Quit Notice: Ijaw Youths Declare An Eye For An Eye If Any Southerner Is Attack In The North

*Says restructuring only panacea to peaceful Nigeria

Foremost Ijaw youth group, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has declared to retaliate any attack on southerners in the northern part of the country occasioned by the quit notice order by Northern Youths, saying that it would be a declaration of war in the South if a southerner is attacked in the North.

Reacting to the insistence of northern youths on the October 1, 2017 quit notice date handed the Igbos, the IYC aligned itself with the position of southern leaders who called on northern youths not to attack anybody from the south in the name of enforcing the quit notice.

The group however warned that any attack in the North on southerners would be retaliated in the South.

“Any attack on anybody of southern extraction would be taken as declaration of war on the entire southern Nigeria and the IYC shall retaliate such action with the appropriate response.

“If any southerner is attacked in the north as a result of the quit notice, it would also be an eye for an eye in the south”.

IYC said that talks by Acting President Yemi Osinbanjo with various regional and ethnic leaders without taking practical steps to address the causes of the tension in the country amounts to postponing the evil days.

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The group said that the only panacea to a peaceful Nigeria was restructuring which according to it have been canvassed by many Nigerians to reflect the tenets of federalism.

IYC’s President, Barr. Eric Omare in a statement on Thursday made available to BigPen Online, declared that Nigerians have deceived themselves enough and it is time to face the reality which is that the centre can no longer hold except steps are taken to reconstruct Nigeria to satisfy the yearnings and aspiration of the different ethnic nationalities making up the country.

He said: “It is on record that the southern parts of the country including some parts of the middle belt have consistently called for reconstruction of Nigeria to reflect the tenets of federalism with the centre allowed to handle only issues relating to foreign affairs, currency, defence and few other issues of national importance.

He alleged however that the opposition of the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy of northern Nigeria is holding the entire country to ransom in the quest for restructuring.

“However, it is now obvious that restructuring is an idea whose time has come and no amount of Hausa/Fulani oligarchy opposition can stop it from coming to a reality”, he said.

Consequently, the IYC calls on Acting President Yemi Osinnajo to take steps towards addressing the causes of the tension in the country rather than embarking on talk shows.

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Written by Joe Ogbodu