We want outright cancellation not suspension of Ruga, Ohanaeze youths tell Buhari
By Steve Oko
As mixed reactions trail the suspension of the controversial Ruga (exclusive settlement for Fulani herders ) policy by President Muhammadu Buhari, the youth wing of the apex Igbo socio-cutural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has rejected the suspension, saying it is not enough.
According to the youth body “it is more reasonable to totally abolish” the proposal considering the public outcry against it from virtually every region of the country.
Ohanaeze Youths which stated this while reacting to the announcement of the suspension of the policy, rather called for its outright cancellation.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Youth Leader, Dr. Kingsley Dozie, Ohanaeze however, commended the President for summoning courage to suspend the policy, but added that ” he should go beyond suspension and totally scrape the toxic proposal”.
The statement read in part :”In as much as we commend Mr. President for heeding the voice of reason to suspend Ruga but what we need is total abolition and not mere suspension.
” In view of the tension and row triggered by the policy as well as the nation wide condemnation that trailed it in the past few days, the right thing to do is to totally jettison the idea in the interest of peace and national unity.
” For the President to alley the doubt and suspicion in many quarters that the said suspension is apparently to douce tension for the moment , he needs to permanently put to rest this Ruga saga by cancelling it completely and get another option”.
Ohanaeze youths said their position on Ruga had not changed , insisting that no inch of land in Igbo land will be used for any Ruga settlement “whether now or in the future”.
“We want to again, make it categorically clear to all that Ndigbo totally reject and are irreversibly opposed to Ruga and we will vehemently resist the agenda at all cost .
“Ndigbo do not have enough land for our farmers let alone for cattle colonies. We cannot allow our land to be forcefully taken away under any guise.
” For crying out loud, cattle rearing is a private business and the Federal Government should not be driving the economic interest of one tribe or group of people to the detriment of others in a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria except somebody is telling us that Nigeria has become a republic for some group “.
Ohanaeze cited the Wednesday’s sporadic shooting at Ohaji Egbema, Imo State by suspected herdsmen as “part of the reasons Ruga cannot be allowed in any part of Igbo land “.
“If as strangers they can so brazenly attack us now in our own land what will happen when they become our legitimate neighbours under Ruga? Ohanaeze youths queried.
The youths also warned South East Governors, monarchs and political elite against betrayal or working against the collective decision of Ndigbo on Ruga settlement.
They vowed that anybody no matter how highly placed discovered to be sabotaging Igbo interest and position on Ruga would live in perpetual regret.
End
Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.
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