What????? Federal Govt must listen to Biafra agitators – OPC

The National President of the Oodua People's
Congress, Chief Gani Adams, has said the
Federal Government must hold talks with the
Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign
State of Biafra and others agitating for Biafra.
According to Adams, it is only through dialogue
that the agitators can be made to drop the idea
of a Biafra state; as the use of force is
incapable of guaranteeing the unity of the
country.
The OPC leader spoke about the agitation and
the clash between the Nigerian Army and the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria in Osogbo after he
was honoured as a culture ambassador by the
Nigeria Union of Journalists Correspondents
Chapel, Osun State.
He said, ''I will just say that they (Biafra
agitators) are entitled to their own self-
determination. Look, there is a law in Africa that
recognises right to self-determination. Also,
there is a law in United Nations that recognises
right to self-determination. There is a country in
the United Nations that has a population of not
up to 50,000 and their flag is at the United
Nations.
''You can't use force to co-opt people for the
unity of Nigeria, you have to listen to their
agitation. If we cannot give you secession,
should we give you statism or regionalism? That
is a process of negotiating. The British did not
use force against Scotland when it seceded from
Britain and there is Catalona in Spain that wants
to pull out, they didn't use force against them.''
He warned that the killing of five supporters of
Biafra, who were celebrating the Federal High
Court ruling ordering the unconditional release of
Radio Biafra Director, Nnamdi Kanu, was a very
serious problem and uncalled for.
Adams condemned the killing of members of the
Islamic Movement of Nigeria by soldiers in
Zaria.
He said it was wrong for soldiers to have
opened fire on the defenceless members of the
sect for allegedly blocking the road and
attacking the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur
Buratai.
''What happened in Kaduna is not what
Nigerians are expecting right now, especially
with the crisis of Boko Haram, the agitation of
the MASSOB. I will appeal to the military and
other security agencies to be calm when they
have provocation from different citizens of this
country.'' He said.
''In civilised country, you don't kill your
citizens like that, even when they provoke you,
you should pamper them in order to avoid such
ugly situation. Even though they embarrassed
the Chief of Army Staff, they (the army) should
have disarmed them and arrest the leader for
questioning and not using weapon to kill people
like that. International community will not
overlook such a thing.
''Killing armless and innocent people like fowl
should not be accepted in any sane democracy.
The president have to be very careful, he should
not play into the hands of some people.''