•Ezeife, Ikedife, others warn against emergency rule in S’East, S’South
By Joe Ezuma (Port Harcourt) and Okey Maduforo (Awka)
Nigeria remains united because the All Progressives Congress (APC) defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the presidential election in March, according to a former Biafran commander, Leo Amadi.
He had warned before the vote that there could be bloodshed if Muhammadu Buhari lost, because the PDP jettisoned zoning and insisted on pushing the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said Jonathan lost because a lot of people, especially in the North, objected to his candidacy and massively voted for his opponent.
”Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in that election was a thaw in the brewing national crisis. You can see that the concern over imminent disintegration of the country which rent the air before the election has died down,” Amadi told TheNiche in an interview in Port Harcourt.
Amadi, who has harboured bullets in his body for the past 45 years following injury during the civil war, noted that Nigerians were hungry for change at the time of the election and wanted Buhari because of his discipline and anti-corruption principle.
”The way the Nigerian state was drifting, the country was being pillaged by a few who impoverish the masses; crimes increased in forms and magnitude while there was a general loss of humanity among Nigerians, leading to general disenchantment.”
He said this loss of humanity is the reason for the unwillingness of wealthy Nigerians to offer him financial assistance to travel abroad to remove the bullet lodged in his chest region since the war, despite appeals to individuals and his state Governor, Rochas Okorocha.
Amadi, who also lost one eye, said the bullet hit his chest ”at the battle of Ngor Okpalla. After being commissioned as captain, one of my first tasks was to command troops to confront rampaging federal troops.
“That was on July 29, 1969 when we met federal soldiers face to face at Umuogbbonta, Ngor Okpalla and a fierce battle ensued during which my troops took heavy casualties.
“A 2.5mm bullet also hit me on the shoulder and has remained there since. It was a very bad day and it was a miracle that I survived. But sadly, I have never been a complete human being since then.”
As a fall out from the latest agitation for Biafra, the federal government is reportedly planning to declare a state of emergency in the nine states that made up the defunct Bight of Biafra during the war.
Protests for the actualisation of Biafran Republic have affected government and commercial activities in the South East and South South.
Former Anambra State Governor, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, told TheNiche that a source in government informed him of the plan for emergency rule.
His words: “You cannot beat a child and ask him not to cry. These people have reasons to protest and the government should look into the matter.
“As far as we are concerned, so far the protests have been non violent and they do not call for a declaration of a state of emergency.
“An inside source in government told me about the option of a state of emergency and that it has not been concluded yet. This is totally unacceptable to us in the South East.
“There are laws and procedure for the declaration of a state of emergency. What we have at the moment does not call for such drastic actions like a state of emergency.
“This would amount to overheating the polity and there is no place a state of emergency is declared that knows any peace.
“It will have dangerous effects on the masses and the protesters may want to engage the military men, and that would certainly deepen the crisis.
“I am aware that some governors have been meeting on this issue and it is my belief that the matter would be resolved.”
Former Ohanaeze Ndigbo leader now Deputy Chairman Supreme Council of Elders for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Dozie Ikedife, also told TheNiche that a state of emergency is not feasible at this time.
“We have already through the human rights initiatives taken the Nigerian government and the attorney general of the federation to court,” he said.
“Our prayers are for the court to give interpretations to United Nations declarations adopted by the African Union (AU) to the effect of right of self determination by any indigenous group, be they in Nigeria, Africa, and other parts of the world.
“The idea of a state of emergency is not only counter productive, it is another way of subjugating our people to modern day slavery. We believe in a legal and peaceful process and not to worsen the situation.
“I believe that Buhari is old and knowledgeable enough to appreciate the fact that the situation does not call for a state of emergency.”
Factional leader of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Uchenna Madu, said “that will be interesting if the federal government declares a state of emergency.
“Let Buhari sack the governors and appoint Hausa military administrators to govern the South South and South East.
“That would lay credence to our agitation before the United Nations. The world would now understand why we want a Republic of Biafra. The world will not appreciate what Biafrans are passing through in this country called Nigeria.
“The declaration cannot and will never stop us from actualising our dreams. Once it is declared we shall go into another level of protest and no military man can stop us. This is our land and we shall protect it firmly.”
A member of Anambra State House of Assembly, Chuba Enwezor, reiterated that “Section 305 sub section 3 of the Constitution is clear on the issue of state of emergency.
“It states that it can be declared when the federal government is at war, when there is imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war.
“It could also be declared when there is actual breakdown of public order to such that may lead to lawlessness.
“With the situation on the ground the reasons for declaration are unfunded and what has happened will not precipitate that.
“Why would you do that when a state of emergency was not declared in the North at the peak of Boko Haram insurgency?”