The Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereignty State of Biafra (MASSOB) on Thursday said only God can stop the objectives of the group, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari cannot. It maintained that Buhari cannot stop Nigerians from discussing the way they would want to live in the country. It restated that Nigerian sovereignty was negotiable.

In a press statement made available to journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital, MASSOB leader, Uchenna Madu, described Buhari’s comment that Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable as curious and primordial.

“This is an enthusiastic expression of an old man who still believes in his old way without realising that new trends are taking place.

“Buhari believes that with his kinsmen occupying all the positions in the military, he will easily crush Biafra and other opinions on the restructuring of this country,” they stated.

They also added, “Maybe, he thinks that with his intimidation of Igbo governors, National Assembly members and religious/opinion/political leaders, he can crush Biafra.

“MASSOB views Buhari’s constant negative comments on Biafra consciousness as a sign of being jittery. As every revolutionary struggle has its own methodology, the current Biafran struggle for self determination and restoration will continue to pose confusing methods to President Buhari.

“Buhari’s military-civilian administration is the worst government Nigeria ever experienced in this country.

“His leadership style of enforcing and imposing Islamic Hausa/Fulani agenda on the rest of Nigerian people is tremendously assisting and justifying our struggle for Biafra actualisation.” They stated, “Buhari’s stubbornness and Islamic fundamentalism against the Christian Southern, Eastern and Middle Belt regions have reawakened the consciousness and thought of future survival of the people of these regions.

“We want President Buhari to continue to make similar statements of this kind which always express his frustrations. Any king who thinks like Pharaoh of Egypt against the Jews will certainly experience the doom of Pharaoh.

“No man born of a woman can crush Biafra because God, history and humanities are on our side.” Meanwhile, the Conference of Ethnic Nationalities in the Niger Delta has said that rather than continue to say the country’s unity was non-negotiable, President Buhari should improve Nigeria’s structure and the status of the citizens.

The President of the group, Prof. Kimse Okoko, explained that though he believed in the corporate existence of Nigeria, it was meaningless to say the unity of the country remained non-negotiable when the nation was moving towards precipice.

Okoko urged the Federal Government to implement the recommendation of the last National Conference in order to avoid the Yugoslavian experience. He added that it was possible for Nigerians to sit down and examine other possibilities if the implementation of the last National Conference report would not be possible.

Okoko, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Uyo, said, “You cannot continue to say the country’s unity is non-negotiable and would refuse to improve on the status of the citizens, improve on the structure of the country and improve on the system of the country.

“To me, it is meaningless because the reality before us is that we are moving towards the precipice. If we are not ready to implement the recommendations of the National Conference, then let us sit down and examine other possibilities,” he said.

Also, the National Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Sunday Okereafor, has countered the campaign for referendum by one Mr. Madu and his team, insisting that the group primarily wanted the Independent State of Biafra. He maintained that Madu was not a member of MASSOB, let alone being on the top hierarchy of the organisation. Therefore, he said he should not meddle in the affairs of the pressure group.

Okereafor, who spoke to one of our correspondents on Thursday in Owerri, stated that MASSOB had sometime ago in 2004 and 2005 yielded to referendum and that for Madu to come up with an idea for the group now showed that he was not abreast of the group’s agenda. He strongly warned him (Madu) to desist from hiding under the cloak of MASSOB to deceive members of the public and the international community. – Punch.