Fifth columnist behind ultimatum to Igbo –NYLF

The Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF) on Wednesday, reacted to the purported ultimatum given to the Igbos in the Northern part country, declaring that some fifth columnist,who were bent in destabilising the present administration are behind the action.

The national chairman of the NYLF, Comrade Elliot Afiyo, who addressed newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun state, described the ultimatum as uncalled for and should be disregarded.

He maintained that the group is firmly behind the people of the eastern part of the country, and they should go about their normal activities without fear or harassment.

Recall that 16 northern youth groups rose from a joint meeting at Arewa House in Kaduna, on Tuesday, to give easterners residing in their northern states up to October 1, 2017 to vacate the region.

The forum based their position on the stay at home directive ordered by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on the people of the eastern extraction last May 30.

Elliot said the argument adduced for the ultimatum could be best described as “childish and unintelligent coming from people sponsored by some elite who are bent in destabilising the present administration.”

The NYLF chairman, who explained that he was in Abeokuta, to meet former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and attend a meeting with some southwest political leaders before the news broke on Tuesday night, stated, “having read through their reasons, I found out that they were those fifth columnist who are afraid of the present administration quest to fight corruption.”

Elliot stressed that the unity of the country should be paramount to all the zones, saying all the zones need each other.
“Only two of the listed groups were members of the NYLF, which have about 42 affiliated members drawn from the entire northern states. How can you say that because they stayed at home, you wanted them to leave your place? Is that not childish and unintelligent?

“If they are really a recognised and acceptable group like the IPOB, the best they could have come up with is to also call similar stay at home directive and see how popular they are.

There was nothing wrong in the IPOB action, because they were not violent, but if our fifth columnist wants to prove their acceptability also, they should call similar stay at home order instead of wanting to creating unnecessary tension in the land.

“I want to say that our good brothers and sisters should throw away their threat and just go about their normal business. And they saying those whose grandparents were born in the North, but from East should go? Go to where? Afiyo queried?

On the use of the Arewa House for the gathering, Afiyo the venue is a commercial centre and was not owned by any organisation. “Arewa house is owned by no organisation and it is commercial event place.

If you want to hold a meeting there as long as they paid, they can do their meeting there, it doesn’t give any legitimacy for their ultimatum. I want to correct that notion first.”

“But nobody, no any sane person even from the Igbos will like to breakup Nigeria, looking at the level of our heroes. We always sing the national anthem, the “labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain”.

We know how many lives were lost, we lost our parents, grandparents and they fought to unite this nation. The northerners need the Igbos, the Igbos need the Yorubas, the Yorubas need the Niger Delta.”

He advised the government to convey a special conference on restructuring of the county.

The chairman stated that only restructuring of the country would solve majority of problems facing the nation, urging the government to visit and selected some of the past reports of National conferences for the betterment of the nation.