President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, John Nwodo has reacted to the series of attacks on his person by the self-acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu had earlier accused Nwodo of supporting the killing of North Easterners by the Nigerian military.
In a lengthy letter personally signed by himself, he called Nnamdi Kanu his son and says he has refrained from hitting back at Kanu simply because they are in the same struggle but opined that short of war, there is no way they were going to get their independence forcefully.
Part of the letter read,
”Finally, no amount of insultive, provocative and incendiary speeches can get us Biafra or Restructuring. I was one of the agents that put together the Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum. No pressure group in Nigeria is as strong as this group in the struggle to restructure Nigeria.
”Restructuring Nigeria will give the South East sovereign independence in the control of our national resources and political control of our government structures. Short of a war, you can’t force Nigeria to grant us Biafra. I believe that working together we can achieve a referendum/constitutional amendment or a plebiscite. That will be the first step to self-determination.
”The journey of Catalonia and Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic are examples of how long and tedious the struggle for self-determination is in our contemporary world. Let’s go step by step and without acrimony. I have noted the threats to my life from the IPOB leader. I leave that to God and the law. Ndigbo will recall that when the leader of IPOB was released, the South-East Senate caucus advised him to leverage with me and other Igbo leaders so that we can achieve a synergy. We met once and three weeks after that in spite of our cordial discussions, I was the subject of his abuse on Radio Biafra.
While castigating Kanu for his style of struggle he, however, saluted him, calling on Igbos to rise and condemn what is condemnable;
”It would appear that he is on a megalomaniac streak where he arrogates to himself the monopoly of wisdom and capacity to cause mayhem. Ndigbo, I have championed your cause with every amount of energy in me. I have worked with little encouragement or assistance. Thank God my team and I have elevated Ohanaeze Ndigbo to an enviable status.
”It is dangerous for our solidarity and ultimate success if we allow these vituperative outbursts to truncate our solidarity. In spite of all I say, I salute Nnamdi for his courage and his persistence in upholding our case but I urge you all to rise and condemn what is condemnable. Speak up and shame those who would want us to split into pieces and destroy our resolve to fight as a united people. As a father, I will always forgive an erring child but not without drawing his attention to a misdemeanour which should never be repeated.”
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