Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Afenifere and elder statesman Balarabe Musa, have condemned Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s opposition to the call for the arrest of northern youths who asked the Igbos to leave the North before October 1.
They all stated that his position was suspicious, especially when all well-meaning Nigerians and group were condemning the ultimatum.
Deputy Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu, said Kwankwaso’s comment should be probed.
“Nobody is above the law so the security agencies should investigate him”, he told Punch.
“We want to warn that those that are fanning the embers of disunity should desist from doing so, because, if at the end of the day, the country descends to anarchy, they will also lose out.
“We have not forgotten that when he was governor, he stated that there was no need for more states to be created in the South-East.
“He said the land mass of the South-East would not support a new state, but he chose to forget the fact that state creation is not just about land mass but population”.
Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, said he was not surprised by the ex-governor’s utterances, noting that he had always been known for his bigotry.
“He (Kwankwaso) is trying to position himself as a defender of the Arewa and anyone who knows him over the years would have observed his bigotry and it shows clearly that he doesn’t believe in Nigeria.
“When a crisis happened in Ife, it was Kwankwaso that was making incendiary remarks and yet there are rumours that he wants to be president of Nigeria. We have noted his utterances.
“When people like him talk about one Nigeria, it is pure deception. I endorse what the Southern Nigeria Youths Coalition said that they wanted a referendum to determine the future of the country. I support their plan to retaliate any genocide against the Igbo in the North”.
Similarly, a Former governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, said Kwankwaso’s call to negotiate with Arewa youths was wrong.
Balarabe Musa said the arrest would serve as “deterrence” and uncover the sponsors of the youths calling for a quit notice.
He said, “There is nothing wrong in inviting the youths, but definitely, the position of the Kaduna State Governor, el-Rufai, calling for arrest is the position of majority of Nigerians.
“The call of people is that these young ones must be held responsible for their actions, not just to teach them a lesson for their crime, but also to expose those behind the quit notice.
“This is because the quit notice is clearly illegal and unconstitutional. How can you tell another Nigerian to quit and then give a date? That means that after that date, the youths can do anything illegal.
“The Federal Government and 80 per cent of Nigerians are clearly opposed to this notice. All the steps being taken by the government are correct and the government should immediately arrest these youths. Kwankwaso is wrong and the Kaduna State governor is right”.
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