OHANAEZE Ndigbo has condemned the shoot-at-sight order given to Nigerian soldiers on Igbo land, warning that the Nigerian government should learn a lesson from history by not fighting an unwinnable war against nationalism.
Ohanaeze rather advised the Buhari-led government to “seek possible peaceful options that are the only solution that guarantees national unity and peaceful coexistence”.
Ohanaeze lamented that “subnational consciousness or ethnocentric nationalism which is a dangerous form of nationalism to national unity has taken over Nigeria”.
The apex Igbo Socio-cultural body noted that “the dream of Nigeria unity is receding and fading fast with violence, crises and conflicts”.
In s statement by its spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Prof. George Obiozor was quoted as being “unequivocal that the current problems confronting Nigerian, eg ethnic militia, agitation for secession, insurgency, etc are a product of sustained orchestrated injustice in governance”.
According to the statement: “The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to the “Shoot at Sight Order” given to the Nigerian soldiers on how to engage the Igbo youths in the oncoming week.
“The report further revealed that the exercise will commence from Orlu in Imo State, South East Nigeria. This is very disturbing.
“The pattern of deployment of northern military officers to the South-East lends credence to the above report. It was revealed that in preparation for the above, the Nigerian army has posted Northern Muslims as commanders over its operations and brigades in Anambra, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Benue, Edo, Delta and Rivers.
“In Anambra State, the Cantonment Commandant of the 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, is Col. Abdulsalam Abubakar Sambo, a Hausa-Fulani Muslim; while in Imo State, the Brigade Commander of 34 Brigade, Obinze, is Brig Gen Ibrahim Tukura, another northerner; in Abia State, the Brigade Commander of 14 Brigade, Ohafia, is Brig Gen M. Ibrahim, still, a northerner; while in Akwa Ibom State, the Brigade Commander of 2 Brigade, Uyo, is Brig Gen Faruk Mijinyawa, another northerner. This is truly worrisome!