By Abdulateef Bamgbose

The National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike has fired back at the Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo, accusing him of playing selfish and ethnic politics to the detriment of Ndigbo.

Okwu’s comment was in reaction to a statement issued against the youth wing through Alex Ogbonna, the National Publicity Secretary of the Iwuanyanwu-led Ohanaeze.

The apex Igbo group has been operating under two factions, a matter that is now subject of litigation.

In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, Okwu said some chieftains of the Igbo group were against him because he was not dancing to their selfish tunes.

He said it was laughable that Iwuanyanwu, who was not elected by anyone, was busy issuing orders.

He said his only crime was congratulating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and for commending Tinubu’s appointment of an Igbo son from Enugu State as one of the Service Chiefs.

He said rather than allow the court to adjudicate on the Ohanaeze crisis and give judgement one way or the other, “Alex Ogbonna, an errand boy and serial betrayer, has now allowed himself to be used by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to issue frivolous press statements against us.”

He said, “the truth of the matter remains that trouble started when we congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari. All hell was let loose. They said we have committed abomination, that Igbo son, Peter Obi is in court to reclaim his mandate.

“But we made them understand that unless the court says otherwise, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now the President of Nigeria. It behoves on every citizen of the country to work with him in order to move the country forward. If tomorrow, the court declares Peter Obi winner, we will also rally round him. That’s our stand; but they were not happy with that, they called for our heads.

“As if that was not enough, an illustrious Igbo son, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla was appointed Chief of Naval Staff and we commended President Tinubu for that appointment.

“They are calling for our head again; they first said Ogalla is not from Igbo speaking part of the South-East and all manner of things. We find this very offensive. He is a bonafide son of Igboland, from Umuopu, in Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State. Who is more Igbo than him?

“What is obvious is that once it is not someone from among them, they cannot appreciate any good thing coming from Igbo land.

“Ndigbo cried for eight years under Buhari, that we are not represented in the Security Council, but nobody listened to us. But Tinubu decided to balance the service chiefs’ appointment, yet these people are not happy, probably because the person is not someone they recommended.

“Even if they don’t like Tinubu and hate him with such passion, why not congratulate the Igbo son, Rear Admiral Ogalla?

“This is the height of sectional and selfish politics and we will never be part of it.

“May we ask: where was Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu all the while Igbo youths were being mowed down on a daily basis? His country home, Imo became a theatre of the absurd where countless number of Igbo youths have been brutally murdered; he has never uttered a word.

“Suddenly, he has regained his voice simplye because Igbo youths congratulated Tinubu and thanked him for appointing someone from Enugu State as one of the Service Chiefs.

“Is Enugu not part of Igbo land? Is Enugu Ezike not part of Igbo land? What exactly does Chief Iwuanyanwu and his pay masters want?

“He is giving full backing to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State but waging a selfish war against President Tinubu, Uzodinma’s boss and father of the nation.”

He said the group would instead “expose Chief Iwuanyanwu and his collaborators, who are pretentiously working against the collective interest of Ndigbo.”

He further stated that: “We are happy they said the matter is before the court; so let them allow the court to decide who is authentic and who is not.

“He is a factional leader of an illegal Ohanaeze; the process that threw them up is faulty and anything built on a faulty foundation cannot stand no matter how beautiful the design is.

“We challenge Chief Iwuanyawny to show the world any section of Ohanaeze Constitution that provides for ‘selection or appointment of any official, let alone President-General’. Let him take up the challenge or stop parading himself as the factional President-General of Ohanaeze. In a sane clime, he ought to have been arrested by now and not the other way round.

“He has no moral right to call for the arrest of the youth leaders of Ohanaeze having emerged from a flawed process. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.

“These are the same people who jettisoned the report by Archbishops and Bishops in Igbo land on the roadmap towards resolving the crisis in Ohanaeze. It shows they have no respect for the religious leaders.

“It is even more ridiculous that he is asking media houses to obtain clearance from him before allowing others to air their views. This has exposed the kind of person he is and the bloated image he has about himself.”

The Igbo youth leader vowed that no form of blackmail or media trial would make him wage needless war against the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.