Former Niger Delta militant Asari Dokubo says he will lead a march supporting the Igbos’ bid to secede from Nigeria with over a million signatories from Nigerians across the country to the National Assembly.
He made the remarks in an Instagram video recorded and shared by Koikimedia via its Twitter handle on Thursday.
“Please, President Ahmed Tinubu, I am going to write to the signatories of over one million people all over Nigeria and march to the National Assembly to allow the Igbos to go,” stated Mr Dokubo in the video, which had over 58,000 views.
Mr Dokubo’s remarks came after a recent visit to Mr Tinubu in Abuja, where he told reporters that freeing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), would be equal to rewarding criminality.
In the video, the former Niger Delta militant urged Mr Tinubu and the National Assembly to ensure a constitutional amendment for the smooth exit of the Igbos.
“We do not even need a referendum,” said Mr Dokubo. “The president should meet the National Assembly, and somebody courageous enough to sponsor a bill at the National Assembly, there should be a constitutional amendment to allow the Igbos to go.”
Dele Alake, the president’s spokesman, did not respond to Peoples Gazette’s request for comments on the matter.
Although Article 2 of the constitution is against secession, Mr Dokubo argued that it would serve as a cleansing action of the entire country.
There was no immediate response from Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the House of Representatives spokeswoman, Khadija Abba, when contacted to react to Mr Dokubo’s call for Igbo secession.
Mr Dokubo, who described the Igbos as the “real aggressors” claiming to be “victims”, said they could secede and make Mr Kanu their “messiah.”
The ex-militant stressed that the agitation for Biafra was too much for Nigeria to bear. He warned that if the Igbos leave, they won’t have the chance to freely enter Nigeria any longer, especially towards the southern corridor.
He said letting the Igbos secede would be the biggest favour to the black race worldwide, and Mr Tinubu will go down as one of the best presidents the world has ever seen.
Mr Dokubo said there “would no longer be Alaba Market, computer market, and Ladipo Market,” adding, “Let the Igbos go.”
“Any product they have, if they want to fly it, they should fly it anywhere. But we will not allow them to pass the Ijaw territory and our coastline from Santababara to the new Calabar River,” the Nigerian leader’s ally stated further. “Let the Igbos go, no shooting, no killing, no nothing whether it is sympathetic Igbo or moderate Igbo, all of them let them go with all their pipelines and the small cup of oil they produce; we cut it off, give them their own and no problem.”
SOURCE: PEOPLES GAZETTE
