Jackson Ude, former Director of Strategy and Communications to President Goodluck Jonathan, has called on the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra to adopt democratic means rather than violence in pursuing their agitation for a Biafra state.
He urged the group to abandon its controversial sit-at-home orders, which he described as harmful and counterproductive.
“The most civil way to achieve this Biafra State is to use a political party platform, elect people into the State Houses of Assembly in the South, and have them all sign a referendum for a Biafra State. The idea that a Biafra State can be achieved through a ‘sit-at-home’ order and the continuous killing of our people is not only childish but criminal,” Ude asserted.
He also condemned the killings of innocent Igbo people under the guise of enforcing IPOB’s sit-at-home policy, labelling such actions as “irresponsible and dangerous.” Ude argued that these policies only deepen the suffering of citizens already battling widespread poverty and hunger.
“The continuous killing of Igbos by Igbos under the guise of enforcing a ‘sit-at-home’ order to press for a Biafra State is highly irresponsible and condemned. All well-meaning and patriotic Igbos must rise up in unison and condemn the wanton killing of Igbos in South-East Nigeria,” he said.
He added, “Our people have not done any wrong going about in search of their daily bread at a time poverty and hunger have enveloped the country. How does it make sense to continue denying the people you seek to protect their daily means of livelihood by enforcing a ‘sit-at-home’ order, turn around and kill them, and then claim to be protecting them?”
Ude did not spare the Federal Government, accusing it of failing to protect citizens from violence in the South-East. He described its inaction as “despicable, irresponsible, and dangerous.”
“To have the Federal Government watch and allow citizens from the South-East denied their rights to freedom and killed without appropriate measures to protect them is despicable, irresponsible, and dangerous,” he stated.
The ex-presidential aide expressed disappointment with Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, over its silence on the bloodshed in the region. “I am thoroughly disappointed in the lacklustre attitude and the silence of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo while our people are killed by a few armed individuals,” he remarked.
Ude also advocated for the immediate release of IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, suggesting that his freedom could help quell tensions and end the enforcement of the sit-at-home orders.
“We must intensify the call for the immediate release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. This is one way the shenanigans of the ‘sit-at-home’ enforcers would end,” Ude said.
He warned that continued violence could lead to the emergence of other insurgent groups, further destabilising the South-East.
“If this does not stop, another insurgent group might begin the protection of our people from the ‘sit-at-home’ enforcers, a situation that might throw the whole region into serious chaos. Igbos have suffered enough!” Ude cautioned.
The former presidential aide’s remarks come amidst rising tensions and insecurity in the South-East, sparking renewed calls for both political and peaceful solutions to address the Biafra agitation.
