By James Orji
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB has accused elder statesman and Ijaw leader Edwin Clark of betraying former President Goodluck Jonathan. The former president is a prominent Ijaw son same as Clark.
Jonathan failed to win a second term in office after he contested the presidency in 2015, but lost to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. The ex-leader who was recently appointed as Chairman of International Summit Council for Peace Africa, is believed to have been betrayed by some of his trusted aides, who frustrated his plans to rule the country for another four years.
IPOB claimed that Clark, a former federal minister is one of those that ensured that Jonathan was not returned as president in 2015. The separatist group said this in response to Clark’s statement, on Monday that the South-South region will not be part of the Biafra nation IPOB is championing.
Clark, had said in an interview to BBC Pidgin that, “To me, IPOB is not pursuing the right thing. So, they have a good complaint, but going about it wrongly. How can Delta be part of Biafra? In what way? Is Biafra older or bigger than Delta? How can Rivers State or Akwa Ibom become part of Biafra? They are dreaming for still thinking about the Eastern Region of those days,” he said.
But firing back at the elder statesman the Nnamdi Kanu IPOB accused him of betraying Jonathan and working against the actualization of the Biafra during the Nigerian Civil war.
IPOB said, “The attention of the global family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), ably led by our great leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has come across a statement credited to Edwin Clerk during his BBC Pidgin English interview, where he said that Niger Delta is not part of Biafra. We are disappointed by such a statement coming from a supposed elder statesman like Edwin Clark.
“Though he betrayed Biafra during the war of 1967-1970 against his brothers and sisters in and today, where is Edwin Clark in the scheme of things in Nigeria, only the monthly salary Fulani slavemasters placed him for betraying his people then.
“Biafra will come Edwin Clark will fail in his betrayal salary getting from the enemy (sic) and on the blood of his people but he must know that he cannot stop Biafra with his inconsequential utterances cannot stop because he was paid to do so.
“We know his job and DNA is betrayal and sabotage even he sabotaged his brother former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as president of Nigeria. He always takes sabotage and betrayal as norms. It is unbelievable and unfortunate he continues doing this until younger generations knew that it is his hubby.
“The likes of Edwin Clark are the reason Biafra is being treated as slaves in their own domain today. A man at the age of Edwin Clark is supposed not to be economical with the truth or deceive the young generation because of parochial interest,” the group said.
In the statement entitled, ‘Edwin Clark Is A Spent Force That Lacks The Mandate To Speak For The People Of Niger Delta’, the separatist group said Biafra was suggested to late General Ojukwu by an Ijaw man, adding that Clark is not qualified to speak for the south-south region.
According to IPOB “It’s too appalling that Edwin Clark doesn’t know that those who own Biafra are those he referred to as South-South or Niger-Delta as the case may be. How suddenly Edwin Clark has forgotten that it was an Izon man who brought the name ‘Biafra’ to the table for approval which Ojukwu and his Eastern Consultative Assembly approved without hesitation or debate!
“Edwin Clark should know that IPOB, led by our great leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, did not force any clan to join Biafra but if his community, clan and tribe refuse to join Biafra through a referendum at the right time, should not blame anybody for their fate in Nigeria.
“By the time Biafra will exit Nigeria through a referendum, any clan in the so-called Niger Delta that refuses to be liberated from the Nigerian bondage should get ready to serve the Fulani as slaves forever.
“We, however, know that Edwin Clark is not speaking for millions of Niger Delta youths, men and women earnestly yearning for their liberation from the Nigerian bondage. He is only speaking for his Fulani slavemasters but very soon he will discover that he is a General without foot soldiers.
“Biafra will come during the lifetime of Edwin Clark, and he will spend the balance of his life in regrets. His family will disappoint him during a referendum for Biafra freedom,” IPOB said.
