“We can’t afford another war, let Igbos leave if they want” – Northern elders

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says no Nigerian should welcome another war to keep the country together.

It said that the Igbo should be allowed to secede from Nigeria if that is what it would take to prevent another war from occurring.

The spokesman of the forum, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed stated this in Abuja on Monday while addressing reporters after a closed-door meeting.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) among others are fighting for the creation of an independent nation to be called Biafra.

Baba-Ahmed stated that the idea appeared to have taken root in the South-East geopolitical zone and it would be futile for anyone to oppose it.

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He said that insecurity will continue to worsen in the zone until people are given what they want.

“This nation has had to fight a terrible war to preserve the country. The north had paid its dues in that war, as indeed it did in many ways throughout the history of the country. Under our current circumstances, no Nigerian should welcome another war to keep the country together.

“The forum has arrived at the difficult conclusion that if support for secession among the Igbo is as widespread as it is being made to look, and Igbo leadership appears to be in support of it, then the country should be advised not to stand in its way.

“It will not be the best choice for the Igbo or Nigerians to leave a country we have all toiled to build and a country we all have the responsibility to fix, but it will not help a country already burdened with failures on its knees to fight another war to keep the Igbo in Nigeria,” Baba-Ahmed said.