The proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has bemoaned the ongoing demolition of the popular Alaba International Market in Lagos by the state government and consequently called on the traders there who are predominantly Igbo to consider relocating to their South East homeland.
The IPOB advice comes as a trending video shows officials of the traders’ association lamenting they were not carried along by government before the demolition exercise that has seen 17 plazas pulled down by bulldozers of the Lagos State Government.
See traders’ association video below:
In a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mr. Emma Powerful, IPOB reiterated its earlier think-home clarion call for traders of Igbo ethnic group extraction to come back home and invest.
“We the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu join other well-meaning Biafrans to call on our people in the Western and Northern Regions of Nigeria to take their investments to Igbo Land (ala Igbo) to avoid destruction and this sustained economic profiling… ” the statement said
IPOB, he added, “..sympathizes with our brothers and sisters in Lagos, who are currently victims of ethnic profiling and prejudice against Ndigbo and all Biafrans in Nigeria.
“Biafrans have been victims of human and economic destruction from fellow Nigerians right from the amalgamation of the three major nations into Nigeria by Britain up to today. It is therefore high time Biafrans say enough is enough!
“Biafrans have lost countless lives and properties in their many decades of existence as Nigerians through hate-propelled religious and tribal riots in Northern Nigeria.
“We came to understand that they are removing those buildings wrongly built on top of cannal but following the hatred Yoruba polititcians had against Ndigbo our people must be prepared because they will come for other buildings within the market. ”
“IPOB call on our people to be ready they are coming. But those evil men championing the hateful onslaught will regret their actions soon.
The statement noted that “during the Nigeria genocidal war against Biafran, many Biafrans were massacred in cold blood, and their properties confiscated in the Northern, Western, and even in some parts of Eastern Nigeria.
“During and after the 2023 elections in Nigeria, Biafrans in Yoruba Land have been targeted for annihilation, economic sabotage and crippling due to political bigotry and fear of fair competition. The ongoing destruction of major business places of Ndigbo and Biafrans in general, like portions of Alaba International Market, is one of their planned strategies to put a lot of hardworking Biafran youths into poverty. This is part of calculated strategies now being rolled out in phases.
“Biafrans should therefore not allow their hard earned money to be thrown into the Lagos lagoon as they have planned and threatened long time ago. It is time to return our families and investments home!
“We are calling on Ndigbo and Great Biafrans at large in Lagos and throughout the northern parts of Nigeria to return home and build shopping malls, modern markets, supermarkets, housing estates and plazas in Biafra Land. On the other hand, we encourage our people to begin large-scale farming of Biafran staple foods. We had developed a buoyant economic region before the Nigeria government imposed their devastating economic policies that forced a lot of Biafrans out of the East.
“Nevertheless, we are resilient spirited people whose businesses are doing much better than those outside Biafra Land. Together, we can provide our own vibrant economy that will be the envy of the world. Nigeria has time without number shown how much they despise us, and we must not despise ourselves by allowing them that pleasure. If we survived with their wicked £20 policy (the amount of money they gave every Igbo person who had huge amounts in Nigerian banks before the war, and three years of brutal ethnic cleansing civil war, but bounced back and built Nigeria up within 50 years, imagine what we can achieve if we concentrate on building up Biafra Land alone.
“Dear Biafrans, it is time for us to think home. Nothing will happen to us. We must succeed because God Almighty, Chukwu Okike Abiama is always on our side anywhere we go. Lagos is not Biafra land. If you are told to leave Lagos, do that with all pleasure.
The statement lamented that “.. many Yoruba elders are not speaking up against the ethnic attacks on Ndigbo and all Biafrans. However, we are urging Yoruba polititcians not to destroy Biafrans’ properties but give them time to take back their properties and their movable assets…
“Continuous destruction of properties of Biafrans will provoke unimaginable reactions that Yorubas would not expect…”
“IPOB supports those calling for our people to come back home, and sees it as a divine arrangement to gather us closer to fight for our exit from Nigeria, which will occur shortly. Biafrans have tried their best to become Nigerians more than other Nigerians, but are left with no other options …. In the end, everyone will agree that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB has been right all along.