By Chinedu Obike
Leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi kanu, has denied reports that he ordered the destruction of economic assets in Lagos, Nigeria.
In a swift reaction to the development, the President-General of the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, had in a personally signed statement distanced the cultural organization from the stance of the IPOB which he described as disturbing and absolved Igbo youths from any involvement in the Lagos ENDSARS protest and destruction.
Mazi Kanu, on the other hand, has denied speaking ill of the Yoruba in the broadcast, let alone ordering the destruction of their belongings.
Speaking via zoom, on the topic, “EndSARS is not an ethnic protest, stop propaganda to make it one”, he urged Nigerians to ignore divisive statements falsely credited to him, insisting that he was quoted out of context.
At the zoom meeting, which also featured the presence of a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, Kanu was reported to have urged Nigerians to listen to his broadcast in order to properly situate his denial. According to him,”in that very speech, I was very clear and unambiguous but the people who cut and paste, and put clips together were trying to be very mischievous. Their intention was to infuse an element of tribalism or ethnicity in the ongoing campaign of young people.
“MY stand is that I support our young people, I support the protesters, I also support the right of people to express their views without being distorted. As I said, they cut out what I sad and then quoted me out of context. If you want to know what I said and the context I made the statements, you have to listen to the whole perspective”.
Meanwhile, as Nigerians continue to dissect the President’s broadcast and express divergent views about its contents, many people are optimistic that the long awaited intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari will go a long way in calming frayed nerves and restoring normalcy to all parts of the country.