FG, Northern govs slam Arewa youths over Igbo quit notice

The Federal Government as well as Northern Governors have condemned the ultimatum issued by some Arewa youths against Igbos.
The ultimatum given by some Arewa youth groups to the Igbo to quit northern parts of the country within three months or be forced to do so was greeted by outrage, yesterday.
The Federal Government urged Igbo and other Nigerians to ignore the notice and go about their normal activities just as Governors of the 19 northern states disowned the Arewa youths, assuring that they have put measures in place to ensure there is no break down of law and order. In strong terms, the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF; Ohanaeze Ndigbo; and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB among others, condemned the statement by 16 Arewa youth groups with Governor El-Rufai calling for their arrests as ACF stated that the groups had no right to issue such a statement. The National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, had handed down the ultimatum at a well-attended press conference held at the Arewa House, Kaduna, on Tuesday.
The ultimatum followed a successful sit-at-home order enforced by the Nnamdi Kanu-led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB on May 30, 2017, which the five South-East states complied with. The text of the press conference was jointly signed by Nastura Ashir Sharif (Arewa Citizens Action for Change); Alhaji Shettima Yerima (Arewa Youth Consultative Forum); Aminu Adam (Arewa Youth Development Foundation); Alfred Solomon, (Arewa Students Forum); Abdul-Azeez Suleiman (Northern Emancipation Network), as well as Joshua Viashman (Northern Youth Vanguard). The National President of the Northern Emancipation Network, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, who read the text of the press conference, noted that the Igbo had become a threat to national unity and their quit order was necessitated by the Igbo persistence in the actualisation of Biafra, saying this had led to the impediment of other people’s rights in the South-East by ‘’the Indigenous People of Biafra and its overt and covert sponsors.’’ Suleiman said: “With the effective date of this declaration, which is today, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, all Igbo currently residing in any part of northern Nigeria are, hereby, served notice to relocate within three months and all northerners residing in the South-East are advised likewise. “All northern civil societies and pressure groups are, by this declaration, mandated to mobilise for sustained, coordinated campaigns at their respective state Government Houses, state Houses of Assembly, local government council secretariats and traditional palaces. “Our first major move shall be to reclaim, assume and assert sole ownership and control of these landed resources currently owned, rented or in any way enjoyed by the Igbo in any part of Northern Nigeria.”
Formally reacting to the quit notice, the Federal Government through Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, urged the Igbo and other Nigerians to go about their businesses without fear of molestation.
In a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, the minister “lamented the spate of such spurious and unwarranted calls for separation. He, therefore, called on all well meaning Nigerians to go about their normal activities as Government would bring to bear the full weight of the law on any individual or group violating the rights of citizens of the Country. He added that citizens were free to go about their normal businesses and would not be harassed or deterred by any group or persons.” He further advised “the various ethnic groups to desist from flaming the embers of hate, animosity, discord and disharmony and adhere strictly to the teachings of our good values of religions and cultures that encourage good neighbourliness, national unity and Integration, and love for one another. The Federal Government also said security agencies were already on the alert over the threat. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this while answering questions from State House correspondents after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Mohammed assured Nigerians that security agencies were on top of the matter, adding that the statement was capable of destabilising the country. Observing that such development did not start now, he said: “What I want to assure you is that security organisations are very very much on top of this matter.” When asked whether the issue of the ultimatum came up for discussion during the FEC meeting, the minister said it did not come up. The statement is irresponsible.
Borno State Governor and Chairman of the Northern States Governors ‘ Forum, Kashim Shettima, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues in Maiduguri, said they were in touch with heads of their security agencies and have taken measures that will guarantee the rights of all Nigerians living in any part of the North. The Governors also called on security agencies to arrest the youths and probe the motive behind the ultimatum because it is a suspicious act that falls in line with recent trend of arms cache haul at the ports and coup rumours. Shettima said: “On behalf of the Governors of the 19 Northern states, we totally condemn such irresponsible pronouncements by those groups. We condemn, we disown, and we are totally distancing ourselves from those faceless groups who don’t have the mandate of the people of Northern Nigeria to make such loud pronouncements. Section 41, Subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very explicit in safeguarding the rights of all Nigerians to reside in any part of the country with no hindrance whatsoever. But then,  when you see a toad dancing in broad daylight, the drummer is not far off from the main road. We wish to call on the security agencies to beam their lenses on these groups, and unearth the faces behind the mask. “Some months back, there were cases of importation of arms, illegal importation of arms intercepted at the ports, then we started hearing rumours of a coup d’etat. Now, a group, or a bunch of groups that do not have the mandate of the people came up with remarks capable of destabilizing the north and the country as a whole. ‘We are one nation tied to a common destiny, the governance of Northern Nigeria is not in alignment with those pronouncements, and we will take whatever measures that is necessary to safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians living in any part of the North. I am in contact with most of my colleagues, and they are all talking to heads of security establishments in their respective domains because we cannot afford to take chances. We cannot afford to toil with the destiny of this country. “The 19 Northern Governors wish to call on our brothers of Igbo descent to remain calm and go about their legitimate businesses. Nobody can dare to intimidate, harass or dehumanise them in any of the 19 northern states. Our governors will not allow that.”