Youths from the northern region, said they would back the Southeast region to produce the president of Nigeria in 2019, adding that their support would weaken the agitations for a Biafra Republic in the country. The declaration was made during their summit at Arondizuogu in Imo State. The groups included Arewa Youths Forum, Arewa Youths Coalition for Peace, Northern Central Youth Club, as well as Youths for One Nigeria, among others. This came as the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, said it has successfully launched a new Radio Nigeria Hausa station for the oppressed people of the North.
According to IPOB, the new station would start its maiden broadcast by 7pm tomorrow on Short Wave 15110 KHz 19 Meter Band, and would be received in the West, East and Southern Africa. Speaking on their supoort for Igbo presidency, the Spokesperson of Arewa Youths, Alhaji Haruna Waziri, revealed that the convener of the youth summit, Mr. Iheanachor Ezeakor, has been endorsed by the group for 2019 presidency. Part of the reason given by Waziri, was that with an Igbo man as president of Nigeria, Biafran agitations would be slackened, while peace and unity of the country would be strengthened.
He said: “Today, we are making history by endorsing a youth to run for the number one seat in Nigeria. Mr. Iheanacho Ezeakor is a youth, who has broken the barriers of ethnicity and religion, a youth the Northern youths believe in; a youth who is a true Nigerian. “We do not believe in things not working out; we believe that this is the time to change the narrative in Nigeria. This community, Arondizuogu is a place where democracy started in the country and that is why we are here today to correct all that had gone wrong.
“We made this statement in Enugu, Lagos and Abuja; today the climax of it all is taking place in Ezeakor’s village here in Arondizuogu. “We took this step because our leaders have failed us; they are old and tired; we can do it because the youths contribute the major votes. “It is no longer about ethnicity or religion now; it is about who you have confidence in. Ezeakor is a detribalized Nigerian; we don’t want fanatics; we want a true Nigerian.”
Waziri was of the view that Ezeakor’s victory will not only quell the agitations for Biafra, but will also further unite Nigerians, whether from the South or the North,” he noted. Ezeakor who accepted to run for presidency, said he was not going to do that on the platform of PDP or APC, saying that the parties were for old politicians. He hinted that he was going to tell Nigerians soon the party on which he would vie for the presidency.
Ezeakor said: “So, I’m just acting as the catalyst, to motivate the youths; we are not fighting the government, but we want them to understand that we have come of age. “My own as the convener of Nigerian Youth Summit is to make sure that things will not remain the same because we can’t continue with the arrangement that youths are the leaders of tomorrow.”
