From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Ndigbo in the United States of America and Canada have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, unconditionally.
Information from the tour of the American East Coast by the Chairman, Diaspora Committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Sam Obaji, said the group’s priority at the moment was the restoration of peace in the South East.
One of the Ohanaeze leaders in the US, Dr Hyacinth Nwachukwu who spoke at the event said they were determined to support the leadership of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to pursue the return of security in the South East.
Nwachukwu was upbeat that peace and security would engender the rapid development of the region.
“Our primary purpose now is to ensure that peace prevails in the South East and we cannot talk about peace without addressing the issue of historical injustice meted against the people of the region. For instance, while the likes of Sunday Igboho, Sowore, the leaders of Miyetti Allah and others who were charged with the same offence have been released and integrated into the society, our son, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is still languishing in jail, in spite of court order to release him. We are, therefore, asking that Nnamdi Kanu should be released unconditionally in order to make sure that peace prevails in the South East and for us to come together to develop our fatherland. That is our primary purpose. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has even condemned the killings and insecurity going on in the South East,” he said.
Obaji who inaugurated chapters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo explained that he was in the US to unite all Igbo in the Diaspora including African Americans who have Igbo DNA.
“The other day in New York, I met a lady who said she had a DNA test and she has 99 per cent Igbo DNA. The lady is about 70 years old. The parents and grandparents are African-Americans who were raised in North Carolina and South Carolina. I want to unite all of them under the Ohanaeze umbrella. Anybody with Igbo DNA, anybody with Igbo blood is an Igbo. Whether it is one percent or 10 percent, you are an Igbo and my mission is to bring them together under the umbrella of Ohanaeze. My mission is not only in the United States, I will also be going to Canada. We have divided America into six zones and we are going to create Ohanaeze in all the chapters in the United States including Canada,” Obaji said.