Amidst skepticism over the withdrawal of the quit notice to Igbos in the North by the Arewa Youths, some of the Igbos have expressed deep trust in Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, and other governors and elders in the North who have assured them of their safety.
Speaking to Christian Voice recently, an Igbo man resident in Kaduna, Mr. Cyril Akujobi, said that there was no cause for panic anymore as the various ethnic groups in the area have had fruitful deliberations with Gov. El-Rufai, the elders and Arewa Youths who apologized for giving the quit notice.
According to Akujobi who is a public servant in Kaduna, the discussions were far-reaching during which the youths expressed their grievances.
Also speaking, Mr. Olaitan Idowu, a Yoruba who also lives in the North, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for declaring, on return from his medical vacation, that every Nigerian is free to live anywhere in the country.
He said that the president's statement brought the youths to their knees, knowing the consequences of violating the constitutional rights of citizens.
Adding his voice, Lawal Aliyu Muhammed, a northerner, said that the youths were incensed by the divisive acts of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
Mohammed opined that Nigeria should be one and that there should be peace among the residents everywhere in the country.
Arewa Youths, had issued a notice of Ndigbo living in the North to leave before October 1, 2017, after which they would no longer be safe in the region.
They accused Igbos of being ungrateful, fanning the embers of disunity and perpetrating crime in the society.
They, however, withdrew the notice after the elders in the North had intervened. Gov. Rufai had called for the arrest of the youth leaders as soon as the quit notice was made public in a press conference backed by some prominent Northern leaders such as Prof. Ango Abdullahi.
(c) Christian voice newspaper
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