Barely two weeks after condemning the alliance between the Yoruba ‘nation’ proponents and the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), the Presidency has again lampooned their romance.
Recall that at the start of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the secessionist organisations protested against President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian State.
In reaction, Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, described IPOB as a designated terror group, with a 50,000 militia wing operating under the name, Eastern Security Network, (ESN).
The presidential aide denounced the attempt to hold States in Nigerian hostage and advised Yoruba Nation agitators to stop associating with terrorists.
In an issued rejoinder, the O’odua Progressive Union, (OPU), stressed that the real terrorists are bandits, Boko Haram and Miyetti-Allah members.
In an issued statement yesterday, Shehu insisted that Nigeria remains one indivisible nation of over 500 languages, nearly 400 communities and 36 States.
He said while President Buhari was focusing on the challenges and asking for international support, a coalition of groups protested outside the UN building.
Shehu added that they claimed to have earned rights through violence, murder of law enforcement agents and the innocent and extortion to run their affairs.
He further lamented that, “Many Nigerians at home were disconcerted by the tribal bullying of government officials as they moved to carry out their diligent work between the Nigerian Mission in New York and the UN building, a walkable distance of fewer than 400 meters.
“Protests are allowed by all who had anything to say. Tribal bullying is uncivilised; so is any effort to strengthen insurgency in the country”.
The Presidency accused the Biafra revolutionaries of seeking power by demonising others and targeting Nigerians who speak different dialects.
Shehu added that any group associating with IPOB is demonstrating there is little difference in their beliefs or intents.
