Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
As part of activities marking the International Day of Peace, a non-governmental organisation – Aviary Association World Wide, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to engage elders in Southeast part of the country in a dialogue in order to prevail on the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to end the sit-at-home order that has continued to cripple social and economic activities in the region.
It will be recalled that IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was re-arrested and repatriated to Nigeria, according to the federal government, through the joint efforts of security operatives and Interpol and had been remanded in the DSS custody by the court for trial bordering on treason, terrorism, among others, a situation that had forced group to effect the sit-at-home order for the release of their leader.
But, speaking at press conference organised by the Ogun state chapter of the association in conjunction with United Nations, the Southwest Publicity Secretary of the association, Mr. Gbenga Sowunmi, appealed to Buhari to engage a round table dialogue with the elders of the area to persuade IPOB to sheath their swords for peace to reign in the area.
Sowunmi who lamented that ever since he (Kanu) was arrested and detained in DSS custody there had been continued uprising in the region which had paralysed business and economic activities in the area, resulting to the loss of millions in the geo-political zone.
The publicity secretary expressed dissatisfaction on how people in the area must have suffered in meeting their daily needs due to IPOB’s sit-at-home order that had denied them their rights to go to their shops or places of work to earn their livelihood
He, however, urged the federal government to see dialogue with the elders as the only tool to prevail on IPOB and bring the order to an end for peace and sanity to return to the area.
Sowunmi said “Government should try to dialogue with the elderly people in that part of the country to talk to IPOB over Nnamdi Kanu. Let them call themselves to the round table to talk about this thing, know how to get a lasting solution to whatever is happening because if we keep arresting and releasing, this will not stop the issue. Just dialogue and find a lasting solution.”
“There has been unrest in that part of the country which is so unfortunate. Sometime, I think last week or so, they announced a sit-at-home order which has really crippled the economy of that part of the country.”
“People could not go to their shops; people could not go to their offices, a lot of millions had been lost in the past few days which is seriously not good. The government is doing everything possible to get the situation under control but, to some extent, it seems their best is not enough. We have to keep encouraging the government to do more so that peace will reign in that part of the country,” he added.
Earlier, the state chairman of the association, Mr Babatunde Elegbede, said that September 21 marked the International Day of Peace and the group had been in co-operation with the United Nations since 2017 to always preach the message of peace to the world.
Elegbede added that protecting the environment sustainably and justly, would bring about peace in humanity, as well as the preferable recuperation the world needs, after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On this final note, I urge us all to think and live towards sustainability. We should endeavour to meet our present life needs, without weakening the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs,” he added.