Stand up for your rights, Group tells Nigerians

One Nigeria Group (ONG), a non-political and non-governmental organisation in the vanguard of advocacy for unity, peace and progress of Nigeria, has called on Nigerians to stand up and fight for their right for peace, freedom and security of their lives and property.

The president of the group, Muhammad Hassan Saleh, made the call at Unity Fountain, Abuja, against the backdrop of the insecurity challenge in the country.

While addressing hundreds of supporters who embarked on peace and unity march from Unity Fountain to the Federal High Court with chants of one Nigeria, one nation, Saleh lamented that peace, unity and security of the country had been under a serious threat and must be addressed through justice.

“The unity and sovereignty of this country is being threatened and Nigerians are taking it lightly. It is the duty and responsibility of all Nigerians to be in this court. Every Nigerian should come out and redeem their pledges for the country. Everybody should come out to redeem our pledges and ensure that justice is served. This is what we are doing here today. This is not something that should be taken lightly by Nigerians,” Saleh said.

He added: “The unity of this country is for the benefit of all of us. This IPOB group and their leader are not in any way representing the interest of our Igbo brothers and sisters living in Lagos, living in Kano and other parts of the country and going about their businesses. Our people in the Southeast are just being kept at home against their own will.”

While explaining why IPOB members are not forgiven and given amnesty like some Boko Haram insurgents, Saleh said: “There is no single IPOB member that has come out to say he is sorry. I have never heard anything like that. If they become repentant, they can be given amnesty. We are all Nigerians. There should be nothing like taking sides with anybody. “

Sunday Attah, a co-convener of the group, urged Nigerians to defend the sovereignty of the nation.

“Nigerians have no other nation. So, they should not allow some people to bring destruction upon it. It is not the time to sit down and watch the country go down in disunity. If we are not united, our security and economy will not grow,” he said.

“We are not against any section. We are preaching one Nigeria. We are only against anybody that promotes anything that will bring destabilisation in the country. Nnamdi Kanu is anti-people. Even some Southeast people are in support of what we are doing. They are urging us to reposition the nation and re-sensitise our people because he has brainwashed many and it has led to a lot of killings in the Southeast region,” he said.