Eze Chukwu, Chairman of the Forum of National Youth Leaders of all Political Parties in Nigeria, has called on President Bola Tinubu to address restiveness in the South-East using strategies similar to those employed to resolve Niger Delta militancy.
During an interview on Friday in Abuja, Chukwu suggested that an amnesty program or comparable reconciliatory initiatives be extended to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as a means to reduce violence in the region.
He traced the roots of the agitation to the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which he noted eventually gave rise to IPOB.
Chukwu stated that both groups were established to draw attention to what they perceive as injustices against the Igbo people.
Chukwu said, “I am convinced that if the Igbo are given their due place in the scheme of things, the idea of Biafra agitation wouldn’t have arisen in the first place and if the needful is done before now, the agitation would have been put to rest.
“Now that the self-acclaimed leaders of IPOB have been arrested, it will be wise for the government to ensure that no other leader emerges by acting fast to proffer a solution to this age-long problem.
“My dear President, let the federal government step up action to extradite Mazi Simon Ekpa as well as issue a statement on plans to solve this problem in the South-East once and for all.
“I suggest amnesty for IPOB as it was with the former militants in the Niger Delta. This will calm nerves and deter further problems as well as the emergence of another IPOB leader.”
He said Mr Tinubu would write his name in gold if he restored normalcy in the zone.
“You will be recognised alive, and you will be remembered in death. My joy that Ekpa is arrested is because it will lead to the end of the sit-at-home saga as well as violent crime associated with their actions,” he said.
He said that with the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, it would be easier to rehabilitate members of IPOB if they surrendered their arms in the event of the amnesty programme.
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