Quit Notice to Igbos: Coalition of Northern Youths make sharp U-turn, acknowledges wrongdoing
- Northern youth leaders are now appealing for calm, following the huge tension generated by the quit notice issued to Igbos
- The youth leaders stated that a forum would be created to discuss the outrage and condemnation trailing the eviction threat
- According to them, Nigeria would not be divided but remain one united country
The quit notice given to Igbo’s in the north by the Coalition of Northern Youths tagged "The Kaduna Declaration" has been reversed by the group, NAIJ.com has learnt.
The coalition had given all Igbo residents in the north three months to leave the region and likewise, asked all Hausas in the east to vacate and return back to the north.
READ ALSO: Jonathan sends powerful message to Nigerians after North issues quit notice to Igbos
While briefing newsmen when the notice was given, the spokesman of the coalition, AbdulAziz Suleiman stated: “All northern civil society and pressure groups are by this declaration mandated to mobilize for sustained, coordinated campaigns at their respective State Government Houses, State Houses of Assembly, Local Government Council Secretariats and Traditional Palaces to mount pressure for steps to be taken to ensure enforcement of the directives contained herein.
“The North hereby openly calls on the authorities and other national and international stakeholders to acknowledge this declaration by taking steps to facilitate the final dissolution of this hopeless union that has never been convenient to any of the parties.
”From today, June 6, 2017, when this proclamation is signed, the North, a critical player in the Nigerian project, hereby declares that it will no longer be disposed to coexisting with the Igbos and shall take definite steps to end the partnership by pulling out of the current federal arrangement”
However, in an about-turn on Wednesday, June 7, leaders of the youth groups have appealed to Nigerians not to panic.
The appeal was made in a video post by President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum Comrade Yerima Shettima and Isaac Balami of the Arewa Consultative Forum Congress.
In the video footage, Balami said the northern groups had observed how the issue was “being discussed globally”.
He called for peace, while acknowledging that that the initial approach taken was not the best.
According to him, the outrage and condemnation trailing the eviction threat will be discussed at a forum created by the groups.
He said: “This is not the time for us to discuss separation. We need to come together. Arewa is known for peace.
“It is obvious that the initial approach was not the best. We need to work together as a nation
“I want to tell Nigerians living at home and in diaspora that there is hope. This nation is going nowhere.
“Shettima here wants to assure that everything that he has done was in good faith. This is one Nigeria and we are going nowhere.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had earlier reported that former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the quit notice issued to Igbos in the north by the coalition of northern youths, describing it as a threat to national security.
Watch this NAIJ.com TV video of Yemi Osinbajo delivering a speech on the Biafran war