By Yusuf Mohammed and Asian Nkutt
The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Itse Sagay, has advised Ndigbo to resist the temptation to break away from Nigeria.
He warned that the nationality would regret if they secede as aggressively promoted by the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
Mr. Sagay, a professor of Law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said these in an exclusive interview with NEXT EDITION on Wednesday.
Due to the entrepreneurial nature of the Igbos, he argued that they would derive more from a peaceful, united and prosperous Nigeria than otherwise.
“They have properties and businesses all over the country. If you become a foreigner, you will need a visa as an alien. And at the slightest disagreements between two parties, properties can be seized. It does not make sense. It would be a big mistake,” Mr. Sagay said.
“I don’t know what is pushing that young man (Nnamdi Kanu). It is a very serious case of subversion. It is also a breach of national security and a threat to our corporate existence as a nation,” he said concerning a trending video of the IPOB leader inspecting a guard of honour of suspected Biafran secret police.
“They left him alone (released from detention), thinking he would mellow and operate within the confines of the law. After all, there are several other people calling for restructuring which is quite legitimate.
“I personally believe in restructuring. That is legitimate. You don’t need to have an independent Biafra breaking away. You can have a Biafra or what a territory of Biafra would have been, operating autonomously in Nigeria.
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“I keep repeating and if I may say so, I think if the Igbos break away from Nigeria, they will lose more. It will be a big mistake because they have stakes all over the country.
“I think the best thing is to seek autonomy within the federation. Personally, I support that which is why I support re-structuring the country for efficiency.
“The government did the right thing by arresting him in the first place because he appeared to threaten the very existence of the country. I think later they felt that keeping him was worse than releasing him because the government created much sympathy for him outside.”
According to him, the government might have let go of him on the assumption the situation would gradually stabilize.
Mr. Sagay said the IPOB leader is extremely unreasonable about what he wants for Biafra or the South-East.
“It is not in the< best interest of the nation,” he said.
