ELDER statesman and First Republic Aviation Minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, yesterday, expressed sadness over the alleged Federal government’s refusal to heed to his advice on the solution to the perceived insecurity in southeast.

Chief Amechi, who turns 94 years on Thursday this week, appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government of Nigeria to release the detained leader of the Indigemous People of Biafra, IPOB, saying that his release is the only key to end the insecurity in the southeast.

Chief Amechi alleged that many criminals have formed different groups which IPOB had disowned, claiming to be working for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, while their real intention is to rob, intimidate, harass and dispossess people of their belongings, saying that once the pro-Biafra group leader is released, such groups will not have any reason to exist let alone claiming to be working and enforcing sit-at-home home while in actual sense they go about robbing people.
Chief Amechi described President Muhammadu Buhari, as a man with good conscience who  is ready to respect him and many elders of the country but is surrounded by hawks and selfish politicians and appointees who do not allow him to take sound decision but deceive and mislead him with ethnic self serving ideas that are aggravating insecurity in Nigeria.

“The security challenge in the southeast is the result of government refusal to do what I have asked them to do to help us to stop the killings in the southeast and Igbo land in general. May be the insecurity in Igbo land suits them and their political purposes, otherwise, they would have listened to my advice and those of other southeast and south-south and even southwest leaders.

“There is only one key to the solution to killings in Igbo land now, and that is the release of Nnamdi Kanu. If that young man is released, you will see all these criminals who  spring up claiming to be agitating for the release of Nnamdi Kanu while their real intention is to rob innocent and unsuspecting people, will go into hiding because they will have nothing as reason to come out .

“IPOB has disowned them and have even taken measures to apprehend them but as you know, criminals will have their ways of operating and claiming one fake thing or the other, but they are simple criminals operating one way or the other.

“So, the only way the government can help me and a few of us who are really interested and who are nationalistic enough to be looking for real  peace in Igbo land and Nigeria is to release that young man. I have asked the federal government to release and hand him over to me. At my age, I will be 94 on Thursday this week. So, at 94,  if he misbehaves, let the government arrest me, even if  I am 98, let them arrest me, let me go and die in prison but the government has refused to listen to me.

“President Muhammadu Buhari by my association with him is a good man and prepared to respect me but there are so many terrible people around him, who mislead him on this matter and other matters of national interest and they are not helping in the tomorrow of this country. Their plan is to wipe away the Igbo but it is not possible.

“It is not possible to wipe away the Igbo, nobody can do that. It is very impossible to do  that because there must be remnants of the people if you try to wipe them out.

There must be remnants of the people, an ordinary   malnourished  baby who was sent to a neighbouring country has now grown to become the president of that country, a “Quashikor” baby from Igbo land who was sent away to an African country  during the civil war is now the president of that country. So, they cannot stop the handwork of God.

“So, I use this opportunity of my birthday coming up on Thursday to appeal to Mr President to release Nnamdi Kanu, in trust for me, and watch him for a year while in my trust. If he misbehaves, let the government take me. In what way else can the President of the country know that the oldest nationalist they have in this country has made this pledge? In what way again can i assure him on this matter?

Lolo Ijeoma Njoku Obinwannem News Writer/ June 15, 2022