Richard Elesho
As the Monday dateline set for a sit-at-home protest by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB arrives, people of the affected areas in the Southeast have been thrown into confusion about the order.
The confusion was generated by two conflicting directives from leadership of the group, namely Emma Powerful, it’s Spokesperson and Kanauta Kanu, younger brother to Nnamidi Kanu, its leader. While Powerful insisted the protest will hold, Kanauta said it has been suspended.
It would be recalled that the group had last week reiterated that a sit at home protest to be observed every Monday will commence this week, to press it’s demand for release of detained Kanu.
However in a statement, Kanauta said the order has been suspended because of ongoing NECO exams and that a new date would be announced later.
The statement reads: “IPOB has listened to pleas from well-meaning individuals and groups within and outside Biafra land that we consider the fate of our children who will be involved in the NECO Exam and based on that, we decided to shift grounds over the sit-at-home order.
“IPOB having realized the academic deprivation the already marginalized Biafra students who entered for this year’s NECO would suffer, decided to suspend the sit-at-home order to a later date, to allow the students take their exams.
“Allowing the sit-at-home to go ahead as earlier announced, in the face of the NECO Exam would amount to assisting enemies of Biafra to inflict more injuries on her children.
“As a group fighting for the liberation of her people from oppression from her enemies, we realized that it would amount to assisting the said enemies to inflict more harm on our children if we do not suspend the sit-at-home order to allow Biafra students take their exams.”
He noted that the sit-at-home order has not been cancelled, but only suspended for the sake of Biafra students taking this year’s NECO Exam.
The statement called on all IPOB global family members and Biafrans at large to await further directives in this regard.
However, reacting to Kalunta’s statement, Powerful told News Express on Sunday evening: “Emma Powerful is the recognised IPOB spokesperson; any other person doing so is doing it for personal gain and anybody who ventures to come out tomorrow will regret coming out tomorrow. Nobody should interfere into affairs of a well-structured and respected movement like IPOB.”
It would be recalled that after jumping bail, Nnamidi Kanu was recently arrested and brought back home from an African country to continue his trial.