The
Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council, the youth wing of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Monday
backed calls for an ‘internal revolution’ against political, traditional,
religious and opinion leaders in Igboland.
The
Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra had on Sunday
accused Igbo leaders of betrayal, saying they were responsible for the plight
of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, and other
pro-Biafran activists.
MASSOB,
which spoke through its leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, threatened to organise an
internal revolution against the concerned Igbo leaders if Kanu was not released
from prison before Christmas.
Reacting
to the threat, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council said it would support any plan to
“sanitise” Igboland and “punish Igbo politicians who have not done anything to
improve the lives of Ndigbo.”
OYC,
which spoke through the chairman of the committee of state chairmen, Alex
Okemiri, said it was already compiling a list of the concerned politicians.
The
Ohanaeze youth wing noted that while Igbo complained of marginalisation by the
Federal Government, their leaders were also marginalising them at home.
“Ohanaeze
Ndigbo Youth Council agrees with MASSOB that most Igbo political actors have
failed to put the interest of Ndigbo first in their act and need to be taught
some lessons.
“While
there is obvious external marginalisation of Ndigbo, there is also the internal
marginalisation by our own people.
“What
do our governors do with the money that comes to Igboland? Most of them use it
to buy land, houses and choice properties all over the world. Some of them
travel all over the world at every opportunity. They owe pensioners and workers
for months. They do not care about the youths,” Okemiri said in the statement.
He
added, “We are now compiling a list of such politicians and we shall hand over
the list to MASSOB for a proper sanction while we shall also carry out our own
sanctions.”
Specifically,
the irate youths warned that the concerned leaders would soon be expelled from
Igboland, if they refused to change.
OYC
said, “In fact, if by December this year, such failed politicians fail to turn
a new leaf, they will leave Igboland for us because we cannot tolerate such
people in our midst again.
“They
cannot stay in Igboland and use our resources to better only their lives and
the lives of their girlfriends and hangers-on while their subjects suffer
unduly.”
They
also warned contractors of Igbo extraction, who got Federal Government
contracts for projects in Igboland but failed to execute them.
“Igbo
contractors also given contracts in Igboland who fail to execute such contracts
creditably will also face the music,” the group said.
Source:The
Punch Newspaper
Tags
Politics