By Zara Maisango
The Arewa Youth Progressive Alliance (AYPA) issues a stern and final warning to the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to immediately desist from its reckless, provocative, and irresponsible attacks on Chief Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK). Their latest attempt to distort history, twist the words of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), and falsely brand FFK as an enemy of the Igbo people is not only laughable but an insult to the intelligence of every well-meaning Nigerian.
MASSOB’s audacity in attempting to rewrite the history of the January 15, 1966 coup—the bloodiest and most treacherous military uprising in Nigeria’s history—is both shameful and dangerous. The truth is well documented: the coup was orchestrated by predominantly Igbo officers who targeted and brutally slaughtered key Northern and Western leaders while sparing prominent Igbo politicians. Among those assassinated was the revered Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, who was killed alongside his pregnant wife in a barbaric act of cruelty that still pains the North to this day.
If MASSOB had any decency, they would be condemning the massacre of innocent and unarmed civilians instead of attempting to whitewash history with their revisionist lies. Their shameless attempt to absolve the 1966 coup plotters of their atrocities while attacking FFK for simply reiterating the truth is the height of hypocrisy. It is even more appalling that MASSOB fails to acknowledge historical accounts that detail how Igbo women mocked Northern women who had just lost their husbands, boasting that, "Look at what our husbands did to yours, and there is nothing you can do about it." If MASSOB does not find this level of callousness repulsive, then they should be ashamed of themselves.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has been one of the strongest voices defending the rights and interests of the Igbo people, even at great personal risk. Time and again, he has stood by them, fought for their cause, and challenged the injustices meted out against them. Yet, in their characteristic ignorance and desperation to manipulate the past, MASSOB has the nerve to brand him anti-Igbo. If this is how they reward their allies, then perhaps it is time they learn the hard way that not everyone will tolerate their reckless and self-destructive behavior.
Let it be known that the Arewa youth will not sit idly by and watch MASSOB shamelessly insult the memory of our slain leaders, distort historical facts, and demonize those who dare to speak the truth. The North remembers every atrocity committed against its people, and we will not allow MASSOB’s reckless rhetoric to fuel another round of ethnic tension. We will not permit them to continue provoking and insulting the North under the guise of propaganda.
This is not 1966, and the North will not be caught unprepared again. If MASSOB thinks it can spew reckless falsehoods, rewrite history, and incite tensions without consequences, they are playing with fire. We warn them in the strongest possible terms to steer clear from FFK and abandon their dangerous attempt to manipulate Nigeria’s historical realities.
Let this be their final warning—if they refuse to listen, they alone will bear the consequences of their actions. Nigeria has bled enough, and we will not allow a band of reckless agitators to drag the nation into another war they will live to regret.
Signed:
Mohammed Bello Doka
President, Arewa Youth Progressive Alliance (AYPA)
