…says Obi must apologize to Ndigbo Worldwide
… terms Nigerian constitution “Victory Charter” for Civil War
Just when Mr Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State and Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) may have believed that his recent statement during the 90th Birthday celebration of Nigeria’s former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon is forgotten, Toni Nnadi, a Co-Convener of the Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-Determination (NINAS) has described Obi’s statement as abominable.
Nnadi who spoke during a monitored TV interview in Enugu said that Obi’s statement is tantamount to “urinating on the graves of the millions of Igbos” who were massacred in a war Gowon, the man he was celebrating orchestrated.
He went further to castigate all those who defended Obi and tried to give him a solft landing by giving the example that even Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu hosted Gowon in his resident some years before his death.
Nnadi said that people saying such should realize that both Ojukwu and Gowon are both old men.
South East Reporters gathered that during the 19th October birthday celebration of Gowon, the former Anambra State Governor wrote on his personal X-handle “I’m privileged to join other Nigerians of goodwill to celebrate a highly respected leader and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, on his 90th birthday anniversary.
“In a time of hate, you stood for love. At a time of strife, you stood for peace. At a time of division, you stop for unity. Your life of service to our great nation, Nigeria, stand as one of sacrifice, leadership, and unity.
“Your steadfast commitment to preserving the peace and sovereignty of Nigeria during a challenging period in our history will forever be remembered and revered.”
Reacting, Nnadi described Obi’s statement as that of a desperate man who wants to achieve something at all cost and has decided to erase history by inflicting more wounds in the heart of those who dearly loved him.
“Gowon said with his mouth that they had to kill 5 million people to keep Nigeria as one. Most account points to 3.5 million or thereabouts but Gowon himself said that they killed 5 million persons.
“Peter Obi has urinated on the grave of those 5 million Easterners that were killed in that genocide. Peter Obi is insulting the collective intelligence of the ìgbo. Just because of a narrow personal pursuit. Peter Obi wants to be president of a Nigeria that doesn’t exist.”
Nnadi said that the matter is even made worst when the same Peter Obi during his Presidential Campaign said that the 1999 constitution that has made the indigenous people of Nigeria slaves in their own land, is not the problem of the country.
The NINAS Co-Convener said that it is unfortunate that Peter Obi, a man who is not a youth and knows a lot about history is now claiming that he is ignorant that the current constitution operated by Nigeria is imposed as a “Victory Charter” from what he described as a genocide orchestrated by Murtala Mohammed that initiated the genocide 29th July 1966.
“The matter is even made worst that the constitution that has made the indigenous people of Nigeria slaves in their own land, Peter Obi started his campaign in 2022 by saying that the constitution is not the problem.
“I want us to connect it and see the gravity of the offense that has been committed by Peter Obi because a demand will be made to Peter Obi to apologize to the Ìgbo Worldwide.
“I’m a survivor of that genocide. At the time the war ended, I was three years old. If one person is know to the world as having presided over that genocide, it is Yakubu Gowon.
“If Peter Obi was some kind of Youth, you could ignore him, but he’s not. I’m certain that he’s older than myself and he’s not a stranger to the things that had happened. Particularly the question of constitutional arrangements.”
He said that unknown to many Nigerians, except some Igbos including Peter Obi, the war that started in 1966 that many thought it ended in 1970 did not end and it is still ongoing in an economic front and continued unabated.
Nnadi said that he will never compromise anything but will continue to tell Gowon that from January 1970, he is indebt to Ndigbo as he owes them a resounding and sincere apology.
“I had halted Gowon’s speech once to tell him to his face with all those following him that God has kept him alive to witness the collapse that Nigeria that he and his co murderers built on the foundation of Igbo blood.
“I did what I’m saying the day the Itshekiri nation launched their heritage book at the institute of national affairs at Victoria Island Lagos. Anybody can go and check what I just said whether it happened or not. I did it because Gowon was lying and still unapologetic.
“The constitution that Peter Obi is lying that it is not the problem which people like Gowon introduced as charter of victory is tormenting everybody today. Ijaw is dying, Yoruba is dying and even Gowon’s Middle-Belt Region is been decapitated.
“The development that were happening in the Eastern Region of M I Ọkpara, the Western Region of Awolowo and Northern Region of Ahmedu Bello are all lost.”
Nnadi said that another lie that the Nigerian State and carriers of information have been re-echoing to deceive Nigerians is that it was General Aguiyi Ironsi that destroyed the federal structure of Nigeria to introduce the current unitary system.
