A group, New Foundation of National Understanding, NFNM, has called upon President Goodluck Jonathan to shift the 2015 Presidential elections and prepare for war against terrorism in the country.
The group alleged that there is a plot by some disgruntled politician and religious extremists of northern extraction to extend the reign of terror of Boko Haram to southern Nigeria, causing disaffection among the Igbos and the Yorubas, while Boko Haram takes over the entire South on a religious agenda.
The Group claimed that their petition is already before the President as well as Heads of Security Agencies in the country.
The leader of the group, Chris Okigbo, a retired military officer, explained this when he led a delegation on a courtesy call on the Director General of Igbo Mandate Congress, IMC, and chieftain of General Association of all Igbo Christian Organizations and Ministers, GAAICOM, Rev Obinna Akukwe, over the weekend at Awka.
Okigbo informed the IMC leaders that Boko Haram was meant to be another pogrom against the South in angst over the emergence of Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan as President of Nigeria.
According to him, “There cannot be presidential election when the military wings of enemies of Nigeria are annexing Christian territories in the North and gradually coming down south. Their grand design is to gradually occupy territories and prepare for massive invasion of Southern Nigeria.”
Pointing accusing fingers at key northern politicians as sponsors of Boko Haram, the leader of the group said “any attempt to assassinate President Jonathan will result to civil war; in fact the President should impose a state of emergency on the nation if the murderers do not stop the killings, and postpone the elections till calm returns.”
Okigbo described Obasanjo as a coward who failed to divide Nigeria when he had the opportunity. He said that he was among the people that held several meetings with former President Obasanjo at his Ota Farm in Ogun State since 1988 and many times later and discussed on how Nigeria will be divided and when the Ota farmer got the opportunity, he danced to the tune of the North, and mortgaged the future of Southern Nigeria.
Speaking on Boko Haram, Okigbo said, “I even discussed the issue of emerging northern terror group with Obasanjo several times when he was the President, especially in 2006 and 2007, and he failed to take precaution until we have this problem of Boko Haram at our hands.”
He also claimed that before 2011, when Boko Haram became an albatross, he had already personally informed other key Yoruba leaders like General Akinrinade, Adebayo and Prof Wole Soyinka of the emergence of a northern terror group and their intentions to invade Southern Nigeria on a religionist expansion.
Okigbo also claimed that his disagreement with the late Biafra leader in 1982 was because he opposed the attempt by former President Shehu Shagari and his then Political Adviser, Chuba Okadigbo to force Ikemba Nnewi Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu to mortgage Igbo future by joining the northern party called NPN.
He named some key Igbo collaborators with the northern establishment to occupy Southern Nigeria and claimed that he was the one that thwarted the earlier plot by the north to invade Benin and Yoruba states in 1983 a fact he claimed Obasanjo and Ojukwu had sufficient intelligence on.
Okigbo told Rev Akukwe that he had discussed this issue with key Igbo leaders and that soon a public position will be taken on the development. He asked Rev Akukwe to ”use his influence as a stakeholder among the Christian Community in the South East especially CAN and PFN to bring this issue to the knowledge of church leaders”
In his response, the DG of IMC lamented the dearth of Igbo leadership after the demise of Ojukwu and according to him, “at this juncture, when charlatans have taken over Igbo leadership, the absence of Ikemba is greatly felt”
He urged the group not to ”disrupt elections in 2015 and play into the hands of looters of government treasury whose incompetence is glaring,” promising to set up a study group over the weighty issues contained in the petition and forward its findings to key church leaders and Igbo political figures. He asked Mr Okigbo and group to exercise restraint as God has not finished with a united Nigeria yet.
Commenting on the matter, the Assistant Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Barrister Emejulu Okpalaukwu said that Ohanaeze Ndigbo leadership is aware of the petitions and documents and will only comment on the issues later since the body is preoccupied with settling its internal crisis.
He advised Igbos to defend themselves and said that if the needed support is given, they will not only stamp out Boko Haram but install an Ezeigbo in Chibok.
