The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar has said that if anyone plans to attack the Igbos resident in the northern region, they would have to attack him first.
The Sultan said this when the world Igbo union leader, Mishack Nnanta, accompanied by resident Igbo chiefs, who paid Sallah homage to him at his palace.
He said;
“If anybody or group of persons plans a negative attack on Igbos, he or they should attack me first because I am against the so-called ultimatum issued by the Arewa youth that Igbos should leave the north,”
Abubakar stated that “restructuring” to his understanding does not mean galvanizing or dividing Nigeria, but making “adjustments here and there for equal accommodations of all and sundry in Nigeria for equity and fair play religiously, socially, and economically.”
He further observed that the agitation by some people for disintegration;
“cannot solve any of the problems facing the country” and that “dividing it into many parts is not the solution for the problems bedeviling the nation because this will lead to towns and villages clamouring to become independent.”
He suggested that the way forward was a round-table dialogue, not carrying arms which would never lead to peace. Agreeing that there were genuine complaints that border on marginalization, the Sultan, however, said that the way out was a peaceful resolution.
He blamed the nation’s politicians for most of the problems faced by Nigerians.
“They come to you during campaigns, promise you heaven in your house, air conditions on all roads and milk entering your mouth hourly without any effort from you.
As soon as they win and go to Abuja, they start planning comfort for themselves while those from the rural areas move to state capitals, abandoning those who voted them,” he lamented.
Dr Nnanta earlier said that Igbo were peace-loving Nigerians whose only want to engage in their businesses.
“Igbo cannot live peacefully in isolation from Nigeria. They should work towards ensuring proper integration, reconstruction as promised by Gen. Yakubu Gowon. ”
“They may agitate for creation of more states in the South-East to meet up with other geopolitical zones of the country,” he said.
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