By Comr. Onuoha Endurance
Its a thing of great joy for every loving father when his wards are able to stand on their feet and make responsible decisions and accept responsibility of taking their future into their hands. So on this premise ,i congratulate the whole AREWA groups for their Kaduna Declaration.
But before i proceed with this analysis, i want to state categorically clear that it is obvious that no youth wing of any regional organization can rise and make a weighty declaration of this nature especially in using the prestigious AREWA house without the concept and pre-knowledge of their parent bodies and the Northern governors since it is on record that whenever any Northern group rises to make any declaration of similar nature ,it is usually on a wider and general consultation.
I don’t want to dabble into some logical questions that exposes the identity of those possibly masquerading behind the AREWA youths, like; who approves the use of the prestigious AREWA house which has been a venue for preserving the historical values of the Northern Nigeria? Calling for the arrest of Groups of youths for conveying their opinion by the Kaduna State Governor,Mallam Nasri El-Rufai in an attempt to feign ignorance of the inglorious Kaduna Declaration is not only childish but an infringement on the right to freedom of Expression/Opinion and Peaceful Assembly of AREWA youths as represented by their various groups.
As far as i know and have read from the lines of the declaration, the AREWA youths have not commited any crime writing to the UN and demanding the desolution of an unworkable marriage of 103 years which has rendered 97% of Youths allover the Northern and Southern protectorates destitute, frustrated and helpless with no one unsure of his future. Almajiris and child labour are all over the North, unemployed youths and child hawkers are all over the south amidst Lives stock deposits in the North, limes stone deposits in the West and Crude Oil and Human Resource deposits in the East.
Very few Billionaires in the North have stockpiled billions of dollars of Crude Oil Resources underground their houses to the detriment of the languishing Children across the abandoned communities in the Oil Producing East, while the politicians across the South have embezzled public treasury and scuffled opportunities meant for the youths. So the bottom line is, the major aim of that declaration (dissolving a violent and adulterous marriage) is not wrong and doesn’t call for the arrest of any one.
However, I want to join my voice to condemn in its entirety the unscrupulous and eccentric call by the Coalition of AREWA youths for the Indigenous People of Biafra residing and/or doing business in the North to leave the region and vice versa within 3months and the threat to forcefully confiscate their Landed Property legally acquired over the years through personal toiling in commerce making reference to the global sit-at-home which is an annual event by Biafrans, friends of Biafra and lovers of freedom all over the world to commemorate their dead loved ones.
We all know its not a crime for a family to sit back home and observe a memorial service of their dead loved one(s) and from all indications, the Leadership of IPOB never ever forced any one (indigenous or resident) to join her in such observation as hundreds of security personnel, armour vehicles and military choppers were rolled out to make sure nobody stops anybody from doing his lawful duty on May 30th. We didn’t get any report of any indigenous Person of Biafra that was arrested trying to threaten anybody from any part of the country to join her site at-home directive.
I must be as objective as possible as this is a very delicate matter capable of consuming lives if not handled meticulously and with a sense of reason and civility.
Furthermore, i want the concerned Northerners to understand the legal implications of forcefully or “peacefully” evicting a people and forcefully acquire illegally all they have legally worked for and invested in over the years and carefully reappraise same.
If two people are joint shareholders of a multinational company and one desires to quit the partnership, it is simply a matter of some legal paper work of sharing Assets, accrued profits and liabilities. The disengagement of a partner in a business does not necessarily mean the dislodgement and summary dismissal of employees of the company.
Since the AREWA has written to the United Nations for the peaceful dissolution of the remains of what is obviously an unhealthy marriage, it is the path of honour for the whole Arewa Groups who gathered to represent the interest of the North at the Kaduna Declaration to summon the will to follow the globally and democratically accepted principles, ethics and tenets of Peaceful dissolution of any Sovereign Union without additional bloodshed and violence against a peaceful people which is tantamount to Crime against humanity and may or may not result to outright war but will definitely be punishable under the International Criminal Law and this of course will be very disastrous and detrimental to all and sundry who are culpable by commission or by omission.
By Comr. Onuoha Endurance, B.Sc(Hons), Pol. Sc, B.Ed, UNN a CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE, WRITER and PUBLIC SPEAKER
enduranceebere@yahoo.com
