed each time there are killings in Igboland caused by the activities of IPOB.
He expressed regret that Nnamdi Kanu and his cohorts have turned Igboland into a battleground where daily killings have become common place
He berated the IPOB leader for not having any regard for Igbo leaders, who he abuses with reckless abandon.
He asked South-East governors to take over the Eastern Security Network (ESN), saying the organisation is being abused by those behind it.
“When we started out on this movement, our purpose was to pursue this issue of Biafra through non-violence means, but along the line, politicians stepped in by sponsoring some for their own selfish interests to cause mayhem.
“We feel disturbed because people have called us continuously to ask what is happening.
“Today many people are being killed in Igboland not by Fulani herdsmen but by ourselves because if you invite the military into Igboland they kill nobody but Ndigbo.
“At the end of the day, we are the people being killed. I started all these, I recruited all these people. I want to say that at no point will Ndigbo go to war with any other part of Nigeria. We have reached a stage where it is no longer possible to fight in Nigeria,” he said.
Uwazuruike chided Kanu for his lack of respect for Igbo leaders, adding that even where he (Uwazuruike) has no relationship with either Ohanaeze Ndigbo or South-East Governors Forum, he still has a lot of respect for them.
“South-East must not be a theatre of war because of the activities of a few individuals. We must recognise our leaders. We cannot allow anarchy to prevail,” he said.
