Calls for Igbo to Leave North a Huge Joke, Says PDP BoT Chair

John Shiklam in Kaduna
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin, Tuesday described the persistent calls for the Igbo to leave the North as a huge joke.

In a statement yesterday in Kaduna, Jibrin also warned against threats being issues by youths across the country, saying such threats were undermining the corporate existence of the country.

In a statement entitled: ‘Message to Nigerians’ he said the continuous call for Igbo to leave the North was a huge joke that must stop.

He advised Nigerians against all forms of hate speeches that causes disunity, stressing that Nigerians should be free to live  in any part of the country without being discriminated.

“To continue the call for Igbo to leave the north is enough joke which must stop immediately.
“Another call from the militants the of South-south that northerners and Yorubas must leave the area must stop.

“The recent call by Benue youths that the Fulani herdsmen living in the state must leave should stop because recently the Fulani Elders’ Concerned  Group met and a delegation under my chairmanship was asked to visit all parts to reconcile  Fulani herdsmen, farmers and various communities and the delegation started with a visit to  Taraba State,” he said.

Jibrin maintained: “A true northerner does not at all support Igbo to leave the North considering that there is no village or community in the North where Igbo does not live.”

He said further that  a group known as “Movement for the Protection of Igbo” comprising many northerners and headed by him, had been established to ensure that no Igbo in the North is harassed or molested.

Jibrin said Nigerians must be allowed to live freely in any part of Nigeria, stressing that the nation’s founding fathers promoted unity and understanding among all Nigerians.

“During the time of the Sardauna of Sokoto and Sir Akintola, northern students were transferred from the North to Western Region and vice versa. I happened to attend Okitipupa National College in Ode-Aye, Ondo State, where we made lasting friends among the Yorubas. We must emulate Sardauna, Akintola, Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Tabawa Balewa,” he said.