Olaleye Aluko, Abuja

A Second Republic lawmaker and Northern elder statesman, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, has warned that the arrest of Arewa youths over the quit notice to Igbo would lead to crisis in the region.

Giving the warning during a chat with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, Mohammed said that the Federal Government demonstrated irresponsibility in its selective handling of the threats from the southern and northern regions of the country.

He said, “The threat to arrest the youth, in my opinion, is not only counter-productive but also inappropriate.
“This is because ideally, with the position of things, every Nigerian has the right to live and conduct their businesses in any part of the country.

“But the Federal Government left their toes behind when they allowed the IPOB, which is being financed by the Igbo political and business elites both in the country and in the Diaspora to be issuing statements freely.

“Therefore, any attempt to arrest Arewa youths will lead to problems. I am resident in Kano State and the last time the Kaduna State Government brought up the issue of arrest, there would have been violence if an attempt to arrest anybody by the police had been made.”

Standing with Mohammed’s submission, the Chairman of Northern Elders Council, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, blamed the Federal Government for not tackling the threats by the IPOB on time, pointing that it led to the present crisis.
He said, “I believe that the Federal Government was somewhat late in addressing the threats issued by the Igbo.

“These threats by both the North and South are unconstitutional and illegal because every Nigerian has the right to live and work in any part of the country he or she chooses.

“I think the Igbo should not allow a man, who was not even born during the civil war to incite violence in the country. Both the Hausa and the Igbo are well travelled traders and if this country splits today, that opportunity is gone, a market of 180 million people. All the regions will suffer for it.

Punchng