John Nwodo, President-General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has declared that those clamouring for Biafra have the right to express themselves.
Nwodo made the remark while warning that nobody should tough the various youths agitating for the breakup of Nigeria.
The President-General of the Igbo political organization predicated his claim on the fact that the agitators were his children.
Vanguard quoted Nwodo as saying, “Nobody should touch these youths because they’re my children.
“Whether I agree with them or not, they have a right to express themselves. When I was their age I was in the trench of Biafra fighting.
“I am not sure that anyone of them has heard the sound of a gun. I lost my best friend, who was with me in the trench; a mortar caught him in the chest and he died instantly.
“Anybody at my age who does not speak the truth is not doing himself any good. Ohanaeze does not support war; we support restructuring, which will allow the federating units in Nigeria to take charge of their affairs.
“Our young men must learn; we know better than them and they must learn to listen to us. In order to get a pride of place for every Nigerian, we must ask ourselves how do we do it.
“If we go back to the trenches to fight, we are doing a disservice to this nation; we are doing a disservice to our children. More than half a million Igbo died in the war.
“There was a blockade of Biafra during the war. If four planes were bringing relief materials to Biafra, only one landed.”
