Either by commission or omission, some northern youths, backed by so-called senior citizens, are out to test the widely held view that “no one country can survive two civil wars.”
How else can unarguably misguided and provocative threat by a group of uninformed youths be described other than that they want to engineer a revolt reminiscent of the precursors to the Nigerian civil war.
Tried as it has, Nigeria is yet to leave behind the memories of that gory episode that lasted three years, between 1967 and 1970, and claimed millions of lives and destruction of unquantifiable property.
The cries of marginalisation, and the recent orchestrated agitation for the resurrection of a sovereign State of Biafra for the people of the South-East are traceable to the civil war, which, though ended with a slogan of “no victor, no vanquished,” is still seen by the Igbo as their burden to carry for the part they played in the war.
The disparate groups campaigning for Biafra had initially been adamant to sheathe the sword.
But the release from detention of their arrowhead, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, and the apparent gaining of traction of the call for genuine dialogue has given hope for a thawing in the hardline posturing of the groups.
And the new thinking in the government, informed by widespread appeals, is that while the law takes its course in the trial of Kanu and others, dialogue should be intensified to resolve the agitation of the Igbo. But now a bolt from the blue!
An obviously non-existent group, purposely put together for mischief, has given ultimatum for people from the South- East to quit the North, comprising 19 states, within 90 days.
The Coalition of Northern Youths not only threatened forced evacuation of the Igbo if they failed to heed their ultimatum to leave the region, but also vowed seizure of all immovable property belonging to the Igbo.
However, almost in unison, condemnation against the contrivance by the youth groups came swiftly across the country: from nationalities to civil society organisations and those in authority, including the Federal Government, the leadership of the National Assembly and the Northern Governors’ Forum.
While we commend this intervention as a welcome development, we note with sadness the continued belligerence of the northern youth groups who, rather than show contrition for their misdirected quit notice on the Igbo, doubled down on their demand a few days later.
Equally condemnable is the unflattering support and backing the Northern Elders Forum, led by Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has given to the groups in their ignoble plan to destabilise the country.
We find it unimaginable that an elders’ forum, which is supposed to be a shining light to the youth, and in the forefront for the preachment of national unity, is itself the main driver behind a divisive plot.
We take it as utter rubbish the justification of their action based on the agitation by the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for a separate country.
Two wrongs cannot make a right.
But that is exactly what the action of the youth groups and Abdullahi’s elders’ forum entails.
Otherwise, they would have known it could carry consequences, as all actions do.
In response to their threat, a counter-threat has come from a Coalition of Niger Delta militants, whose demands have graver implications for Nigeria.
Among their demands are: A quit notice for all northerners to leave the Niger Delta before October 1, 2017; 100 per cent control of resources; a Niger Delta Republic; relocation of facilities of the NNPC to the Niger Delta, and immediate replacement of the Group Managing Director with a Niger Deltan; sack of workers of northern extraction from oil and gas establishments in the region; transfer of oil bloc licenses held by northerners to Niger Delta indigenes, and all companies operating in such oil blocs/wells to vacate within three months.
What all this boils down to is that while the Coalition of Northern Youths, backed and probably sponsored by the Northern Elders’ Forum asked the Igbo to leave the region in three months, the unintended consequence is a similar quit notice by the Coalition of Niger Delta Militants for northerners to vacate the Niger Delta within the same time frame.
If care is not taken, other regions, such as the South-West and North-Central, may be provoked to join the fray, and demand separate sovereign states from Nigeria.
And here lies the dilemma for the country still reeling from the devastating effects of the activities of Boko Haram in the North-East.
How could it survive such battering from all fronts? We call on the Federal Government to take a decisive action to stem the gale of “quit notices” to non-indigenes, and threats of declaration of independence by marginalised and dissatisfied zones of the country.
