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As the country brace up for the August 1 nationwide protest, Igbo youths have said they would not be part of the proposed nationwide protest over growing hardship in the country.
They stated that it was better for the people of the region to continue engaging with the government to address their grievances than participating in a protest they did not know the organisers.
Their position was made known at an emergency convention by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing Worldwide, comprising various youth groups from the five South East states and Igbo speaking parts of Delta and Rivers states.
Speaking at the convention, National Leader of Ohanaeze Youth Wing, Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, stated that Ndigbo had every cause to protest the long years of marginalisation and neglect they had suffered in Nigeria.
He said, “There are so many reasons the Igbo youths should protest, including the unwarranted detention of so many Igbo youths, especially Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in facilities across the country; the destruction of Igbo property in towns and cities like Lagos and Abuja. In addition, Igbo youths are not included in governance; the South East has the least number of states, only five, where others have six and more, there’s a dearth of national infrastructure in our zone. Since I was born, I have not seen critical national infrastructure in the South East”.
He added, “But we are aware that once protest begins, the Igbo will suffer most. They will target the property of our people to loot and destroy. So, what benefit will our people get if our property are destroyed?
He said that their utmost aim was to ensure that no Igbo youth is cut in the crossfire of Igbophobia and the proposed protest while appealing to President Tinubu to grant the Igbo youths audience to present their case.
The Igbo youths lauded President Tinubu over the recent signing into law of the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) Bill, declaring that with the SEDC, the 30-month civil war which ended in 1970, with their people still suffering its effects, has actually ended.
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