The
Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku Community in Umuahia north local government area of Abia
State on Thursday dissociated themselves from the call for succession as being
championed by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi
Kanu.
DAILY
POST reports that the community pledged their support and loyalty to a united
and indivisible Nigeria.
Isiama
Afaraukwu ibeku community is the hometown of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
Addressing
journalists in a press conference organized by the community on Thursday, an
elder statesman, Chief Geoffrey Onyemaobi said the people of Isiama Afaraukwu
ibeku was not part of the agitation for sovereign state of Biafra, just as he
raised alarm over the invasion of the community by IPOB members.
He
explained that on Wednesday, the community was invaded by members of IPOB, with
over five hundred vehicles, which led to heavy traffic jam in the area.
According
to Onyemaobi, the IPOB members blocked the entire roads in the community and
that it took residents of the community about two hours to get home from
Umuahia town.
He
pointed out that it took him two hours to get Isiama Afaraukwu from the Federal
Medical Centre (FMC) junction, Umuahia, appealing to federal and Abia state
governments to come to their aid over the invasion of the community by those he
referred as ‘outsiders’.
Onyemaobi
restated once again that Isiama Afaraukwu ibeku was not supporting break-up of
Nigeria, maintaining that they joined other well meaning individuals on the
call for Nigeria restructuring.
His
words,”They invaded my community, isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku yesterday, that’s on
Wednesday.
“There was no space in entire Isiama
Afaraukwu. They invaded the community with over five hundred vehicles carrying
young boys who have no idea how war looks like, walking around every place in
this community.
“The
people of the community, including myself could not come out from our compound.
They blocked our gates and roads with vehicles. I had to manage to squeeze
myself out.
“Coming
back, it took me complete two hours from Federal medical Centre (FMC) junction,
through Aba road, because they blocked the Golden Guinea Breweries road, I had
to take Holy Trinity road, still they blocked it. No space anywhere in
Afaraukwu.
“Two
hours to get to my compound. Is it what we are going see in this community? We
are appealing to government to please come to the aid of this community. We are
not part of what is going, I mean, Biafra agitation. We are not part of it.
“The
community is being invaded by outsiders. They are invading our community. We
are only calling on government to protect us. This is an invasion. One cannot
come out of his compound, we have been held inside our compound.
“We
are calling on the Abia state and federal government to wake up because what is
coming gradually now, might turn to something else.
“We
want peace in this community. There is tension everywhere in this country. If
they want us to break up this country, this is not the way to go about it; it
is by referendum, everybody will sit down and agree.
“But I
don’t believe breaking up of this country is the right thing to do. I believe
that there must be changes in the polity. I believe the present federal
government is listening. Everybody in this country have said we need to
restructure Nigeria.
“And
we believe if this country is restructured, all these agitations will cease.”
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