A former Minister of Women Affairs, Iyom Josephine Anenih, has warned of looming war if the on-going agitation for Biafra in parts of the South-East and South-South is not properly handled by the Nigerian Government. She sounded the warning in an opinion piece entitled ‘The Blood of The Innocent who died in 1967 – 1970 still cry NEVER AGAIN’ released over the weekend.

Iyom Anenih wrote: “The last thing anybody who has experienced a war will like to experience again or wish for anybody is a bloody war. There are no words and there are no images that can be gory enough to adequately describe it.

“The negative psychological, emotional and physical trauma can best be imagined but cannot be sufficiently described.

“I see a looming war in Nigeria. A war that will consume the whole country if allowed to conflagrate.

“What Nigeria is battling with in the North East will fizzle into child’s play if the insidious danger that is brewing in the South East is not nipped in the bud now.

“I have listened keenly to hear the voice of Igbo Leadership but was deafened by the silence that hit me. I have asked where the Igbo Leadership is but none is answering me. Is there no Igbo Leadership?

“Before you jump up to shoot me down with an accusation of being an ethnic jingoist, I beg you to keep your gun powder dry. I pride myself as a very broad minded, detribalised Nigeria. I am Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. I am from every part of Nigeria, I am a Nigerian.

“I speak of South East Leaders because in our political arrangements and agreements we have six geo-political zones. The extant reality is that every zone, grouping or region has a Leader or Leaders. The North has Leasers, the West has identifiable Leaders. The Leaders in the East remain incommunicado.

“Could it be why Nnamdi Kanu stepped into the space and proclaimed himself a Leader? Nature abhors a vacuum. The ‘Leader’ now has followers. Perchance I am wrong in my assertion or perception that there is no visible Leader in the South East. Maybe there is.

“Why is there a deafening silence on the issue of the agitation for self-determination by a group of individuals from the South East? Why is Nnamdi not told that he is usurping a position that is not his?

“People of Nigeria, we must not let what is happening in this country now spiral into a war. We cannot afford it, and it will be an all-consuming war. Let us not let the prophesy of Doomsday prophets who prophesied that there will be no Nigeria by 2015, come to pass.

“When Boko Haram started rearing its head in the North, people thought it was a local matter which did not merit the attention of the central Government. As it was snowballing and assuming a frightening character, it was called Insurgency by a few misguided miscreants. After many years and many lost and shattered lives it is now called a terrorist attack and a war.

“If we can recollect, they became uncontrollable when their leader, Yusuf, was killed and made a martyr.

“The agitation of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its handling by Nigeria is not looking much different from the initial handling of BH. Nnamdi Kanu who could have been called a rabble rouser is now being made a hero and a martyr.

“Every person has a right to speak and articulate their opinions in a democracy. Nobody should attempt to crush or stifle the voice of secession protagonists. We have robust democratic structures like the National and State Assemblies in place that can engage anybody or group in constructive dialogue. There is a danger in any attempt to stifle any voice or crush peaceful protests. The alleged death of two unarmed protesters in Anambra at the hands of law enforcement agents does not augur well for a peaceful and amicable resolution of the agitation of a few misguided or not well informed protesters.

“One would rather like to know that the law enforcement agencies are carrying out careful and painstaking investigation into the root cause of this present agitation and who/what is fuelling the agitation with a view to proffering solutions and advising the Government appropriately.

“These now peaceful and unarmed protests should be handled delicately so that it does not get out of hand because of the insidious danger it portends.”

•Photo shows Iyom Josephine Anenih.

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