The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra has said its members are ready to die for the secession of Biafra Republic from Nigeria.
The group insisted that its mission to break the South-East from Nigeria was in the interest of the Igbo.
The youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndi’gbo, had recently told the leadership of MASSOB that seceding from Nigeria, as being agitated by the group, would not be in the interest of the Igbo.
The National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Mr. Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said it was better for Ndigbo to remain in Nigeria and struggle for their fair share of the ‘national cake’ than fight for self-determination with its attendant consequences.
However, the Director of Information, MASSOB, Mr. Uchenna Madu, who reacted to Ohanaeze in an interview with our correspondent on Saturday, said there were several Igbo people who believed in MASSOB’s mission but would not identify with the group for fear of incarceration.
He said, “We neither have the same vision nor have the same mission with Ohanaeze. Ohanaeze is more of a socio-cultural group agitating for Igbo interests in Nigeria; MASSOB is a revolutionary movement pushing for a separate state of Ndi’gbo.
“Not every Igbo man will identify with MASSOB openly because they are afraid that they may be arrested, thrown into prison or executed. But we, the die-hard, have prepared ourselves for such. Ohanaeze cannot allow its members to be thrown into prisons.
“The groups of Igbo in MASSOB are really willing to sacrifice their lives for the betterment of Ndi’gbo. Ohanaeze can never identify with Biafra; they are afraid of speaking out for Biafra.”
Madu stated that the recent mass arrest and trials of MASSOB members would not deter members of the group from continuing to pursue the secession agenda. According to him, all these are part of the struggle.
“We have seen several of that; it is no longer moving us; we are no longer afraid of arrests,” he added.
The MASSOB spokesman said while some Igbo believe in Biafra, there are those who do not.
Madu added, “One thing is certain, every Igbo man is a Biafran, even the governors, lawmakers and the ministers President Muhammadu Buhari is about to appoint are all Biafrans.
“Every Yoruba man is an Oduduwa man; every Hausa man is an Arewa man. But not every Igbo man can be in MASSOB; not every Yoruba man can be a member of the O’odua Peoples Congress; not every Hausa man is a Boko Haram member.”
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