“Northern groups had no right to speak or decide for other Nigerians” - Ohanaeze

Ibegbu also stressed that Ohanaeze, as a body, did not want the break-up of Nigeria, but a restructured Nigeria.

The Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr Chuks Ibegbu, has said that the Northern groups had no right to speak or decide for other Nigerians.

The Ohanaeze chieftain stated, “One thing they (Northern groups) should know is that they are not speaking for the Niger Delta; they are not speaking for the Middle Belt; they are not speaking for the South-West, who have all spoken out to condemn the ultimatum given to the Igbo to leave the North.

“They have no moral duty to decide for other parts of the country.

They should be made to understand that threats of separation started with the North. In 1950, during the Ibadan conference, the North threatened to secede if not given half of the seats in parliament. Again, after the counter coup in 1966, the North threatened to secede until they were assured that power is now in their hands.

“Biafra is not an Igbo thing; every Nigerian is a Biafran. The Biafra agitation is a cry against injustice. Even geographically, Biafra is not an Igbo thing; it has never been an Igbo thing.”

On its part, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, endorsed the demand for a referendum to determine the future of the country.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, stated that a referendum was the right thing to do, but chastised the northern youths for insisting on expelling the Igbo from the North.

He said, “There is nothing wrong with organising a referendum, there is no section in Nigeria today that would not want a referendum on the future of Nigeria and that’s a civilised way of doing things.

“In Quebec, Canada, how many times have they organised referendum and now they even called it liberendum. If they (northern youths) had called for this, nobody would be against them, but to first say you are expelling the Igbo and now calling for referendum, is an after-thought.”