Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
After abolishing the already entrenched Sit-at-Home protest in the South-east geopolitical zone, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has now followed it up with sensitisation campaign to put “a permanent end” to the self-injurious protest.
The campaign, which kicked off at the weekend, involved distribution of flyers, posters and leaflets announcing the final end to the Sit-at-Home phenomenon.
Spokesman of IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful, announced the commencement of the campaign in a statement entitled “Monday Weekly Sit-at-Home: An Ugly Phase of a Bygone History that Must Never Be Repeated as Echoed by Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.”
He stated that the flyers and posters being distributed was aimed at “conveying our leader’s famous pronouncement canceling Monday sit-at-home”
The IPOB’s spokesman said that “Biafrans should know that sit-at-home is not only dead but will never again be invoked or deployed as a tool of civil disobedience in our quest for self-determination.
“Any person or persons talking about a non-existent sit-at-home in Biafraland is an enemy of the people and shall be dealt with accordingly.”
Though the Biafra self-determination group had long put an end to Sit-at-Home orders, a Finland based self-styled prime minister of Biafra government in exile (BGIE), Mr. Simon Ekpa, has continued to issue the orders.
Curiously, some people loyal to Ekpa have continued to enforce his orders in defiance to the known leadership of IPOB.
The activities of Ekpa and his loyalists became so pervasive that the detained leader of IPOB, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, issued a letter through his Special Counsel, Mr. Aloy Ejimakor, to formally announce the end of Sit-at-Home.
The IPOB’s spokesman made it clear that “the social media Biafra Government in Exile (BGIE), has nothing to do with IPOB’s Supreme Leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who has nothing to do with them and will never have anything to do with them.
“Biafran struggle championed by IPOB does not have any government in exile and will never have any government in exile. People that never led a protest anywhere in the world, were never detained or held meetings with any international bodies can never claim to represent our people.”
To further isolate Ekpa and his so-called autopilot splinter group, IPOB leadership enjoined the people of Biafraland to help in spreading the message that the sit-at-home is “dead” and buried.
According to him, the leader of IPOB has authorised the sensitisation campaign and also instructed that the flyers should be distributed by hand while the posters should be pasted in cities, communities and hinterlands of the region.
Powerful vehemently condemned the autopilot group, describing them as “the criminal elements (who) are not working for Biafra restoration nor the release of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, who is unlawfully detained in the DSS solitary confinement in Abuja Nigeria.”
He said: “Those purporting to be running a Biafra Government in Exile, from somewhere in Finland, also known as Autopilot are not IPOB members and their activities do not represent the views of the supreme leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, rank and file IPOB’s membership nor ESN operatives.
“It is a shame to the memory of our brave martyrs that gave their lives for the emancipation of Biafra that individuals that never led ordinary street protests in Biafraland or anywhere in the world in support of Biafra restoration can claim to lead our people. This is an absolute disgrace.
“These shameless parasites and their sponsors are hoping that mere attachment of the name of our supreme leader, IPOB and ESN to their criminal enterprise will cloak them in the requisite legitimacy to continue duping the gullible of their hard-earned money.
“With the pronouncement of permanent end of sit-at-home, IPOB warned that any person or persons talking about a non-existent sit-at-home in Igbo land is an enemy of the people and shall be dealt with accordingly.”
