Kano Bombing..Igbos May Start Retaliating...IF...Ohaneze

The pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation,  Ohanaeze Ndigbo,  has said that it can no longer guarantee peace in the East in the face of the  continued killing  of the Igbo in some states in the North.

The group  said that stopping its youths from carrying out reprisal  over the years, even in the face of extreme anger, had  been an onerous job.

It added that it was not sure if it would continue to restrain them from doing so, especially in the South-East.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in a statement by its Secretary General, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu,   said this on Wednesday while reacting to last Monday’s bombings in Kano State in which  many Igbo   were killed.

But just as the statement was made available to journalists,  Jama’atu Nasril Islam, a group led by Sultan  Muhammad Sa’ad  Abubakar 111, called on the Federal Government to urgently  track down and  bring those behind the series of bombings and killings in the country to book.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, however,  still appealed to its youth wing  to maintain the peace while awaiting  President Goodluck Jonathan’s reaction to the latest “dastardly” act. It advised  that in the future, “ Islamists fundamentalist  murderers must be tackled with the same ruthlessness with which they destroy lives.”

Its statement   reads, “We roundly condemn the sponsors and perpetrators of the continued cold blooded murder of fellow Nigerians. The Igbo nation is taking the heaviest toll on the casualty list and Ndigbo are grossly pained by this organised pogrom on her people.

“Ndigbo cannot continue to bear this unnecessary and unprovoked loss of  their  blood. Patriotism is just not enough. Keeping our restive youths calm has been an onerous job and only God has helped thus far. We can no longer guarantee the civil response of our people in a country that has become one huge slaughter house.

“The Federal Government must convince the people, especially Ndigbo, that they are safe in Nigeria. Meanwhile, Ohanaeze state chapters are to compile the names of all those affected in the bomb blasts.

“Let’s act fast. However, as a reminder, no tribe is essentially completely made up of cowards and Ndigbo are certainly no cowards.

“Need we remind these murderers that no ethnic group has the monopoly of violence? A final position will be taken in due course after due consultation with Igbo leadership.”

The  National Organising Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said that Ohanaeze youths would no longer keep quiet if the killings continued.

“For now, we will not do anything because we have chosen to listen to the advice of our leaders who have asked us to be quiet and calm. But if it happens again, or something similar to that occurs again in any northern state, advice or no advice, we would be forced to retaliate,” Isiguzoro said.

Sultan Abubakar-led JNI, has however, condemned the Kano explosions, saying those responsible for the killings in the country deserved no mercy.

In Kano, the  President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo  in the state, Chief Tobias Idika,said  the association was opposed  to any plan to conduct a mass burial for bodies yet to be identified.

Idika, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, explained that he and other members of the association were worried about reports of a planned mass burial of such bodies.

He said, “So far, relatives of the dead have identified 35 bodies. Some identified their dead using the clothes  they wore last. Some used their shoes and other physical attributes because some of them were badly burnt; others had their faces still intact. We are still trying to identify others but we now hear that there are plans to conduct a mass burial.

“We are worried about this information. We  would like to use this opportunity to warn the Kano State Government and the Police not to bury our people in a mass grave because this will increase tension. We will like to see the bodies of our people to give them a proper burial.

“How do  you tell a mother, father, brother or sister that their loved one is dead and you do not have the body for them to see and bury properly? It is not done. We have suffered enough; people must not add salt to our injury by committing further abominations against us.”

The Ohanaeze leader  also expressed sadness that the state Governor, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso,   had yet to visit the site of the incident.

But the  Director of Press and Public Relations to the Kano State Governor, Haliru Dantiye,  said he was not aware of any  plan to give the victims a mass burial.

 Dantiye, who added that  the state government was doing all within its power to deal with the situation,  explained that  the injured  had been visited by government officials in their various hospitals  and   instructions given for their treatment.

    He said, “As you are aware, government is taking responsibility for their  medical bills. I believe there may be a policy pronouncement. On the issue of mass burial,   I am not aware of any such plan.”

The Kano blasts were also deliberated upon by the Senate at its plenary on Wednesday.

 During the session,   a member, Uche Chukwumerije,  said  the Igbo in Kano State believed that the blasts  were pre-meditated against them.

Chukwumerije, who read a script titled,”Bomb Explosions in Luxirious Buses Park, New Road, Sabon Gari, Kano on March 18, 2013,” said the Igbo in the state felt so because about 80 per cent of the passengers  in  the two South-bound  luxury buses first attacked by the bombers were their kinsmen.

He said  that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Kano State would want the Federal Government to  set up a committee to collect and manage any compensation for  the victims because the Igbo  no longer trusted  the Kwankwaso administration.

The lawmaker added, “ More dangerous still, they (Igbo in Kano)  believe that the Monday mayhem was a pre-meditated attack primarily aimed at them. This is the view of a group, a major component of our plural community. This view has two strategic implications for the viability and vitality of the Federation.

“The first implication is the possibility of extreme alienation and resort to the option of withdrawing allegiances from the State since the most crucial of the obligations of a State in this Social Contract is protection of life and property.”

Making specific demands on the Nigerian State, Chukwumerije said, “For  the Igbo  in Kano, the people and their leadership insist on three immediate remedial actions from government.

“One is permission to arrange private burials, in place of mass burials, for their loved ones because some of the deceased were their leaders.

“The  Federal Government should beef up security  around  the Igbo  and other endangered groups in the North. They demand a visibly effective termination of terrorism in Nigeria.

“The fight against terrorism is like a football match. The people are not interested in stories of efforts being made, but in actual results like victory goals in a football match.”

Commenting on the issue, Senator Kabiru Gaya said it was sad that enemies of the Nigerian State were seeking to exploit ethno-religious differences to destroy “our nation.”

He said, “From history, Kano people had been business partners with other tribes in Sabon-Gari;  we are worried that some people are working against the unity of this country, yet government is not doing anything