A Chieftain of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Emmanuel Madubike, has said that those killing and abducting hapless Nigerians in the name of Biafra struggle have given the group a bad name.
He stated that the motive of the group was not criminal, but borne out of the genuine desire to help Ndigbo demand their rightful place in the affairs of the society.
He said that those who from time to time dispossess innocent people of their belongings, attack institutions and snuff life out of people, among others, in the guise of Biafra struggle are not true members of the group, stressing that “IPOB has nothing to do with spilling human blood.”
Speaking with journalists in Enugu, Madubike noted that he was pushed to join the group several years ago following his realisation that successive administrations of Nigeria deliberately sideline the South East region in the scheme of things.
He added: “We think we need to create that consciousness in our people so that they will know that though it is one country, it is not so in practice. So many things were skewed against the region – in appointments, in citing projects, in employment, among others.
“Aside from using the 1999 Constitution to keep us down, nobody wants to know how the zone is fairing. It remains the only zone that is yet to taste power at the highest level in the land and even in our over 24 years of democracy, nothing has happened to change the pattern.
“There are today rail lines all over the country and trains are running at relatively cheap prices in other areas to cushion the high cost of road transport due to the increase in fuel price. This, however, is not the case in the South East; the one for the zone is not working. While other regions have standard gauge rail lines, the rail line in the region is single gauge; yet they cannot complete it.
“Check the appointments made in this government and see how various zones got extra appointees. For the South East, they insisted on dealing with it the way the constitution has stipulated.
“I can go on and on. I can tell you about the seaports that cannot be allowed to come to Igboland. Take a look at the roads, the infrastructure and even the Federal Government presence in Igbo land and you would see that there is no parity at all. These are the things that have continued to fuel agitation and made us join the group to advocate that we be treated fairly.”
Maduike, who resides in Australia, noted that it does not reflect the true spirit of the struggle when people wake up and begin to kill and abduct residents as well as solicit ransom in some cases.
