The Ebonyi State governor and South East Governors’ Forum Chairman, Engr. Dave Umahi has reiterated that the 30th of May could be set aside as Biafra Remembrance Day. This is coming days after initially issuing threats to Ebonyi traders over the sit-at-home order issued by the leadership of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
The sit-at-home order was done in remembrance of the men, women, and children of Igboland who were massacred during the Biafra-Nigeria civil war, and also to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the declaration of the Sovereign State of Biafra.
Speaking during a television interview, Umahi said he saw nothing wrong in setting aside a day to honor the millions of Igbo people, mostly children, who died during the 3-year long civil war that ravaged the country between 1967 and 1970.
He insisted that as the Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, if a proposal to that effect comes to the table, they (the South East governors) will look into it. He said:
“People are beginning to say that even beyond the issue of sitting at home, there is a need to set aside a date to honor our brothers and sisters who died during the civil war and there is nothing wrong with doing that. If it comes before the South East governors, we would give it consideration and put conditions and one of them would be that if anyone decides to do otherwise, you must allow the person to exercise his or her rights.
“Children, who didn’t know the reasons for declaring the war was killed and we are saying we should have a public holiday for people like that. We are saying if our leaders bring such proposition to us and speaking for myself, we would grant that day as a public holiday but there must be a proper request for this in one of our meetings. I believe it would even be deliberated upon in our next South East governors’ meeting.
“We have June 12 dedicated to MKO Abiola, we also have a date set aside for our fallen heroes, so, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a day set aside to mourn our dead but it depends on the motive because such a day is supposed to be a day of reflection.
“The South East leaders would be willing to set aside May 30 every year to honor our dead. The significance of that day, if set aside, is for each and every one of us to reflect and ask if we should have done things differently. Yes, we were being killed and we were being maltreated but maybe there would have been an alternative. What is done is done and the man who led us said there shouldn’t be a second war and that is where we are.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has come out to lambast the hoodlums’ destroying government properties across the country, threatening to deal with them in the language they understand.
In a televised broadcast, Buhari said:
“I receive daily security reports on the attacks on critical national infrastructure, and it is very clear that those behind them want this administration to fail. Whoever wants the destruction of the system will soon have the shock of their lives. We’ve given them enough time.
“I received a briefing today from the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on the series of attacks on their facilities nationwide. These attacks are totally unacceptable, and we will not allow those behind them to achieve their evil objectives.
“I have assured INEC that we will make available to them everything they need to operate efficiently, so that no one will say we don’t want to go, or that we want a third term. There will be no excuse for failure. We will meet all of INEC’s demands.
“In the area of security, we have changed the Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General, and we are demanding that they rise fully to the challenges confronting us. There must be zero tolerance for all those bent on destroying our country by promoting crime and insurrection!
“Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian Civil War. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”
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