The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council worldwide has warned the Coalition of Northern Youths not to misconstrue its peaceful approach to issues of the nation as weakness.
The group condemned the 30-days ultimatum given to the Federal Government and governors to implement the suspended RUGA settlement policy as a declaration of war against the south and southerners living across the northern part of the country.
In a statement issued in Abakaliki by its President General, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the Igbo group vowed to explore all peaceful avenues for protection of lives and properties of Igbo resident in the North.
An Arewa group had threatened to sack southerners resident in the North and implement the Ruga policy across the nation if the Federal Government failed to rescind it decision to suspend it within 30 days.
Rather than splitting hair over the Ruga policy, which was clearly rejected by southern Nigeria, especially South-East /South-South governors and people, Ohanaeze Ndigbo advised the Coalition to direct northern governors to embrace the National livestock Transformation Programme option.
“We warn that youths of South-East and South-South are not ready to stomach the threat of genocidal ethnic cleansing against the Igbos in the North. We call on Ndigbo to be vigilant and defend themselves in the North and relocate immediately their business headquarters to the East.”
In its own reaction, the Arewa Defenders Forum (ADF) called on the Federal Government to re-introduce Ruga, which it said was a critical measure to address insecurity in the North.
President of the group, Nuruddeen Alkasim, in a statement after an emergency meeting in Kaduna, raised concerns over alleged “Islamisation and Fulanization” plot noting that the suspended programme was designed to bring an end to suspicious killings using the name of Fulanis and their northern identity for political convenience.
