. . . Condemns alleged N5bn bribe by Miyetti Allah

By CHARLES IWUOHA

The Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), the apex youth organisation in Igboland, has warned South-East houses of assembly members to urgently pass the anti-open grazing bill into law to save lives and property or be recalled.

The Council gave the warning through its National President, Comrade Igboayaka Igboayaka, in an interactive session with newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday.

Igboayaka noted that there is an allegation that the House of Assembly members from South-East have been collecting N5 billion from Miyetti Allah Cattle Rearers to jettison the call for a ban on open grazing in the South-East.

The OYC President decried a situation where over 500 people have been slaughtered by Fulani herdsmen in the South-East since 2016, stressing that no amount of money is worth exchanging for the lives of Ndigbo.

Igboayaka said: “The House of Assembly members in South-East should watch their actions and inactions and as well know that they are commonly living with the people in various communities in Igboland without any form of immunity or sophisticated security detail like the governors. Therefore any attempt to take bribe and jettison the anti-open grazing Bill will be a foolhardy that endangers not only their lives but that of family members as well as Neighbors in South-East.

“South-East has become the land of blood spillage by incessant attacks of Fulani herdsmen. Enugu and Ebonyi states have most victims of Fulani attacks and our farm lands have been deserted that famine will soon hit the South-East. Therefore, those behind all attempts to collect five N5 billion from Miyetti Allah Cattle Rearers to jeopardise South-East security should know that ‘ukwu na a ga wamwam, anya na a ga zamzam na ahu ya’.

“Ohanaeze Youth Council calls on community youths of Igbo extraction to rise up now and resist any attempt to scuttle Anti-Open Grazing Bill by current dubious house of assembly members in the South-East.”

Continuing, Igboayaka said: “With this fast and unpatriotic attempt to sell out Ndigbo to killer herdsmen, Ohanaeze Youth Council gives South-East house of assembly members 30 days to pass the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into law with immediate effect, as failure to do so without doubt means that the whopping N5 billion was really collected and acted upon.

“Consequently, after the 30 days there will be an All-Igbo Youth Match to the family houses of the house of assembly members to demonstrate civil disobedience from the people. This movement will be more heavy than Aba women mass resistance (riot) that made Britain to stand-still.

“More so, South-East house of assembly members should emulate their counterparts in the Rivers State House of Assembly that have acted on the request of the masses in the state by passing the Anti-Open Grazing Bill.

“The South-East Governors led by Gov. David Umahi shouldn’t romance killer Fulani herdsmen but should embrace the call, and remember that it was lack of leadership direction as regards insecurity in Igbo land that made pro-Biafrans to take laws into their hands on self-defence, and the consequence of such act is still an untold story in South-East.”