Boko Haram: Cleric urges Igbos to ignore threat to leave North

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA—BISHOP Emmanuel Chukwuma of Anglican Diocese of Enugu has urged Igbos residing in different parts of the North to ignore ultimatum given to them by Bo ko Haram to leave the Northern part of the country or risk their lives.
He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to do everything possible to save the lives and property of Nigerians no matter where they lived.

The bishop, who spoke at Uga, Anambra State, during the thanksgiving to mark the 88th birthday anniversary of Madam Bessie Uba, mother of Senator Andy and Chris Uba, said the ultimatum was unacceptable because Nigeria belonged to all Nigerians and everybody had the right to reside where he chose to live.

According to the bishop, it is becoming obvious that those sponsoring Boko Haram are out to make things difficult for President Jonathan. He reminded them that nobody had monopoly of violence.

His words: “We cannot accept that threat by Boko Haram. But I urge Igbos to pray for Nigeria because the country is in trouble.

“Asking Igbos to leave north is invitation to anarchy. Igbos are very industrious and had found themselves in many parts of the country where they are contributing to the growth of the economy of their host states. Now, they are being killed and asked to leave and I repeat that this is unacceptable.”

Chukwuma observed that the regrettable thing was that Igbo people were not doing much about the development and called for cooperation among the people in finding a way out of the situation.

Governor Peter Obi, in his speech, charged the people to sustain prayers for the country because it was passing through a challenging period.