A First Republic Minister of Aviation, Mbazulike Amaechi has faulted the manner with which President Muhammadu Buhari handled Nnamdi Kanu and his Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, secessionist group.
The 88-year-old and the only surviving member of the pre-independence Zikist Movement spoke with Punch.
He said President Buhari handled the Nnamdi Kanu’s issue with his deep hatred for Igbo people, insisting that the President has personal hatred for Igbos.
He said, “That was why he took over the government in 1983. That hatred for Ndigbo has not been aborted.
“Nnamdi Kanu was erratic in many respects but that wasn’t the best way to handle him. The young man was making his demands.
“He has followers and why not listen to him and enter into a dialogue with him. What crime has Nnamdi Kanu committed to be compared with the crimes of his (Buhari) own brothers, the Fulanis, in Nigeria today?
“During the tenures of former presidents – Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan , and Musa Yar ’adua – did you ever hear of Fulani herdsmen killing people?
“No! It is only in the Buhari era that they kill people. Nobody is being arrested and nobody is questioning them.
“This was what happened in Jos. They (herdsmen) would just invade a community at night with sophisticated weapons and wipe out women and children.
“Today, they will go to Kanu’s place, knock down the wall, loot the king’s palace, kill young men and carry away their dead bodies.
“Kanu and his organisation were never violent . If one group says something in Delta State, he would send people to negotiate and dialogue with them.
“But in Igboland, if anybody says something for good, he must be killed. Only God will fight for us.”