“They’ll tell you it’s ironsi that changed everything. That’s a lie. The decree number 34 of 1966 brought by Ironsi didn’t touch the structure of the federation of Nigeria.
“Everything you’re told in Nigeria is a lie. When you look around, you’ll now begin to imagine the intention of building everything on falsehood. Look at how that Nigeria has become. 230 million people with no direction.”
Nnadi said that the Nigeria NINAS is against is the unitary Nigeria defined by the unitary constitution of 1999., adding that the Federated Nigeria died in 1966 and was buried in 1967.
“On the 29th of May, 1967, Yakubu Gowon by decree number 14 fractured the four regions that were federating into 12 states was the day they buried that federated unit as agreed in Lancaster House. Everything they’ve been doing since then, have been illicit.
“So, when people like us will commit 25 years that’s from 1999 to today, opposing this constitution it’s bad to hear Obi talk as he did. Does Peter Obi know this more than Ojukwu?
“Yes, Ojukwu may have received Gowon in his resident then because they were two old men, but I had the privilege of dealing with the principal actors of that war from both sides.”
Nnadi further revealed that unknown to many, the Federal Government tactically made Sir Anthony Enahoro, a school mate of Harold Wilson, the British Prime Minister during the war, the spokesperson for the Federal Government.
He said that it is shocking that Peter Obi thinks he knows more than Enahoro who spennt the last seven years of his life trying to correct the erroneous constitution when he became Chief convener of Pro-National Conference Organization (PRONACO) which metamorphosed to Movement for New/No Nigerian (MNN) a situation that later allowed Self-Determination Organizations to come together to give birth to NINAS Movement.
“Remember Enahoro who was the Chief convener of the PRONACO was the spokesperson of the federal government throughout that war. Many didn’t know that Anthony Enahoro was the school mate of the then British Prime Minister during that war so they relied on him for information.
“Enahoro spent the last seven years of his life trying to workout the issues that arose from that time. That was how NINAS started from PRONACO to MNN that went to court in 2007. So, does Peter Obi know more than Ojukwu that was one of my plaintiffs then challenging the 1999 constitution?
“Does Peter Obi know more about this matter than Chief Christian Onoh that was one of my plaintiffs? These were patriots that gave all to see us achieve something. Why would someone from that territory be so insensitive for whatever pursuit to now to present himself acceptable to the enforcers of unitary Nigeria.”
Speaking on the solution to Nigeria’s problems, Nnadi said that NINAS has presented a solution on the table on how to appease everyone, adding that as an organization encapsulates every nation that’s indigenous to Nigeria, they have made the truth known.
“The only ones who are not part of NINAS are the ones that are not indigenous and they’re the ones killing everywhere. The once who own zero square inch ancestral land here and that’s the Fulanis. The British caused the problem. Let’s accept what happened and stop lying,” he said.
On the solution, he Nnadi said, “Let’s accept that the constitution presented as Victory Charter for the war cannot remain basis for the union. Let’s then proceed to how we can submit our sovereignty to one political union like Bola Ige was talking about and draw the terms of that political union. These are the two things that’ll have to happen to save this country.
“It has to start with the decommissioning of this constitution of death, which is the 1999 constitution. Everybody want a union of sanctity of life and a union of equality of men and we then begin to talk about the other equities and the structures that’ll bring us back to being a federation snd the terms of Union that will put us in charge of our sovereignty so that we can unionize with our sovereignty on our hands which is what we see in Germany, Portugal and France are doing in European Union.
“The Nigeria you have today is a disputed project and if you want to know the genesis of that dispute, go to the preamble of that constitution that lied that we the people, that’s the indigenous people be it Ijaw, Ogoni, igbo, Yoruba and Tiv and co have solemnly resolved to live in unity and indivisible and indissoluble.
“That’s falsehood because no meeting was called. I’m telling what’s wrong with Nigeria and if nothing is done to stop it’s those who are chocking by this problem are calling to take unilateral actions and that’s called self-determination.
“Nigeria is like a disputed construction site. Now that Hausa and kanuri that own 70% of the land have started speaking up for themselves, because they own that larger land that Fulani came in and turned into hell for them.
“Today, they now see that if that constitution is brought down, they’ll be the ones discussing how that portion of Nigeria will be part of any Union whether as a proper federation, a confederation or the emergence of independence unit successor sovereign states.”
