Former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, has condemned the use of his picture by some people demonstrating to drum up support for the state of Biafra.
The 66-year-old who was arrested in London and sentenced to 12 years in jail in 2012 after pleading guilty to at least 10 counts of money laundering and fraud is aware that his photograph, embossed on banners, have been reportedly held aloft by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), as they marched through several cities in many states of the Southern half of the country.
A member of IPOB, who spoke to IBTimes UK on conditions of anonymity, said that Ibori’s arrest is “a case of hypocrisy” and alleged that the British government does not target Nigerians who come from the north.
The source said: “Ibori’s is a case of conspiracy and blatant hypocrisy on the side of the British government. How about other Nigerian politicians of northern extraction who have laundered public funds and starched it away in far away UK?”
Ibori, however, in a public statement issued by his Media Assistant, Tony Eluemunor, on Sunday said he wants to make it clear that he is absolutely, completely and entirely committed to the indissolubility of the Nigerian state, as spelt out unambiguously in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He said that all through his life, he has believed in a strong, united Nigeria where the rights of every citizen is held sacrosanct, where no region of state or even local government area, is neglected or is made to feel alienated in whatever way, no matter how infinitesimal.
Ibori therefore calls on those who have been misusing his name and picture – indeed his personality – in furtherance of a project he has never believed in at any time and in any way, to desist forthwith from using his picture and/or name during their demonstrations.
To everyone involved in the Biafran demonstrations in any way, Ibori said: “The world hailed Nigeria for the peaceful way the rather fierce Nigerian Civil War ended in 1970. It is worrisome that 45 clear years after the end of that war, its residues are being dug up to further divide us and betray our efforts at national reconciliation and development. This must not be allowed to continue. Nigeria has lived in peace in the past 45 years, and whatever challenges, disagreements even, that may have re-surfaced, are not beyond our collective ability to resolve.
“I therefore call on all concerned, the demonstrators and the leaders of the different strata of government to identify the problems, determine the solutions, and turn the stumbling blocks into genuine building blocks for real nation building,” he stressed.
Ibori pointed out that many other countries including Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain, have sections agitating for various kinds of autonomy. But if those countries have managed to keep such agitations at the level of peaceful discussions, Nigeria’s case should by no means lead to another national tragedy.
Nigeria has spilt enough blood in internecine squabbles, he said, “now is the time for genuine peace, national unity, and thorough-going, all-inclusive fast-paced development,” he said.
