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General News of Friday, 30 April 2021

Source: www.today.ng

IPOB: South East governors willing tools to imperial powers – Colonel Nyiam

Retired Col. Tony Nyiam Retired Col. Tony Nyiam

The South East governors have been accused of being willing tools to powerful elements outside the zone which has made them to work against the collective interest of their people.

Retired Col. Tony Nyiam made the allegation when he appeared on the African Independent Television, AIT, programme in Abuja.

He also condemned the approach of the Federal Government in handling the security situation in South East, adding that the approach would intensify the problem instead of minimizing it.

Asked to analyze the attack on the resident of the governor Hope Uzodinma in Omuma and the killing of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Eastern Security Network, ESN Commander, General Ikoso Don, he said what was happening in Imo State and the entire South East was as a result of loss of confidence in the leaders.

He said, “First of all, Governor Hope Uzodinma is a long time friend. When he was a young man who used to come around us then in 1989 and 1990’s, he was a closed friend to one of our young friends in the military and I have known him for a long time.

“So I sympathize with the governor but the thing is this, what is happening in the Southeast is the beginning and intensification of a gorilla war. The Governors of the Southeast are losing ground because they are willing tools of the Imperial power.

“The system we have in Nigeria is such that both in terms of structure of government and in terms of the political parties both PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and APC (All Progressives Congress) is such that if you do not dance to the tune of the imperial power you will not get entry to get the primaries.

“So most of the Southeast governors are behaving like the willing tool of the oppressors and the consequences of that is that the South easterners do no more trust the state and they are now resorting to self help which is dangerous and that is why as I would like to advise is that there is need for contingency plan to… what they are facing and there is a need for strategic plan.”

Asked to mention the imperialists and how the governors had become willing tools, he said, “I will quote Chief Ayo Adebanjo in his speech recently at the burial of Yinka Odumakin, he mentioned who are the imperialists.

“Right from time, the imperial power would be subjected to imperialism, the same imperialism that saw General Yakubu Gowon off the stage are still the one manipulating system, are still the one who are not sincere, how do they expect when they have hijacked all the key positions in government and they are still doing so, how do they expect for there to be peace?

“And to worsen it all, Isa Pantami or what is his name who is a well known sympathizer of terrorism is being defended by the government of Buhari.

“They should take queue from governor Ortom in Benue, take queue from the governors in the South West who are very skillful in these days of brickmanship in that in the Southwest the governors and the self determination groups have some understanding.

“In the Southwest, I have not seen the governors attacking the youths who are coming out to defend the poor Ndigbo women who are been raped to the extent that the governors of the Southeast are not aligning with their people to defend their people, I will say that they are being willing tools of the Imperial powers.”

On whether the government with the launch of military offensive against the perceived rebels was handling the situation in the South east well with the killing of the IPOB Commander, Ikoso, Col. Nyiam said that the action of government will aggravate the situation.

He said, “Right from time when Mohammed Yusuf (founder of Boko Haram) was killed, I was among the few long ago that cried out that the approach was wrong.

“The approach going on in the south east now would rather minimize situation, will intensify the situation because the yearnings of the majority of Ndigbo and of course my people too is that we want to be free, we are not free. So I sympathize with the Igbo youths who want to be free and anybody who does not listen to that will force people to do what they shouldn’t do.

“The President like I said earlier has been very rigid and he is being held and one of the things which Tola Adeniyi said, impediments to peace are those who are misleading the President and I have to begin that we need to name and shame those who are the impediments.

“I will make it bold to same that some of them have hijacked the President for their own self interest and ensuring that the President does not have any legacy.”